Módraniht - A Winter Mothers’ Vigil - Breath, Ice & Ancestral Warmth

Join us for old Norse traditions, as we gather in sacred sisterhood to honor the Mother Goddesses and ancestral women who carried our people through the deep winter. On the longest threshold of the year, we kindle warmth, remembrance and the fierce, nurturing spirit of the Northern Mothers.

Move alongside us as we clear energy through medicinal practices working with evergreens and the practice of Qigong in preparation for a spiral labyrinth walk. Our intention is to walk in devotion to the Mothers who walked before us, embodying prayer for guidance, grounding and the turning of the light.

Treat yourself to the storytelling of Michelle Morton of Sacred Vibration Arts and the healing she offers through sound journeys that invoke the Great Mother, the deep rest of winter and the channeling of song likely woven by our foremothers themselves.

Guided by Dianna Wehr, she will initiate us into the alchemical nature of breath, ice and fire. We will find strength, vitality and resilience as we work with the charge of the breath as we move between cold and sauna, mirroring the old Nordic rhythms of purification, renewal and elemental balance.

Together we will carve simple winter sigils, symbols marking protection, blessing and ancestral guidance into pieces of birch to be placed on your hearth, personal altar or a winter fire. A tactile remembrance of the women who carved, marked, blessed and tended the flames before us.

Held within the sacred container of the Red Tent, this vigil invites you to adorn yourself in a festive ceremonial way or arrive as you are. Rest in ancestral warmth, and welcome the returning sun with the strength of those whose shoulders we stand upon.

REGISTER HERE FOR RED TENT

Want to stay the night? CLICK HERE FOR ACCOMODATIONS.

This traditional heart-based mindfulness meditation retreat will offer silent periods of sitting and walking / movement meditation as well times for practice discussions. Participants of this five day retreat will be expertly supported by Jan Landry BSN, MA and Bob Stahl PhD.

Each day there will be a talk and systematic meditation instructions on the four foundations of mindfulness that are embedded in lovingkindness. These teachings and practices will emphasize quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity, wisdom, and compassion; and foster the depth of practice.

This retreat is suitable for both new and experienced meditation students as well as for anyone teaching mindfulness or aspiring to teach mindfulness in healthcare, psychology, education, science, government, or in the business and corporate sectors.

Please note:  This retreat fulfils some of the retreat requirements for MBSR and other mindfulness teacher trainings.

Teachers:

Bob Stahl, PhD, has founded eight Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs in medical centers in the SF Bay Area. He serves as an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health at Brown University Mindfulness Center and formerly at the Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Bob teaches MBSR Teacher Trainings and Insight Mindfulness Meditation retreats worldwide and is the former guiding teacher at Insight Santa Cruz and a visiting teacher at Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. He is coauthor of 5 books:  A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook (1st & 2nd editions), Living With Your Heart Wide Open, Calming the Rush of Panic, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook for Anxiety, and MBSR Everyday.

Jan Landry, BSN MA, has worked in the field of hospice care both as a nurse and as a chaplain, for over 30 years. Her work in the field of death and dying, serves as an ongoing reminder of how precious each and every moment of life is, and informs her meditation practice which has developed and deepened over many years. She is a yoga practitioner, a student of the Ridhwan School and of life.  As a teacher of mindfulness meditation, she hopes to support others in cultivating a practice of mindfulness that fosters awareness and deep listening to the inner wisdom of one’s own heart.

Nickie Brunnhoelzl BSN. Certified Level I Yuan Gong Qigong Instructor. Nickie offers a gratitude-centered and foundational Qigong practice. Qigong is a Traditional Chinese Medicine energy (Qi) work (Gong) practice using mindfulness of the breath, posture, body movement and mental activity to unblock and replenish Qi or vital energy in the body. Can be performed standing, seated or even in stillness depending on individual needs.

Cost: Based on status of your current abundance $300/$600/ $900 plus the Buddhist practice of Dana for Bob and Jan.

Capacity: Space limited to 15 participants for intimacy and comfort.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT HERE