Upcoming Events:
Summer Solstice Yoga Retreat – Unraveling and Arising!
With Mary Paffard June 13-18, 2023
In this annual residential retreat, we will once again enjoy simple, nourishing, vegetarian food, hike in the 600 acres, hang out at the pond or hot tub, listen to those rooted in the local ecosphere, share with a delightful group of yogis committed to this time together and rest in the support of the natural world and our practice. Includes long active and passive asana, breath work, meditation and an optional mandala workshop.
“A magical gathering occurs when Mary Paffard calls yogis together. With expert instruction and open hearted building of community, the solstice retreat is special. You have an opportunity to be totally present with the like-minded individuals in a beautiful setting. GO!”
Bhavvy, Yoga Teacher, Actor, Author
This retreat is designed for teachers and yoga nutz. It is not a beginners retreat but it is appropriate for a wide variety of levels and abilities
“While there is an abundance of yoga retreats one might attend, this is a special opportunity to study with a seasoned veteran of deep, internal practice and the broader, modern applications of yoga as social activism.” TJ Burleigh – Teacher and Yoga teacher trainer
Contact mary@maryyoga.com
6th Annual Women’s Summer Solstice Meditation Retreat
With Heidi Bourne & Laurie Cousins
June 18 – 23, 2023
Gather with a group of women for a week-long retreat during the summer solstice, a beautiful and nourishing time of expanded light and long days. Join us as we renew and reclaim our own innate strength to inhabit our lives with confidence, trust, compassion and wisdom.
Enjoy gorgeous accommodations, a swimming pond, and six miles of trails on 650-acres weave through the beauty and solitude of rolling oak hills and open meadows.
Drawing on the perspectives of Buddhist practice, secular mindfulness, and the wisdom of the natural world, we’ll discover our innate capacity to fully open to our lives just as they are.
Supported by extensive periods of silence, our retreat includes meditation throughout the day, mindful movement, small group practice discussions, and daily dharma talks.
Everyone is welcome. The week-long Women’s Summer Solstice Meditation Retreat is suitable for both beginning and seasoned practitioners.
Information & Registration: https://pacificmindfulness.com/6th-annual-womens-summer-solstice-meditation-retreat
Awakening the Heart of Love; an Insight Meditation Retreat for Everyone
with Heidi Bourne & Laurie Cousins
October 22-26, 2023
Drawing on the teachings of the Buddha, our retreat focuses on cultivating the capacity to skillfully navigate our everyday lives with a steady receptive mind and a courageous wise heart. Held in peaceful noble silence throughout the retreat, our practices include foundational and transformative guidance on lovingkindness (metta), compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Each day includes meditation, daily dharma talks, gentle mindful movement, small group practice discussions, along with ample time for swimming in the pond, enjoying a hot tub, taking a hike, and space for relaxation and connection.
A variety of elegantly appointed accommodations are available at Bell Valley Retreat. Whether staying in the Toll House, Barn, Tent Cabins or the Bell Tents, all spaces are designed with attention to aesthetic beauty and connection to the land. Choose your lodging preference with registration.
Our beautifully catered vegetarian meals will be nutritious, varied, and carefully designed to support contemplative retreat practice.
Everyone is welcome. This retreat is suitable for both beginning and seasoned practitioners. We hope you’ll join us!
Contact heidi@pacificmindfulness.com
Past Events
Spring In Harmony Yoga Retreat
With Estee Fletter and Cindy Meiri
March 23-26, 2023
Spring is a significant time of transition, rebirth and regeneration, providing the opportunity to seek harmony and balance within. During this tranquil weekend retreat there will be ample time for self care, relaxation, and renewal. Join Estee Fletter and Cindy Meiri for a relaxing and centering retreat celebrating spring’s awakening in the heart of Anderson Valley.
Practice daily Mindful Vinyasa Yoga with meditation, Yoga Nidra and Restorative Yoga with live sound healing to balance your entire being. Be nourished with delicious, organic healthy meals and sacred time in community. There will be plenty of free time to enjoy optional activities such as hiking to the fresh-water pond, lounging in the hot tub, massage, and local wine tasting.
