A Soft Place to Land
Connecting to Body and Place
Women’s Retreat
“…let the soft animal of your body. love what it loves.” Mary Oliver
There is an old Buddhist story where a farmer is so eager for his crops to grow that he goes out into his fields at night and tugs on his shoots. He was imagining encouragement, but of course he lost them all.
What happens when we are out of rhythm with the natural world?
Out of our own rhythm?
What happens when we are able to connect deeply to our own pace, to nature's pace?
Location
Get to the remote location of Vargas Island in magical Clayoquot Sound through travelling over ocean waters by ferry to this off grid haven.
Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound is a vast, 100 km wide inlet of the Pacific Ocean.
An ancient landscape carved by the ocean, the west coast of Vancouver Island is richly biodiverse.
"Untouched by time, the coastal ecosystem has evolved freely and now plays host to thousands of species of flora and fauna."
In 2000, it was designated as a UNESCO protected Biosphere Reserve. Within, we find temperate coastal rainforest, old growth conifers and rocky coastal shores.
We honour those who have been and remain stewards of this land.
Clayoquot wilderness is the territory of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht and Hesquiaht First Nations.
A Soft Place To Land
~ connecting your body with the natural rhythm of place ~
Our vision for this retreat is to gather in person in a place where we might be able to deeply connect with the natural world and our own bodies.
After running three years of online 100-hr programs, the three of us were feeling pulled to offer something in person.
The venue we chose is Cedar Coast Arts and Ecology Centre. Cedar Coast is off-grid (think about the quiet and starry skies!), and aims to be a comfortable space where we can deepen our sense of connection to the ecosystems we inhabit. Located on the beautiful shoreline of Vargas Island, just a 15 minute boat ride from Tofino, BC.
Vargas Island
Accommodations will be shared. Tent-cabins are canvas and cedar, with wood stoves, comfortable beds and ocean views. There is a shower house, huge shoreline deck, hot tub, gardens, and the main lodge with a library. All the structures are grounded in the principles of ecological design, mimicking the flows and cycles of nature wherever possible.
All food will be served buffet style. There will be dairy free, plant-based, and gluten free options available. If we know in advance, we can cater to additional food sensitivities. Our food presenter will be Naana Ookmin catering, an indigenous female owned business run by Kayla Frank from Ahousaht.
Kayla prioritizes local, organic and nutritious foods that are rooted in heritage and place.
When
June 6-9, 2024
Sample Of The Schedule
*Please note this is emerging and there may be some changes.
All practice sessions are optional.
Thursday:
4pm. Check in Tofino, BC at the pickup location, 630 Campbell Street
6pm. Territory welcome with Skookum
615-8pm. Dinner
8-9pm. Practice
Friday and Saturday:
6am. Coffee and tea placed out
645-745am. Morning practice
8-930am. Breakfast
930-11 or 1130am. Practice
1130am-4pm. Lunch and Break
- Hot tub
- Body work
- Nap/rest
- Connect with land
4-530pm. Practice
6-8pm. Dinner
8-9pm. Closing the Day Together
Sunday:
645-745am. Morning Practice
8-930am. Breakfast
10am. First boat back to Tofino
Down time options…
Walking or running trails to beaches near the ecology centre.
Access the library and board games.
Have a hot tub and cold plunge in Clayoquot waters.
Play some games - basketball, volleyball, badminton and four-square in the multi-purpose room.
Overview
A gentle yoga, meditation, and land-based healing retreat on Vargas Island at Cedar Coast off grid eco-lodge in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia.
Join us for a spacious practice schedule with three seasoned facilitators, a comfortable quiet stay at a remote island location that aims to preserve ecological health, and an opportunity to drop back into your body and connect with the natural world. We will be held by the waters of Clayoquot Sound, surrounded by a 250-year-old growth forest, enveloped in stunning biodiversity.
Your Seasoned Trauma Informed Facilitators
Lydia Zamorano
…has spent the last 20 years of her life studying yoga, researching tools for self-regulation, and nurturing a relationship with embodied movement that sparks awareness and joy! This is what she would like to share with you.
Lydia has been a voracious learner and a multi-disciplinarian with yogic practices right from the start. She has studied ashtanga vinyasa, vipassana meditation, zen, iyengar, qi gong, bio tensegrity, vijnana yoga, pranayama, various restorative practices and teaches from a trauma informed lens. She has completed four teacher trainings, one of them being an 800-hour program in Vijnana Yoga and the Tensegrity Repair Series. She has co-owned a yoga studio, teaches online through Yoga Anytime and through her own online platform called Practice With Lydia, and teaches 200- and 300- hour yoga trainings online or close to her home.
Sarah Kinsley
…is a granddaughter, daughter, sister, niece, aunt, cousin, friend, psychotherapist, facilitator, consultant, and learner. She is grateful to live and learn on Turtle Island, home to many nations who continue to steward the land, air, and water.
Sarah is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) and holds a MEd in Counselling from the University of Victoria, a BEd in Education from Queen’s University and a BA (Hons) in Indigenous Studies from Trent University. She is a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SETM).
She is a registered Yoga teacher for adults and children (E-RYT 500, RCYT) and is a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider® (YACAP®). She has completed four Yoga Teacher Training courses and has studied with various schools in North America and Asia. She is the author of Yoga Therapy: Ancient Therapy for Today’s Body, Mind and Spirit, a textbook chapter used in counselling education programs throughout North America.
Nicola Mosley
…carries a global tapestry of stories, specializing in a collaborative approach to healing from social, systemic, and ecological trauma. In a snap shot, her original teacher is the land, she has always been a mover, and remains curious about relationship! For the last 20 years, she has brought her strength-based approach to facilitation and practice, inviting participants to re/claim relationship with their body, their land, through choice.
Nicola is passionate about integrating body, mind, and spirit through a trauma-informed lens, therapeutic land-based experiences, and movement. As a Registered Social Worker (RSW), an experiential educator, and a finger in the pot of community development, she whole-heartedly integrates the evidence-based modality of Trauma Center-Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and land-based experiences into her programs.
Investment:
$1800 CDN
* No refunds are available. Thank you for your understanding.
Investment includes:
Gentle yoga and somatic practices
Morning meditations
Guided land-based practices
Nourishing vegetarian meals
Three nights of cozy shared accommodations in tent cabins equipped with wood stoves
Access to an oceanfront cedar hot tub where you can easily cold plunge into Clayoquot waters
Round trip water taxi from Tofino to Vargas Island
Retreat Registration
*If the registration block does not appear, please click here to register: A Soft Place to Land Women’s Retreat
Cancellation Policy:
No refunds are available. Thank you for your understanding.