Yes! All participants need to register online in advance. This also helps you ensure a spot is available, as space is limited.

Tuesday evenings most weeks with rare exceptions. Our hope is to add additional class offerings in the future. While booking a class you'll see a calendar with the current offerings.

Zero pretzel requirements! Come as you are. Our Gentle Hatha Yoga class is all-levels and we are able to offer modifications and variations to work around most limitations. As is customary when starting any new exercise regimen, it's recommended to consult with your physician first, especially if you have preexisting conditions.

If you are unable to make a class you've registered for, please cancel it ideally 12 hours in advance by logging in and rescheduling or emailing heartsalivecoaching@gmail.com. With classes filling up, it's even helpful to know you won't be able to make it if an hour in advance to the start of class as some people register last minute.

An FAQ section can be used to quickly answer common questions about you or your business, such as “Where do you ship to?”, “What are your opening hours?” or “How can I book a service?” It’s a great way to help people navigate your site and can even boost your site’s SEO.

Yes, there is wifi in the whole central area, including the guest house.

Cancellation Policy: * 100% refund for cancellations before December 15, 2024. * 50% refund for cancellations before January 15, 2025. * 0 refund for cancellations after January 16, 2025 Other possibilities should you need to cancel: * Your registration can be transferred to another attendee if you're unable to make it. * If your spot can be filled by someone on a wait list, a refund may be granted.

There is ample parking at the venue however carpooling might be of interest to some folks. If you're interested in offering a ride or you need a ride, get in touch with me and I can connect you to others. Email Suzanna.

Zero experience is required. Any yoga asana (poses) classes that are led will be all-levels and include modifications and variations to meet most people's needs.

You are highly encouraged to participate in all the activities however if other activities better align with your needs at the time, you will be celebrated for heeding your inner wisdom and doing what is right for you.

Using movement, ceremony and drumming, we will integrate what we worked with in the afternoon embodied release movement portion in manifesting our desire (intention/goal). We will then have a fire ritual to release the things we no longer need. Ritual and ceremony is a very important aspect of healing in these times. They allow us to witness and be witnessed and support each other in community and spirit. Manifesting our vision together strengthens each other and the world around us.

At mealtimes we will gather in the dining hall at Green Gulch. For our nature immersion experience we will gather outdoors unless the weather is abysmal. For circle discussions, yoga, retreat-group meditation (outside Green Gulch's daily meditation offerings), the fire-letting-go ceremony and our dance experience, we will gather inside a 30' diameter yurt heated by a wood burning stove.

Unfortunately, Green Gulch is unable to accommodate folks who wish to sleep in their vehicles.

Although being fully immersed in the experience (which includes staying overnight in one of Green Gulch's accommodations), a commuter option exists for those stay offsite and commute in and out. If interested, please email Suzanna.

A thorough packing list will be shared with retreat guests via email well in advance to the retreat date.

Green Gulch has numerous yoga mats, blocks, backjack "chairs" and bolsters for us to use.

Learn more here: https://www.sfzc.org/locations/green-gulch-farm/getting-green-gulch-farm

This movement session led by Sylvie Minot of Syzygy Dance Project will use dance and music to support us in reconnecting to our body in a safe way and expressing ourselves while releasing what we no longer need. We will find ways to embody what we want to create in our lives and express in the world, reconnecting to the things that bring us joy and make us smile. The dance will integrate mind, body and spirit to support our health and well-being while having fun! No dancing experience is required and simply observing is okay too!

Absolutely! This makes for a deeply heartfelt and generous gift to offer a loved one. If purchased for a friend, a beautiful and personalized digital gift certificate will be made and emailed to you so you can give it to the lucky recipient. Or, I can send your friend an email with it included. Simply email heartsalivecoaching@gmail.com to connect with me and put in your request. All gift recipients will need to complete the registration form.

So many reasons! Check out this blog post "Unlocking the Transformative Power of Going on Retreat."

