Austin, Texas12 to 15 November 2026

I have done so much work on myself. Why am I still struggling with this?

Four days outside Austin for people who can already name the pattern and cannot get out from under it.

Awareness was never going to be enough on its own.

You have read all the books. You can name the pattern, where it comes from, what it has been protecting. Yet understanding it hasn't moved it.

This is for you if you hear yourself say:

“I am aware of the pattern and why it is here, but it has been really hard to actually change it.”

“I want more intimacy, but there are places where I still shut down, suppress what I feel, people please, or do not ask for what I need.”

“I want to be able to forgive my family and not get triggered by them anymore.”

“I am tired of always changing for someone else. I am ready to change for me.”

“Why do I not feel as free and alive as I thought I would by now?”

Something older is answering for you. It answers faster than you can think.

It learned when to go quiet, when to get in first and when to leave. It is still doing that with people it has never met. This is not a gap in your self awareness. An old identity is running it, and an identity does not come apart by being understood.

We get hurt in relationships, and we heal in relationship.

The way you handle intimacy, conflict and what you need, and even the way you relate to money, to business, to the world itself, was set in your most foundational relationships. Every relationship since reflects that.

There is men's work. There is women's work. Very little puts both in the same room. The pattern was learned with a man and a woman in the house, so it behaves differently when both are in the room. That is why there are two of us.

A few people crack open, and that is enough of an opening to take those few all the way through it. What happens to them then moves through the whole room.

You arrive separately.The group becomes the work.

You catch it while it is happening.

One pattern. The hardest one.

You notice you are about to go quiet, get ahead of them or leave first, and there is a second there that was not there before.

That second is what decides whether the next room with your family goes the way every other one has gone.

The Alchemy Equation.

Awareness

Before you arrive.

A group call covering the equation and how the four days are built. Then you meet Alex one to one, and you leave that call clear on the one pattern you are working. Not a list of them. One.

Acceptance

The self judgment comes off first.

Of course this is here. Of course I am afraid. I was taught this. The pattern is allowed to be here and you can still choose something else. You are not fighting it, and you are not fixing it.

Expression

It moves, or it stays.

Grief, anger, fear. What has been held gets to move rather than be explained one more time. This is the part that cannot be reached by understanding it, and it is why this happens in a room with other people in it.

Aligned action

After you are home.

Two more calls. What happens on the retreat matters less than what you do with it afterwards, so you leave with the specific things you are going to do differently, decided by you rather than handed to you.

Facilitators

Austin · Coach and facilitator

Alex built the Alchemy Equation out of her own client work and runs it one to one and with groups. She hosts The Alex Pursglove Show. She stays with people at the part they have never said out loud, which is the part that matters here.

Alex Pursglove

Founder of Vortex Retreats

Jakob works one to one with people who are up to something big and are being run by something they cannot name. He trained directly under Judith Johnson for three years, including three months living in her house recording her life's work.

Jakob Gricar

What people say

“When I started working with Alex, I was becoming more aware of how disconnected I had been from my emotions. I had a real desire to heal my relationship with my mom. One of the deepest stories I’d carried for as long as I can remember was simply: I’m bad. Working with Alex helped me look underneath the things I had done with compassion and curiosity rather than just shame and judgment. Today, I genuinely believe I’m a good person, for the first time in my life.”

“Alex held a room of men in a way I won’t ever forget. What started as a facilitated conversation on acceptance and grief evolved into an hour-long somatic meditation experience, deep, personal, and unlike anything I’ve been part of in a group setting. She has a rare gift for holding others through the heaviest of human experiences, especially men who aren’t often given that kind of space. The world needs more of this gift.”

“Working with Alex sent my life on an entirely new path. The biggest shift was releasing my inner judgment and perfectionism and learning to honor every part of me. The retreat itself was phenomenal. I loved connecting with other humans on a similar path as me and uncovering where I was holding myself back. Alex creates a space where all of you is welcome. Her guidance has truly changed my life.”

“Alex is always helping you dig deeper and uncover new insights. The self-reflection and transformation that came from her retreat is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I’m learning to prioritize more quiet time for myself, to stop stuffing things down during conflict in my relationship, and to recognize my limiting patterns. It has been very freeing.”

“Jakob fuses together deep somatic and nervous system knowledge and practices along with powerful tools from countless different modalities. He deeply embodies what he teaches. He makes you feel extremely safe in his presence, and lovingly calls you forward into your best self.”

Retreat Details

When: Thursday 12 November, evening, through Sunday 15 November, afternoon. Three nights.
Where: A private house outside Austin, Texas. You get the address once your place is confirmed.
Group: A small mixed group of men and women. Six people at most.
Facilitators: Alex Pursglove and Jakob Gricar. Both of them are in the room for all four days.
Before: One group call on the Alchemy Equation and the shape of the four days, and a private call with each person to name the pattern they are bringing.
After: Two calls to turn what moved into action you actually take.
Included: Three nights, all meals, everything that happens at the retreat, and every call before and after.
Not included: Getting yourself to Austin and home again. The nearest airport is Austin-Bergstrom.
Paying: In full or across a payment plan. Alex goes through it on the call.
Getting in: A short questionnaire, then a call with Alex. Everyone who comes has had one.

This is not for you if:

You want your partner fixed, and you are hoping we will take your side.
You are in the middle of something acute. Thoughts of ending your life, a depression you cannot function through, or an addiction that is currently running.
You want a break. This is not restful, and you should not come here to rest.
You want the insight without being seen. Almost none of this happens privately.

We turn people away for these reasons, and not to make you want it more. Most people who come have done work at this depth before. If you have not, say so on the call. It has worked, and it has to be a clear yes on both sides.