The retreat begins Friday evening and ends Sunday evening. Participants are asked to carpool to the retreat location. You will be contacted the week of the retreat to make arrangements. Plan to arrive in the Sacramento area on Friday evening to meet your carpool at around 5:00 p.m. We’ll eat dinner together at the workshop.

Each retreat is different, and is a co-creation of those attending. We encourage participants to come with an open mind. All of the Institute’s workshops are experiential - meaning we provide an environment where organic reactions and responses can arise, so everyone can see themselves and their patterns clearly. We have found that going beyond concepts into direct experience provides the most potent experience, particularly when paired with an emphasis on the role of feeling and present moment awareness, which help to foster a more holistic experience. Our retreats use a variety of modalities: one-on-one and group sharing, movement, breathing, visualization, music, and emotional release approaches. Most often, participants attending our retreats come ready to change long-standing patterns that no longer serve a positive purpose. It is common to have profound realizations and experiences during the retreats - elevating the importance of our post-workshop retreat support as participants integrate their new awareness into daily life.

We encourage daily journaling in advance of the retreat - to capture insights and observations about your patterning and reactions. We also provide a list of suggested books, providing a good primer for better understanding both your personal makeup and what it takes to transcend your early conditioning. It is also helpful to read the books after the retreats to assist with the integration process.

In addition, we have found that participants benefit most when they stop using recreational drugs and alcohol a week prior to the workshop.

Our goal is to be responsible and do our part to keep our community healthy. For workshop volunteers and participants, we currently require two Covid tests - one each on Thursday and Friday afternoon of the workshop week - a photo of which is texted to one of our workshop coordinators. If you test positive, have a recent known exposure, or have any cold/flu/rsv/Covid symptoms, we will talk with you about potential options. Masks are welcome, but optional.

Although workshop registration payments are non-refundable, under certain circumstances the funds may be transferable to the next scheduled retreat or workshop, minus an administrative fee of at least 10%.