In today’s frenetic world, we are always surrounded by elements that can crush our souls. The constant demands of daily life, work, and relationships can lead to stress and burnout. In this chaos, it’s easy to lose touch with one’s inner self and values. In other words, it is time to unwind and rejuvenate. Personal spiritual retreats can provide a sanctuary of calm where people can unplug from the chaos and reawaken their inner compass. These bespoke journeys offer people more than rest; they help with healing, aligning the mind, body, and soul with clarity.
This sacred space has seen many female leaders thrive, not just participate but guide with intuitive strength, emotional intelligence, and nurturing presence that resonates deeply with seekers. Debra Stangl, founder of Sedona Soul Adventures, is a soul-led leader who understands that transformation isn’t one-size-fits-all. By weaving ancient wisdom with modern insights, she is crafting retreats that speak to the unspoken needs of others. The visionary approach is helping individuals and couples connect with their inner selves and thrive with authenticity and purpose.
From Burnout to Breakthrough
“The sanctuary we create for others often begins with the peace we’ve long been seeking for ourselves.”
Debra’s path to founding Sedona Soul Adventures began in the most personal way – through her own need for healing. After over two decades of navigating the demanding world of divorce law, the constant stress left her physically drained and spiritually disconnected. In 1999, a retreat to Sedona became her turning point, awakening something deep within. Amidst its red rock canyons and sacred calm, she envisioned a profound idea: to create a sanctuary for others to experience the kind of transformation she had found.
Fuelled by purpose, Debra took bold steps. She left her law career, sold her home, and poured her entire heart, soul, and money into building a space for personalized spiritual healing. She began with a handful of skilled practitioners, and it didn’t take long for her company to become a renowned retreat destination. Today, Sedona Soul Adventures boasts a network of over 50 master-level practitioners offering a tapestry of modalities, blending ancient wisdom and modern energy. Their process is deeply intuitive and intentional: first, identifying the blocks holding someone back, and then crafting a bespoke sequence of experiences to clear those blocks and awaken their highest potential
Each retreat is attuned to the unique emotional, energetic, and spiritual needs of the individual or couple. It’s no wonder such work draws compelling testimonials, with stories of healed hearts, renewed purpose, rediscovered joy, as well as a steady stream of referrals.
Transforming Trials into Triumphs
Sedona Soul Adventures stands on a foundation of transformation – both for its clients and its founder. For Debra, stepping into entrepreneurship wasn’t just a career pivot; it was a leap of faith. Her primary obstacle was finances, as she left the security of a prosperous legal practice. “I navigated this by starting lean and consistently reinvesting in the growth of my business,” she explains. Yet finances weren’t the only mountain to climb. She was venturing into a market saturated with one-size-fits-all groups; she sought to create something more personal and customized. Educating the public on the value of personalized retreats wasn’t easy. But Debra leaned into content – authoring books, hosting a podcast, and developing educational tools to communicate her vision.
Then came the recession of 2008, and like many luxury-oriented businesses, Sedona Soul Adventures felt the strain. “Retreats were often the first thing cut from people’s budgets,” she recalls. But rather than lowering her standards or slashing prices, Debra stayed true to the mission. Payment plans were introduced not to sell a service but to help people support an investment towards better life. This unique focus on service over profit help them carve their route to success.
Customized Transformations that last
At the heart of Sedona Soul Adventures lies something rare: a personalized path to spiritual transformation. Far from the templated formulas of traditional group retreats, this experience is personalized. Drawing from extensive analysis, the team carefully assesses each client’s history to craft a series of customized sessions that unlock their deepest potential. This creates a transformational container where energetic and subconscious shifts can take root.
The personalized approach distinctly sets them apart in an industry often plagued by uncertainty and commercialization. “We’re completely transparent about our processes, set realistic expectations, and maintain the highest ethical standards with our practitioners and clients,” emphasizes Debra. Their efforts have measurable impacts, particularly in the realm of relationships. The couple’s retreats have rescued thousands of marriages on the brink of separation, fostering healthier environments for families and children to thrive.
