A DEEP SOUL IMMERSION TO UNLEASH YOUR INNER WILD ONE
Bend of Ivy Retreat Center | Asheville NC
11-15 August 2022
“We need the tonic of wildness...
At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable,
that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable.
We can never have enough of nature.”
Imagine with me…
… waking up on a sunny summer morning to bird song + fresh mountain air pouring through an open window.
As you step outside, a vista of deep green envelops your senses. Sunlight pours through a light mist, capturing your gaze a moment.
You pour a cup of tea or coffee + sit beside the pond. There is nowhere to rush to, no one who needs you. No phone to check, no work to attend, no childcare or meal prep beckons you.
A deep sigh settles you. You pull out your journal + capture what is stirring inside, that voice you can finally hear again.
After a shower, you head to the morning gathering. You dance + move your body in a way that makes you feel free + alive, sensual + wild. It helps you recall something you'd forgotten.
You walk a labyrinth of stone + grass. Something of your soul comes back home, in through the dirt between your toes.
You spend the entire afternoon alone in the forest, tracking dragonfly dances and the teachings of trees. The Wild Innocent of you delights in the simple pleasure of being intimately connected to Earth.
You find yourself at a river, unfurling your body over a warm rock to bask in sunshine. You feel alive. Sensual. Satisfied.
Some wild cry emits from deep in your body + it makes you laugh with abandon. This Wild One has been so quiet lately – her eros expands you.
You return to the circle + listen to the stories + wonder of soulkin. Their laughter brings you deep presence + joyful belonging. In their cries, you feel more connected to yourself, the truth of your full-range humanity. You remember you are not alone.
After a meal you'll remember for years to come, you watch the sunset over the mountains – simple delight bubbles in you.
As nightfalls, you gather again in ceremony with your fellow kin, taking what you're soul-weaving into sacred space. What unfolds under this full moon night changes you at a cellular level. You'll never be the same.
You can breathe more deeply, sleep more soundly, + embody more fully the TRUTH of your being. It's simple + deep.
The cicadas sing you a lullaby + you smile knowing even more magic awaits you tomorrow...
THIS is Wild Grace.
“Bone by bone, hair by hair, Wild Woman comes back. Through night dreams, through events half understood and half remembered...”
A LOVE NOTE FROM JAIME
I don’t know about you, but for the past two years, I’ve spent more crisp sunny mornings inside checking my cell phone or doing rote daily life – apart from friends and community – than communing with nature and beloved others (human and non).
I’ve spent more time logging into Zoom calls than I’ve listened for how many distinct bird songs I can hear below the golden afternoon sky.
And I’m a dear nature lover. While I wander my nearby woods daily, my soul still craves much greater sips of the wild.
Sometimes she wants it in guzzles that stream down her lips and make a mess of things she tries too hard to keep tidy anyways.
While she revels in solitude, sometimes my soul craves the company of new friends, to hear their laughter, to notice the play of light in their eyes as they tell a story. To see their smile.
I want space to be.
To be alone.
To be together.
To follow the invisible trail of a butterfly.
To sunbathe in a shallow river bed.
To dance wildly beside a fire, under starlight, to a drum beat that awakens some ancient remembering in my bones.
To dive into a body of water whose bottom I can’t see.
Do you?
For many, myself included, these past two years have brought an unnatural level of screen-mediated connection, away from others and away from nature.
We’ve been trying to get through, trying to make sense, trying to adapt, trying to keep our heads afloat in a sea of confusion and unrest.
The Wild Grace Retreat is a homecoming.
It’s about coming home ––
— to the wilds within, by immersing ourselves in wilderness.
–– to the company of soulkin.
–– to sacred space-weaving with human and more-than-human guides and allies.
–– to a deep container in which to be held.
— to dream, to feel, to get free, to grieve, to die, and to be reborn.
Wild Grace is a surrender.
–– A surrender into the waiting arms of the Earth.
–– A surrender of the tired, small stories that pinch and blister like old shoes. A surrender of survival stress.
–– A surrender to whatever greater, deeper pulse of life stirs us now. A surrender of the noise enough to really listen.
–– A surrender of the trying, of the earning.
–– A surrender of the too much and not enough.
The WILD calls you back into the Mystery, back into the sacred, back into the wild skin of the untamed one within, the one with hawk eyes, bear paws, and coyote nose.
