Soothe Our SOULstice
Winter Self-Care Retreat
Knoxville, MD
Friday, December 20—Monday, December 23, 2024
Slow Down and Rest
As we celebrate the winter solstice, immerse yourself in a journey of self-care, authentic connection, and deep rest, nestled among the serene beauty of nature in Harper’s Ferry.
Nourish & Recharge
Take time to listen to what your body, mind, heart, and spirit really need right now. Give yourself the loving care you deserve: rest, healthy nourishment, safe connection, and fun.
Renew your Life Force
Soothe your nervous system, reconnect with your power and clarity. Envision your path forward, creating a future better than your past. Give yourself and your loved ones the gift of a happy, healthy self.
SOOTHE OUR SELVES
TIME FOR SELF-CARE, TOGETHER.
As nature winds down and prepares for winter, let’s wind down this year with time to lovingly care for ourselves. Slowing down, resting, nourishing and tending to our whole selves—body, mind, and spirit—is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and each other.
BODY. MIND.
HEART. SPIRIT.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR WHOLE SELF.
Engage in twice daily yoga practices to help restore calm, balance, and space in your body and mind.
Somatic Yoga, to reset your nervous system, realign your musculoskeletal system, and feel really grounded, peaceful and calm.
Restorative Yoga classes focus on relaxation, rest, and inner space to support healthy posture, boost healing and recovery, and leave you feeling whole, expanded and ready to receive the intuitive guidance of your wise spirit.
Breathwork helps to release stored emotions, enhance recovery, and receive inspiration from your deep self.
Meditation can give you access to your mind’s tremendous power to support you in your journey.
Healthy meals will nourish your body and delight your palette.
Time outside on the land can bring you back to what really matters: this moment.
Group activities like the Solstice Bonfire and Cacao Ceremony remind you of your belonging to this human family and this world.
Space to rest, in a world that hurries, is one of the greatest gifts you can possibly give yourself.
SLOW DOWN
RECONNECT WITH YOUR LIFE FORCE.
When you take the time and space to connect with your inner being and listen to its messages, you can open new pathways to healing, relating, and creative self-expression. Give yourself this time to slow down and listen; get curious about what wants to emerge as you deeply listen.
WINTER SOLSTICE
REMEMBER THE LIGHT
In celebration of the winter solstice we will gather by the fire to sing songs and drink warm drinks. Our ancestors relied on ritual to get through the long, dark winter, and modern humans can return to ritual to get us through this time.
As a comm-unity, we will dream ourselves into a remembrance of the healing power of music, rhythm, song, and connection.
Sacred Fire gives us a chance to burn away and clear ourselves of dense energies that we pick up in daily life. As the warmth and connection nourishes us, we remember our place in the wheel of life, the cycles of the seasons, the rhythm of stillness and action.
GROUP SYNERGY + MAGIC
SYNCHRONIZE WITH THE FIELD.
What happens when a group of conscious humans comes together to practice, breathe, grow and learn? Everything happens!
Get ready to remember that you deeply belong, you are seen, heard, welcomed, wanted, and you matter.
Expect authentic moments of connection, creativity, relating from the heart, laughter, and a remembering of your deepest gifts, talents and abilities.
Our Gift Economy Model
A Revolutionary Approach to Reciprocal Exchange
We trust in the power of your heartfelt contributions to support our Guides and the continuation of their vital work in the world.
Why Choose a Gift Economy?
Compassion and Generosity
The gift economy fosters a culture of giving and receiving, where each contribution is an act of love and support. It allows you to offer what you can, based on your personal circumstances and the value you’ve received.
Sustainability
Your donations directly support our teachers, enabling them to continue their life-changing work and reach more people. This sustainable model ensures that we can keep offering these retreats and expand our community of healing and growth.
A Better Future
By participating in a gift economy, you are contributing to a shift towards a more compassionate and interconnected world. Your generosity helps build a future where support and kindness are the cornerstones of our interactions.
In alignment with the values of compassion and generosity, we are proud to implement a gift economy as the foundation of our financial exchange for the retreat.
This means there is no set fee to participate beyond the hard costs to cover expenses for the retreat to happen. Instead, we trust in the power of your heartfelt contributions to support our facilitators and the continuation of their vital work.
