Restorative Embodiment Retreat
registration: closed
Tuscany Italy, next TBD
Our facility host Michelle and I recently sat down to record an info session for you all.
This followed our earlier live Q&A session, which tech gremlins prevented us from recording.
|
|
What this retreat is
The content of our workshops weave together and build upon the bodies of knowledge from many diverse sources, such as Stephen Porges (Polyvagal Theory), James Levine (Somatic Experiencing), Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky (Trauma Stewardship), Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevant (Body Trust), Pat Ogden (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy), Daniel Siegel, Gabor Mate (When the Body Says No, The Myth of Normal), Martha Beck (The Way of Integrity and many other publications), Hillary McBride (Practices for Embodied Living and The Wisdom of Your Body), Glennon Doyle, Emily and Amelia Nagoski (Burnout), Tara Bennett-Goleman (Emotional Alchemy), and Harriett Lerner (The Dance of Anger).
And lest you think I'm solely a woo-woo white hippie lady (I mean, I might be part that, but not only that), I'd also like to acknowledge the influence of Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility), Sonya Renee Taylor (The Body Is Not an Apology), Niva Piran (Journeys of Embodiment at the Intersection of Body and Culture), Dr. Lindo Bacon (Health at Every Size), Dalia Kinsey (Decolonizing Wellness), adrienne maree brown (Emergent Strategy) and Dr. Pooja Lakshmin (Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness... Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included).
- A week of experiential education in the art and science of embodiment and neurologic restoration
- A balance between learning, integrating new information, and fun, relaxing downtime
- Space and time to cultivate nourishing connection with yourself, others, and our beautiful surroundings
- Intentionally planned far out in the future, so all my busy professional colleagues can prioritize this retreat in their calendar
The content of our workshops weave together and build upon the bodies of knowledge from many diverse sources, such as Stephen Porges (Polyvagal Theory), James Levine (Somatic Experiencing), Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky (Trauma Stewardship), Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevant (Body Trust), Pat Ogden (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy), Daniel Siegel, Gabor Mate (When the Body Says No, The Myth of Normal), Martha Beck (The Way of Integrity and many other publications), Hillary McBride (Practices for Embodied Living and The Wisdom of Your Body), Glennon Doyle, Emily and Amelia Nagoski (Burnout), Tara Bennett-Goleman (Emotional Alchemy), and Harriett Lerner (The Dance of Anger).
And lest you think I'm solely a woo-woo white hippie lady (I mean, I might be part that, but not only that), I'd also like to acknowledge the influence of Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility), Sonya Renee Taylor (The Body Is Not an Apology), Niva Piran (Journeys of Embodiment at the Intersection of Body and Culture), Dr. Lindo Bacon (Health at Every Size), Dalia Kinsey (Decolonizing Wellness), adrienne maree brown (Emergent Strategy) and Dr. Pooja Lakshmin (Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness... Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included).
a few scenes from our villa
|
|
Who this retreat is for
This all-inclusive retreat includes
- Healthcare providers, especially those who encourage their patients to adopt stress relief practices, but are feeling anything but balanced themselves
- Any professional who feels the mounting effects of stress, notices that spill over into their personal life, and no amount of yoga classes and breathing practices seem to make any appreciable impact
- Those who were once passionate about their work, but now feel caught in a never-ending blur of helping others and putting out fires
- Anyone who feels disconnected from their work, their life, and their body (if you feel like you only operate from the neck up, I see you, I've been there!)
This all-inclusive retreat includes
- Lodging and all meals from the evening of Saturday Oct. 4th to the morning of Saturday Oct. 11th, 2025
- Day trips (and all associated entry fees, guides, and transportation): spa day, wine tasting, cooking class, visiting the towns of Lucca and Pisa
- Continuing education hours (20.75 credits, pending approval with OBNM)
|
|
After walking myself back from the cliff of mental burnout the last time (two years and counting), I realized I needed to pull together all the resources I could muster to figure out how to treat and prevent this crisis scenario I seemed to repeatedly find myself in.
These past few years have felt like a part-time job, figuring this all out, and plotting a course for the future. Through this process, I've learned that it's possible to develop neurologic resilience and metabolize stress responses in healthy ways. That research and information is out there, but it's tucked into so many little corners of completely separate fields of education and study. That makes it difficult to see the whole picture and nearly impossible to make any practical use of this knowledge.This retreat offers the optimal environment to finally set aside the time and space required to reorganize our nervous systems and their (seemingly chaotic and unhelpful) responses.
We will be meeting far from home, leaving the endless to-do lists behind. At least for the week.
We're carving out this time for us, so that we can start meeting and responding to life's pressures and demands from a new place of integrated embodiment.
We will be intentionally dedicating of our time and attention to address those factors that working against us in our daily life, peeling back the layers of disconnect and stuck-ness that us busy professionals tend to impressively accumulate.
By addressing and caring for all the pieces, one at a time then together as a whole, we can sink in and recruit our internal and external resources to heal those stress responses from a place of embodiment.
These resources are there, hidden within us all.
But they are rarely given the recognition, opportunity and permission to come forward.
Our goals
This retreat aims to provide, in a welcoming and supportive environment, the combination of education, tools, and downtime necessary to absorb then and put into action a different way of interacting with and responding to life's stressors.
