Just a short ferry ride from Seattle, Vashon Island feels a world away. Surrounded by water and mountains, and long known as a haven for artists and other creatives, this is the perfect place to gather in community and explore the Divine Feminine.

Use a variety of practices to explore femininity for yourself.

We can learn from women throughout history and across cultures by considering what the Divine Feminine has meant to them. I will offer workshops throughout the weekend designed to bring this perspective.

We can more deeply access our own wisdom through our bodies. Using movement practices, including yoga as well as other types of movement meditation, Patti Shelton (MD and yoga teacher) will teach us to integrate our new insights. Weather permitting, we’ll spend at least part of this time outside, in the spacious yard where we can connect to the Earth. Using her extensive background as a meditation teacher, Patti will help you to unlock your inner wisdom, with meditations based on the Radiance Sutras (a beautiful ancient text that many people find inspiring) and other meditative practices.

To facilitate this process, we’ll take part in my signature labyrinth fire ceremony. This transformational experience will guide you in discovering and then releasing anything that no longer serves you. I have not offered this since my retreat in Greece in 2014, and Patti and I are so pleased to be bringing it to Vashon Island this fall.

What does it mean to be a woman in today’s society? Increasing numbers of female heads of state and CEOs show us how far we’ve come, while the #MeToo movement shows us how far we still have to go.

How can we honor our womanhood? What does it mean to live as a woman in a world that remains male-dominated? How can we integrate the “feminine” and “masculine” sides of ourselves (knowing that both are present in every individual), without letting one side take over?

Exploring these questions in a community allows us to go deeper, learn from each other, open to new ideas, and express our insights.

Enjoy yoga and meditation in this gorgeous side yard, with views of the water and the mountains beyond.

Enjoy your senses, with delicious food and a beautiful setting.

Our access to our own wisdom is enhanced when we’re in a state of enjoyment. We’ll enjoy delicious meals lovingly crafted by Snapdragon Cafe, the beloved Vashon institution. Weather permitting, we’ll gather around the outdoor fire pit, and we’ll also have plenty of other opportunities to enjoy each other’s company. The views from the house and yard are beautiful, and our activities will be set up to maximize them.

From a state of relaxation, delight, and connection, you’ll be prepared for new inner experiences. After meditating (whether they’re sitting still or moving during the meditation), people often report that the little details around them seem much more vivid. Our goal is to help you access that state where everything seems like a delight. This state is the breeding ground for new insights, perspectives, and inner experiences.

Whoever you are and wherever you are in your life, exploring the feminine can help you to understand your own journey and feel into your next steps.

By the end of this retreat weekend, you’ll have a new understanding of what femininity means to you. Patti and I look forward to welcoming you to the beautiful sanctuary of Vashon Island.

There are several different options for this retreat, ranging from attending the workshop sessions and sharing meals without sleeping in the house ($199; intended for those who live on Vashon, or who prefer to arrange their own lodging), to staying in one of several different bed types in our beautiful community house ($339 to $499, depending on your preferences). Meals are included, from dinner on Friday night to brunch on Sunday morning, and dietary needs and preferences can be accommodated. Please contact me using the form below to learn more or to save your spot. We look forward to seeing you!

Allison is pleased to be hosting her first international retreat in four years on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta in June 2019, with an optional add-on to Athens. During this women’s-only retreat, our areas of exploration will use myth, ritual, and yoga to come to a deeper understanding of ourselves and what it means to be embodied as a woman in today’s culture. Malta provides a particularly rich backdrop for such an exploration, as it is the home to temples to the Goddess that are among the oldest religious sites in the world.

Allison is joined by medical doctor and yoga teacher Patti Shelton, and together they will use their areas of expertise to guide our moments of transformation and discovery, of body, psyche, and spirit.

Allison will lead daily discussions of the influence and power of different archetypal goddesses in our lives today; and plans several rituals to be conducted over the course of the week, including a moon goddess ritual and her signature fire labyrinth ritual when we will meet the goddess of the labyrinth, and confront and befriend the monster within.

Allison will lead each participant through an individual exploration of their influential archetypes, that will tell us stories about the past and present, as well as providing guidance for the future. This exercise is similar in nature to a Tarot reading but provides an even deeper path into each person’s story, with the added benefit of providing greater clarity than is possible with a tarot reading. She will also lead a guided meditation for each person, to facilitate a meeting with the goddess of your choosing. In previous retreats, these two experiences have been among the most powerful as reported by the participants. Don’t miss it!

Patti will lead daily yoga classes that will move both body and spirit and will connect each person with their own divine feminine by moving those archetypal energies through the body.

The group will be staying in a private villa on the coast of Malta, with a private swimming pool, beautiful ocean views, and an outdoor deck for our yoga classes. Meals will be mostly catered at the villa, with a few culinary excursions planned to allow us to fully enjoy the unique and delicious cuisine of Malta. Malta has been a crossroads of Mediterranean culture since humans were able to cross the sea, and their food reflects that. An evening cooking class on Maltese cuisine is also planned.

Planned excursions include the World Heritage Sites of the Megalithic Temples of Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, and Tarxien, the City of Valletta, and the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. Patti also plans an optional scuba diving and snorkeling excursion, as Malta is one of the best places in the Mediterranean for scuba diving and she is a passionate diver.

There will also be plenty of time for shopping, sunbathing, exploring Malta’s ancient villages, and swimming in the azure crystalline waters of the Mediterranean. This retreat is carefully timed to give us the best weather while we are on Malta, so we should be able to enjoy the brilliant sunshine by day and star-studded skies at night.

This will be a transformative and life-deepening experience like no other and is available from no one else in the world.

Coming June 2019 and spaces are filling ahead of the official announcement, so contact Allison to reserve your spot today. Early bird registration will be available.