A Conscious Approach to R&D
R&D is one of the core pillars of Sedona Soul Adventures, though it is quite different from traditional industries. The company conducts deep research into emerging modalities in transformation, consciousness studies, and energy medicine, expanding its pipeline of offerings while refining efficiency. A vital part of this process is the continuous feedback loop with clients. “We meticulously track outcomes from each retreat, analyze what sequences of experiences create the most profound and lasting transformations, and refine our approach accordingly,” explains Debra. This data-driven approach allows them to develop specialized protocols for various situations, including relationship healing, trauma release, and spiritual awakening.
They also explore the intersection between ancient wisdom and modern science. They study how meditation, sound, and energy healing affect brainwave activity, regulate the nervous system, and facilitate emotional processing, bridging the gap for clients who desire both intuitive and evidence-based practices. Additionally, the company is expanding its R&D into the digital space, developing online tools to support clients before and after in-person retreats.
Redesigning healing experiences for the Digital Age
The spiritual transformation industry isn’t left untouched by technology – in fact, it’s reshaping it. The internet has democratized spiritual knowledge, making once esoteric resources accessible to the masses. This has created a more informed clientele but also raised the bar of authentic transformational experiences. At Sedona Soul Adventures, technology serves as a powerful differentiator. Their custom-built retreat management system orchestrates complex and highly personalized journeys for each participant. Combined with a vibrant online presence and digital communication tools, the company can connect with seekers worldwide.
Virtual tools have also expanded their impact. From initial consultations to post-retreat support, clients go through an immersive journey that blends ancient wisdom with modern conveniences. “During the pandemic, we developed virtual components for various aspects of our work, and the results have been rewarding,” notes Debra. Yet, their innovation does not stop there; the team is actively delving into emerging technologies like AI for more personalized transformational experiences.
Building a conscious community through relational leadership
Staying grounded in its soul-centered mission while embracing innovations empowers the company to pioneer transformative solutions. At the heart of this growth lies a profound realization: transformation is relational. Debra places high value on cultivating authentic relationships, both within her team and across the broader spiritual and entrepreneurial landscape. She holds a deep passion for co-creating with like-minded visionaries who aspire to elevate global consciousness. From participating in thought leadership circles to engaging with speakers, authors, and changemakers, Debra sees each interaction as an opportunity to sow seeds of collaboration.
Her focus on networking has also nurtured a strong sense of unity within the Sedona community. Rather than perceiving similar businesses as competition, Debra and her team nurtures a collaborative mindset, recognizing their peers as co-creators in Sedona’s spiritual ecosystem. Her leadership is based on the belief that trust is fostered by vulnerability. By openly sharing both the triumphs and trials of her journey, Debra cultivates deep connections, especially among fellow women entrepreneurs. The result is a vibrant, supportive network where wisdom flows freely and success is celebrated collectively.
A Culture of Soul & Synergy
Debra’s soul-nurturing venture is a powerful testament to the transformative journey it offers others. Within its walls, team members are not expected to compartmentalize but are invited to bring their whole selves: their intuition, spirituality, and professional expertise. It is very particular with whom it works: people with not just the skill, but also the heart. Their culture is rooted in core values of integrity, compassion, excellence, and transformation, which act as both compass and anchor in daily operations.
This vibrant culture is nurtured from within. Team members are encouraged to attend sessions with the same master practitioners they recommend to clients. This commitment to growth nurtures personal and professional development, ensuring a safe and dynamic environment, where unconventional ideas flourish without fear of judgment. “We actively cultivate this safety through appreciation practices, normalizing ‘failure’ as part of the creative process, and modelling vulnerability from leadership,” Debra shares.
Moreover, they employ innovative cross-pollination practices, bringing together team members from diverse divisions to exchange perspectives, tackle challenges, and share invaluable insights. This brings an energetic balance in the workplace that feeds the team’s appetite for creativity and innovation. Driven by purpose rather than profit, the team aligns itself with a deeper mission: to help people heal, awaken, and return to their most authentic selves.
Debra Stangl: A Concious Catalyst
In Sedona Soul Adventures’ collaborative alchemy, ideas aren’t just born—they’re nurtured into soulful solutions. But behind every thriving collective is a steady anchor, and for this transformational haven, that anchor is Debra Stangl. As a leader, she embodies the change she hopes to inspire in others. Her journey, much like her business, has evolved step by step, originating from a place of necessity and personal endeavor. Initially, she wore every hat – visionary, organizer, and administrator. While this built resilience and shaped her perspective, she realized that true growth demanded more than self-reliance; it required trust and the courage to release control.
