Retreat

Damaris Crystal Retreat

Belonging: Tending and Collaborating with the Spirits of Place and their fields of influence

Saturday, September 24, 2022 10:00 AM
Sunday, September 25, 2022 4:00 PM

Listen….. listen to the gathering susurrus of the wild river, singing like your blood, casting primal spells of Eros through the land, initiating life. Listen to the soughing of the winds caressing the trees, flowers and tall grasses– and you too!– sharing their ancient secrets with the day, sustaining life. Notice the murmuring of the sun catching gold fire through the dawn fields, limning the ears of Rabbit and other furred folk, illuminating life; Sense the quiet whispering of night as all form shapeshifts into dreamtime while the stars exult the wisdom of your fine senses, perpetuating life. Hearken to the chthonic mythbeings inhabiting the fierce liminality in the interstices of your awareness, fertilizing life. And under it all, this mysteriously gathered and uncontainable momentum is rippling ecstatically beneath the skin of the land, east to west; the heart of Earth beating her power and passion into each new day……

With the beauty and participation of your presence, this gathering will offer earth honoring practices and ceremonies to cultivate the deep well of inspiration within you and provide nourishment for you to be available to truly listen with a fertile, receptive imagination coupled with a stable ground; to listen without acquisitiveness or unaware projection; listen as we discover ourselves arriving full-bodied, intimately, discretely, within a lovingly tended reciprocal relationship with the spirits of the land where we actually are, whatever our ancestral inheritance or traditions. These beautiful, wise spirit beings we live among include the human ancestral spirits; the land spirits—vegetative, mineral, animal, elemental, devic, guardian; beings of the hidden kingdom and those of liminal space/time. And they are responsive to our acknowledgment, bringing true magic to our lives.

We will have the opportunity to respectfully greet, commune with and tend these relationships, to learn from and give back to, through the sharing of stories, trance journeys, sound/music/silence, movement, creative rituals and ceremony. Under sun and ancient starlight we will have the opportunity to come into deep community together over the course of a weekend, touching in creative, intimate ways some of the most moving and crucial longings and expressions of our breath and blood; the cosmic patterning in our dreams and bones. What does it really mean to be fully, beautifully human on this wondrous, dreaming earth in sacred relationship with our human and other than human kin, seen and unseen, and how do we effectively bring these relationships home into our families and out into our communities?   

Conscious connection and communication between humanity and the other spirit beings of Earth is essential to knowing who we ourselves really are, and thus how to live in balance, for we are intertwined; weaving, dreaming, en-joying, grieving, tending, dying and being born within and through each other, endlessly

Please join us if you can!

When:  September 24 and 25th, closest weekend to Autumnal Equinox. Sat. 10am-10pm, Sun. 11am-4pm

Where:  Anahata Education and Retreat Center, 811 Dobbins Farm Rd. Floyd VA 24091

Fee:  $290.00, non-residential ; includes Saturday night dinner, herb teas and snacks and access to digital documents post-retreat with supportive information for continuing inspiration and practice. If you are splitting payments into two months, then upon registration a payment of $145.00 is required via PayPal with the second payment being debited a month later. All payments made at https://www.damarischrystal.com/payments-1

Other meals: Anahata can provide lunch both days if desired. $15.00 per meal. Meals are as organic, local, fresh, whole, colorful and delicious as possible. The default is to gluten-free and vegan, with wheat and dairy on the side.

Lodging: For those who might want to stay over for 1-3 nights Anahata offers the following options: A basic $30/night for bring-your-own camping; $45 for shared room with linens; $70 for private room, all of which include a light breakfast. If interested, please use this link:

Requirements: For Saturday and Sunday if you do not order a lunch, please bring a simple one. Please also bring your own drinking vessel.

We will be gathering mostly outside weather permitting, so please bring something comfortable for sitting, whether a blanket, mat or camp chair, etc. as well as layered clothing options. Something to take notes if needed is also suggested.

“Damaris is the kind of teacher who works and moves beyond any kind of standard or traditional criteria. It’s not enough to say that you, as a student, will do a great deal of learning. It’s more accurate to say that you will change the way you think, feel and move in the universe. It’s like that. It’s that level of teaching. I am profoundly grateful for what I have received through her guidance, wisdom, and friendship. In short, if you want to understand something better, read a book. If. you want to set your reality ablaze, I present Damaris.”
— K. Klonowski, Cultural Foundations Educator, Independence, OH

For more testimonials, go to https://www.damarischrystal.com/testimonials

Training, Wellness

MindBody Centering Yoga Retreat::

A Yoga Alliance Trauma-Informed 

Yoga + Life Training

in Floyd, VA

June 1st – June 13th, 2022

with nina be, 

(C-IAYT,MA, MED, E-RYT-500/D-800)

Program

This Trauma-Informed MBCY Yoga + Life Training will help you to understand::

  •  60 MBCY yoga postures.
  •  Restorative Yoga techniques.
  •  Yin Yoga therapeutic techniques.
  •  MBCY Embodied Anatomy.
  •  MBCY Curative Chakra Theory.
  •  Sutra Study.