Details and registration: www.esteeyoga.com/mendocino-march-2023
Cultivating a Joyous Mind in Troubled Times
with Sylvia Boorstein & Heidi Bourne
March 19 – 22, 2023
Cultivating a joyous mind in troubled times requires strength, determination, and clarity. It’s not easy. Drawing on the teachings of the Buddha, we’ll focus on developing the capacity to skillfully navigate our everyday lives, even in the face of difficulty, with loving awareness and appreciative joy born from the steady, receptive mind, and the courageous wise heart.
Held in the peaceful space of noble silence, our practices will include lovingkindness (metta) and mindfulness meditation, the gentle movement practice of qigong, small group practice discussions, daily dharma talks, and time for personal relaxation.
Everyone is welcome to attend this intimate retreat, both beginning and seasoned practitioners.
Details & Registration: info@pacificmindfulness.com or
https://pacificmindfulness.com/cultivating-joyous-mind-troubled-times
Ecotherapy Training Retreat
with Jan Edl Stein
Mar 26-31, 2023
This 5 night/6 day intensive workshop is designed for licensed and pre-licensed therapists and anyone working in the helping professions.
This program is an “intensive” with very experiential learning and time for deep connection with the land. The program will cover principles of ecopsychology and the unique way that we may embrace the world from the ecological perspective. We will explore techniques and various processes of ecotherapy, facilitating a deeper connection with and reciprocity to the natural world, and employing a nature-based approach in working with trauma and the nervous system. We will also address the growing collective anxiety of climate change or “eco-anxiety” and ways to work with this. The program will also include ways of wilderness healing work, thresholds of initiatory processes and a deep solo time on the land.
The course imparts the skills and confidence to lead nature-based healing work both in individual and group work. The learning style is practical, highly experiential and immersive. This workshop will fill you with new ideas, skills, confidence and approaches for your work and will also be very personally transformative.
Contact jan@holosinstitute.net
Spring Rejuvenation Retreat
with Katy Steadman & Janine Fondiller
March 16 – 19, 2023
Join us for 4 days and 3 nights celebrating the Spring Equinox, March 16th – 19th 2023, at Bell Valley Retreat Center in Boonville California.
Our retreat weekend together will include offerings to support your overall health, happiness, and well being. You will be well supported throughout the weekend with optional massages to book, hikes to a nearby pond, soaking in the outdoor hot tub under the stars, and free time to relax and just be. There will be early morning meditation, and Yoga or Pilates classes intentionally crafted for retreat experience, offered 2x a day. Morning practice will be dynamic, and our afternoon practice will be gentler and more restorative. While the classes will be challenging, they will be nourishing, and accessible for all levels. In addition we have an amazing chef to cook healthy meals for us, made with extra love.
Going away on retreat in a beautiful location can bring a sense of belonging and community, and cultivate feelings of joy and gratitude that we all deserve to feel. We hope you can join us.
More information and to register … www.janinelouise.com
The Unshakable Man Men’s Retreat
with Chris Wilson, Dr. Chris Spromberg, and Scotty King
February 9-12, 2023
Unshakable Man Men’s Retreats are an opportunity to connect deeply with yourself, overcome challenges in your life + become the man you want to be.
This is a weekend of alchemy for men who crave connection. This is a place where you can confront and overcome the things that have been holding you back – challenges that are deep in your shadow.
It will help you break through the story in your head and the emotional barriers that keep you stuck or hold you back from your full potential. You will reconnect with your ability to be a powerful open-hearted leader in your life, work, and relationships.
Join experienced men’s work facilitators Chris Wilson, Dr. Chris Spromberg, and Scotty King for this nourishing life reset and transformational retreat for open hearted men!
All human beings who self-identify as male or male socialized nonbinary are welcome to attend this retreat.
If you would like to schedule a 30 min intro call with Chris Wilson click here: https://keap.app/booking/chriswilson/25-min-meetingcall
You’ll return home with:
✓ Confidence to step into discomfort with fierce openness and tenderness.
