Wildflower Spring Retreat
Wildflower 2024: Yoga & More!
Spring Retreat
April 26-28, 2024
Please join us for our second annual spring retreat, Wildflower 2024: Yoga & More! Our intention is to provide a restorative weekend of yoga, meditation, guided journaling, reflective exercises, time in nature, and healthy food to support you in tuning into your heart and inner knowing. We look forward to gathering open-hearted individuals in community to nurture our personal and collective growth and expansion. The event will take place at a regenerative ranch in the beautiful hills of Northern California. Please see below for information about the schedule, your hosts, special guests, pricing, and venue.
Schedule of Activities
Friday, April 26
2pm |
Arrival & Check-in |
3pm |
Yoga |
5pm |
Free Time / Optional Hike |
6pm |
Light Appetizers & Dinner |
7:30pm |
Intros & Intentions |
10pm |
Quiet Time |
Saturday, April 27
8am |
Wake Up & Flow Yoga |
9:30am |
Breakfast
|
10:45am |
Hike |
12:30pm |
Lunch
|
2pm |
Horsing Around with Wendy |
5pm |
Slow Flow Yoga |
7pm |
Dinner & Live Music
|
10pm |
Quiet Time |
Sunday, April 28
8am |
Wake Up & Flow Yoga |
9:30am |
Breakfast |
10:45am |
Soul Stretching with Mary Ruth |
1:30pm |
Lunch |
2:30pm |
Closing Circle |
4pm |
Pack-up & Departure |
Your Hosts
Margie Suozzo & Trina Currier
Trina and Margie will be your hosts and yoga teachers for the weekend. We love building community, particularly when it involves personal and spiritual development and the outdoors. We are registered yoga teachers with Yoga Alliance (Trina RYT-500, Margie RYT-200) with a focus on alignment-based vinyasa yoga. We enjoy learning and growing in our own yoga practices and we are thrilled to share our love of yoga with you and offer both strong and gentle-flow classes suitable for all levels, with a focus on grounding, centering, and connecting with your authentic self. For more information about us, visit our bios.
Special Guests
Mary Ruth Quinn
Mary Ruth‘s work centers on helping humans open to their hearts and spirits. As a child she experienced otherworldly visions of radiant love. Mindful of its ubiquity within every person, she dedicated her efforts into midwifing its expression. In a variety of settings she has taught classes, led retreats, given talks, counseled, and practiced energy healing with clients worldwide. Her formal education was at Brown University (BA) and the University of Chicago (Human Development ABD). Yet by far her deepest learning came from her marriage (44 yrs), her motherhood, and sharing friendship. On this retreat she will offer contemplative exercises and journal writing to help participants discover or deepen the radiant love that they are.
Wendy Millet
Wendy, co-founder of Gallop Ventures LLC, an equine leadership program to facilitate human/nature connections, will share her knowledge of regenerative agriculture and lead us in reflective exercises with horses at Wildflower. When she is not working with horses, she runs an educational ranch with a mission to raise healthy food on working lands in a way that regenerates the planet and inspires others to action. She is on the board of Western Landowners Alliance, the California Council of Land Trusts, and Imagine That Ventures and was an early catalyst for the formation of Women in Ranching and Planet Women – inspiring networks of women caring for land, animals, community, and the planet. Check out this video to learn more about Wendy’s work.
The Song Gardeners
The Song Gardeners will be playing their beautiful, heart-expanding music on Saturday night during Wildflower! Founded in August 2019 by singers/songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Corrie Dunn and Mary Gospe, The Song Gardeners is at the forefront of the New Age Pop genre. Along with their producer, David Scheibner, Mary and Corrie create well-crafted contemporary songs with positive, empowering messages and a chill, groove vibe. The award-winning band performs regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Get a taste of their unique style here and view upcoming shows here.
“The Song Gardeners are the most exciting new age band on the planet.”
– Steve Sheppard, One World Music Radio
Venue
Wildflower 2024 will be held at beautiful Paicines Ranch, a regenerative ranch in San Benito County, California, an hour south of San Jose.
Pricing
Retreat pricing is per person pricing and varies by lodging choice (e.g., private room, shared room, tent option). Rooms are simple, clean and comfortable – think Grandma’s farm not the Four Seasons. Transportation to and from the ranch is not included. Early birds receive a $50 discount if paid before Mar. 10!
- Private room, all inclusive retreat – $1000 | $950 if paid by Mar. 10
- Shared room (double occupancy), all inclusive retreat – $950 | $900 if paid by Mar. 10
- Tent camping (BYO tent), all inclusive retreat – $500 | $550 if paid by Mar. 10
- Payment is due upon registration.
- 50% refund available if you cancel by April 5.
- No refund available if you cancel after April 5.
FAQ
How do I get to Paicines Ranch and when should I arrive?
