Resistance & Restoration:
A virtual coaching retreat focused on the inner work of social impact
Restoration. Challenge. Skill Development. Inspiration. Deep Coaching. Guest Experts. Custom Support. Community.
In the comfort of your own home.
A RETREAT THAT'S AS UNIQUE AS YOU ARE
This is a one-of-a-kind virtual coaching retreat.
It’s a container and community in which we'll train in:
- The art of resisting forces that oppose our healing and liberation.
- The art of creating deep self-compassion, rest, rejuvenation, and inspiration.
- The art of steadfastness.
- The art of replenishing.
And it’s a study in:
- What about our identities, our histories, our communities, our relationships, our personalities, our bodies holds us back?
- Where do we resist what’s good for us, and good for the world?
- And what does all of that mean for our life and year ahead?
WHY THIS, WHY NOW?
This retreat is about recharging. You’ll leave with your fire reignited, with more friends than when you started the weekend, with wisdom and guidance from expert teachers, and with new tools and resources to take on your journey into and through 2020.
This is first and foremost a coaching retreat. Meaning: you’ll be pushed deep. Because, in truth, so many of us rarely are – at least not in ways we’re choosing and craving. Plus: it’s virtual. Coaching is often extremely costly, inaccessible, and solitary. We’re going to shake all that up. We all deserve community; intimacy; connection – and we get a great workout doing our personal work alongside others, witnessing and being witnessed.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
Lovers of:
- learning
- justice
- community
- intimacy
- equity
- love
- development
- and deep, meaningful inner work.
FEATURING GUEST TEACHERS
Special guest teachers will be popping by to share private, intimate talks on topics connected to building a practice of restoration and resistance. Retreat attendees will also get a chance to have Q&A with each teacher, and take home recordings of the dialogue.
Teacher Spotlight
Rina Deshpande is a radical teacher, writer, and researcher of yoga. With indigenous roots, her work helps others decolonize their phsyical and spiritual practices. Her writing on Ahimsa (the principle of nonviolence) and cultural appropriation has been featured in Yoga journal.
Rina will be helping us apply indigenous principals of yoga into our lens of resistance and restoration. And! -- she'll be guiding us through some physical practice together, geared toward honing our strength and capacity to both resist and replenish.
Participants will also get to engage in Q&A with Rina and other guest teachers.
Teacher Spotlight
Norma Wong Roshi is a Zen master, a Tai Ji instructor, and a strategy practitioner. She supports leaders and organizations interested in the application of Zen principles and training to their work and lives. As part of Move to End Violence, Norma brings these principles to life in an experiential and secular practice, focusing on what is needed for individual, organizational, movement, and societal change.
Norma will be teaching us to discern between healthy and unhealthy resistance, and helping us to develop our skills to resist internal and external forces of oppression while remaining open and disarmed. Learn more about Norma and her profound work here.
Participants will also get to engage in Q&A with Norma and other guest teachers.
WHAT WILL WE DO?
laura will guide you on this coaching journey while several guest, expert teachers lead “pop up” learning experiences focused on the art of resistance and restoration.
There will be a mix of structured and unstructured time. There will be space for independent reflection and alone time. There will be group coaching opportunities. And you’ll have 1:1 coaching opportunities with laura.
While there won't be a traditional agenda, here's what you can expect each day:
- Meditation (no experience required), intimacy, and grounding each morning
- A morning session/instruction, from laura or a guest teacher
- Off-camera reflection/solo time
- Morning group coaching and application of insights
- A lunch/rest break
- An afternoon session/instruction, from laura or a guest teacher
- Off-camera reflection/solo time with opportunities for private "office hour" space with laura
- Afternoon group coaching and application of insights
- Group closing space
Consider group time your inspiration and provocation time. How you apply your insights is up to you.
You could:
REFLECT
Space can be hard to make in our busy lives. Perhaps you use the weekend reatreat to dig into ideas, thoughts, and insights you haven't had rich time to explore.
SET CHALLENGES
Games and challenges are amazing coaching tools to push you out of your comfort zone and into new learning territory.