Mealtimes are: Breakfast - 7:20am, and is an entirely silent meal Lunch - 12:30pm, and the first 10-15 minutes of the meal are in silence Dinner - 6:00pm, , and the first 10-15 minutes of the meal are in silence "Meals are vegetarian, served buffet style, and may include dairy and eggs. Vegan and gluten-free options are generally available. If there are participants in your retreat with food allergies, alternatives may be arranged with advance notice and we will try to accommodate requests as best we can. The kitchen is not available for private cooking. Please remember that we are a small monastic community and have limited capacity to accommodate strict dietary requests." (from Green Gulch)

To preserve a sense of cohesiveness and sacredness of the group container we co-create from Thursday when we first join together and Sunday when we say our farewells, we are limiting this experience to folks who are committing to attend the entire retreat. If your arrival to the retreat is delayed or you need to leave early, that is fine, however, we are not offering partial day or partial weekend passes. Thank you for your understanding!

We anticipate 20 guests and will cap the event at 22 participants, contingent upon available lodging options.

This retreat promotes holistic well-being, focusing on rejuvenation and self-discovery. We respectfully ask our guests to refrain from alcohol and drugs. By embracing sobriety, we hope to elicit clarity, deeper connections and the opportunity to fully engage in enriching experiences that nurture mind, body and spirit.

Here's a blog post about the Hearts Alive Fall 2023 Reclaiming Joy Women's Retreat which will provide insights: https://www.heartsaliveyoga.com/post/unleashing-play-a-glimpse-into-the-reclaiming-joy-women-s-retreat-fall-2023

The agenda details will continue to be refined leading up to the retreat date however this rough overview will offer a sense of what to expect. Important: while participating in all activities is highly encouraged, consider the scheduled activities more of an invitation than a requirement. Day 1: Thursday Arrival to the property starts at 4pm Dinner is at 6:00pm (first 10-15 minutes are in silence) Welcome/introductions/group agreements start around 7 pm Meditation or gentle movement Circle discussion Sound Bath Bedtime Day 2: Friday Daily meditation offered in Zendo Breakfast / coffee / tea is at 7:20am (an entirely silent meal) Circle discussions/activity Yoga Lunch - 12:30pm (first 10-15 minutes of the meal are in silence) Guided Nature Immersion/free time Dinner is at 6:00pm (first 10-15 minutes are in silence) Bedtime Day 3: Saturday Daily meditation offered in Zendo Breakfast / coffee / tea is at 7:20am (an entirely silent meal) Circle discussions/activity/yoga/free time Lunch - 12:30pm (first 10-15 minutes of the meal are in silence) Part I Experiential dance Dinner is at 6:00pm (first 10-15 minutes are in silence) Part II Evening Letting-Go Fire Ceremony Day 4: Sunday Daily meditation offered in Zendo Breakfast / coffee / tea is at 7:20am (an entirely silent meal) Circle discussions/activity Lunch - 12:30pm (first 10-15 minutes of the meal are in silence) Closing circle + farewells

Find more info on this here. Roughly, the temperature can range from high 30s to low 70s F.

Are you interested in more fully integrating learnings from this transformative retreat experience via participation in a six online group monthly meetups starting late March-August to support you with achieving new year's goals for the first half of 2025? The invitation to join this group is exclusive to this retreat's attendees and intended to support: * ongoing integration (or, how you process your experience from the retreat and fold the insights gained from the retreat into your daily life) * community-building / continued connection with retreat participants * accountability / support as you work towards your goals What to expect: All retreat participants are invited to attend the first session which will serve as an opportunity for us to see each other again and debrief our post-retreat experience. All sessions will start with a short grounding ritual and candle lighting (from wherever we are "calling" in from). Following the initial gathering, those who commit to the remainder of the meetups will continue meeting online once monthly. During each session we will set goals, report on our progress, discuss obstacles we might be bumping up against, share reflections gained from each other and celebrate one another's wins! There will also be "homework" (or fun-work? :) like answering journal prompts or activities that take us out in nature to name a couple. Where: Google Meet (like Zoom) Details: * Early Bird Cost: $175 when paid by January 15, 2025 * Regular Cost: $200 when commiting after January 15, 2025. * Minimum six women must commit by March 7. * Payment due by March 15. Timing: TBD and will be confirmed by the retreat dates. Sessions will most likely be 60-90 minutes on a Sunday afternoon or weekday evening once-monthly.

We will share this information at the retreat but you can get a glimpse here in the meantime: https://www.sfzc.org/locations/green-gulch-farm/zen-meditation-practice-green-gulch/daily-schedule-green-gulch

The Lotus Light Store is located onsite at the retreat venue and offers a fabulous range of items. They offer high quality art such as statues and thangkas in a range of styles suitable for all budgets. In addition, they offer a variety of implements for spiritual practice and everything in between. Visit LotusLightArts.com to learn more.

Directions from Santa Rosa Inland route — along rivers, through Cazadero… Drive from Santa Rosa to Guerneville, on River Road, and continue through Guerneville (last stop for gas stations) and Monte Rio. The road becomes Hwy 116 West. About 20 minutes out of Guerneville, you will cross a bridge with a sign on the right for ‘Cazadero’. Turn right on Cazadero Highway and continue 6 miles to the town of Cazadero. Just past Cazadero is a STOP sign and the road forks uphill to the left onto Fort Ross Road. Continue for 6 miles till you reach a large white house on the left (there are almost no houses on this road, so this is easy to spot!) A few minutes later you pass the junction with Brain Ridge Road, and then reach our driveway on the left. Guardrails and large metal sign will be on the left. Take that sharp left onto our two-laned driveway and continue down 2 miles till you reach a cluster of buildings, and a STOP sign on a side wall. Our office is on the near end of the building on your right. Past rivers and vineyards, up the coast… Drive from Santa Rosa to Guerneville, and then continue through Guerneville out towards Jenner on Hwy 116. Do NOT turn right onto Cazadero Highway. Continue straight on 116, passing through Duncan’s Mill on the way, till 116 ends at Hwy 1. Swing right on Hwy 1. Drive north through Jenner (last stop for gas station, on right) and follow road upwards. Turn right onto Meyers Grade Road and continue for 4 miles. Watch for sign on right saying ‘Cazadero’. Take the next sharp right onto Fort Ross Road. After about 4 miles when you reach a hill-top clearing, take a right on our two-laned driveway. A large metal sign says ‘Padmasambhava Peace Institute / Black Mountain Preserve’. Continue down 2 miles till you reach a cluster of buildings, and a STOP sign on a side wall. Our office is on the far end of the building on your right.

Black Mountain Retreat Center (BMRC) is a rustic, clean and comfortable venue situated on 485 acres in west Sonoma County six miles outside the town of Cazadero and held in the center of wooded valleys and open meadows at 1,100 feet altitude. The center warmly welcomes guests of all backgrounds, traditions and beliefs, is LGBTQ-friendly and managed by the Padmasambhava Peace Institute, a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization. The venue will offer us three nourishing vegetarian meals per day, has around five miles of hiking trails onsite, you can catch a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean (just up the Deer Trail) on a clear day, a fire pit to circle around, ample parking, large rooms to gather in, a location that feels worlds away with a profoundly peaceful energy that will soak into your bones, fresh clean air, ample redwoods and other trees, a great gift shop (explained in another FAQ), daily puja services our group is welcome to attend in their meditation temple and more! On the same property as BMRC you will find the Padmasambhava Peace Institute (PPI) which was set up as an educational non-profit 501(c)(3) in California in 2003, and the land where it is based was acquired in 2004. Its mission is to provide a beautiful dedicated retreat space for all those seeking to learn and practice ways of peace, sustainable use of resources, and social and environmental justice. The Tibetan Buddhist center Chagdud Gonpa Ati Ling and the charity Mahakaruna Foundation are both based at PPI. Learn more here: https://padmapeace.org/