This retreat is now full. Spaces are still available in our September Healing with Addictions retreat

This six day experiential seminar will examine the sources of addiction in our individual histories and in our culture, and connect us with the inner wholeness which is the final and only answer to addictive drives. Participants are supported to experience genuine self acceptance, and move forward in their lives in healthier, more authentic ways.

How we define addictions:

An addiction is “any behaviour that we engage in on an ongoing basis that causes harm to ourselves or the people that we care about. Behaviours that we are unable to stop.” This definition is a big tent that many of us can find a place within.
Addictions are self-destructive patterns of thought and behavior,that are rife throughout our society. From the respectable compulsions of the professional workaholic to the disease-inducing habits of the street junkie. All addictions originate from a place of deep-seated emotional pain and an unbearable sense of spiritual loss.

This retreat is for:

Participants who are currently struggling with addictions in their lives as well as counsellors, therapists and support workers addressing addictions in a professional capacity. This retreat is not meant for active substance users. It’s intended to be a source of rich personal learning and renewal for all participants.

This groundbreaking seminar incorporates:

• the brain science of addiction
• guided self-exploration
• body healing techniques
• spiritual work
• shamanic medicinal practices
• indigenous teachings

Included in the program are three shamanic healing journeys plus a facilitated group process designed to help participants integrate the full benefit of their experience. Organic, gourmet meals and accommodations are provided in a secluded mountain retreat facilty.

Additionally, there will be indigenous Medicine Wheel teachings focusing on being in the “right relationship” with what is often referred to as the “hungry ghost” of addiction.

The retreat will be led by Dr Duncan Grady and supported by a team of gifted health practitioners.

DUNCAN GRADY is a psychotherapist and teacher with over 30 years in the field of addictions with a post doctorate degree in Creation Spirituality. He was raised in the Siksika/Sauk Blackfeet indigenous tradition.  Duncan is a longtime Buddhist practitioner, who teaches meditation and mindfulness retreats integrating western, eastern and native traditions and approaches to the healing of addiction. He has taught at UCS/Naropa University and throughout North America and Europe. He currently teaches at Selkirk College in British Columbia and works as a psychotherapist and hospice trainer using western and non-western approaches to health, well-being, and end-of-life transition.

SOI BARI has been working with Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicines for the past 10 years.  During this time he has apprenticed and learned from Shipibo Curanderos from the Peruvian Amazon in the practice known as Vegetalismo.  Soi Bari has a Masters in Integral Counseling Psychology, is trained as Medical Qigong Practitioner and lives on the West Coast of Canada where he leads retreats and has a private practice as a psychotherapist.  His passion and focus over the past number of years has been in supporting ways to integrate complementary healing modalities.

HEATHER FLORCITA has been supporting and assisting Soi Bari with his ceremony work for the last 4 years.  She continues to train in the Peruvian Amazon in the practice of Vegetalismo.  Heather practices Reiki and Medical Qigong. Her passion for life is expressed in her love of music and as the owner and creator of Café Bliss, a raw food restaurant in Victoria.

JEN DAVIS has studied indigenous healing practices in Peru and Mexico with three different teachers. She will also be leading a traditional shamanistic healing ceremony. Jen’s work is primarily focused upon the treatment of addictions and other emotional imbalances. Jen has been working with Plant Medicine for the past 12 years.

RICHARD KLEIN is a life coach and aquatic therapist. Richard runs Mountain Waters Retreats and hosts the Addictions Retreat on a yearly basis. For this retreat, he will be providing meditation and body awareness instruction as well as leading nature immersion exercises.

Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) allows the body to repair itself and to prepare for daily activity.

This method of stretching works with the body’s physiological makeup to improve circulation and increase th e elasticity of joint muscles and connective tissues.

Paul John Elliott is the only person in Canada to-date that is certified by Aaron Mattes, creator of Active Isolated Stretching, to teach AIS.

Founded on controlling the body’s stretch reflexes, AIS is a system of safely elongating myofascial tissues, helping eliminate pain and improving human performance.

AIS is an outstanding technique for improving posture, eliminating spinal curvatures such as scoliosis and kyphosis which can restore proper body alignment, and help to eliminate physical pain.

Active Isolated Stretching is fully inclusive, meaning that anyone can learn this important technique – children, adults even little-league coaches – anyone interested in physical health, either their own or someone else’s; it is not reserved for licensed therapists or trained professionals.

Paul has been teaching 3-day seminars AIS across Canada since 2005. This 3.5 day AIS foundations couse will be offered for the first time in a beautiful and restorative retreat location.

