The Hidden Place
Summer Herbal Retreat + Wellness Salon
An immersive, day-long herbal retreat focusing on seasonal living, plant-spirit medicine, and deep nourishment + a wellness salon featuring personalized herbal consultations and body work
Sometimes we need to escape time and routine and go outside, to sit and to be in a place that’s just to the side of everything we think, and know, and do.
On August 3 and 4, we invite you to join us at one of these sacred edges as we spend two days in retreat, in community, in nature.
The Hidden Place is a zone away from zones, a time away from time, a place that feels “elsewhere” but really is more “here” than we ever usually allow ourselves to be.
Like the cave behind a waterfall or the meadow at the top of the mountain, the Hidden Place offers you an experience of care, consciousness, and tending to your heart’s secret depths with plants and the natural world as guides.
The Hidden Place is The Elderberry’s new offering for those who want and need heart-focused wellness support at the peak of summer’s heat.
At Bridge Between the Worlds in Keswick, our herbalists will lead participants through ceremony, plant journeys, a nourishing meal, and workshops on the first day, which will feel familiar to those of you who’ve joined us for past seasonal Herbal Day Camps.
The second day will feature a wellness salon where participants can enjoy a tranquil resting place on plant-filled grounds overlooking a lake, sip cooling herbal tea, and participate in group activities like qi gong and a guided plant journey. You can also book in for a 2-part individualized healing session featuring an energetic herbal session and craniosacral therapy session.
Day 1: Summer Herbal Retreat Saturday, August 3rd
This Season’s Theme: Heart Medicine
Ceremony
Heart Wellness Workshop
Herbal Bath Ceremony
Seasonal Summer Lunch
Plant-Spirit Journey
More details below…
Day 2: Wellness Salon Sunday, August 4th
The Salon will feature:
A relaxing space where you can sip refreshing herbal tea, walk through the wooded area around the lake, enjoy group qi gong, and participate in a guided plant journey.
Plus an option to add a 2-part individualized session that includes craniosacral therapy and an herbal ceremony.
More details below…
Registration Options
Saturday Retreat ONLY
Includes:
Access to the day-long Saturday Retreat
$175 until July18th
Sunday Wellness Salon Day Pass (No Sessions)
Includes:
All-day access to the Sunday Wellness Salon
$30
Sunday Salon with Personal Session
Includes:
A personalized herbal/craniosacral session on Sunday
All-day access to the Sunday Wellness Salon
$150
Hidden Place Bundle
Includes:
Access to the day-long Saturday Retreat
A personalized herbal/craniosacral session on Sunday
All-day access to the Wellness Salon
$300 until July 18th
Summer Herbal Retreat
Saturday, August 3rd 9am-4pm | Bridge Between the Worlds, Keswick, VA
This day long retreat is an invitation to mirror the energy of each season and remember that you are a part of nature.
We observe each of the distinct seasons that Virginia offers us, along with the astrological weather, to host a day-long retreat that allows you to feel both fully present to your unique experience AND immersed in the larger energies that are moving through the collective and through the earth.
This season’s retreat will focus on delivering HEART MEDICINE. This isn’t just about the physical organ of the heart and the cardiovascular system. We will also be tending to your energetic heart-space, the space that deals with courage, bravery, joy, grief, discernment, and intuition. The physical and energetic heart are particularly receptive to loving attention and healing work during the heat of summer and Leo season, During this retreat, you’ll discover how tending to your heart can nourish you during the summer months and beyond.
Join us for:
Ceremony
We will have an opening and closing ceremony to drop into the space and offer gratitude for the land and all its inhabitants. We will give ourselves the time and space to move at our own pace while remembering the sacredness of ceremony.
Plant Walk
This will be different from our usual plant walks. In addition to meandering around the lake identifying and learning about different medicinal plants, we will also be remembering how to commune with plants, how to listen to them, and how we can connect with them on a personal level.
Nourishing Seasonal Lunch
We’ll be serving seasonally inspired fare suitable for plant based, gluten free, and carnivorous diets. Expect a fresh, local meal that will support your cardiovascular system….and of course, taste amazing.
