Programs
Social Venture Institute – Virtual 2025
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute and Vanessa Richards
Together: A Gathering for Facilitators (Vancouver)
With Khari Wendell McClelland, SFU Continuing Studies and Hollyhock Leadership Institute
Skillful facilitation has the capacity to transform spaces and communities. There's a special kind of power that is felt when people come together in circle, to speak truth, and to practice better ways of being in dialogue. Building on the success of its inaugural offering, Hollyhock Leadership Institute, in partnership with the SFU Wosk Centre […]
Social Venture Institute – Sea to Sky 2025
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
Partnering with Compassionate Spirits: An Introduction to Your Medicine Council
With Julie Kramer
For millennia, people worldwide have used singing, dancing, drumming, whistling and rattling to generate natural trance states in order to journey into the invisible realms and form alliances with benevolent helping spirits. Whether we’re aware of them or not, we all have compassionate helping spirits who are devoted to our well-being, potentiation, and evolution. The […]
Helping the Helpers: Social Justice, Restoration and Hope for Those Who Give
With Sarah Delroy and Zahura Ahmed
Restoration for those who generously give: Rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit through somatic exercises and nature connection practices. As generous souls, we often carry the weight of the world’s suffering, grappling with how to engage in the right ways without becoming overwhelmed. The desire to make a difference can feel urgent, even when we’re […]
Collective Reset: A Leadership Retreat
With Janet Moore and Adrian Sinclair
Join a group of leaders in social, political, environmental, and educational impact organizations for a 5-day retreat. We are co-imagining what it means to collectively reset our nervous systems and meet others building businesses and fostering movements in the systems-change sector. The purpose is simple: engaging fully with our own personal/embodied “system” and resetting and recharging […]
Watercolour and the Art of Seeing
With David McEown
Explore watercolour’s magical flowing spontaneity and essential techniques as you paint directly from nature. Enhance your perception, way of “seeing”, and connectedness to the earth with this travel-friendly medium. Enjoy a dynamic watercolour demonstration; exploring paint as a form of meditation and play. Uncover the secret hydrodynamics of watercolour paint and the brush work manipulation […]
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 […]
Sketch by Sketch: connecting with the world through drawing
With Emma FitzGerald
Learn to sketch without fear of making mistakes! Join celebrated author/illustrator, Emma FitzGerald as she leads participants through a series of exercises that build confidence and improves observation skills, while allowing for the happy accidents that make a drawing that speaks from the heart. Using pen and watercolour paint, and working both together and independently […]
Write from Your Heart
With Susan Musgrave
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional” - attributed to the Dalai Lama. It is hard work, when we are grieving, not to suffer; suffering — personal and universal — has become a condition of how we live. Writing, especially poetry, fiction, journaling and memoir, has always been a place where we can count on being […]
A Financial Therapy Retreat with Bari Tessler and Danielle Cohen
With Bari Tessler and Danielle Cohen
Money is far more than numbers in accounts or symbols of status—it's one of our most intimate daily companions. For some of us, it's a constant whisper in our minds; for others, it lingers in the background until suddenly demanding our attention. It's there as we pause before initiating a delicate money conversation with a […]
The Heart of Communicating
With Farah Nazarali
The Heart of Communicating masterfully weaves together polyvagal theory, conflict resolution, nonviolent communication, yogic practices and Eastern wisdom. This is an innovative, experiential and holistic course in a new way of communicating and relating using somatic intelligence as the foundation for how we engage and interact with others. Explore the deeper layers of communication- our […]
Climate Readers' Retreat with Guest Author John Vaillant
With John Vaillant, Zoe Grams and Ian Gill
Our world needs scalable, systemic change, and now. But most of us don’t have the time and space in our daily lives to deeply reflect on what our contribution to solving the climate crisis might be. The Climate Readers’ Retreat is an opportunity for people with a passion for climate and democracy to work through […]
Peace in Action: Transform Overwhelm into Focus, Clarity, and High Performance
With Amrita Ahuja
Do you need to get a lot done but don’t want all the stress? Read on. We have a problem - our hustle-and-grind culture pushes professionals with demanding schedules and goals to get things done but leaves them feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and burnt out. Groundwork shows you another way. In this transformative retreat, you’ll learn […]
Writing The Great Turning: Climate Writing
With Jess Serrante and Zoe Young
Discover your path to climate action with creative writing and deep emotional learning. The climate crisis affects all of us, but showing up to this fight will mean healing ourselves as much as it means healing the planet. Creative writing is a powerful tool for looking our grief in the face while allowing us to […]
