“Remember just how rich and full nothing or one thing at a time can be.”

— Octavia Raheem

Every winter we head to Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack, MN. A tucked away nature center nestled in over 6,000 acres of forest.

The purpose? To disconnect, reconnect, move our bodies mindfully, journal, eat good food, RELAX, and enjoy.

The theme of this retreat specifically was REST. We came to restore and rejuvenate.

“Savor. Don’t Wait. Savor now.”

— Octavia Raheem

“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.”

— Mark Black

Our retreat team for this weekend, had so much fun being the total nerds we are: “resting so hard!!” Elizabeth, Stacy, Jessica, Josh, and Colombe - thank you so much for bringing your passion & expertise to the retreat. Our weekend was so full of carefully crafted classes, workshops, and experiences thanks to these fine folks!!

We had yoga classes with props, props, and more props! Restorative and delightfully gentle classes with Bryana, Stacy, and Colombe. We had yoga classes from the perspective of a physical therapist (thanks Josh!). We had specialty sessions with Elizabeth’s full fleet of sound healing instruments and Jessica’s passion for soothing yoga nidra.

We weaved themes and concepts into the weekend and yoga sessions from Octavia Raheem’s book: Pause Rest Be.

We thoroughly enjoyed prioritizing rest for the sake of rest over the weekend. Above all the Boreal Bliss group rule of, “don’t should all over yourself or anyone else” rang true.

Friendships and relationships were cared for and/or established. Solo retreaters cared for themselves and found new (and old) ways of listening to their needs.

Departing thoughts in defense of rest from Brene Brown: “To embrace rest, accept that you’re allowed to pause and relax for your well-being. Your value as a human being isn’t attached to exhaustion or productivity. Overworking prevents you from checking-in with yourself and making sure that you’re healthy.”