Your Yoga Alliance 200 hr. MBCY Trauma-Informed Certification requirements::

  •  Yoga Retreat = 160 CEU hours
  •  Yin Therapeutic Course = 24 CEU hours on Zoom (June 16 – July 21st or Sept 22 – Oct 27th)
  •  30 days of documented at home practice = 16 hours

You can support your life calling and sense of purpose with this MBCY Trauma-Informed Certification with Yoga Alliance.

Training Intensive

JUNE 1-13, 2022

“Within this work is where I cultivate the skills and capacity to courageously show up and care for myself….”

Violet Lee, Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training Graduate

Benefits

Your MBCY Retreat Experience can be a Yoga Alliance 200 hr. Trauma-Informed Teacher Certification to help you understand and share how to::

  •  Move with more ease and joy.
  •  Feel fabulous in your body, mind and heart.
  •  Learn about  how to make friends with your body.
  •  Gain more awareness, education, comfort, strength, vitality and flow.
  •  Embody from deeper inner experiences as you learn how to be still and move with MBCY. 
  •  Relieve tension, tightness, strain or exhaustion.
  •  Expand your love of life with MBCY.

MBCYTT Retreat tuition fees::

Camping 12 days/3 meals:: $2195

Shared Room 12 days/3 meals::$2395

Private Room 12 days/3 meals::$2695

Commuter day/3 meals:: $1595

(These prices include your $500 deposit.)

Your MBCYTT Retreat fees include::

  • 12 days of accommodation 
  • 3 vegetarian meals daily
  • Daily training classes
  • Kayaking Adventure
  • Mindful Hiking Buffalo Mountain
  • Yin Therapeutic Course
  • MBCYTT Manual

Fees do not include::

  • Course books
  • Extra activities during retreat
  • Transportation
  • Camping gear

We recommend you bring::

  • your own yoga mat and props due to covid regulations.
  • water clothes/swimsuit
  • hiking shoes
  • water bottle

Register by May 15th!

Space is limited!

(payment plans available)

For details, write nina be at centeringnow.life@gmail.com

About nina be

Yoga Therapist + Transpersonal Visionary

MA, M.ED, E-RYT-500, NCC (#87024), C-IAYT

nina be is the founder of MindBody Centering Yoga, one of the first trauma-sensitive yoga techniques.

nina be (MA., MED., E-RYT-500, DY-800, NCC #87024, C-IAYT) has facilitated psychosomatic yoga therapy internationally for over 45 years. She is a certified yoga therapist, dance-theatre artist, author, and consultant with an MA in Performing Arts and an M.Ed. in Counseling. She is also the Director of Wellness at Burts Bees. In addition, with over 30,000 hours of study, she has facilitated mindbody meditation groups in the Plum Village lineage, enjoyed founding non-profit LiveGlobally and been Director of MindBody Centering Yoga RYT 200/300/500 trainings specializing in trauma-sensitive yoga techniques since 2009.

nina be & her team have published two books; The Mastery of the Self, a MindBody Centering Yoga Manual, and The 10 Promises; a Path to Inner Peace (a journal of expressive arts). nina and her team are currently finalizing publications on a series of workbook journals for transforming trauma.

In 2022 nina be and her team @centering.life are launching three online courses/training programs for transforming trauma through movement, the visual and verbal arts.

In order to satisfy her passionate curiosity, nina has traveled to 38 states and 19 countries.

Fun Fact :: nina won one of the country’s top 100 restaurants awards from Forbes magazine in 1994 for her restaurants in New Orleans.

MindBody Centering Yoga

MindBody Centering Yoga was developed in 1979 by nina be as experienced guidance into a process of Self-Mastery. It was created using researched techniques in creative movement, ballet, Hatha/raja yoga, neuroscience, alexander technique, music, chakra study, somatics, trauma resolution, psychology, ritual, and applied mindfulness as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Today MBCY lives at centering.life, because that is what it does.

MindBody Centering Yoga is a unique and trauma-informed approach to living yoga, accumulating over 45 years of personal research, education, inspiration, and international experience. 

MBCY is infused with decades of dedication and devoted practice & research from the arts & sciences of psychology, anatomy, neurology, creative movement, ballet, Hatha Raja Yoga, Ashtanga, somatics, meditation, and Buddhist study. 

MBCY is a mindbody modality, with programs curated for Burt’s Bees, the Boys and Girls Club, the Episcopal Church, Job Start for the NC prison system, and was researched at Duke University.