Learn how to use one of natures most versatile fibers
to create strong, energy efficient and beautiful structures made of light weight fiber-reinforced concrete.

This Green Building Workshop will be appropriate for both experienced builders and do-it-your-selfers interested in sustainable shelter.

Hemp-Crete is a Sustainable Building choice for the 21st century

- Long-term carbon sequestration
- Non-toxic breathable wall envelope
- High R-Value and Thermal resistance means homes that are warm in the Winter and Cool in the Summer .
- Enhanced fire protection: Hemp-Crete does not burn
- Superior acoustic qualities means Hemp-crete provides you with a very quiet
natural feeling home.

You can expect to learn lots, have fun, and get your hands dirty.
This course is being offered in two parts, a 7 day building intensive in Early July, followed by a 4 day plastering and pigmentation course Sept 22-26 that will be focused upon the exterior and interior finishing of a HempCrete structure. A discount is available for those people taking both course segments. This course includes wonderful home cooked organic meals and accommodations in our beautiful retreat setting within walking distance of Nelson BC. You will be participating in the construction of a round Mandala Hemp-crete home.

Have FUN and LEARN the key Fundamentals of Hemp Building:

This course will give you the experience you need to successfully build a HempCrete structure of your own.
The Workshop will cover:

- Hemp-Crete mixes
- Forming
- Window and Door Details
- Plastering and Finishing
- Structural characteristics of Hemp as a green building material
- Key design Features
- Sourcing and supply of key ingredients

Jayeson Hendyrsan is a pioneer in the green building industry. His vision is inspired by creating energy efficient, naturally sourced, affordable and beautiful houses out of lightweight fiber-based concrete derived from industrial hemp. Jason has collaborated with Hemp-crete experts from around the world and has built cottages, houses and monolithic walls out of Hemp-crete. He lives on Bowen Island where he also teaches Tai-Chi.

You are capable of great wisdom, boundless love,  true compassion , and deep-seated ease. And yet all to often our human experience is clouded by painful moods, mental compulsions, addictions, and difficult psychological scripts from the past.

For thousands of years, people have used Buddhist meditation as a way of training the mind and elevating consciousness to free themselves from anxiety, self-criticism, depression, and fear.

Spiritual practice is not about self-improvement, or attempting to fashion a life that is stable or predictable. Suffering is caused by the very demand that life be something other than it is. Instead of requiring life to be different, we can learn to let life live through, and as, us. Freedom and happiness lie in accepting this present moment, right NOW, exactly as it is. This moment is actually all we ever have. It is only NOW when we awaken from the trance of our separateness and realize our true, infinite nature.

Whether you have meditated for years, or are just setting out on your inner journey you will find this retreat informative, healing and liberating.

There will be instruction and practice in sitting and walking meditation as well as Dharma talks, movement meditation, opportunities to ask questions  and to receive individual guidance from Robert.

The retreat will occur in noble silence in a natural setting of great beauty and tranquility.

This 12 day retreat will give you ample opportunity to drop beneath the busyness of day to day life and reconnect with yourself in a deep and heartfelt way. This retreat is not an endurance contest, the teachings are both gentle and profound and this will be a time to finally offer yourself the love, care and attention for which you have always longed. For those who are unable to attend the full 12 day retreat there is a week long retreat option available. You will return to your life and your relationships rested, renewed and inspired. And you will bring with you the tools to maintain a balanced openness to all of your experience. There is no instructor fee for this retreat. Robert follows the ancient Buddhist tradition of not charging a fee for his teaching. Support for the teachings and his work is provided through the practice of Dana.

Robert Beatty is the founder and guiding teacher of the Portland Insight Meditation Community. He brings forty years of Buddhist Dharma practice and training in western therapies to his teaching and work with individuals. Robert is a member of the first wave of lay Theravada Buddhist teachers who brought Buddhism from Asia to America. Robert uses humor, poetry and drumming to teach meditation for everyday life, including intimate relationships, parenting, work, social engagement, and community.

Mountain Waters Retreats and The School Of Sacred Arts (SOSA)
are collaborating on a unique month-long yoga teacher training
for a select group of Japanese students next summer. Japan-
based company Firstship, which operates over fifty yoga studios
in their homeland, will bring these future teachers to Nelson for
this 200 hour, Yoga Alliance accredited course.

Headed by the school’s director Simone MacKay and co-founder
Troy McFadden, SOSA trainings prioritize the personal growth
of each participant. Believing that ‘finding one’s own, unique
path, embracing the beauty and power of nature as aspects
of ourselves, and opening to the grandest dimensions of
existence are our highest callings’, the entire SOSA team makes
the sometimes complex art and science of yoga (and related
systems) relevant and accessible.