Finding Clarity & Joy in Times of Change: A Life Balance Retreat
With Celeste Young
How well we navigate changes and transitions has a direct impact on the degree of well-being, meaning, and satisfaction we experience in our daily lives. If you’re considering a big change, find yourself in the midst of one now, or are still feeling the effects of past changes, this unique retreat offers you the personal […]
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 […]
Deepening Tranquility and Insight: A Silent Meditation Retreat
With Celeste Young
During this silent meditation retreat, we will focus on practices that calm the mind and awaken the heart to support the deepening of insight and inner freedom. “One can’t gain profound insight without profound calm.” -Ayya Khema A silent meditation retreat offers us the unique conditions to allow the mind and heart to settle more […]
Resonance: A Deep Listening, Somatic Retreat
With Charlie Gates and Kiko Pace
Join Charlie and Kiko for an offering of Deep Listening and feeling as we gather in the belly of Spring on Cortes Island. From sound baths, reflective journaling, meditative movement practices, and Somatic Dreaming® - we venture to explore and expand our relationship to ways of listening, receiving, and generating creative awe. During our time […]
Activate: Digital Leadership 2025
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute and Khari Wendell McClelland
Places, Sounds, Portals, Worlds: A Soundscape Ecology Immersion
With Rebecca Bruton and Edzi’u
Open new portals to creativity and collaboration amidst the planetary spheres of sound, music, and landscape. In this interdisciplinary eco-arts residency, participants will be introduced to conceptual ideas about collaborating ethically with landscapes and soundscapes, and learn a variety of approaches for generating sound, music, text, and performance compositions with/in the local Cortes Island surroundings. […]
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 […]
Love Actually: Learning to Balance Power and Love
With Deepa Narayan, Eric Mulholland and Peggy Taylor
Hollyhock’s core purpose, since its origin, has been inner transformation for outer change in community with others. A place for body, mind and spirit renewal. This workshop draws from mystics, philosophers, neuroscience, psychology and community arts practices to explore the ideas of power and love as the foundational drives of human beings. Power without love […]
Mindful Self-Compassion
With Megan Prager 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, […]
Qi Medicine: A Silent Qigong and Tea Ceremony Retreat
With Stephanie Nosco and Catherine (Cat) Reynolds
Experience the medicine of qigong, tea, and nature on this transformative inner journey back to yourself. Join Qigong teacher, author, and psychotherapist Stephanie Nosco, alongside tea ceremonialist Catherine Reynolds, for this special silent retreat that will explore the art of Qigong and the mindful practice of tea ceremony. We will practice in social silence, encouraging […]
Unwind: Yamuna Body Rolling & Essential Somatics
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 […]
Wild Soma Being and Becoming: Embodied Practices for Collective Thriving
With Andrea Nann, Julia Aplin, Roula Said and Shannon Litzenberger
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 […]
Raise Your Vibe With Reiki: Levels 1 & 2
With Fleur Choy
Awaken your healing powers and expose your light to the world. If you have felt sensitive your entire life and feel ready to fully embrace your gifts, or if you are already a healing practitioner and are seeking to diversify and establish yourself as a multidimensional healer, this training is for you. We also welcome […]
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 and watercolour 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 personal […]
Shakti is Nature: How to Listen for the Divine Mother
With Raja Choudhury
One of the key teachings of Sri Vidya Tantra or Shaktism is that the Divine Mother, in whose womb we exist and who acts through us, speaks to us all the time, whispering in our ears through plants, animals, the water, the air and through all the people we meet. It is we who have forgotten […]
Dancing from the Inside Out
With Margie Gillis
Move into your body’s experiential wisdom and reveal the soul in motion. Refine your sensitivity to the connection between thought, feeling, spirit and body as you listen in to your body’s inner wisdom, impulses, conversations and emotions. Becoming sensitive to and engaging with this inner life provides information both for expanding well-being, as well as […]
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 […]
Pwātamowin - the act of dreaming - A Yogic retreat
With Malina Dawn
Pwātamowin is a Cree word meaning “the act of dreaming.” But this is not the kind of dreaming you do when you sleep; it is akin to catching visions. This planet needs more healed people and a big part of that process is us being able to catch a beautiful and powerful healing vision for […]
2025 Canadian Psychedelic Summit
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute and Kim Haxton
Register for the 2025 Canadian Psychedelic Summit! What to Expect Led by facilitator and ceremonial practitioner Kim Haxton, our time together will center the embodied knowledge of Indigenous peoples, creating space for ceremony, storytelling, and connection with ourselves, one another, and the natural world. With these foundations in place, we will lean into tough conversations […]