MBCY awakens wisdom, stability, and peace in any individual who gets to experience their innate resources and resourcing in classes, workshops, trainings, retreats, groups, private mentoring, or corporate programs. 

nina be began her love of movement, music, and imagination as a child, wishing to escape hunger and violence. She danced through the studios of Ballet Russe teacher Perry Brunson and Gene Hammett, Maggie Black, Bobby Blankshine, the NC School of the Arts, Joffrey Ballet, and as assistant to Lee Theodore at the American DanceMachine in NYC and Tokyo. 

In 2011, nina saved enough resources for her dream & a life-changing experience to study directly with her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. It is from the profundity of this experience at Plum Village that she can teach from the Truth of her direct experience with clarity, wisdom, humor, and love.

With the support of the MBCY community non-profit, LiveGlobally, MBCY offers Wisdom Circles, trainings, and retreats for under-served populations such as the LGBTQ communities, prisons, and children and their families in slighted urban and rural environments, for transforming trauma around the world.

nina be has published two books; The Mastery of the Self; a MindBody Centering Yoga Manual and The 10 Promises; a Path to Inner Peace (a journal of expressive arts). nina and her team are currently finalizing publications on a series of workbook journals for transforming trauma.

In 2022 nina be and her team are launching three online courses/training programs for transforming trauma through the movement, visual and verbal arts.

She is deeply grateful for her work with 3000 clients and students worldwide.

nina be thanks her daughters, Amelia and Aude, for being her greatest teachers.

Uncategorized

Interweave The Goddess

Nov. 11-14 is the 4th Annual Fall Goddess Retreat with Katie Wells & Co.

Join a diverse circle of women who share the desire for deep connection with self, spirit, and supportive sisterhood.

Be seen! Be heard! Feel your sacred worthiness!

Bathed in acceptance we travel through seven group sessions that pair an archetypal goddess to each chakra. The effective curriculum offers a journey into ourselves, opening into intuition for wisdom and transformation. Chakras and goddesses are powerful entries into the body, psyche, and our inner divinity. They assist us in acknowledging and accepting our imbalances as we transform them into empowerment.

These effective sessions are held by experienced facilitators weaving yoga, dance, meditation, breathwork, partner work, group sharing circles, sound healing, journals, song, and self-care practices. 

Soak in the beauty of Anahata’s facility located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains along with one of the oldest rivers in the world. Enjoy the hot tub and trails. 

Center and restore before the holidays while gaining insights for moving into a fuller you. Explore an array of practices to carry you into the up-coming winter with self-reflection, self-compassion, and self-care. Come home to your body with more love. Be nourished by colorful healthy meals – you don’t have to cook for 3 days! Experience the life affirming potency of femininity and sisterhood. 

Facilitators

Katie Wells

Katie Wells

Katie Wells MFA, director of the Fall Goddess Retreat, guides movement experiences for embodied love, authentic expression, unknotting the psyche, and collective unity. She is a dance artist, embodiment facilitator, professor, and founder of Interweave Conscious Movement®. Influenced by somatics, Jungian psychology, and spirituality, Katie offers transformative courses, private sessions, and seasonal Goddess Retreats.

Wryn Magdalyn

Wryn’s deepest heart’s longing is to be of service to the divine in all beings by cultivating vibrant health and sharing her most sacred gifts: healing touch, devotional song, self-care practices and the teachings of yoga. She has received trainings in massage therapy, Cranio-sacral Therapy, Reiki, Ayurveda Wellness Counseling and Yoga Teacher Training.

Leia Jones

With a degree in Dance and Choreography from Hollins University, and a teaching certificate in Hatha Yoga, Leia’s personal practice is rooted in the unification of yoga and dance. Through this combination she brings mindfulness to movement inspiring us to quiet the mind, come deep into the body, and connect to our joyful-spirit. 

Ashera Rose

Ashera seeks to cultivate connection and beauty through the awakening of the heart, creative expression, and intergenerational community celebration. She is an interfaith minister, mentor teacher of the Dances of Universal Peace, author and teacher of art of peace curriculums, Reiki-Sound healing practitioner, Connection Practice Coach, and lifelong songstress and dancer. She currently is the Retreat Guide and Head Facilitator of retreats and events at Anahata Education Center. 

 Testimonials

“I have never felt this embodied and it feels so good!” -Shimila K

“I experienced such profound breakthroughs, opened locked doors to my heart, and was bathed with loving support from attending goddesses. I feel cleansed and ready to continue my life’s work…” – Jessica Valles

“The facility was so beautiful and the grounds were kept natural and very healing. Meals were wonderful, fresh, nutritious, and so colorful.” –Valhalla Depillo

“I am an introvert and connecting with others can be stressful but also vital. Katie approached these meaningful interactions in a way that felt safe and did not overwhelm me.” – Rhiwena Slack

“This work changed my life!” – Leah Deluzio

Participant Interviews from the Fall Goddess Retreat 

(Registration is on Katie’s website: Interweave.love)