The GRACE calls you back to the arms of that which holds you, which is bigger than human-to-human life. To the miracles, magic and ease you don’t ever have to earn. That are yours simply for being alive, simply because you make space to notice them. To receive.
On this retreat, we will do things.
We will move our bodies, make art, laugh and cry and sweat together.
We will soften and slow.
We’ll eat delicious food.
We will spend luxurious swaths of time alone in nature, in ways you may never have before.
We will weave and we will come undone.
We will metamorphosize in ways we can’t yet imagine.
Take a moment, to put your hand on your heart and feel.
Without knowing yet all the details, feel the land and the space into which Wild Grace is inviting you.
Listen for it. Feel it. Ask your soul what it knows about this gathering. Pay attention to your dreams.
If you feel the call, I hope you’ll join us for this summer retreat.
It’s for you. It’s for your soul.
The wild grace of these ancient Grandmother southern Appalachia mountains longs to hold you, to whisper wisdom in your ears, to delight the wild innocent of you.
To help you remember.
To call you back home.
Swimming Pond at Bend of Ivy Retreat Center
“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious.
If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door.
If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door.
If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”
On this retreat, you will:
Connect meaningfully to sacred natural land + be held
Honor your body and being
Restore reverent connection to your wildness + your soul
Reconnect to your innate creativity
Explore soul-based practices through breath, movement, guided journeys, nature practices, art and sound
Experience rituals and ceremonies, self-led and in group
Receive clearings + activations through sound healing
Revel in lush natural spaces
Be nourished by delicious food
Cultivate deep, heart-centered connections with others
Enjoy silence, solitude, and space for soul
Magical Land at Bend of Ivy Retreat Center
YOUR INVESTMENT INCLUDES
Four nights + five days of lodging (shared and private rooms + camping options available)
Delicious, homemade meals, prepared with dietary needs in mind
Three delicious homemade meals daily (Plus dinner on arrival day + breakfast on departure day)
Fruit basket + light afternoon snacks
Coffee + tea service throughout the day
All retreat activities— including breath work, immersive nature practices, sound ceremonies, embodied movement, sacred evening rituals, and more.
Your Investment does not include:
Transportation to and from the retreat center
Massage: An incredible massage therapist will be on-site offering massage therapy for an additional rate TBA.
WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It's simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.
—MARY OLIVER
RETREAT DETAILS
A nature + soul immersion, the Wild Grace retreat is a sacred container for you to take space from the demands of daily life, and to connect deeply with the land and your own deeper essential self. To slow down enough to come into coherence with the heartbeat of the earth and allow the land to restore what has been so challenged in our often isolated, over-digitized realities. The work we do together as a group is meant to support and deepen that core intention.
Our morning sessions will include breathwork + meditation, embodied movement, and creative practices.
In the afternoons, you will have spacious solo spans of time to connect deeply with the land and your own soul. You’ll be offered potent invitations that invite new ways of relating with the natural world to facilitate richer reconnection with self and the web of life. Our late afternoon gatherings will help us deepen our experiences on the land.
In the evenings, we’ll gather after dinner for a different ceremonial experience each night. These will include: sacred circle/council, a sound ceremony, fire ceremony with guest drummers (Billy Zanski of Skinny Beats + crew) and dancing, and a closing gratitude ceremony.
OUR DAILY RHYTHM
8 am | DELICIOUS Breakfast served with love by the amazing DAVA and her team
9-11:30 | Morning Session: Movement + Breath
12:30 | Lunch
1:30-4 | Rest + nature immersion practices (option to get a massage)
4-6 | Afternoon Session: Deepening through creativity + connection
6:30 | DELICIOUS Dinner
8-10 | Evening Ceremony (Soul Council | Sound Journey | Fire Ceremony/Dance/Drumming | Gratitude Ceremony)
THE RETREAT SPACE AND LAND
We will be staying at the Bend of Ivy Lodge in Marshall, North Carolina, just 20 minutes from downtown Asheville, North Carolina and nestled in the beautiful Southern Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountains. The property is a 63-acre nature paradise, featuring:
A swimming koi pond
An outdoor labyrinth
Zen gardens
Miles of nature trails in the woods
Sweeping vistas and views, including the tallest peak east of the Mississippi, Mount Mitchell
Access to the Ivy River for relaxing, sunbathing and wading
An organic farm, with animals (such as friendly goats!)
A remodeled tobacco barn, turned cozy lodge
Pavillion gathering space
Your Guides
Your chief guides on this journey will be Mother Nature and your own soul.
