Connect with NATURE.
Connect with OTHERS.
Reconnect with SELF.
Our retreats offer you the opportunity to unplug from the demands, expectations, obligations, and general stressors that have, perhaps, become a part of your norm. Maybe you have great boundaries with very little stress, and just want a guided experience in the outdoors. You are welcome here, too.
What you can expect:
While immersed in one of our retreats, you will be invited to experience the natural world through camping or glamping (depending on the retreat you choose), Mindful Outdoor Experiences, hikes, freetime for exploring and sauntering, and other outdoor recreation activities. You will also be provided with opportunities for meditation instruction, practice with healthy and intuitive eating, liberation from your email and smartphone, interaction and connection with fellow guys, and plenty of rest and relaxation.
One of the markers for our retreats is the release from obligation. You are invited to take the time and space offered to you for connecting with others and reconnecting with yourself. Every activity is an invitation, rather than an obligation or expectation. There are no itineraries, just offerings.
We provide:
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Food for meals and snacks for the duration of the retreat. If you have questions or concerns, please ask before signing up.
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Drinking water
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Fire-making equipment
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First Aid
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Knowledge of the wilderness you will be in, and the indigenous people who were there before us.
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Phones/radios for communicating in case of emergency
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Bear canisters to store food while we're sleeping
Scroll to the bottom of the page to see what you will need to bring.
Why in nature, and not a luxury suite?
That's a great question, and a fair one. The modern world is plentiful with opportunities for cruises, high-energy excursions, and pampered spa packages. What we've grown distant from, is the simplicity and medicine that the natural world offers. Yes, you read that correctly, medicine. We'll explain later on this page. By spending time in nature, not only are you taking care of yourself, you are reconnecting with that old distant memory of a time when you didn't need to fill every minute of your existence with something to do, in order to find meaning - that time when you were able to slow down, and actually experience your life, rather than get through it. Here, there is no one judging, evaluating, or depending on you. Though there will be designated times for offerings, you will have no time-crunch or consequence for missing a deadline. Just be here.
Nature as medicine? What?
The natural world, or more than human world, as it is affectionately referred in the Mindful Outdoor Leadership training with Kripalu, is filled with healing properties. From unadulterated oxygen produced by the trees, to medicinal herbs and teas, to the restored feeling of connection. Research in Japan has shown that being in the forest for 45 minutes can boost our Natural Killer Cells for as long as two weeks. Natural Killer Cells are lymphocytes (white blood cells) in the innate immune system that are associated with killing virus-infected cells.
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he is not the same man." - Heraclitus