mother: The retreat
The journey and passage of motherhood is a sacred calling, one that is unpredictable in nature, rarely goes the way that we think it is, and can be full of a range of complex emotions and initiations along the way.
Our own path to motherhood was full with questions of whether it was something I could hold alongside my purpose, if I had capacity for it, and the fear of it.
Two years of trying and wondering if I was even able to get pregnant.
Navigating an early miscarriage, a high risk pregnancy and everything else that comes with this journey.
Mother has been an initiation, a calling, a place that had me confront depths in myself, to be with new layers of my own mother wound, and being with the places of grief, devastation and ultimately what lead me into being a mother of two.
We also appreciate that each woman has her own journey into motherhood, and not every journey is one that is easy to be with.
We wanted to create a retreat for women that are on the path of connecting to mother and motherhood, wherever they are in the journey.
To sit in circle with women on all the ways we are with this path, to mothers that are in the thick of what that space and identity is, to women still navigating the desire to have children and perhaps the journey that has been, to being in motherhood and feeling the space of that, we can hold each other in this space deeply and find support from one another.
Mother is also an archetype and journey we can be with, and find where we are being called to hold it in a way that is honoring our unique journey.
This is not about imposing one way, or trying to hold that each of us should have the same journey or we should feel the same way about motherhood and the space of mother, but rather finding our place in the journey that feels allowing for us, where we can accept and embrace and find some comfort and healing in where we find ourselves journeying with mother.
There is healing and support we can find in the herd, where they know what we need, where we can be in what they offer, and where we can connect to the land and find a place in ourselves and within the herd and the earth we walk, that is offering something to us as we journey.
This retreat we felt we wanted to create for women, to receive, to be held, supported, witnessed and to find healing in where they need it.
This is not a retreat where we will impose an experience, or agenda, but rather create space for the women that feel called to be with us to receive what is here for them with the herd and the land.
Where we witness one another, sit in ceremony, be with what is here for each of us, where there is not a place of wanting to find a solution for each other, but rather to see what the herd is offering to us all.
In my own quest around mother and motherhood, my herd was often a place and space that held much for me.
When I was deeply questioning if I had capacity to have children and what that meant for my purpose, they held me in that honesty of questioning.
When I was struggling with getting pregnant while also navigating an early miscarriage the herd held me in that too.
When I have my moments in my current space where I feel the guilt at times for being a woman that holds much and finding the balance of that with motherhood, my herd supports me.
When my own mother wounds were deeply triggered again with having children, my herd helped me navigate that space as I again felt the grief of my own experience that I had to sit with again.
The magic of horses is they don’t operate with an agenda, they simply know what we need, and that in itself is healing.
Whatever you need to receive on this journey, where you need to be filled up, grieve, be supported, celebrated and acknowledged, you will find it there.
Our practice as women is to hold that witnessing for one another, in where we each are, and trust we will be brought into a circle with those that are meant to gather with us and find what we need in that space.
The outcome of this retreat, or what you will walk away with will depend on each woman and what is held for you here. It is always what we need and perhaps not always what we expect.
If you are a woman walking towards or in the being of the space of mother, in any capacity, you are welcome here. If you are a woman that is holding motherhood and needs a retreat for herself, you are welcome here.
My hope is that this retreat can serve as deeply healing for women that are holding mother in themselves and we can find comfort and support, both in our circle and the embrace of the herd as we walk this path together.
If you question if this retreat is for you, but you feel the call, our invitation is to listen to that calling and also apply so we can explore and chat.
This retreat is meant to hold you in the range of the journey and that you will leave feeling restored, validated, and healed in what you need within you in relationship to mother.
Alongside the herd we will also be gathering in the space of our womb and be supported in that navigation and holding with our co-facilitator. Mother is held in the body, and as well as in our spirit, and you will be tended to and nurtured in all ways that your system is seeking it.
What is included
5 nights stay in a private cabin
4 days of immersive experience with the herd and facilitators
Catered meals
Shuttle to and from the ranch.
When: Thursday May 21st - Sunday May 24th (arrive on Wednesday, depart Sunday or Monday)
Investment: $3000 CDN plus taxes
(custom and extended payment plans are available)
meet your facilitators
Hillary schneider
Hillary is the founder and lead facilitator of the Epona Rise Retreat Center and Horse Medicine Leadership Academy, she has been leading and teaching retreats and trainings with her herd for the last 13 years.
Passionate about bringing the teachings of the horses to impact the lives of humans, she has been devoted to her own vision and purpose of creating a space in nature where people can come and receive the wisdom of horses, the land and their own inner guidance.
She has over the last 13 years had the privilege of hosting and leading retreats for a range of people who are seeking to become more masterful in their experience of being a human with their own passion of personal and professional growth and development.