These past few years have felt like a part-time job, figuring this all out, and plotting a course for the future. Through this process, I've learned that it's possible to develop neurologic resilience and metabolize stress responses in healthy ways. That research and information is out there, but it's tucked into so many little corners of completely separate fields of education and study. That makes it difficult to see the whole picture and nearly impossible to make any practical use of this knowledge.This retreat offers the optimal environment to finally set aside the time and space required to reorganize our nervous systems and their (seemingly chaotic and unhelpful) responses.
We will be meeting far from home, leaving the endless to-do lists behind. At least for the week.
We're carving out this time for us, so that we can start meeting and responding to life's pressures and demands from a new place of integrated embodiment.
We will be intentionally dedicating of our time and attention to address those factors that working against us in our daily life, peeling back the layers of disconnect and stuck-ness that us busy professionals tend to impressively accumulate.
By addressing and caring for all the pieces, one at a time then together as a whole, we can sink in and recruit our internal and external resources to heal those stress responses from a place of embodiment.
These resources are there, hidden within us all.
But they are rarely given the recognition, opportunity and permission to come forward.
Our goals
This retreat aims to provide, in a welcoming and supportive environment, the combination of education, tools, and downtime necessary to absorb then and put into action a different way of interacting with and responding to life's stressors.
|
About your host Hi there! My name is Eloise Cortal, and I am a Naturopathic Doctor. I have been practicing in Oregon since 2012. Through a combination of my medical practice, continuing education, self-learning, personal history and activism, I have developed interests in addressing disordered eating patterns (personal psychology, but even more societal and cultural impacts and triggers), interpersonal and societal systems of oppression (a few of those topics being racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, anti-fat bias, and ableism), and mind-body actions and reactions to stress and trauma. And, I'm no guru. I am not some epitome of zen perfection. I too can get pulled into the too-busyness of life. I have pulled myself back from the brinks of burnout several times. What I hope to share with you on this retreat is a better set of tools than I had when riding the ups and down of a divorce in my 20s, medical school, being a solo healthcare practitioner and so much more "life being life" stuff. My mental health and neurologic system took many hits, accumulating over time, as they tend to do when we do not tend to them. It is my privilege and goal to share my knowledge and experience with you, dear colleagues and other stressed out professionals, to help you release past stress responses affecting your life today. It would be my honor to be a part of your anti-burnout plan. I hope you will join us,
|
|
More FAQs
What this retreat is not
Accessibility
We strive to provide our retreat in the most accessible way possible. An integral part of our approach is operating from an awareness of the many systems of oppression that create, influence and perpetuate our harmful neurologic and stress responses. AND I believe we can create opportunities to address the adverse impacts of these systems within ourselves and our communities.
I am a Health At Every Size practitioner. I am an anti-'diet culture' activist. Our meals will focus on the Mediterranean Diet purely because I think it is beneficial to experience local foods when traveling.
Please write to me and ask about any physical accessibility or dietary needs you may have, so that myself and our local facility host can coordinate with you ahead of registration.
Registration and Finances
The cost of this retreat includes all meals, lodging, course material, classes, workshops, and day trips as outlined above. Students are responsible for their airfare (Pisa is the recommended airport, though Florence is an hour away) and travel insurance.
Please email me if you are interested in registering. I am keeping track of who has signed on to our group. There is an initial $500 non-refundable deposit required to register, but the remainder of the balance can be paid via very generous payment plans.
Who can attend
The retreat is open for any adult to register, though it is geared towards healthcare practitioners and other professionals who feel a change in their mind-body and stress reactions is in order to prevent burning out. The cost to register for everyone is the same, no matter your profession (the only cost differences is choosing single or double occupancy as detailed above).
Any remaining questions? Please email me at the address above.
What this retreat is not
- An answer to all (or any) systemic injustices of the world. But maybe, just maybe, we can respond in a healthier, more connected and integrated way when we approach life from a better resourced and more embodied perspective.
- A substitute for medical care nor mental health care, though we do attempt to infuse trauma-awareness into all aspects of our retreat. We will be working on and through our own burnout symptoms and chronic stress responses as we progress through the material together. But this not the right format to address mental health crises.
Accessibility
We strive to provide our retreat in the most accessible way possible. An integral part of our approach is operating from an awareness of the many systems of oppression that create, influence and perpetuate our harmful neurologic and stress responses. AND I believe we can create opportunities to address the adverse impacts of these systems within ourselves and our communities.
I am a Health At Every Size practitioner. I am an anti-'diet culture' activist. Our meals will focus on the Mediterranean Diet purely because I think it is beneficial to experience local foods when traveling.
Please write to me and ask about any physical accessibility or dietary needs you may have, so that myself and our local facility host can coordinate with you ahead of registration.
Registration and Finances
The cost of this retreat includes all meals, lodging, course material, classes, workshops, and day trips as outlined above. Students are responsible for their airfare (Pisa is the recommended airport, though Florence is an hour away) and travel insurance.
Please email me if you are interested in registering. I am keeping track of who has signed on to our group. There is an initial $500 non-refundable deposit required to register, but the remainder of the balance can be paid via very generous payment plans.
Who can attend
The retreat is open for any adult to register, though it is geared towards healthcare practitioners and other professionals who feel a change in their mind-body and stress reactions is in order to prevent burning out. The cost to register for everyone is the same, no matter your profession (the only cost differences is choosing single or double occupancy as detailed above).
Any remaining questions? Please email me at the address above.