Join us for our first Moving Forward Retreat
at Hope Springs Institute in southwest Ohio, July 4 - 7 2024
In this era of unpredictability, chaos, violence, and loss, as we contend with white supremacist culture, toxic capitalism, grind culture, imperialism, patriarchy and the attempted (and sometimes successful) stripping of our rights, our bodies absorb shock after shock on our behalf. How might we metabolize all we’ve taken in? The Moving Forward Retreat provides the container within which we can identify and honor the constriction, the survival patterns, and the shapes we’ve developed to keep us alive and begin to gently move through them to access a version of ourselves that feels a little more free. As we explore balance, build strength, get playful, and tap into our inherent dignity, we expand our capacity to stay with and stay in the work of our collective liberation.
Because the body keeps far more than just the score.
As Tricia Hersey, founder of the Nap Ministry, writes: “Our bodies are a site of liberation.”
This is a practice born out of the fact that everything around us changes, that circumstances might not ever be ideal, that things are not guaranteed to get easier. This is a practice for us to engage with the world AS IS, building ourselves up individually and collectively to meet the reality of these times. This is a practice that helps us stay open to what's possible moving forward. Whether you arrive with a very personal purpose or are driven by the practitioner in you, join us. Learn how to co-harmonize your body with other bodies, inviting in a greater sense of togetherness.
For the burned out, for the parents, and caregivers, for the uninspired practitioners, for the first responders, the teachers, for therapists, for healthcare workers, for the curious, for the hopeful, for the organizers. For those who are deep in the work of healing. This practice is for us.
You’ll be guided by Cassandra Sirl, birth/death/body worker, Jenny King, professor and co-director of the Center for Trauma and Adversity at Case Western Reserve University, and Hope Hamling, somonaut and founder and teacher at Abide Yoga and Abide West in Cleveland, OH.
For four days and three nights, we’ll gather on the magical land of Hope Springs Institute, atop Peach Mountain in Peebles, OH to be nourished by the land, by the staff of HSI, by our practices, and by each other. Come and be fed, come and rest, come and take your time with the practices as we gather far away from the city and all of its holiday noise. Come and look at the stars, regain your sense of wonder, find kinship with each other.
The Basics
Arrive on July 4th between 2 - 5 PM, first meal is dinner
Depart on July 7th after lunch
Sliding scale for single room: $1527 / $1627 / $1727
Sliding scale for double occupancy: $1027 / $1127 / $1227
Flexible payment plans are available.
There is one full scholarship space available, please inquire by sending an email to hope.abideyoga@gmail.com.
All meals, snacks, tea, twice daily Moving Forward practice sessions, and lodging are included in the price.
Hot tub, hammocks, hiking trails, opportunities for deep rest, fires, Spirit House time, and more await us!
Praise for the Moving Forward Immersion:
“There is something powerful about de-armoring in community.”
“I was cranky and against fun, our experiences helped me to find true unadulterated joy by moving my body and feeling the jiggle. I couldn’t run away from the fun.”
“I have a real relationship with my body! I see her and feel her and love her. Because I love her so much I want to treat her kindly and help her build muscle. You have helped breathe life into me, physically and metaphorically. I’m no longer afraid.”
“Moving forward is really helping me do things that give me anxiety - like go to the grocery store - because I’m like, ‘Welp, I might feel activated, frustrated, totally off balance - but fuck it! I’m going to live through it!’”
“This can get better, or at least a whole lot less worse.”
“Nothing is permanent. Movement is constant and will change us.”