Plan to arrive at Paicines at 2pm on Friday, April 28. Traffic worsens in the afternoon, so getting an early start will hopefully make for a more pleasant drive!
Paicines Ranch is nestled in the heart of San Benito County, CA, among sweeping oak-studded hills, about 1 hour south of San Jose and 2 hours south of San Francisco. We are happy to connect people flying in, if you’d like to arrange for ride sharing to Paicines. The entire retreat will take place at Paicines, so no cars will be necessary during the retreat.
Please enter “Paicines Ranch” into Google Maps for the most accurate directions, or follow along below:
- If driving from San Francisco or San Jose, follow 101 South through Gilroy. Exit onto Highway 25 toward Hollister – approx 12 miles to Hollister.
- Continue past the towns of Hollister, Tres Pinos, and Paicines. One half mile past the Paicines General Store, turn right onto the next available road, Cienega. Look straight and turn into the big green gate (DO NOT GO left onto Cienega Rd.)
- Once through the gate, drive down the road and follow signs toward the Office and continue past the Office to the Event Center Barn. Parking will be on your left. Follow signs to Check-in.
Please note: You will likely not have cell phone reception during the last 5 minutes of the drive so please plan ahead!
What should I pack?
April is a lovely time of year in the San Benito Hills! As always in Northern California, temperatures vary greatly throughout the day, so plan for layers.
- Yoga/activewear for most of the daytime activities
- Sneakers for hiking on smooth dirt trail/road
- Something “festive casual” for Saturday night dinner
- Jacket for cool evenings
- Water bottle
- Sun hat, sunscreen, sun glasses
- A journal and pen
- Yoga props (mat, strap, blanket, blocks). If you don’t have yoga equipment, or if you’re flying in for the retreat, we’ll take care of you! Please indicate on the registration form which props you will bring.
What will we eat?
We will feature vegetarian and vegan dishes at all meals. For those who eat meat, we will offer humanely raised options. Paicines Ranch is a model of sustainable ranching, a healthy place for animals, plants, humans, and the planet. Please inform us of any dietary restrictions and food preferences on your registration form.
What type of yoga will we practice and is it okay if I don’t have much experience?
We’ll practice yoga together morning and evening during the retreat. In our morning Wake Up and Flow practices, we’ll take the time to break down and practice each pose, and as the class progresses, we’ll link the poses together into flowing vinyasa sequences. Prepare for deep relaxation and a greater emphasis on restorative poses in our evening Slow Flow practices. We’ll teach to all levels in the room and encourage students to use props and tune-in to your unique needs.
Will we be riding horses?
Nope. But we will participate in a special session with horses, guided by Wendy Millet of Gallop Ventures. Wendy will lead us in on-the-ground interactions where we can learn about ourselves based on reflection from the horses. Watch this 4-minute video for a preview of the type of work we’ll do with Wendy.
What am I paying for?
Wildflower 2024 is an all-inclusive retreat featuring yoga, meditation, guided journaling, reflective work with horses, lodging, and healthy, delicious meals. Paicines Ranch partners with us to offer low rates for food and lodging. Our retreat leaders and special guests offer their services at low costs, in the spirit of coming together in friendship and community.
How much does the retreat cost and what is the cancellation policy?
Cost:
In order to hold your place, full payment is due upon registration. Payment ranges from $500 to $1,000, depending on your choice of lodging. Receive an early bird discount ($50 off) if you register by March 10!
Cancellation:
50% refund available if you cancel by April 5.
No refund available if you cancel after April 5.
Who are your hosts?
Trina Currier and Margie Suozzo love building community, particularly when it involves personal and spiritual development and the outdoors. Their retreats are a natural continuation of many years of organizing group excursions, meditation classes, yoga classes, hikes, and other experiences for friends. Both have completed 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Alignment-Based Vinyasa (RYT-200) with Hillary Acer. Trina has completed an additional 300-hour yoga certification with Jason Crandell, which Margie is working towards. They have been team-teaching yoga since December, 2022. You can read more about them in their bios here.
Who are the special guests?
sWe are very excited to bring together an amazing team of special guests for Wildflower 2024!
- Mary Ruth Quinn. Mary Ruth’s work centers on helping humans open to their hearts and spirits. On this retreat she will offer contemplative exercises and journal writing to help participants discover or deepen the radiant love that they are.
- Wendy Millet, when she’s not directing operations at TomKat Ranch in Pescadero, California, leads workshops with Gallop Ventures in personal and team growth and development using the wisdom of horses as spiritual, reflective guides.
- “The Song Gardeners,” Mary Gospe and Corrie Dunn, create and perform New Age Pop with positive, empowering messages and a chill, toe-tapping vibe. The award-winning duo performs regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can learn more and view their upcoming shows here.
Still have questions?
Click on the image below to view the FAQ PDF.
