Focus on your wellness and spend the day immersed in nature on the peaceful grounds of The Morton Arboretum. During this one-day retreat, attend to your mind and body with gentle movement, meditation, and reflection.
Research shows that time spent among the trees has clear benefits for our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Set aside the rigors of your daily routine and take time for yourself with tai chi, meditation, yoga, and mindfulness workshops.
Light morning refreshments and lunch are included. Registration closes Monday, June 3, 2024. Register early to reserve your spot.
Retreat Sessions
The Power of Intention Setting
Begin the day with a licensed clinical professional counselor to explore ways to slow down and live more intentionally. Intention setting brings meaning and mindfulness to everyday moments and larger elements of life. Find out how to incorporate this practice and live with purpose. Together, we will set intentions for a fulfilling retreat experience and explore the goals and desires you have brought with you. We’ll create new intentions to enhance your well-being and guide you on your wellness journey. It’s a time to reflect, connect, and set the tone for a meaningful and transformative retreat and for the days to come.
Arboretum Yoga
Yoga can help release stress and improve your health and well-being. Participants will practice poses, breathing, and meditation while connecting to nature in the tranquil setting of The Morton Arboretum.
Forest Therapy
Experience the healing and wellness-promoting effects of shinrin-yoku, the practice of bathing the senses in the atmosphere of the forest. During this mindful walk, experience a series of guided, gentle invitations to open the senses, cultivate presence, and invite healing interactions between people and the natural world. End with a ceremonial tea made from plants foraged from the forest.
Self-Care Techniques
Strengthen virtues such as gratitude, appreciation, and kindness as a practice and heart opening workout. Increasing these attitudes naturally balances the mental, physical and emotional systems, positively influencing those around you. Try earthing, or connecting to the earth using bare feet, a practice that can reduce stress, pain, fatigue, and promote many other health benefits. Learn belly breathing to help calm the nervous system. This session will also have a focus of somatic listening, using the body as a compass to achieve more grounding and balance in your life.
Meditation with Essential Oils
Explore meditative and self-nurturing yoga poses with the use of plant-based essential oils to restore and rebalance the mind and body in the tranquil setting of The Morton Arboretum.
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
Instructors:
Kristy Belton, certified nature and forest therapy guide, Prairie Pathways; Laura Jamarillo, licensed clinical professional counselor, Laura Listens, LLC; Natalie Schilke, certified yoga instructor; Marie Zubinski, wellness instructor
Age: 16 and older
Course number: WELL300