Simone was raised and educated in Switzerland, later graduating
with a degree in social work in her home country of Canada.
After years of serving as a counselor specializing in women’s
issues, Simone began her yogic journey with a ‘Yoga Arts’
training in Australia. Initially inspired by Ashtanga, she moved
on to study Vinyasa Flow, Yin Yoga, and yoga therapy while
teaching throughout the greater Asian realm.

Since founding The School Of The Sacred Arts, Simone has been
leading yoga teacher trainings, retreats and workshops in Japan,
Bali, Thailand, Peru and Switzerland.

Troy McFadden established The Sanctuary Resort’s Spa and
Wellness Centre in Southern Thailand in 1998 and a large,
thriving yoga studio in the Pacific Northwest in 2002. After
training in Vipassana meditation during several intensive retreat
periods in Buddhist monasteries, Troy became a registered
counselor, facilitating groups and individuals through fasting,
cleansing, and detox programs.

Believing that ‘everyone is the guru’, Troy’s teaching emphasizes
self-empowerment and the importance of letting intuition and
discernment guide us along a path of our own creation.

For more information about SOSA: www.schoolofsacredarts.net

Are you feeling fatigued or depleted?
Is your life one big to-do list?
Have you lost track of what’s really important?

Join us for five days that will change the way you see and experience health. Avoiding the Wall is taking proactive measures before you crash through understanding the underlying conditions that effect your energy, mood, and outlook on life.

As human beings we are creatures of habit, even if these habits can undermine our felt sense of well-being. This retreat will be an opportunity to explore the habits and beliefs that run our lives. We will be working primarily through the body, with each participant receiving three hours of bodywork per day, along with integrative coaching sessions. The massage and bodywork treatments are deeply nourishing and they provide you with access to the truth held within your own body. We provide the safety, skill and professionalism that will make this five day experience one of deep renewal and personal transformation.

During This Retreat You Will Receive

- Multiple Daily bodywork treatments:
- Myofascial release
- Deep Tissue Massage
- Relaxation Massage
- Chinese Massage
- Acupuncture
- Life Coaching
- Yoga Classes
- Meditation Instruction
- Regenerative Nutrition
- Healthy Gourmet Meals
- Movement Therapy
- Walks in Nature
- Quiet Time to Rest and Integrate your Experience

Our Team

Richard Klein: Richard is a wellness life coach and retreat facilitator. He is the co-founder of the Redefine Your Health Retreat Programs and the parent of five young adults.  An active outdoorsman with an experienced background in body-centered psychotherapy and regenerative nutrition, Richard has followed his interest in human potential to research the factors that can lead us to personal growth and vitality, irrespective of age. 

Yogita Bouchard: Yogita is a retreat facilitator, a gifted therapist, and a Spa and Wellness consultant who along with her husband, Richard Klein, is the co-founder of the Redefine Your Health Retreat Programs. Yogita has mastered multiple forms of bodywork, massage, and aquatic therapies. She combines these skills with an in-depth background in body-centered psychology and a loving presence. She is a parent of five young adult and as a life long athlete, she has found her life long passion in helping others powerfully shift the way they experience the aging process and sense of well-being.

Kim Goodwin: Kim  has been working as a massage therapist since 1997. She has worked in everything from clinical settings to five star resorts. Kim brings a full basket of different massage modalities to her work with clients. Her passion is Myofascial Release which provides an important expanded dimension for increasing effectiveness and permanency of results in relieving pain and restoring ease of motion. Kim believes that no two people are alike and she tailors her client treatments based upon a thorough assessment and evaluation of each clients unique needs.

Claudia Kavcic: Claudia brings a combination of skills to the RYH team where her goal is to turn bleak prospects into bright promises by making the dream of preventative medicine a reality. Claudia’s massage carrier began in 1998 where she has developed a unique style that incorporates techniques from acupressure, therapeutic Chinese massage (tuina), deep tissue, Sweedish, myofascial release and hot stones. Claudia’s passion is aquatic bodywork which is a variety of techniques that stem from land Shiatsu and physiotherapy. She feels that by adapting land moves to supportive body temperature water a very creative nurturing therapeutic experience happens. All of Claudia’s treatments are provided with a strong foundation in traditional Chinese medicine where she has been practicing acupuncture and TCM modalities since 2003. Claudia loves her work and is proud to be a health care provider.

