To be human is to know loss and be transformed by it. Facing grief takes “the outrageous courage of the bodhi heart” as Pema Chödrön calls it. Many of us struggle to move through the threshold between loss and revelation, often feeling grief stuck in our bodies, which keeps us from opening up to the riches available to us through the process. Grief becomes problematic when we are forced to carry our sorrow in isolation, we are pressured to return to “normal” too soon, or we are denied the time required to fully process a particular loss. But safely bringing grief, death, and loss out of the shadow and moving through it, perhaps in new, creative, deeply compassionate, guided ways, may allow us to feel our desire for life once again and remember who we really are, where we belong, and what is sacred.
In this retreat, we will create safe space to unearth embodied grief and use physical and creative tools to literally and figuratively move through it. Through working with gentle yoga, including breathwork, coupled with guided writing and optional sharing, self-massage, puppetry, and Internal Family Systems witnessing, we will create the conditions in which we can honor our grief, grant it space and time in our frantic world to do the creative soul work to help open our hearts, reclaim the joy that is our birthright, and embody love for our lives and the world.
About the Facilitators
Marin Heinritz, PhD, ERYT-500, (she/her) has been facilitating groups, teaching classes, and working one-on-one with clients using writing and yoga for healing, embodiment, and spiritual development for more than a decade. She is a published writer and Professor of English at Kalamazoo College where she has taught creative writing, literature, and journalism since 2003; and she teaches yoga classes as well as offers private grief coaching, yoga, writing, and cooking sessions virtually and in Kalamazoo. Writing and the body are inextricably linked in her work on the page and in the studio/classroom, and helping others fulfill their potential through both endeavors and live fully embodied is, for her, a spiritual practice.
Mark Saltzman (he/we/us) is a licensed massage practitioner with 31 years of experience, trained at Bastyr University, and owner of Soté Therapies. He is a Level 2 Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner, a certified Grief Educator through the David Kessler Training Program, and the founder of Kiwuppet Studios as well as an experienced performer, puppeteer, and proud member of the LGBT community. His multifaceted approach as a healer blends bodywork, somatic awareness, emotional healing, and creative expression to support holistic transformation.
Retreat Schedule
Opening circle Friday 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Morning practice Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Optional massage/IFS sessions for an additional fee with Mark 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon practice 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Communal dinner 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Morning practice Sunday followed by closing circle: 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Registration and Lodging Details
First, email the facilitator to register for the retreat. Early bird registration for the retreat program is $400; on January 15, the cost increases to $450. Space is limited. Please inquire about options for financial accessibility.
Once you have registered and paid for the program with Marin, she will direct you to contact GilChrist to reserve your cabin using the online registration form (or by calling the main office at 269-244-1130 with any questions). Lodging is $75/night per person in addition to the program fee, paid to GilChrist at the end of the retreat. Participants will check into their cabins between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 6 at a time communicated via your cabin reservation. Cabin check-out is at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 8.
