WATER & WOMEN
w o r k s ho p
a trauma-informed nervous system reset
for womxn to reclaim the body as home
Captain Cook, Hawaii
July 7 - 11th, 2023
July 16 - 20th, 2023
The Retreat
OVERVIEW
Finding the time to focus on our own healing within the entrenchment of our daily obligations & hectic schedules,
sometimes just isn’t possible... unless we can remove ourselves from our habitual environments & stressors,
temporarily, for a reset - a jumpstart, if you will.
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That’s where the Water & Women Retreat comes in - as a literal nervous system reset.
This experience is equal parts in-water 1:1 somatics sessions, cathartic portraiture & somatic experiencing theory - with a team of female facilitators & female artists.
Establishing a baseline of safety in the body is the first true step towards building capacity to be in then face, feel & free sensations & stored memories in the body. Coming home to your Self, to know safety and security in your bones, as an unshakeable truth, is the core intention of this workshop - and water, with its in-womb-like qualities provides one of the most secure neurosensory experiences of safety we can get as adults.
This trauma-informed workshop provides all of these key ingredients to catalyze building strong foundations of safety, co-regulation & befriending your Self to inform new lifestyle shifts & ways of relating not only to yourself but to others once the small group gathering has concluded. / *Ongoing remote support programs through group and 1-on-1 somatic therapy are offered as well to continue practicing.
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Plese join us for this is a specifically-crafted immersive experience for each participant to reconnect with Self, their wholeness & sense of possibility, and cultivate feeling at home & safe in the body.
AND RECEIVE
your own portraits
- with Chiara Salomoni -
In this immersive capacity-building
retreat in Hawaii, you'll...
LEARN
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Psychoeducation foundations, in a non-overwhelming, high-touch, feedback-driven way in-person, such that you understand exactly how your nervous system works and how you can work with it towards the ends, means and goals in your life.
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We’ll cover what trauma really is & how to rewrite its impacts & manifestations at a physiological level, fundamentally shifting your relationship to Self, your and your people.
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Ways to sustainably enact long-term healing of the mind's story and the body's memory; both through theory talks, live demonstrations & personal 1-on-1 facilitation.
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How to architect the most generative relational fields in which you are fully received expressing (liberating!) what is true and undeniable about your Self.
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Why we must heal through corrective experiences (ie. re-writing old stories and trauma tolerably with new lived stories close to where those original wounds and powerlessness first occurred).
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EXPERIENCE
and
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Deep somatic release & nervous system stabilization using in-water therapy & sound healing.
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The water is the one place you can infinitely pour whatever you‘re carrying and this immersion is designed for you to set an intention, let go, release & actually experience a shift.
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Compassionate inquiry techniques for trauma exploration & dynamic in-person facilitation of somatic tools to anchor in nervous system shifts.
WHO THIS IS FOR
The feeling of relating with water is at once meditative and exhilarating; evoking primal memories of safety in the fluid environment of our mother’s womb.
Water also often feels cleansing and renewing in deep ritualistic, almost indescribable ways and immediately allows the cortical defenses of our egoic mind to let go as we explore deeper aspects of our Selves and our body’s stored trauma imprints within a crystallis of profound safety.
This retreat is for all beings looking to:
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Find deeper levels of safety & trust in their body & in relating to others & the world.
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Feel more open to connection & relating securely attached.
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Activate healing & repair & understand how to help the body shift into a regulated, homeostasis place (critical for those experiencing autoimmune & physical disease).
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Embody their truth more effortlessly.
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Understand how to relate to, and move towards resolving, persistent, non-serving behavioral and/or thought patterns.
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Reclaim inner safety & resiliency to release trauma, loss, grief & other unprocessed experiences.
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Embrace your nervous system & the latest scientific understandings of how our human operating system works
ITINERARY
ARRIVE, Night 1
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3:00 - 5:00pm: Participants arrive at WhaleSanctuary, unpack, settle in.
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5:00-6:00 pm: Welcome, retreat overview & group introductions.
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6:30pm: Enjoy first group dinner.
Day 1, Night 2
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8:00 am - 10:00 am: Breakfast
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10:00 am -12:00 pm: Getting in the body: Introductory somatic explorations;
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Somatic therapy meditation on pausing the mind & connecting with the felt sense;
Permission & consent invocations;
Exploratory impulse, need, urges reconnective training.
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12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch break
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1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Understanding the traumatized body; theory talks, demo & Q&A
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Importance of safety foundations & how to create;
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What is trauma & how to work with, not against it;
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Regulation, reciprocity, relaxation, & relating - oh my!;
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Tracking the charge exercise (Face & Feel) - participant demo;
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...and more.
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3:30 - 4 pm: Quick break
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4 - 5pm: Fostering regulation; relating as Self to a safe environment; walk at the beach & individual processing of an exercise given; opening your relationship to water before we start tomorrow.
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6 pm: Group dinner
Day 2, Night 3
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8:00 am - 10:00 am: Breakfast
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10:00 am -12:00 pm: Stabilizing the mind-body:
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Half the group will head to pool space for their trauma-informed massages;
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Other half of the group will have the first 1-on-1 in-water somatic experiencing sessions in 1 hour slots.