✓ A new connection with your body so you can work with your emotions
✓ Self-leadership tools to guide yourself openly through challenges
✓ Experience in going deep inside to heal wounds and work with your shadow
✓ A community of men that you can return to for guidance after the retreat
Registration:
- $550 Deposit to hold you spot
- $1,500 Shared glamping tent or room
- $2,500 Private room
- Payment plans are available upon request
www.unshakableman.com/mens-retreats
Other 2023 retreat dates include:
April 6-9, Bell Valley Retreat, Boonville, CA
May 25-28, Basecamp Brotherhood, Paradise Valley, MT
August 24-27 Bell Valley Retreat, Boonville, CA
Dec 7-10 Bell Valley Retreat, Boonville, CA
Contact: team@unshakableman.com or 415-413-0924
Bell Valley Weekend Yoga & Leadership Retreat
With Nicole Cronin on January 20-22, 2023
In this special weekend retreat Nicole will combine her love of yoga, leadership embodiment, and the power of mindfully nourishing your body. During the weekend, there will be silence and there will be movement. There will be group practices and an opportunity to venture off on your own. In addition to all-level, grounded and fluid Vinyasa, Hatha and Slow Flow yoga sessions, you will also explore leadership, and how you can establish and embody foundational practices to develop a more engaging and powerful presence with others.
What will you need to bring with you to this retreat?
No experience in yoga or leadership is needed, only a genuine curiosity about what’s possible in the realm of embodiment and leadership. Many of the principals you will work with, are closely related to the teachings of yoga.
Please bring a journal/notebook and a pen, a yoga mat, warm clothes for gathering outside during meal time, and clothes to practice yoga inside a heated yurt.
In addition to rich programming we will offer delicious meals of freshly prepared vegetables, whole grains, and legumes that will nourish your mind and body. Three meals a day will be served in a family style. Each meal will be vegetarian with plenty of vegan options. Snacks will be available in the kitchen throughout the day as well.
We will be accommodating in Bell Valley’s luxury platform tents, glamping – each tent has two heated twin beds and offers a spacious, light filled, upgrade on the typical camping experience.
The Bell Valley area is surrounded by 6 miles of trails that weave through oak hills and open meadows, a beautiful location to honor both our inner and our outer worlds.
Investment:
Single – $940
Double (per person) – $850
This retreat is limited to 15 students
** Special New Years Flash sale! LOVE2023 to enjoy $200 off – last handful of spots left
Questions?
Please email directly to Guy – guy@themindfulbody.com
See you there!
Hermosas: Women’s Wellness Retreat
October 27-30, 2022 with Heather Alaine
Come rebalance from the bustle of daily life with mindful movement (yoga, strength, dance), nourishing meals, connection with phenomenal women, and the space you need to fully exhale and recenter.
For details & registration:
email heatheralainemeyer@gmail.com
Awakening the Heart of Love
Autumn Metta Meditation Retreat for Everyone
with Heidi Bourne & Heather Lear
Oct 19-23, 2022
Join us for our annual 5 day/4 night Autumn Insight Meditation Retreat.
Drawing on the teachings of the Buddha, we’ll focus on cultivating the capacity to skillfully navigate our everyday lives with loving awareness born from the steady receptive mind, and the courageous wise heart. Settle into the serenity of the natural world as we explore what it means to inhabit our lives with a friendliness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
Our practices will include formal lovingkindness (metta) and mindfulness meditation, the gentle movement practice of qigong, small group practice discussions, time for personal relaxation, daily dharma talks, all within the peace of extensive periods of silence.
Depending on conditions, we’ll have the option of meeting outside at the expansive outdoor amphitheater or in the light-filled open barn for movement, meditation and dharma talks. There will be ample time for swimming in the pond, enjoying a hot tub, taking a hike, and space for relaxation and connection.
Everyone is welcome. This retreat is suitable for both beginning and seasoned practitioners. We hope you’ll join us!
Details & Registration: https://pacificmindfulness.com/awakening-heart-love-autumn-metta-retreat-everyone
DharmaBridge Live Retreat
Contemplative Practice Retreat With Kelly Blaser
November 3-6, 2022
In the presence of timeless dharma wisdom, a sangha to share the path, and your own awakened nature, you will lift yourself out of habit and touch the preciousness of life.
This weekend offers you space to breathe deeply and recommit to all you hold dear.
