At this in-city weekend retreat, we will embrace the ways of nature to reconnect with ourselves and our world. Through the lens of yoga, we’ll explore examples offered by Mother Nature about our innate being and belonging. Participants will learn and experience ways to customize a personal home yoga practice. We will look to plants, animals, and elements for cues to reorient ourselves towards the freshness of presence. As we prioritize self-care, we will plant seeds to cultivate growing harmony in our relationships and communities. Participants will leave with a sense of how self-referencing and co-empowering helps us and other beings to be happy and thrive, so that we can make positive contributions every single day.
Dunn Gardens covers 18 acres of beautiful garden spaces with mature trees, grasses, and flowers. Attendance will be limited to 20 participants. We will split into smaller groups of five, per Washington State’s Safe Start Phase 2 COVID-19 recommendation. Each group of five will progress through four different outdoor workshops, led by four different facilitators, during the course of the weekend — two workshops per day.
The workshops are:
✓ Being with Yoga — Michelle Quigley Pearson
✓ Being with Plants — Dr. Brooke Sullivan
✓ Being with Animals — Neave Karger
✓ Being with Elements — Misa Bowman
If Washington State progresses to Phase-3, attendance will increase staying within safe start limits.
Contact Michelle with any questions you may have.
Dates: September 12-13, 2020
Cost: $150–$300
Location: Dunn Gardens, 13533 Northshire Road NW, Seattle, WA 98177
About the instructors: Misa Bowman, Neave Karger, Michelle Quigley Pearson, and Brooke Sullivan, Ph.D
Misa Bowman grew up New Orleans. After graduating with a BA in Communication Disorders from Louisiana State University, her interests led her to Japan where she lived for 3 years teaching English. While in Japan, she says she met her “first real teacher,” Mr. Oyama, a Shiatsu practitioner very familiar with the way energy works in the body and spirit. She learned about the Chinese 5 element system and how to sense energy in people. Now trained in advanced energy work and face reading, Misa helps people clear energy in themselves and spaces. She will show us ways to hold sacred space for ourselves, so that we can intentionally clear space and time for our own self-care practices, so that we are well resourced to connect with others and live our best lives. Learn more about Misa’s work at Kannon Clarity.
Neave’s offerings are created from listening to the animals. She is an urban shaman and animal communicator. Throughout her life, nature and the animals have tenderly guided her in a compassionate, safe, accepting space. She is passionate about paying it forward through being a hostess of sacred space for interspecies dialogue. Animals are here to teach us to walk in harmony and balance. Neave invites us to hear whispers of wisdom from the natural world, and the animals, and discover the universal love in nature. You will strengthen your intuitive muscle and learn how to be open and receptive to receiving messages. Animals and nature have so much to share if you are willing to listen. Learn more about Neave’s work at HeartSong Communication.
Michelle combines massage and therapeutic yoga to help people heal and and stay healthy. She loves dance, music, and nature. She draws on decades of consistent yoga studies with dedicated teachers, who have helped her to learn both the rules, and when to bend them. She is a devoted practitioner, always curious, learning, and clarifying her understanding of the role of yoga plays in one’s life. Her intention for this retreat is to dive deeper into the priceless jewels of yoga’s roots to help make them real for us. Participants will learn self-care tools that support your health at all levels. Learn more about Michelle’s work at Body and Breath Works.
Brooke is a lecturer in the UW Department of Landscape Architecture and Principal of Back To Nature Design. Her research is focused on conservation and restoration of ecological systems and resources through utilizing biophilic and resilient design strategies. Her intention for this retreat is to provide some tools for how nature can help eliminate suffering, remove obstacles, and reconnect people to their sacred relationship to the land. In her session, Brooke will guide us on an exploration of how trees and other plants serve as a source for developing a sacred and lasting connection to the land and to human wellbeing.