OPEN
Growth is a practice. Flexibility is a practice. An open heart is a workout (until it's not). Let's explore where you're open, where you're not, why, and what you want to do about it. And let's explore how you help open up the hearts of those around you.
CREATE
Let's make your 2020 the most banging, liberating year yet. Consider using the retreat to create your priorities and Purpose for 2020. You know that thing you've been wanting to create? (A business; a blog; a conversation...) What if we built it this weekend?
PRACTICE
What is it you want to be more effective at, in your life or in your justice work? The weekend retreat can be your dojo for applied practice.
IDEATE
Community is a rich breading ground for ideas, feedback, and workshopping. Let the group help you refine the work you want to take on.
MICRO:MACRO
The stuff you're working on out in the world?--The secrets to the most challenging situations and riddles are inside you. Let's draw them out and help you apply them.
CONNECT
It's medicine to be with others also committed to their growth, in a critically conscious, racially conscious space. Give yourself the gift of intimacy, connection, not feeling so alone in your challenges, and learning from others' journeys.
THE LOGISTICS
The virtual retreat will take place January 4th-5th – 10am-5:00pm EST Saturday and Sunday – over Zoom. Participants will join via webcam and will need a solid internet connection for the experience. You do not need to be able to attend the full weekend to participate (though we strongly recommend it).
The retreat tuition is $299.
We offer an automatic 20% applied scholarship for participants with financial need.
There are additional scholarships available for participants with significant financial constraint.
RETREAT COUNTDOWN
We begin at 10:00am EST on January 4th. Will you be there?
FAQ
1. Approximately how much time is teaching vs. coaching vs. independent time?
Participants can expect around 1.5-2 hours a day of independent break/rest/reflection time. The remainder of the day will be split between instruction, work with guest teachers, application, and coaching.
2. Will I be on camera?
Yes. laura is a master at creating virtual intimacy, and a tool that helps is Zoom which includes a camera feature. Folks don't need to be on camera the whole time. In addition to breaks, folks need to take care of themselves and their needs. But laura will ask that you're on camera for as much of the retreat as possible.
3. Why do I need to apply?
This is first and foremost a coaching retreat. Coaching isn't for everyone, and not every coach is for everyone. You'll get a better sense of the work we'll be taking on by completing the application plus a good opportunity to filter whether this experience is right for you. Similarly, laura will get a chance to more deeply get to know you and what you're looking for so she can support you during the retreat and/or steer you toward other learning experiences if there are better fits for what you're craving.
4. Is this just like a virtual summit or webinar?
No. A webinar is a presentation, typically with gobs of folks. A virutal summit is a string of guest teachers. This is custom coaching in an intimate group setting with a capped number of participants. This is live interaction with expert teachers. You should expect intimacy and vulnerability -- neither of which are typically asked for in webinars or virtual summits.
5. Are there breaks for lunch?
Yep. 45 mins for lunch + breaks throughout for rest and solo processing.
6. What happens if I'm not able to attend the whole time?
No problem. You'll have access to the recordings. We do ask that you be able to participate for at least 80% of the weekend (roughly 8 hours across the weekend), in order to really meet your needs.
7. Will there be a recording?
Yep. You'll be able to take the coaching, the teachers, the inspiration, and the community with you to listen to over and over as you need it.
8. Is this private / confidential?
Yes. Participants will be asked to sign an e-waiver committing to confidentiality of the resources and discussion.
9. What's the refund policy?
This is a full commitment. If there is an emergency that changes your ability to participate, we will happily work with you to refund your tuition. However, beyond true emergencies, tuition will not be refunded. The value of coaching and community is largely up to the participant to apply. Having said that and while refunds will not be offered, if this retreat falls short of meeting your needs, laura will commit to additional private 1:1 coaching to support your learning and satisfaction. (For what it's worth, in the 10+ years laura has been coaching and leading virtual learning experiences, no one has requested a refund.)
©2019 Mean Well. Speak Well. Do Well., Inc.