"The great sea has sent me adrift;
it moves me
like a reed in a great river.
Earth and the great weather move me,
have carried me away,
and fill my inward parts with joy." - Uvavnuk, an Iglulik Eskimo woman shaman

"Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a bath in the sea. Entering the unconscious, entering yourself through dreams, is touching nature from the inside and this is the same thing, things are put right again." - CG Jung

Embodying Nature Retreats

On Land retreats are Back!

2023

May 26-28: Embodying Nature
Dartington Hall, Devon, England

June 8-11: Embodying Nature
Toulouse, France (English with French Translation)
Workshop Full/ Wait List

June 15-18: Embodying Nature
Val Lumnezia, Switzerland

June 22-25: Embodying Nature
Lavin, Switzerland - Workshop Full/ Wait List

September 24-30: Embodying Nature
Sea Ranch, CA

2024

May 16-20: Embodying Nature
Near Dax, France (English with French Translation)

2025

May 17-September 14: Embodying Nature Online Series

October 3-8: Embodying Nature
Shantigar, Rowe, MA

October 18-22: Embodying Nature
Near Valence, France (English with French Translation)

	Courses: See course calendar See course list

We are members of the natural world, microcosms of the outer landscape who can easily forget our wild nature and our place in Creation. In this retreat, we take time to immerse ourselves in the living dreamscape of our bodies and the natural world to remember, to explore and discover more of who we are and what we can be. Tree, sky, rock, and water – all the elements reflect parts of our being that can be embodied and expressed.

Embodying Nature is a somatic-expressive practice developed by Jamie McHugh for expanding and deepening our kinship with the natural world through the preverbal medium of our body's perception and expression. This experiential, hands-on process is simple, inclusive and easy to understand and has been taught to various groups in the landscapes of North America and Europe over the past 30 years. The application of the model is as diverse as the individuals who facilitate it; Embodying Nature has been used as a foundation for performance, creative writing, environmental education and ecopsychology.

The Embodying Nature protocol combines a conceptual map with specific tools and activities to engage you in the sensorial experience of your surroundings. Each day begins by settling into your inner landscape with the five somatic technologies of breath, vocalization, contact, movement and stillness. (Video overview of the five technologies here)

From there, you move into relationship with the outer landscape by contacting, witnessing, mirroring, and responding. The combination of the somatic practices with these relational activities generates a flow state conducive to a creative stream of spontaneous dances, intuitive songs, and silent contemplations that connect us more deeply to our interior and the larger body of the Earth.

Embodying relaxed attention and lively presence to meet, become, and cherish the land provides a regenerative oasis for stepping back into one’s life – refreshed, renewed, and restored.

Read an article about the methodology HERE

Experience an Embodying Nature activity HERE