A L A C A R T E
Our a la carte services are offered by hand-selected services providers, who will make themselves available for one-on-one work for a window of time each day during the retreat. A sign-up sheet with these individuals' offerings and pricing structure will be made available to attendees via email in the weeks before the retreat, as well as on-site.
Self-Mastery Education for a Kinder World
A 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Organization
S C H E D U L E
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Friday
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EST
The Nature of Your Nature: Opening Ceremony & Keynote – Denise O'Dunn & Helen Blaaker
Join us as we open the weekend’s activities with a beautiful ceremony designed to bring us into the present moment. We’ll set the intention for what we wish to get out of the weekend, and what we wish to connect with within ourselves. We’ll also allow time for sharing logistical details to help you get the most from the retreat. If you're new to Ayurveda, this is your doorway in, with foundational information that will serve you well for life.
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7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
Virtual Concert: Performance by Penn Johnson
Penn Johnson’s music is fuel for the great awakening. His debut single, “Burn a Little Sage,” was a semi-finalist in the worldwide 2018 Music City Star Song Competition. His recently released second EP, “Tampa Sessions 2 (Live),” is a collection of self-reflective medicine songs. Penn sees his music as mantras to himself — reminders to stay connected to the earth and to walk with spirit through life.
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Saturday
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EST
An Ayurvedic Day: Health & Happiness the Yogi Way – Jill Douglas
If you love yoga, you probably already know how it paves the way to knowing yourself better, trusting yourself more, and feeling deeply at home in your body and your life. Ayurveda is Yoga’s sister science of natural living, self-care, health, and wellness. If Yoga is the path to self-realization, Ayurveda is the path caring for your realized self. Join Jill for an informative and experiential workshop about Ayurveda and how to live like a yogi. In this workshop, you’ll learn what Ayurveda is; what it means to follow the rhythm of the day; the three energies or Doshas; the 3 causes of disease, according to Ayurveda; how energy moves through a 24-hour cycle; and how to live in alignment with the natural flow of time.
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11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST
Edible Yoga: Food as Medicine & Stages of Digestion – Laura Aleksandra Pravs
Every single being and/or thing in this universe can be viewed as either a medicine or a poison for your personal ecosystem's health. Discover how to mindfully select appropriate medicine for yourself according to Ayurvedic principles, and how and why digestion truly is the root of all health and disease.
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​1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST
Break for Lunch
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2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST
Becoming Picasso – Maria Schaedler-Luera
The more we know, the more our capacity to know grows. Understanding, knowing by experience and experimenting expand our capacity to apprehend, to learn, and bring us face to face with that which we were not even seeking. “I don’t seek: I find!” said Picasso. We are doing the same when we become our lives’ protagonists; we dedicate ourselves to seeing what we are looking at, to listening to what we are hearing, to feeling what we touch, to writing what we think. We are all Picassos, each to our own degree, and in our own way. Through a series of exercises, inspired by theater, Ayurvedic psychology, and the Yoga Sutras, we will explore the thoughts that think they are facts and that have the most influence in our behaviors. Take an inventory of your consciousness — examine your intelligence, outer mind, senses, and ego. Be in the present moment, break the habitual cycle of thinking, and step into the space of infinite possibilities.
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4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST
Spirituality & Cooking – Donna Serpe & Helen Blaaker
We all know the phrase, “you are what you eat.” But we usually think of the physical effects of food on our health without considering the more subtle aspects of how our thoughts and emotions are affected by food. Throughout history, our food choices, including the way food is prepared, what and how we eat, and our relationship to food have had a profound influence on our lives. Food influences our mental, spiritual, and physical well-being, and it influences the societies in which we live. Join us and learn how food choices and food preparation affect our emotions, integrity, decisions, stress, tolerance, contentment, and health.
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Sunday
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. EST
Vedic Astrology – Laura Aleksandra Pravs
​Have you ever felt that your western sun sign is a bit limiting, or (yikes!), perhaps seemingly all together inaccurate, in terms of describing who you really are? Come and meet your lagna, the moment at which your soul and its new life on earth become one, and learn both how and why you, your life and your karma, are as they are and express as they do according to sidereal mathematics and Vedic astrology.
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11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EST
Wheel of Life – Cynthia Gomez & Helen Blaaker
Understanding how the different parts of our lives contribute to our balance or imbalance requires taking stock. In this interactive session, participants will learn how to evaluate where they may be taking on too much or too little, or putting too much or too little focus, and how that impacts the rest of their lives, to create a more balanced experience for themselves.
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12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Break for Lunch
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1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST
New Moon Ceremony
The new moon presents a powerful time and opportunity to set new intentions. Maria will guide us through a beautiful new moon ceremony designed to help you center yourself and ready to move forward in life with purpose and intention.
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3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST
Ayurvedic Skincare – Helen Blaaker
Cori will walk participants through a self facial, leading everyone through a facial massage routine focused on hitting some Marma points and increasing the lymph flow in the face and neck with facial tools. In addition to an introduction to tools like a Kansa wand and Gua Sha, she'll also provide a demonstration of how to use Ayurvedic products.
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4:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST
Yoga – Jodi Rehm
Get into your body with a soft, breath-based yoga.
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5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EST
Reflections & Expressions of Healing - The Nature of Your Nature
This is a time to reflect on everything we've learned and allow it to percolate, and to ask any remaining questions. Helen will also bookend the weekend with an explanation of how the nature of the elements impacts our nature — everything is connected. The world around us, our subtle bodies, and our inner bodies. This is about integrating the physical, psychological, and spiritual anatomies to create a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance.
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