This six day experiential seminar will examine the sources of addiction in our individual histories and in our culture, and connect us with the inner wholeness which is the final and only answer to addictive drives. Participants are supported to experience genuine self acceptance, and move forward in their lives in healthier, more authentic ways.

How we define addictions:

An addiction is “any behaviour that we engage in on an ongoing basis that causes harm to ourselves or the people that we care about. Behaviours that we are unable to stop.” This definition is a big tent that many of us can find a place within.
Addictions are self-destructive patterns of thought and behavior,that are rife throughout our society. From the respectable compulsions of the professional workaholic to the disease-inducing habits of the street junkie. All addictions originate from a place of deep-seated emotional pain and an unbearable sense of spiritual loss.

This retreat is for:

Participants who are currently struggling with addictions in their lives as well as counsellors, therapists and support workers addressing addictions in a professional capacity. This retreat is not meant for active substance users. It’s intended to be a source of rich personal learning and renewal for all participants.

This groundbreaking seminar incorporates:

• the brain science of addiction
• guided self-exploration
• body healing techniques
• spiritual work
• shamanic medicinal practices
• indigenous teachings

Included in the program are three shamanic healing journeys plus a facilitated group process designed to help participants integrate the full benefit of their experience. Organic, gourmet meals and accommodations are provided in a secluded mountain retreat facilty.

Additionally, there will be indigenous Medicine Wheel teachings focusing on being in the “right relationship” with what is often referred to as the “hungry ghost” of addiction.

The retreat will be led by Dr Duncan Grady and supported by a team of gifted health practitioners.

DUNCAN GRADY is a psychotherapist and teacher with over 30 years in the field of addictions with a post doctorate degree in Creation Spirituality. He was raised in the Siksika/Sauk Blackfeet indigenous tradition.  Duncan is a longtime Buddhist practitioner, who teaches meditation and mindfulness retreats integrating western, eastern and native traditions and approaches to the healing of addiction. He has taught at UCS/Naropa University and throughout North America and Europe. He currently teaches at Selkirk College in British Columbia and works as a psychotherapist and hospice trainer using western and non-western approaches to health, well-being, and end-of-life transition.

SOI BARI has been working with Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicines for the past 10 years.  During this time he has apprenticed and learned from Shipibo Curanderos from the Peruvian Amazon in the practice known as Vegetalismo.  Soi Bari has a Masters in Integral Counseling Psychology, is trained as Medical Qigong Practitioner and lives on the West Coast of Canada where he leads retreats and has a private practice as a psychotherapist.  His passion and focus over the past number of years has been in supporting ways to integrate complementary healing modalities.

HEATHER FLORCITA has been supporting and assisting Soi Bari with his ceremony work for the last 4 years.  She continues to train in the Peruvian Amazon in the practice of Vegetalismo.  Heather practices Reiki and Medical Qigong. Her passion for life is expressed in her love of music and as the owner and creator of Café Bliss, a raw food restaurant in Victoria.

JEN DAVIS has studied indigenous healing practices in Peru and Mexico with three different teachers. She will also be leading a traditional shamanistic healing ceremony. Jen’s work is primarily focused upon the treatment of addictions and other emotional imbalances. Jen has been working with Plant Medicine for the past 12 years.

RICHARD KLEIN is a life coach and aquatic therapist. Richard runs Mountain Waters Retreats and hosts the Addictions Retreat on a yearly basis. For this retreat, he will be providing meditation and body awareness instruction as well as leading nature immersion exercises.

This retreat offers the final level of  the three part Yoga certification training that started in Sept of 2012.  Jointly Taught by Karuna Erikson, along with her husband Paul Erikson, this six day heart-centered intensive is suitable both for yoga students who wish to become Registered Yoga Teachers with Yoga Alliance and for those who simply want to deepen their practice and understanding of yoga without necessarily wishing to teach yoga. It offers a deep experience of yoga, for people considering or already teaching yoga, and for those who love yoga and wish to immerse themselves in yoga practice and principles. This course is a profound integration of body, mind, heart and spirit, intended for yoga students of all levels who want to expand their experience of yoga as a spiritual practice and way of life.

The cost is for meals and accommodations for those students stay with us at Mountain Waters. Please contact Karuna at 250-229-4793, regarding course payment and fees.

Karuna Erickson is a devoted yoga teacher as well as a psychotherapist, practicing in both fields since 1970. The focus of her work is the integration of body, mind, heart, and spirit. She is the director of the Heart Yoga Center, a registered yoga teacher training school with the Yoga Alliance. She has trained yoga teachers for over 20 years. She teaches yoga internationally, interweaving Sufi poetry and Buddhist practices of mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation. She leads annual retreats in Costa Rica, Canada, and Bali.