3-Night All-Inclusive Self-Care Retreat
Treat yourself to an incredible, yet affordable, holistic health experience within the sacred container of our living community ecosystem.
Here’s what’s included in your stay.
Includes all lodging, meals, classes and scheduled activities!
Community Meals
Self-serve breakfast items provided.
Delicious plant-based lunch and dinner prepared fresh daily by Beth, the retreat owner.
Lodging
Single, double, triple and quadruple occupancy rooms with single beds. Shared bathrooms.
Daily Yoga & Meditation Classes
Be guided twice daily through yoga and meditation classes with Lorien as a core part of the retreat.
Soundbath, Cacao Ceremony, & Drum Circle
Enjoy a range of offerings to access different states of body and mind in our group time. A relaxing sound bath will soothe your body with healing vibrations. Cacao Ceremony opens the heart and makes space to receive wisdom from our deeper knowing. The drum circle will bring us into synch with one another and the earth, just as our ancestors once did.
Outdoor Activities
You can feel free to walk the land around the retreat center and explore the nature on the mountain. Or, a short drive to a parking lot gives you access to a sweet, long, gentle walk by the canal. For more vigorous excercise, you can drive to another spot to hike the Appalachian trail.
Nightly Community Fire, Solstice Bonfire
Weather permitting, fires will be offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to gather, sing, make music, and celebrate LOVE and LAUGHTER. Our Winter Solstice Bonfire on Saturday will be a time to remember this past year, burn away anything we no longer need, and and call in the better future we want to create in 2025 and beyond.
YOUR TOTAL SUGGESTED DONATION
$400-$700
Food, Lodging, Incidentals, Drum Circle, Supplies
HARD COSTS- These are the actual out of pocket expenses required to host the immersion. Everything you will partake in during the event, including the drum circle, must be paid regardless. The total event expenses are $3,000, and we aim to have 10 attendees to cover these expenses.
Program Development, Administration, Tuition
PEOPLE COSTS- This program requires a great deal of time, skills, energy, and effort to produce. Preparation, on-site facilitation, and post-event requirements are significant. Your contribution at the end of the event, will pay Lorien for her tremendous efforts and skills to bring this beautiful event to the community.
PAYMENT PLAN
$150 Deposit
$150 by December 13
$100-400 at the end of the Retreat
You are required to complete an application, and schedule a call with Lorien to ensure this retreat is a good fit.
Once approved, a $150 non-refundable deposit is due to hold your space.
Another $150 is due one week prior to the start date to help cover our expenses.
At the end of the retreat, you will be invited to offer a sliding scale gift to pay for the remainder of the program. The invitation is to provide payment that is a stretch but not a burden. This payment will go directly to Lorien for her efforts to produce and facilitate all the beautiful details.
Individualized payment options are available on request.
Lunch & Dinner
Delicious plant-based lunch and dinner prepared fresh daily by Beth, the retreat owner.
Yoga & Meditation
You’ll have the option to participate in one or both of the yoga & meditation sessions offered by Lorien that day.
Sound Bath, Cacao Ceremony, Drum Circle & Solstice Bonfire
You’ll have the opportunity to participate in a range of offerings during the retreat.
Nightly Community Fire
Weather permitting, fires will be offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to gather, sing, make music, and celebrate LOVE and LAUGHTER.
Enhance Your Experience
ADDITIONAL SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES
Paid Direct to Service Provider – not included.
Outdoor Gear Rental
Local bike rental services are available in Harper’s Ferry.
If you are interested in rafting/kayaking, you’ll need to organize with a local river guiding service, or if you are experienced and have gear, you know what to do!
Meet Your Guide
LORIEN NEMEC
Lorien loves connecting humans with nature, each other, and themselves. In this space of conscious connection, we can move forward into a future better than our past.
Having taught yoga in the Baltimore area since 2005, Lorien is especially attuned to humanity’s core needs for safety, belonging, and connection. She carries a deep belief in the potential we have to grow and evolve through conscious practices that address our whole selves: body-mind-heart-spirit.
She invites you to think in terms of deep time and to learn how to walk as a good ancestor on behalf of the generations who are coming. And she believes you have the power within you to create the life you really want, one breath, one stretch, one step at at time.
Please apply for the retreat and then we’ll book a call.
Take a deep breath
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The Yoga Room
Rest
Blue Mountain Retreat Center
Nature calls you