When you come on a DharmaBridge LIVE retreat, you’ll experience a hand-picked selection of teachings and techniques from the lineages of Buddhism, Śaiva & Śakta Tantra, & modern psychology. You’ll open up the dense structures of mind, shift perspective, and generate compassionate attitudes and actions.
Our practices will emphasize meditation and interactive (“antenna”) listening, but may also include writing inquiry, creativity, breath work, mantra, movement, and asana.
You’ll see how these transformative approaches can weave into daily life, keeping your awareness fresh and your heart clear as you move through a living world.
For details & registration, email kellyblaser@gmail.com https://www.somapsychotherapy.com/dharmabridge
Holos Institute Ecotherapy Training Retreat
With Jan Edl Stein July 7-11, 2022
Come learn about Ecotherapy and deepen your nature-connection skills with Holos Institute director, Jan Edl Stein, MFT.
This 4 night/5 day intensive workshop is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals and anyone sincerely working in the helping professions.
We will explore techniques and various processes of holding a clinical container outdoors, facilitating a deeper connection with the natural world and develop the skills and confidence to lead nature-based healing work. The program is designed for psychotherapists and facilitators of deep learning who are seeking to learn more skills and experience as they move their clinical work outdoors, expand into an ecologically based framework and develop nature-based programs. The learning style is highly experiential and immersive. The workshop will fill you with new ideas, skills and approaches for your work but will also be very personally transformative.
Topics included are:
• Ecotherapy practice basics
• Orienting to landscape for practitioners
• Considerations of personality, culture and personal history for ecotherapy
• Ecotherapy and the nervous system/traumawork
• A model for conducting safe and effective ecotherapy
• Interventions that deepen connection
• Working with liminal states in nature
• Addressing eco-anxiety and environmental grief
• Fostering resilience and reciprocity
Contact jan.edl.stein@gmail.com
Women’s Yoga Retreat
With Rosemary Garrison August 4-7, 2022
We’re changing things up this year at Bell Valley! In response to these tumultuous times, we’re gathering a powerful team of bodyworkers, magic makers and healers to support us in healing and reclaiming joy.
We will gather in the wild, serene landscape of the Anderson Valley to bask in twice daily yoga practice, savor nourishing food and replenishing bodywork, and rest in the sweet energetic support of loving community.
This sacred time and space together will allow for a reconnection to our own center as well as the divine energy that pervades all. Join us!
Contact rosemarygarrison@gmail.com
Earth as Benefactor
Summer Solstice Yoga Retreat
with Mary Paffard
June 19-23, 2022
There is a tremendous sense of possibility that arises when a group of serious yogis and teachers come together for deep practice, quiet and sangha. In this annual retreat, we will once again enjoy nourishing vegetarian food, hikes, hang out at the pond or hot tub, listen to those rooted in the local ecosphere, share with a delightful group of yogis committed to this time together, and rest in the support of the natural world and our practice. Each day there will be long asana sessions – active and passive, along with breath-work, meditation, and a mandala workshop (optional).
”Simplify and slow down in elegance. Rest and reconnect to home”
Gia Bedell
“Mary’s annual summer solstice retreat is truly something I look forward to all year. While there is an abundance of yoga retreats one might attend, this is a special and one of a kind opportunity to study with a seasoned veteran of deep, internal practice and the broader, modern applications of yoga as social activism. The group is a lovely blend of ages and abilities that melds into a kind, generous, group of dedicated and game yogis.”
Traci Joy Burleigh
For details email Mary@maryyoga.com
Gather in Beauty
Yoga and Pilates Retreat with Amy DeLong-Martin
Nov 19-22, 2021
Join Amy DeLong-Martin to “Gather in Beauty” at the 3rd annual Pilates and Wellness Retreat at Bell Valley. In these gorgeous surroundings and comfortable accommodations, we will playfully stretch our body, mind and spirit while enjoying the collective camaraderie that inevitably ensues.
Paul Bogle offers creative and inspirational activities as co-facilitator, complementing Amy’s masterful and engaging movement offerings. Dinnertime caps off the days with delicious and healthy feasts for the senses, eating and sharing together in the historic Toll House.
This retreat includes two Pilates based movement classes per day, guided meditation, mindfulness classes, meals, and accommodations. Contact admpilates@gmail.com for more info or to register!