June
Work Exchange
2025 Hollyhock Holiday
INTERNAL HOLIDAY PAGE Reconnect to yourself and nature in our spectacular West Coast island setting. Take a breath of fresh air outside of the city, and enjoy the serenity and beauty of our local landscape. Our holiday packages include: Accommodations A variety of accommodations are located throughout our lush campus, ranging in price to suit […]
From Age-ing to Sage-ing®: Deepening the Sage Within
With Annie Klein
A great gift of our older years is the potential for deepening wisdom and expanding possibilities. As more and more of us are living longer, we want these extra years to be vibrant, inspiring and fulfilling. This program will help you discover what gives your life meaning as you age. An intimate gathering where we […]
Mindful Self-Compassion
With Susie Fairchild and Martin Thomson-Jones, PhD
Application is required before registering. You may apply here. This 5-day residential program is an intensive form of the internationally recognized, eight-session Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training developed by Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff. It is open to laypeople and professionals alike. Participants will learn to: understand the science of self-compassion, practice self-compassion in daily life, […]
Contemplative Mind, Spontaneous Brush: Ink, Colour and Japanese Washi Papers
With Heather Midori Yamada
Relax body, breath and mind with short guided meditations and simple perceptual exercises. Follow brushwork demonstrations using Japanese sumi ink, watercolour and acrylic on various Japanese washi papers (provided). Inspired by the natural beauty of Cortes Island, we will explore mixed media approaches of layering, tearing and collaging. Deep intuitive and directed studies lead to […]
Skymind: Sacred Land, Sacred View
With Lopöns Pieter Oosthuizen and Charlotte Rotterdam
"Anyone who is interested in learning how to practice open awareness has come to the right place." -Skymind Participant Immerse yourself in the profound nature of mind teachings of Buddhism, with transformational practices inspired by the great 11th century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön. Relaxing your body onto the earth, gazing into the vast expanse of […]
Unwind: Yamuna® Body Rolling & Pilates Essentials
With Namchi Bazar
Release pain and restrictions for a total body awakening and rejuvenation. Explore two complementary modalities to support your journey of self-discovery and self-healing. Let go of unproductive holding patterns as you develop effective body-wellness routines that are easy to incorporate into your home practice. Focus on foundational movements that help you exercise without pain and […]
Coastal Foraging Adventure
With Robin Kort
Forage for wild food and cook with professional forager, cookbook author and sommelier Chef Robin Kort of Swallow Tail Culinary Adventures. Connect to the food of the coastal ecosystem on Cortes Island from forest to sea. Foraging at the sea tunes your senses to the ebb and flow of the tides, teaching us to time […]
The Sovereign Soul: Relating in a Rapidly Changing World
With Dené Logan
The relationship structures that have existed for centuries are being challenged in ways they never have before. We are beginning to question the origin points of survival strategies rooted in codependency, people-pleasing, and whether or not longevity is the best marker for what constitutes relational success. While this questioning can lead to a deep sense […]
Cultivating Wellbeing for Health Professionals (2026)
With Andrea Grabovac, MD, FRCPC and Erin Burrell, MD, FRCPC
Replenish Yourself and Gain Tools for Living with Intention Join us for this mindfulness-based meditation retreat for health professionals and partners. Come away to the serene shores of Cortes Island to be replenished, restored, and equipped with tools to help navigate life in modern healthcare. This retreat emphasizes connection as key to vitality, and fosters […]
Reclaiming the Feminine Elements
With Andrea Menard
Discover the feminine faces of the 4 Sacred Elements that dwell within you. Have you met your own version of Earth Woman, Wind Womxn, Water Woman, or Fire Womxn yet? You are the medicine wheel that contains these four sacred Elementals. In this western world that has undermined the Sacred Feminine, unwind the wounds inflicted […]
Dance of Connection
With Bettina Rothe
Come home to yourself, find connection and nourishment in community, and with the land. Together we take refuge in our primary language "rhythm", and find belonging in the dance. Expand your repertoire of how you can connect with others on the dance floor and in life. Release old patterns of relating that no longer serve […]
Awaken Your Senses to Creativity
With Zebith Thalden
Allow the natural landscapes of woodland, garden, and marine habitat be the location of your creative inspiration. We will spend time mindfully witnessing to expand the senses. From this awareness, we will then sketch both the profound and uniquely subtle elements of the environment. We will transform our observations into the visual, translating sound into […]
Groundwork: Breaking the Cycle of Overwhelm
With Amrita Ahuja and Tommaso Biasiolo
If you feel like life has become a constant cycle of reacting, pushing, and catching up — you’re not alone. Most of us are running on systems that keep us overloaded and exhausted. Surrounded by the beauty of Cortes Island, reset your patterns and restore your focus. Groundwork integrates mindfulness with a simple system for […]
We Are Elemental: Embodying Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Ether
With Sebene Selassie
You are nature. Your bones are earth. Your blood is water. Your warmth is fire. Your breath is air. And the mystery that animates it all? That's ether (also called spirit or space). Various elements are honored across countless traditions—from ancient Egypt and Greece to India and China to Indigenous cultures throughout Africa, the Americas, […]
Embodied Practices for Collective Thriving
With Roula Said, Julia Aplin, Shannon Litzenberger and Andrea Nann
In this time of intersecting social, political, and planetary crises, how do we embrace and honour all that is arising in us as bodies? What if we listen closely to what we feel in our hearts, what we know in our bones? Can we resonate care and connection across our differences, tuning into our sense […]
Singing in the Vocal River
With Rhiannon
Hear your own song and learn new ones as you find your place in the world of music and invention. Co-create vocal magic in a safe, dynamic circle of singers, delving into the possibilities of spontaneous composition and the language of storytelling. Working alone, in pairs, and in ensemble, meld intuition and invention with skill […]
Freedom Begins with Letting Go
With Chelene Knight
Join award-winning writer and creative practitioner Chelene Knight for a transformative journey into letting go and deepening your understanding of self. Through emotionally rich and immersive activities, such as letter writing, discovering personal connections in meaningful objects, guided meditations, and discussions on abstract ideas like love, loss, and grief explored through literary greats such as […]