‘YOGA, Scoliosis, and the Nervous System:
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic’
- with deborah wolk
SALT SPRING ISLAND, BC
JULY 22-25, 2022
REGISTRATION is open until JULY 10. We still have TWO spots left!!
This workshop will be held on beautiful Salt Spring Island on the West Coast of Canada. MAP
ABOUT THE RETREAT
The scoliotic spine affects not only the bones and muscles, it also affects the nerves. The feedback from the right and left sides of the curves is not the same: one side is contracted and one side is overstretched. In the nervous system, this can create disorientation and a mix of inertia and tension in the scoliotic body, along with a building sense of anxiety, discomfort, and an inability to rest.
In this workshop, you will learn techniques to practice building your energy with active poses which access numb unused areas, release overused overstretched muscles, and allow your body to rest by finding release where muscles are over-contracted. Using prop setups and other stimuli which allow the nervous system to balance these extremes, the techniques in this workshop will help you to find a centre place where you can rest.
This retreat is for all levels, as well as students with spinal fusion. Teachers who work with students who have scoliosis are also encouraged to attend.
As one student wrote, from our last TOPS retreat with Deborah Wolk in 2019:
“I was admittedly a bit scared heading out to Salt Spring on my own, to a retreat by a group I had never heard of, with people I had yet to meet. But, it turned out better than I could have ever anticipated. Martha was, and is, LOVELY. Meeting us at the ferry, getting us tucked in at the retreat centre, and nurturing our experience from start to finish. Deborah was the BEST teacher I have ever learned from, and being a yoga teacher, I have learned from many. The centre reminded me of my dorm at university: clean, comfortable and just enough. The food was nourishing... so much so that I was full from the first bite, until we departed Sunday afternoon. I did crave both coffee and chocolate though, but found those delights at the market. Thank heavens for small miracles! The women in attendance were strangers, and now friends. And, my heart could not have been happier for having said yes.”
ABOUT THE DESTINATION
Salt Spring Island is known as the largest and most popular of the many gulf islands on the west coast of Canada. With its spectacular coastal and pastoral scenery, the island offers many outdoor activities, as well as the opportunity to explore dozens of artist studios and artisanal farms and markets. The workshop will be held at the wonderful Salt Spring Centre of Yoga. Salt Spring Island is a quick float plane ride from Vancouver International Airport or the downtown Vancouver harbour. Or you can arrive via a stunning ferry ride from Vancouver or Victoria (Vancouver island).
ABOUT DEBORAH WOLK
Having practiced yoga for her own scoliosis since 1994, Deborah has found that alignment-based yoga can control back pain and arrest the progression of the curvature and twist. In January 2015, Deborah founded Samamkaya Yoga Back Care and Scoliosis Collective in New York City – the only Yoga Center specializing in back care and scoliosis operating as a workers’ cooperative in the world! Deborah’s yoga teaching is inspired by her mentors, Elise Browning Miller, Bobbie Fultz, Genny Kapuler, Karin Stephan and Donald Moyer, and by therapeutic practices observed at medical classes at The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India. Her understanding of the nervous system is supported by ongoing study of Experiential Anatomy with Genny Kapuler and through her work with teacher Rachel Lynch-John in Body-Mind Centering techniques, a study she loves as much as Yoga itself. Deborah Wolk is certified by IAYT.
Learn More: read Deborah Wolk’s recent Blog post, “Yoga, Scoliosis, and the Nervous System: Choosing Peace over Numbness and Noise”
Full Retreat Package Includes:
Daily yoga, movement, meditation, and relaxation classes with acclaimed Yoga for Scoliosis teacher, Deborah Wolk. Plus the assistance of wonderful and skilled in-class assistants to help you with form and technique. You will get lots of individual attention and care!
Delicious vegetarian meals from the extensive gardens on the property, lovingly prepared by the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga - plus snacks!
A ride to / from the airport, ferry, or bus station on arrival and departure as needed.
Handouts with ideas, exercises, drawings, and descriptions to take home which will help you to create and continue your own practice moving forward.
COST:
Full Retreat Package - $1,075 CAD +tax.
Commuter Package (everything included EXCEPT accommodation) - $615 CAD +tax.
Sliding scale is available based on financial need.
— Camping is available on site for a reduced accommodations rate (developed campsites include an option for quiet forest setting or sunny open meadow; all have access to hot showers and outhouses). For camping discount, please use coupon code: WolkCamperCoupon during registration.
— The very limited number of single accommodations at an additional cost are currently filled, but please indicate your preference during registration anyway. While unlikely, if we can accommodate we will!
