Blog Layout

Heavy Loads Hurt

Yesterday, on a bike trail near home, I saw something I’d never seen. A couple was walking side by side smiling and talking, enjoying each other’s company. I would hardly have noticed them, except the man happened to be dragging a very large truck tire behind him by a heavy chain tied around his waist! It looked truly bizarre, but actually, he was doing resistance training. That tire was quite a load and he was both working his legs and his heart: good strength training—good cardio. But, then it occurred to me: what I saw on the trail was more than an unorthodox workout. It was literally a walking metaphor (pardon the pun). 
I did a double take as I wondered to myself how many others on the trail that beautiful day were dragging heavy loads of their own, just not the kind I could see. 

We're All Baggage Draggers

Life piles all kinds of things on us: losses, disappointments, things we’ve done, things done to us. And we drag around the pain, the guilt, the anger, the hurt…sometimes for years. We seem fine on the outside. But, inside, over time, baggage dragging takes a toll. It’s not a good workout. It's harmful, not helpful. It doesn’t build resistance. It builds resentment. It breeds bitterness. And we learn, often the hard way (through poor health, poor performance, poor relationships) that what we hold onto holds onto us.

Baggage dragging often happens in relationships between partners who love one another dearly, but have built up hurts and resentment that slows them down and holds them back. Often, distressed couples speak of feeling stuck or far apart. That’s the long term fallout of baggage dragging: resentment, distance and disconnection. Most couples don’t know what to do with all that baggage. So, they either try to ignore it and just keep dragging it (much to their detriment), or they fight intractable, fruitless fights that lead nowhere. Eventually, the relationship either dies or couples just give up and settle for living at arm’s length.

Learning to Let Go

There’s got to be a better way. And the good news is: there is.

A Hold Me Tight®️ couples retreat in Orlando is a great place to begin letting go. At Hold Me Tight,®️ couples learn the amazing lessons of attachment science. They learn to connect deeply; and that includes healing old wounds and finally letting go of old baggage.

In this low key, group experience, couples learn and practice vulnerability and empathy. They learn what it means to be there for one another. They learn to manage conflict (sometimes, it's more important to manage it than resolve it). They learn to have conversations, not confrontations. 

In just two short days of Hold Me Tight,®️ couples can make huge strides in letting go of what has held them down and held them back, sometimes for years. They often leave with the confidence and competence to travel lighter and enjoy the journey more than they ever thought possible. 

Here is Your Chance

Baggage dragging is no way to travel through life. We can learn to let go and travel lighter at Hold Me Tight®️. Find out more at on the homepage of this website. 

Our next couples retreat is next week! Space is limited. Sign up today!


Learn more about Mark and Vicki.

Sign up for our contact list.

Prepare for a transformational experience.


Have a Safety Plan

a Hold Me Tight Couples retreat in Orlando helps couples grow closer and more secure

Another HMT Couples Retreat in the Books

By Mark Beck • November 12, 2024
A Hold Me Tight retreat in Orlando is a safe, powerful experience for couples to grow closer together

Going Deeper

By Mark Beck • November 5, 2024
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando is a great place to let go of old baggage.

No More Baggage Dragging

By Mark Beck • October 30, 2024
At Hold Me Tight, couples learn to let go of old baggage.
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat is a great way to treat problems while they're still easy to fix.

Catch Problems Early

By Mark Beck • October 23, 2024
As I write this, I am waiting in my dermatologist’s office to have minor surgery. He detected a small spot of skin cancer on my face. That’s always a potential problem here in sunny Florida. Fortunately, they caught mine early and the procedure to correct it should be fairly simple. They found my skin cancer in a routine exam. That is to say, I had no symptoms. It wasn’t visible, wasn’t conspicuous, or even noticeable. But, had I ignored it, it most definitely would have worsened and possibly become serious. As they say, prevention beats treatment. And even when treatment is required, the earlier, the better.
Couples that attend a Hold Me Tight retreat in Orlando change their relationship

Change Your Viewing--Change Your Doing

By Mark Beck • October 14, 2024
Couples at a Hold Me Tight retreat in Orlando change their perspective and their behaviors to grow closer than ever before.

A Real Learning Experience

By Mark Beck • October 9, 2024
A Hold Me Tight®️ retreat is a transformational learning experience for couples. Two words there are key: learning and experience. First, what do you learn? You learn fascinating insights from attachment science. You learn that emotions are what drive us. Think about it: the word “emotion” contains the word “motion.” Emotions move us, motivate us. Emotions incite behaviors, actions and reactions. Emotions inform every level of our existence. And our most powerful, most vulnerable emotions are beneath the surface.
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando will help couples manage the storms in their relationship

Preparation is Priceless

By Mark Beck • September 30, 2024
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando will prepare couples for managing conflict and discord.
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando can make for a peaceful love relationship.

Two Rules for Living (and Loving)

By Mark Beck • September 25, 2024
A Hold Me Tight couples retreat in Orlando can help couples change their focus on their relationship.

I Gotta Get in Shape

By Mark Beck • August 28, 2024
I recently decided I need to get in shape. I've "let myself go" for too long. Fortunately, there is no shortage of good home based video programs for resistance training, flexibility or cardio health. So, I perused the internet and found one of each. (I’m going for the total makeover!) I ordered them and when they arrived, I was excited to start my fitness journey. Some of them told me I could get in shape in “just a few minutes a day.” How hard could that be? I was all in. Let’s do this! So, I turned on the TV, queued the video, sat down on the couch and hit “Play.” I even popped some popcorn and got my favorite soda. I watched the first episode and, because I was really into it, watched a second session just for good measure. The next day, I did the same thing…sat right there on the couch and watched my fitness video. In fact, I watched every day for the next two weeks. I sat there faithfully and never missed an episode. After all, consistency is key, right? I couldn’t wait to look like those incredible people on the videos: slim, tight, perfectly toned—man, what bodies! But, something didn’t work. So far, I haven’t lost a pound. My waistline is just as big (maybe even a little bigger). I’m just as puffy and lumpy as ever. I’ll never get in shape. I don’t get it. I watched, I listened, I paid attention. What the heck? I want my money back! Okay, back to reality.

Reflections on a Hold Me Tight Couples Retreat

By Mark Beck • August 21, 2024
In this blog, I’d just like to share a few reflections on our most recent Hold Me Tight®️ couples retreat. As always, it was nothing sort of amazing. No two retreats are the same, but they never fail to amaze Vicki and me. Last weekend, we welcomed eight couples to our Winter Park (Orlando) FL venue. That is a little smaller group than usual, but it only makes for a warmer experience. It’s always exciting to meet new couples for the first time, to hear their stories and what brought them our way. The couples in this retreat varied in age and number of years together, from 4 years to about 40 years. It was clear that some were very stuck, unsure that they could figure out their relationship, but willing to try. Others were happy together, but wanted to make their good thing even better. Later, we learned that at least one couple saw the Hold Me Tight®️ retreat as sort of a “last best hope” before throwing in the towel on their marriage. You wouldn’t have guessed it to look at them, but they weren’t the first such couple to come to a Hold Me Tight®️ retreat as a last resort.
More Posts
Share by: