MAY YOU AWAKEN TO THE GREAT MYSTERY OF BEING HERE. AND ENTER THE QUIET IMMENSITY OF YOUR OWN PRESENCE. MAY YOU HAVE JOY AND PEACE IN THE TEMPLE OF YOUR SENSES.

—JOHN O’DONOHUE

The intention in creating the Restore & Rewild retreat:

  • I believe that the more we connect with the wonder of the wild natural earth, the more we connect with ourselves as a wonder of wild nature, the more we open to live in better relationship with nature and ourselves as wild beings.

  • We are nature.

  • Experientially notice all things interconnected. Interconnection is belonging. In Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh refers to this as “interning.”

  • Mindful awareness of senses and elements. To be alive.

  • Being a creature means having a nervous system. Our nervous system influences our awareness and connection of the world around us. Let's get to know it. The intent is not to make your nervous system like mine or fit a standard but for you to know your own.

  • Eco Somatics - we are not only a creature with a nervous system, we are a creature with a nervous system in dialogue with the environment around us.

  • Experiences are intended to guide you to your own inner sense of wonder and reflection.

RESTORE & REWILD RETREAT is a mindful nature immersion of elements & senses. The intention is to be able to restore oneself, to remember who you are, to be able to relax, play and have sacred experiences, and to experience oneself as whole complete within oneself and interconnected with the natural world around us.

Rewild is used as a metaphor for allowing ourselves to return to a more natural state of being as part of nature. To be able to shed layers of social conditioning that no longer serve us and return our more wild, natural state of being.

It’s important to note that “Rewild” is also a scientific term for the technical process of conservation efforts aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas. Rewilding is about allowing nature to return to its natural wild state without human intervention.

This is now adapted by spiritual wellness communities and used as a metaphor. It is important to recognize it’s scientific roots.

Also - there is no TM, specific program, credentialing, or way to “rewild” our human selves. It is a concept to play with… what does it mean to rewild our human selves?

THIS rewilding experience is about taking a step to immerse ourselves in nature with our senses in the elements, discover our own inner connection with nature & within ourselves. With mindfulness, the senses, and elements, we begin…

What does rewilding look like for you?

Influences and Inspirations

Thich Nhat Hanh, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Belonging by Tokopa Turner, Christina Marie’s yoga teacher training and teacher at Pavones Yoga Center for Mindfulness, Restorative Yoga at the University of Chicago, her meditation friend who has held steady daily meditation everyday since 2020, bodywork from many others including Butoh / sound walks in Chicago, and the Ignite Fire Keepers in Chicago and Costa Rica.. the list goes on. Christina Marie’s continuing education as a therapist includes too many courses & people to list. She is influenced by somatic (mind-body) work, IFS parts-work, trauma-informed modalities, humanistic therapies and more.

Flora, fauna, creatures human and non-human. Those special people who have helped her connect to the land and world around us.

THEN I AWOKE AND DUG
THAT IF I DREAMED NATURAL
DREAMS OF BEING A NATURAL
WOMAN DOING WHAT A WOMAN
DOES WHEN SHE'S NATURAL
I WOULD HAVE A REVOLUTION.

+REVOLUTIONARY DREAMS, NIKKI GIOVANNI