This is the second part of our Green building course which focuses on hempcrete finishing techniques.

The walls built in June will now be properly cured and this segment will concentrate on plastering the interior and exterior surfaces.

On the outside we’ll learn how to protect hempcrete from the weather using plastering techniques. We will also cover in detail, the process of pigmentation and developing the colours you desire using clay based pigments. For those people taking both the July and September HempCrete course segments we are offering a price discount of 25% which brings the cost of the total 11 day package down to $995.

Learn how to use one of natures most versatile fibers

to create strong, energy efficient and beautiful structures made of light weight fiber-reinforced concrete.

This Green Building Workshop will be appropriate for both experienced builders and do-it-your-selfers interested in sustainable shelter.

Hemp-Crete is a Sustainable Building choice for the 21st century

- Long-term carbon sequestration
- Non-toxic breathable wall envelope
- High R-Value and Thermal resistance means homes that are warm in the Winter and Cool in the Summer .
- Enhanced fire protection: Hemp-Crete does not burn
- Superior acoustic qualities means Hemp-crete provides you with a very quiet
natural feeling home.

You can expect to learn lots, have fun, and get your hands dirty.
This course is being offered in two parts, a 7 day building intensive in Early July, followed by a 4 day plastering and pigmentation course Sept 22-26 that will be focused upon the exterior and interior finishing of a HempCrete structure. A discount is available for those people taking both course segments. This course includes wonderful home cooked organic meals and accommodations in our beautiful retreat setting within walking distance of Nelson BC. You will be participating in the construction of a round Mandala Hemp-crete home.

Have FUN and LEARN the key Fundamentals of Hemp Building:

This course will give you the experience you need to successfully build a HempCrete structure of your own.
The Workshop will cover:

- Hemp-Crete mixes
- Forming
- Window and Door Details
- Plastering and Finishing
- Structural characteristics of Hemp as a green building material
- Key design Features
- Sourcing and supply of key ingredients

Jayeson Hendyrsan is a pioneer in the green building industry. His vision is inspired by creating energy efficient, naturally sourced, affordable and beautiful houses out of lightweight fiber-based concrete derived from industrial hemp. Jason has collaborated with Hemp-crete experts from around the world and has built cottages, houses and monolithic walls out of Hemp-crete. He lives on Bowen Island where he also teaches Tai-Chi.

Over these five days Stephen will explore his newest work with plants and plant intelligence, including material from his newest book Gaia’s Mind. The workshop will be, as usual, about half experiential and half didactic. Stephen will explore the dreaming of Earth, the function of psychotropic plants in ecosystem function, cytokine cascades in human disease (and plant interventives for them), plant nervous systems and intelligence (just where is the plant brain and yes there is one; its location will surprise you), plant neurotransmitters and sensory gating channels, and in more depth: the nature of golden threads and their uses in understanding plant function and medicinal qualities, synaethesis, the secret kinesis of things, imaginal perception, analogical thinking, and a great deal more. The development of tools to intentionally shift consciousness in order to perceive the dreaming of Earth and the medicinal nature of plants will be explored. Due to the length of the workshop, we will go deep. As usual, Stephen will use a combination of personal reflection, storytelling, informational sharing, and experiential exercises in his teaching. Some of it will actually be humorous. However. . . Please be prepared to have core belief systems challenged. (Really)

Stephen Harrod Buhner is the award-winning author of 18 books of nonfiction and one of poetry. For the past 30 years he has taught throughout the U.S., Canada, and the Western European Isles (UK/EU) about medicinal plants and Earth relationship. Among other contributions, Stephen is one of the early pioneers in understanding the non-linear source of indigenous plant knowledge; has been instrumental in bringing to prominence unhopped, herbal beers and ancient gruit; developed the first depth understanding of systemic herbal antibiotics and plant synergists; created the first comprehensive exploration of the function of medicinal plants in ecosystem homeodynamis; initiated the development of phytoandrogens in herbal practice, published the first meta-analysis of the dynamics of lyme spirochetes in the human body; developed the first understandings necessary for the herbal treatment of cytokine cascades in disease complexes; generated the first comprehensive exploration of the use of heart field dynamics in human/plant relationships; created the first depth analysis and exploration of herbal antivirals; and is one of the foremost writers on the nature of emerging infections and ecosystem disruption. There is a reason that Rosemary Gladstar calls him one of the “plant geniuses of our time. “

Register Now 1-888-352-6081