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12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch break
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1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Co-regulating the mind-body; group water explorations
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Relational/ reciprocity explorations in water, combined within exercises of consent, permission & security (defined & distinguished from safety) .
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Tolerance level & capacity explorations for expansion (vs. constriction); the overcoupling of the traumatized body of expansion with threat.
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3:30 - 5 pm: Break & individual processing time
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5:30pm: Early dinner
Day 3, Night 4
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8:00 am - 10:00 am: Breakfast
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10:00 am -12:00 pm: Capacity building;
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Half the group will head to pool space for their trauma-informed massages;
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Other half of the group will have the first 1-on-1 in-water somatic experiencing sessions in 1 hour slots.
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12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch break
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1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Resiliency training; group explorations, in & out of water
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Group check-ins & discussion on safety & sensation processing; ‘Face, Feel, Free’ demo given
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Group works in the water individually, but at the same time, facilitated through the ‘FFF’ methodology, using the water as a means of safe expression.
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3:30 - 5 pm: Break & individual processing time
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5:30pm: Early dinner & discussion about tomorrow’s schedule for the final day.
Day 4, Night 5
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Rotating schedule of 1-on-1 underwater portraits in the shallow open ocean with Chiara Salomoni.
Day 5, Night 5
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Rotating schedule of 1-on-1 underwater portraits in the shallow open ocean with Chiara Salomoni.
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6-8pm: Final group dinner & closing discussions.
The Location
Aloha culture & island paradise ambiance converge where lush jungle and volcanoes meet marine creature-filled seas,
in Captain Cook, HI; a treasure of the Big Island of Hawaii surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and some of the most pristine natural areas in the world.
The intentional, spirit-infused, environmentally-conscious ways of life here, focused on community and the maintenance of ethnic lineages, creates an atmosphere unlike any other. It is a profoundly healing place.
Click for a video tour of the retreat space
Accomodations
Our 5 night stay will be hosted at a completely private resort space, called ‘WhaleSpirit Sanctuary,’ with lush fenced garden and hammock areas, Zen-style gardens, open-air kitchen & expansive movement/yoga spaces,
with each person sharing a bedroom/ bathroom (with option for upgrades to your own entire bungalow on the property for an added cost).
At 350 feet elevation, our property has a breathtaking view of Kealakekua Bay, which means “The God’s Pathway” in Hawaiian. This is a sacred, protected 5 acre land parcel that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, which is only walking distance away, and values agritourism, where real world sustainability meets harmonious support of cultural, historical, educational and agriculturally oriented programs locally in Hawaii.
Air-conditioning is not necessary at this time of year or in Hawaii in general with the cross-winds, so our spaces don’t boast A/C but a great design for air flow and ventilation, and the quietest area on a 5 acre private property all to ourselves.
This eco-friendly resort is also a completely chemical, substance & toxin-free property.
Multiple kitchens and fridge spaces are available for us, so you can have what makes you feel best on hand at all times. This is a place of deep peace and transformation.
We will have the entire main retreat house to ourselves for a truly unique, private experience.
Each participant will have ample space and room for processing and integration here.
Spa & Pool Services
In addition to our private retreat space, trauma-informed massage & watsu practitioners will lead bodywork work sessions at a nearby rented private space out of an idllyic traditional honaunau style house with mountain views.
These quiet, breezy, private pool areas are nestled in the heart of Hawaii’s coffee belt and between the steadying presence of enduring mountains.
The Facilitator
Christine Ren, Somatic Therapist/ Coach
Drawing from an eclectic background of undergraduate and Master's degrees in pre-med and anthropological disciplines, a former professional career as a dance performer and decade of consulting work with startups in Silicon Valley,
I facilitate nervous system-led upgrades remotely with clients 1-on-1 and in small groups, as well work locally guiding in-water somatic experiencing sessions for clients with higher trauma burdens in the body that need deep safety re-stabilizing in order to heal.
As a somatic therapist/ coach, I'm in the business of helping conscious women live their truth & express their gifts -
by integrating trauma & limiting stories through somatic coherence therapy, which is a type of both and intersectional work of healing of the mind’s story (meaning and context its made),
and the body’s memory (somatic imprint/ physiology, that remains in the body and nervous system from various experiences, threats and woundings).
PRICE & INCLUSIONS
Included
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5 nights of accommodations (double occupancy; inquire for singles);
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3 meals a day of organic catered food from a local, private chef (breakfast, lunch & dinner);
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2 60 minute in-water SE sessions;
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4 days of in-water facilitation & trauma theory talks;
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A personal 1-on-1 photoshoot + 3 final image edits;
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Travel to and from all workshop destinations.
Not Included
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Airfare & luggage;
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Travel to/from the retreat space from airport;
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Extracurricular travel into town & shopping outside of the workshop itinerary.
Price per person: $3,950
(*based on double occupancy)
50% deposit due on booking
Ready to book?