USA PARTICIPANTS: CHECK CAD TO USD $ EXCHANGE RATE HERE.
Payment Policy: Registration & Deposit Deadline 2 Months Prior to Retreat.
As a non-profit, we need to know we have enough registrations required to fulfill our financial obligations to pay studios, accommodations, teachers, caterers, etc, by their deposit deadlines. Save $50 on our Full Retreat Package when you register by our Registration Deadline of April 22, 2022. Registration is open until JULY 10.
30% deposit due at registration; balance due 30 days prior to Retreat.
NOTE: Prior to completing your registration, you will see an orange button option to ‘Pay Now’ (this will be the full amount) OR to ‘Pay CA $XXX Deposit Now’ (the 30% deposit amount).
RETREAT SCHEDULE
(Subject to Change)
Day One
Arrivals
6:00pm - 9:00pm Dinner & Introductory Session (Lecture only)
Day Two
8:45am – Breakfast
9:30am - 12:30pm – Morning Session
12:30pm - 1:30pm – Lunch
1:30pm - 4:00pm – Break (exploring, excursions, or rest)
4:00pm - 6:00pm – Afternoon Session
6:00pm - 9:00pm – Dinner & Leisure Activity
Day Three
8:45am – Breakfast
9:30am - 12:30pm – Morning Session
12:30pm - 1:30pm – Lunch
1:30pm - 4:00pm – Break (exploring, excursions, or rest)
4:00pm - 6:00pm – Afternoon Session
6:00pm - 9:00pm – Dinner & Leisure Activity
Day Four
8:45am - Breakfast
9:30am - 12:30pm – Morning Session
12:30pm - 1:30pm – Lunch
1:30pm – Departures
ACCOMMODATIONS
Participants will stay on-site at the lovely Salt Spring Centre of Yoga. Rooms are shared accommodation, with a very small number of private bedrooms available for an extra cost (first come, first serve).
NOTE: Salt Spring Centre offers a lovely selection of teas, but they don’t have coffee. So if you are a caffeine lover, either bring your own ground beans OR buy delicious artisanal ground coffee at the local Salt Spring market!
TRANSPORTATION
BY SEA: Get to Salt Spring island on BC Ferries, to either the Swartz Bay or Long Harbour ferry terminals. If you are arriving from Victoria (Vancouver Island), you will need to be on the Swartz Bay Ferry to Fulford Harbour route. If you are traveling from Vancouver, you will need to take the Tsawwassen Ferry to Long Harbour. You can also travel Vancouver Tsawwassen to Victoria Swartz Bay, and then on to Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring. There are many different sailing choices, check BC Ferries for more info.
BY AIR: Get to Salt Spring island from Vancouver in 25-35 minutes. Harbour Air runs sea planes from both the Downtown Vancouver Harbour and from Vancouver International Airport (Richmond YVR/South Vancouver) into Ganges Harbour on the island. Alternate airlines are Sea Air and Saltspring Air.
You will be picked up from your arrival spot on Salt Spring island - all we need to know are your flight or ferry details. Contact us or we will be in touch closer to the retreat.
QUESTIONS? Email us!
Interested in a longer trip to BC?
Extend your time, either before or after the workshop! Consider a visit to Victoria (the capital of BC, and only a ferry or float plane ride away), enjoy exploring the old growth forests on Vancouver island, book a whale watching tour, visit Tofino (a small ‘gem’ of a town on the far west side of Vancouver island). Or consider travelling through Seattle for a couple of days (only a 2.5 hr drive to/from Vancouver!). Let us know if we can answer any questions or help with ideas.
Cancellation Policy: $30 processing fee for cancellations up to four weeks prior to retreat start date; 30% non-refundable within four weeks of retreat start date; 100% non-refundable within two weeks of retreat start date.
Note: in the event that borders are shut / travel is banned by Government or public health mandate due to Covid-19, all registrants will receive a full refund, less $30 processing fee.
ADDITIONALLY, IN CASE YOU’RE INTERESTED…
** Build or deepen your practice by attending our ONLINE Scoliosis Saturdays morning classes!
Martha’s class 'Yoga and Somatics for Scoliosis and Fusions' on Scoliosis Saturdays offers a very gentle and foundational approach to movement that helps everyone to move with ease and without pain.
Gentle movement for scoliotic spines helps people breathe into their concavities, decompress their curves, derotate their twists, repattern their imbalances, reinforce new patterns, strengthen and stabilize weak areas, and in general feel better about their backs!