Heart Medicine Workshop
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Fire element corresponds with the season of Summer as well as the heart. In this workshop, we’ll learn why now is an excellent time to give a little love to our cardiovascular system and how to support the heart for energy, strength, and vitality.
Plant Journey
We’ll be leading a plant journey — a somatic exploration of energetic plant medicine — where you’ll be able to experience the energetic imprint of a a plant and how it affects your system.
Wellness Salon
Sunday, August 4th 10am-6pm | Bridge Between the Worlds, Keswick, VA
When you walk into the space at Bridge Between the Worlds, it will be like walking into a secret garden where you are encouraged to move at whatever pace suites you, to stop and smell the flowers, to be fully present so that you can tune into the medicine that the Summer season has for you.
With a loose programming schedule, you can create your itinerary as you choose. Join us for qi gong in the morning and afternoon, a guided plant journey later in the day, walk the grounds, chat with other participants, or enjoy are ritual herbal bathing station.
If you’re looking for a more bespoke experience, book in for a two-part personalized wellness ceremony: an energetic herbal session and a heart-centered craniosacral session. These sessions will be complementary to the herbal retreat from the day before, allowing you to deeply integrate the heart-centered teachings from the retreat.
2 Ways to Participate:
Wellness Salon Day Pass
Come enjoy the beautiful space at Bridge Between the Worlds, created for you to be able to relax and receive the medicine that the summer season has to offer you. Throughout the day, the venue will be open for you to walk the grounds, sip cooling herbal tea, enjoy a ritual herbal bath, and participate in the actives that are scattered throughout the day, including group qi gong and a guided plant journey.
Book a Personalized Wellness Session
If you choose to book this 2-part personalized wellness session, you will receive two back-to-back 45 minute sessions: an energetic herbal session and a heart-centered craniosacral therapy session (more details below). These sessions will take place outdoors in our beautiful (breezy and bug-free) tents right on the grounds. You are also welcome to enjoy the space at Bridge Between the Worlds from 10am - 6pm.
Personalized Wellness Sessions Include:
Herbal Ceremony
During these herbal sessions, we will be guided by the energetics of the season in tending your personal constitution. We will talk about you, specifically, and how you experience the season, the heart, and through this conversation will make a personal plan with herbal, ritual, and lifestyle suggestions to carry forward with you for long-term care and wellness.
Craniosacral Therapy Session
If you were able to have a conversation with your heart, what would it say? What does it want from you, what dreams does it want to help you accomplish?
This part of the session will use craniosacral therapy, a form of body work that uses very light touch, to open up a channel for you receive messages directly from your heart, all while deeply relaxing your nervous system.
Event Info + FAQs
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Where: Bridge Between the Worlds in Keswick, VA
When:
The retreat is Saturday, August 3rd 2024 from 9am - 4pm
The wellness salon is Sunday, August 4th 2024 from 10am - 6pm
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Herbal Retreat:
We ask that you join us for the entire day. We want to create a container where nourishment and rest can deepen over the course of the day. We are not offering half-day passes.
Wellness Salon:
You are welcome to come and go as you please during the salon. If you book a session, please show up 15 minutes before your session begins to give yourself time to park and settle in.
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No, you can come for Saturday only, Sunday only, or both days! See the registration options for more details.
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No, there are no overnight stays available.
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Kids 14 - 17 are welcome with a parent or guardian.
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Herbal Retreat:
You’ll be creating a nest that will be your home base for the day. Bring a yoga mat, a cushion, a blanket, warm clothing, and anything you’ll need to make yourself feel cozy.
Bring a covered vessel for tea.
Bring a notebook to capture those little “Aha!” moments
Optional: something for the altar (you can either leave it or take it back at the end of the day)
Wellness Salon:
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We will serve a variety of dishes appropriate for the season that will include vegan and gluten fee fare.
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If you can no longer join us, please email us as soon as you can. Please note that we are not offering full refunds for this event. If you cancel by July 31st at 11:59 pm, we will refund you half of your event ticket price. If you cancel on August 1st or later, we are unable to refund you, but you are welcome to give your spot to someone else.
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Yes, we will provide materials for all of the days activities. You’ll go home with some herbal gifts as well :)