Delegating meaningful authority – not just tasks – was a turning point. Coming from a background in law, where precision and control were second nature, letting go wasn’t easy. Yet, it was necessary. By empowering her team to make bold, heart-centered decisions, she cultivated a culture of innovation and ownership. Debra blends her feminine intuitive wisdom with masculine grounded decisiveness, allowing her to guide with clarity and compassion. She doesn’t lead from above but walks beside her team, co-creating and co-deciding when challenges arise. She also participates in at least one master session every week to ensure her core values stay rooted in presence, humility, and growth.
Changing Limiting Beliefs to Limitless Potential
Alongside her talent as a leader, Debra is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment. In a world where traditional business models are being questioned, more women are forging paths that reflect their values. Emotional intelligence, collaborative leadership, and intuitive problem-solving have become hallmarks of the modern female leader. As more women launch purpose-driven ventures, a powerful shift is unfolding: one rooted in solidarity, not competition. The rise of the fempreneur movement has birthed a culture of conscious mentorship and value-based investing, all grounded in mutual upliftment. It’s a new paradigm where women are not only claiming their space but reshaping the system to work with them, not against them.
Having navigated her own uphill journey to build a spiritually-centered enterprise, Debra shares a fundamental truth for every ambitious woman: the outer climb begins with inner work. “Identify and transform the limiting beliefs that keep you playing small,” she advises. From pricing services confidently to trusting intuitive nudges, Debra encourages women to lead with both strategy and soul. She believes intuition—often dismissed in traditional business spaces—is one of the untapped superpowers women possess. “The feminine wisdom we’ve been conditioned to doubt is our edge,” she asserts. For Debra, true success arises when a woman aligns her business with her authentic self and deepest values.
Transforming Lives, Inspiring the World
Debra’s journey to carve a niche for her transformational venture proves that success isn’t about hustling to fit into outdated molds – it’s about becoming the blueprint for a more conscious, empowered way of leading. Under her intuitive and unwavering guidance, Sedona Soul Adventures has facilitated profound transformation for thousands, saving marriages, healing deep emotional wounds, and reconnecting people with their purpose. “Many told me it wasn’t possible to create a transformation business with such high-touch personalization and still be profitable, but we’ve proven otherwise,” Debra shares.
Perhaps the most powerful testament to her work is her transformation. Debra isn’t just leading the journey; she walks it daily. “I released over 40 pounds in just five weeks without dieting or exercising, after struggling with my weight for most of my life,” she reveals. From being $50,000 in debt in 1999 to stepping into financial abundance and from inner healing to marrying the love of her life, her life mirrors the breakthroughs she helps others achieve.
Her book, ‘The Journey to Happy: How Embracing the Concept that Nothing is Wrong Can Transform Your Life’, encapsulates decades of spiritual insight and experiential wisdom into a compelling call for transformative leadership. Her influence has sparked a global ripple, earning recognition from top media and aligning her with a global community of change-makers.
Scaling the Soul-centred Mission
Sedona Soul Adventures began with a simple yet powerful idea: Spiritual transformation can reconnect people with their authentic selves and unlock their highest potential. Two decades later, it stands as a globally recognized sanctuary for deep inner work, but Debra Stangl’s vision is still expanding. With a mission to evolve the company into a global catalyst for consciousness, her team is developing accessible transformation technologies that can bring the essence of Sedona to those who may never set foot there.
In the next chapter of her journey, she is set to unveil a new book on conscious relationships, co-authored with her husband, Richard Kepple. Drawing from both their personal journey and the powerful teachings behind Sedona Soul Adventures’ couple retreats, the book is meant to be a guide for anyone seeking a loving, vibrant, soulful relationship. She’s also expanding their sacred international retreats, offering deeper experiences in energetic hotspots like Egypt, Peru, and Bali, each one designed to complement the transformative work rooted in Sedona.
Beyond the retreats and programs, Debra is pursuing a calling close to her heart: to uplift more women stepping into spiritual entrepreneurship. Through mentorship and a conscious business incubator, she’s laying the groundwork for others to rise with confidence, clarity, and impact. Across every initiative, whether a book, a journey, or a digital offering, Debra’s focus remains unwavering: to craft soul-centered experiences. She is committed to helping more people find real transformation, helping them to reach their full potential in life.
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