We’ll begin each day with a Sunrise Meditation Session where we’ll immerse ourselves in restorative mindfulness practices that draw on the healing qualities of nature. We’ll weave in gratitude, savoring, and compassion practices to these experiences in the natural world. Orienting toward the day in this way fosters a sense of interconnectedness, improves well-being, and cultivates resilience and serves as a strong antidote to stress and the negativity bias.

Following a nourishing breakfast, our journey will continue as we focus on two streams of mindfulness: Mindfulness of Self and Interpersonal Mindfulness. Intentionally cultivating awareness of one’s body offers a counterbalance to the prevalent default mode of being in one’s head so much of the time. You’ll also be invited to bring awareness to perception and habitual reactivity in ways that are empowering and are fertile ground for insight to arise. Tuning into the body and self in this way is a means of accessing inner wisdom, fostering self-awareness, and cultivating emotional regulation. 

Our explorations of Mindfulness of Self will lay a solid foundation as we turn toward Interpersonal Mindfulness. We’ll expand mindful awareness to include speaking and listening as we interact with others. You’ll discover that embodied communication practices can transform experiences of what is possible when engaging with others.

Our Mindfulness Instructor is Professor Erin Woo

We have the opportunity to be embedded in verdant nature, slow down and attend to an interior terrain that might get forgotten in the space and pace of our everyday lives. Particularly we will explore the territory of grief—personally, professionally and collectively— from soul-centered and community-based perspectives, as well as ritual and other practices that help us both contain and allow movement. Including song, movement, poetry, breath, nature intimacy, writing and sharing. Our time together will be held in a circle of listening and an invitation for heartfelt expression. Within an interconnected field of gratitude, we intend to cultivate more grief fluency and deepen our capacity to be with grief, for ourselves and those for which we care.

We will begin with our collective cultural context as it relates to grief and engage somatic awareness and grounding practices to help bring us to presence. We will strengthen our orientation towards being with, bearing witness and accompaniment.

“Grief is a natural part of being human and a given in this life. When we learn to befriend and open to our grief, it can deepen and ripen us if we allow it.” - Alexis

Learn more about Alexis here.

Yes.

Our educators and staff are credentialed and experienced in allopathic medicine, academia, and the sciences of human behavior and wellness. They are also known as bridge people. They have reverence for, and have been students and teachers of other ways of knowing. Like our educators, our curriculum is open to a variety of modalities that meet in the brackish waters of modern medicine and holistic wisdom.

Our commitment to you is to ensure all medical information provided is data supported. Our second commitment to you is our (also actually data driven) ‘Woo Woo’ components of our curriculum that will be designed to meet you where you are and walk with you where the stream of science and love move in the same direction. You need not have any specific set of beliefs or belief at all to gain a sense of calm connectedness from this experience.

Sunray’s Shire is a magical, rustic, fairytale you can walk around in. We have the entire peaceful Shire property reserved exclusively for our retreat. On site lodging options include a couple of yurts and room options as well as shared and private Gypsy wagons, Mushroom houses, camping, and even glamping options upon request. Lodging is offered at a 50% discount and listed prices are for the entire retreat. Those camping have access to lovely hot showers and restrooms as well as use of the complete outdoor kitchen. We encourage attendees to stay on site but for those looking for a traditional hotel experience, there are options just 15 minutes away. Go to Lodging

The Shire is 45 minutes out of Bellingham and it’s 1.5 hours from Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEATAC). For those flying into Seattle, aiming to arrive Wednesday by noon gives you plenty of time to get up to the Shire before we kick things off. If you need to arrive later, you’re welcome to arrive and depart whenever works, this experience is for you.

This is a Coed retreat. Physicians, APPs, and their non-medical significant others and friends are welcome. Providers and their loved ones curious about becoming more aligned, experiencing a deeper sense of peace and connectedness are exactly who we’d love to join us!

As you consider taking a mindfulness-based course with us and starting or furthering your practice, knowing yourself and the factors that might impact you will be important for the most beneficial experience. MBSR, ceremony, and ritual work have well researched and documented benefits and risks. Participants are responsible for determining whether they are physically and mentally capable of participating. Contact us with any questions.