We are also held by a sacred circle of support in both the seen and unseen realms.
Your lead human ally for this adventure is me, Jaime Fleres.
I’m an artist, medicine woman, author, astrologer and soul guide. I’m practiced in the arts of sacred ceremonial space holding, Qoya, expressive writing and arts, herbal wisdom, astrology, Shamanism, sound healing, and nature medicine. You can read more on the About page.
I am grateful and honored to hold this space and co-create with you and Life.
Go out in the woods, go out. If you don't go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
ACCOMMODATIONS + PRICING
Monthly payment plans are available and will vary depending on when you register. Please contact Jaime for options at jaime@jaimefleres.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average temperature in Asheville in August?
The weather is absolutely beautiful in Asheville in the summer. Not to mention it feels like a rainforest here in the summer. The temperature typically ranges from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, with averages in the 70s. Rain is possible all seasons of the year here. Plan to pack layers so that you can be comfortable regardless of the weather.
Is there A/C in the lodge?
Yes!
How far is the retreat center from the Asheville airport?
Bend of Ivy Lodge in Marshall, North Carolina, is located about 30 minutes (29 miles) from Asheville Regional Airport and about 15-20 minutes from downtown Asheville. There are many Airbnb options if you’d like to extend your stay.
If you choose not to fly into Asheville, you may fly into Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT) airport, which is 2:15 away from the retreat center, or Greenville, South Carolina (GSP), which is 1:30 away from the retreat center. There is a shuttle service operating from Charlotte to Asheville called hickoryhop.com (I haven’t used this company before), which operates 9 shuttles a day and is $170 roundtrip. This shuttle takes you into Asheville, but you’d still need to arrange transport to the retreat center. There are other shuttle services available, which you might Google.
Lyft and Uber are also transportation options from Asheville or the airport. Lyft looks to be between $30-50 from downtown Asheville and $40-70 from the Asheville airport to the retreat center.
I’d also encourage and can help to connect participants for ride-sharing and carpools from Asheville to the retreat center.
What time does the retreat start and end?
We are invited to gather at Bend of Ivy at 1pm on Thursday August 11. We won’t have any formal “programming” until dinner and afterwards on the first night, allowing people to arrive as they need in the afternoon hours. I do encourage people to come and take the afternoon to settle in and fully land from their travels.
Our retreat wraps up around 11 or 12 noon on Monday August 15. We’ll have breakfast and a morning practice that day with time to pack.
What is your refund policy?
Refunds (minus admin + service fees) will be offered if a situation arises more than 60 days before the retreat (June 11) that prohibits your participation at Wild Grace. You must notify Jaime in writing of your need to cancel and request for a refund.
At or less than 60 days, your retreat investment is non-refundable and non-transferable to another retreat. You do, however, have the option to find someone to take your place.
If you or the retreat facilitator come down with COVID within 2 weeks of the retreat, you'll be given a full credit to use in the future. If some wild local or global event or mandate prohibits us from gathering, you’ll receive a full credit to use on a retreat or any other service I offer.
COVID considerations
It goes without saying that we are living through unpredictable times and that each of us are finding our own path through. I encourage you to read the following COVID practices that will be honored during this retreat and determine if this aligns with your personal needs and preferences.
We will not require masks, negative tests or vaccine proof for attendance at this retreat. While some of our activities will be outdoors, we will have some indoor sound events, movement, breathwork, meditation practices, and circle time. Meals are also a shared experience and many of the accommodation options are shared. As such, this is not a container conducive to strict social distancing.
If you would like to wear a mask, your choice will absolutely be honored, though with breathwork and movement practices, the reduction of oxygen access may prove uncomfortable or physiologically unsafe and you would do so at your own risk.
With great respect and care for one another, we do ask that all participants make prudent choices in the two weeks prior to our retreat, avoiding contact with anyone who has possible or known exposure to or symptoms of contagious illness. We ask that you consider social distancing and wellness practices that support your holistic wellbeing, so as to contribute to the health of our group as we gather. If you come down with any symptoms of COVID or are exposed within two weeks prior to our retreat, we will consider a full credit toward a future retreat, minus administrative costs.
If we are lawfully able to assemble and you choose to withdraw attendance for any reason (besides current COVID), no refunds or credits will be available (partial or in-full). If we are unable to gather due to shelter-in-place or any other governmental guidelines, you will be offered a full credit to use towards a future retreat or offering.
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”