Stories are ancient medicine. They are humankind’s earliest method of conveying wisdom. The insights they offer are deep and timeless and have to do with the very bedrock of our nature. Throughout the millennia, the keepers and tellers of these stories have, for the most part, been women, so it is not surprising that fairy tales should mark, with exquisite accuracy and poignancy, the main stations on the journey of a woman’s psychological life. They speak of self-betrayals and self-discovery, of aching loss and ultimate triumph. They are the storehouse of the essential psychological experiences that women undergo in the course of our development.
Join Jungian analyst, podcaster, and author Lisa Marchiano and yoga instructor and massage therapist Jodi Mahony for a fall weekend on 150 natural acres in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains. We’ll spend three days together, allowing fairy tales to gently guide us into an exploration of instinctual wisdom. We’ll enjoy heart-opening yoga taught by Jodi Mahony two times daily, with the opportunity for hikes, star gazing, forest bathing, and other outdoor activities. We’ll also offer experiential ways of interacting with these archetypal stories, such as art, music, and movement.
Lisa will lead two daily sessions on an adventure into the inner landscape, exploring themes such as claiming our heart’s desire and coming home to ourselves. We’ll have the opportunity to use art, psychodrama, and dream work to enhance our exploration of the inner landscape. In addition, each participant will have the option to sign up for a half-hour massage with Jodi and a half-hour one-on-one time with Lisa that will take place via zoom in advance of the event. A few weeks after the retreat, Jodi and Lisa will host a 90-minute zoom session where we will meet to integrate the experience.
We’ll share delicious, healthy meals with complimentary beer and wine, and we’ll spend the evenings together around a fire, sharing wine, stories, and songs. You’ll emerge from the weekend feeling renewed and having deepened your connection with the sacred wisdom within.