Yes. We’re excited to make this experience accessible to parents. Kiddos are welcome join us on the property, at meals, and during our afternoon activities.

The property is wild with unfenced swimming areas, acres of forested land, uneven steps, hard surfaces, choking hazards etc. The responsibility of providing attentive, protective care for children is solely that of the parents and whomever the parent hires as a childcare provider.

While Mountains and Medicine does not provide childcare, we can connect you with the Shire owner who can connect you with trusted locals to provide onsite care, so you can relax.

Anyone hoping to bring their children to the Shire will need to first reach out to us directly so we can discuss a plan for how they’ll be looked after. Go to our Contact page or email info@mountainsandmedicine.org directly

Nope. If you arrive and it turns out your body just needs rest, great food and some time by the campfire, then take it. We’re excited to offer a variety of experiences for you to choose from. We’re also have a professional Message Therapist on site, so you can get the most out of the down time built into this retreat (booked separately).

• Comfortable clothing for 5 days

• Pack for PNW fall - Crisp mornings and evenings, sporadic rain showers, and possibly balmy sunny days

• Swimsuit for swimming and sauna

• Athletic clothes if you want to be active

• Headlamp

• Any personal snacks (but we will have incredible meals and coffee/tea service all day)

Practice Mindful Listening:

Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as you listen to others. Be willing to be surprised and to listen with your whole self. Pausing before speaking and bringing awareness to your body can be helpful.

Practice Self Focus:

Attend to and speak about your own direct experiences and responses. Speaking from your own experience will be more supportive than expressing an opinion, giving advice or expressing assumptions about others’ experiences. Use “I” statements.

Acknowledge We All Have Biases:

We can assume that we are all going to say things that reveal our biases. Change cannot happen unless we acknowledge this. When we notice biases, we can name them plainly, pause, and allow ourselves to feel the impact. We can allow space for curiosity and understanding.

Understand the Difference Between Intent & Impact:

Try to understand and acknowledge impact first. Denying the impact of something said by focusing on intent only can sometimes cause more harm than the initial interaction.

Move Up / Move Back:

Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa.

Notice Judgment:

Judgments of yourself, your practice, and of others will naturally arise on their own no matter how much you practice. You can simply let these thoughts pass without getting caught up in them, and bring compassion to yourself instead.

Confidentiality:

Take home learnings, but don’t identify anyone other than yourself. If you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said during a session, ask first and respect their wishes. What’s said here stays here, but what’s learned here, leaves here.

This Community Agreement is adapted from Agreements for Multicultural Interactions EBMC (East Bay Meditation Center)

It’s with great intention that we offer the following policies:

Confidentiality:

Among our intentions is the creation of a healing environment within which providers can speak to their struggles, failures, attempts to cope, etc., without fear of harm to their medical reputation or capacity to practice. Therefore, we require that all retreat attendees sign a legally binding agreement to protect the confidentiality of all members, including facilitators and staff.

Attendees are asked to approach this experience as participants, any concerns regarding disclosures should be expressed to a Mountains and Medicine LLC staff member. Our staff will consider the information and determine the appropriate course of action.

No Alcohol:

While managing the risks we choose to take as a company, we evaluate predictable potential threats by three criteria: How likely is it to go wrong? How catastrophic can it be? And how essential is that risk to the execution of our mission?

With that criteria and our mission to provide a unique, adventurous, intentional space for learning and healing, alcohol is simply a no.

If you are actively navigating an alcohol dependency disorder and would like to discuss a harm reduction exception, we’re open to having a conversation, just reach out. A conversation is not a guarantee that an exception will be granted that is up to our sole discretion. Regardless of our determination, your confidentiality will be protected.

No Substance Misuse or Illicit Drug Consumption

We know Mountains and Medicine LLC has a ‘hippie dippie vibe’, however our expeditions and retreats ARE NOT a good opportunity to take mushrooms or any other entheogenic or otherwise illicit mind-altering substances.

It’s just not that kind of party.

Please take all medications as prescribed while on this retreat. THC products are legal in the state of Washington and discrete use of this medicine is permitted. It is the sole responsibility of participants to ensure all their medications are transported and consumed in accordance with federal and state law.