Sonoma Wellness Adventure Retreat

Hiking, Yoga, Qigong, Cycling, The Native Genius Method® 

Revitalize and reset your mind, your body, and your Native Genius with exhilarating active and contemplative practices. Open your heart to nature while hiking in the magnificent redwoods and e-biking beside vineyards with blooming rose bushes. Build core connection, mobility, and balance with fun yoga, calming qigong, and strengthening functional movement. Woven into the experience will be insight meditation, cregeative art sessions, and funky dancing. You’ll learn science-based techniques to regulate stress levels. Deep fun. Transformation. Lots of laughter.

Each day you’ll be guided in short journaling sessions by Kristen Wheeler, Creator of the Native Genius Method. You’ll explore how your unique innate wiring is the source of your brilliance — in all areas of your life — learning, working, playing, hobbies, relationship, etc.

She will be sharing the Native Genius® Method at our Sonoma Retreat, alongside my all-time favorite yoga teacher, Gretchen Spiro!

Kristen explains, “We all find ourselves caught in the MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) moments – those tasks that drain our energy and make us long for escape. But it doesn’t have to be that way!” ✨

She introduces: MELU: My Eyes Light Up! It’s that sweet spot where your work sparks joy, where your native genius shines through. You’re in the flow, things feel effortless, and you get to do this, not have to.

We’re on a mission to help you cultivate more “MY EYES LIGHT UP” in your life. During our journaling sessions with Kristen, she will share tips for spotting MEGOs, reigniting your inner spark, and finding work that makes your heart sing.

Discover ways to rebalance and replenish your energy to invite a state of mind (and body) where you feel greater ease, resilience and inspiration. You will forge friendships with like-minded women who believe in being vibrant, authentic, and true to oneself.

Women’s Quest Guides, Colleen, Gretchen and Kristen, will offer unwavering support, helping you develop tools and practices for enduring wellness.

Regardless of where you are in your life right now — whether you’re working or retired, burnt-out or ready to start a new chapter, you’ll leave knowing more about your inner nature and how to stay aligned with your true self. This experience will offer actionable tools and practices to bring more wonder and joy into your days ahead.

The Bishop’s Ranch in Sonoma is the base for our adventure. The center is the essence of natural beauty itself. Nourishing home-cooked food, a stunning hall for movement practices, blooming gardens, and hiking trails through forests and meadows…you’ll love it there.

This retreat welcomes women of all ages, all shapes and sizes, and also those totally new to yoga or meditation. Gretchen Spiro, our yoga guide, is passionate about creating a space for people to experience yoga and other movement in a poetic way that is accessible for the beginners, and also informative and compelling for seasoned practitioners. She’s a master at offering modifications for accessibility. 

Activities:

• Yoga classes twice a day 
• Functional movement (mobilize and strengthen each joint of the body, along with balance, alignment, and core strength.)
• Dance party – get in your groove!
• Qigong for vitality, healing and longevity
• Hiking in the Armstrong Redwoods and Lake Sonoma
• Cycling next to vineyards – with e-bikes or road bikes
• Wine Education class with sommelier Tracy Byrnes
• Insight meditation, journaling, art projects
• Inspirational lectures and interactive activities with Gretchen, Colleen, and Kristen

What’s Included:

•  4 nights at the Bishop’s Ranch
• Nourishing meals: Sunday dinner to Thursday breakfast
• Professional instruction and guidance, for all ability levels.
• Journal and hat. 

* Transportation and bike rentals are not included in the price. ($1200 additional price for single room and there are only 2 of these) 

*Lunch (on your own) on our Sunday arrival day will be in Healdsburg. We will have a little time to walk around the square and explore the charming art galleries and shops.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE YOGA AND OTHER MOVEMENT WE WILL DO AT THE RETREAT

Gretchen teaches in a creative and poetic way that blends traditional yoga practice with juicy, effective and playful ways of moving our bodies.  (She will DJ our dance party, too!) Classes cultivate feeling grounded and centered, with a light and open heart. Gretchen guides with precision and attention to anatomical detail…blended with practices to cultivate boundless embodied presence. 

Our movement practices will blend functional movement with a transformational spirit of adventure. 

FUNCTIONAL:

• care for all our joints
• how to support our changing bodies as we age (balance, posture)
• functional strength and mobility
• clear alignment and precise ways to make real change and heal stuck areas or injuries

TRANSFORMATIONAL:

• the “feeling” of being in the flow
• movement for opening our availability to feel our deep feelings and insights
• delight, pleasure, surprise, creativity, fluidity
• intuitive movement, embodiment, empowerment

What are the accommodations?

We will be staying at The Bishop’s Ranch. The Bishop’s Ranch is located on a sunny knoll nestled among the forests, farms and vineyards of Sonoma County with amazing road riding just outside our doors. We stay at a wonderful lodge called the Kay Qvale Ranch House at Bishop’s Ranch. It is a very large house with 2 kitchens, a large dining room, living room, library and unbelievable gardens with roses and jasmine right out the door. Each room has its own bathroom with shower and bathtub. There are running trails on the property and also a swimming pool to use during your free time. While the Bishop’s Ranch is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of California, ours is not a religious retreat but a spirit-filled retreat.

What airport do I fly in to? 

San Francisco, California (SFO)

Travel Options?

1. You can rent a car and drive to Bishop’s Ranch. If you can plug in the address below into your GPS:The Bishop’s Ranch 5297 Westside Road Healdsburg, CA 95448

2. Take the WQ shuttle: Shuttles will be departing at 11:00 am, from the SFO airport on Sunday April 14th. Please be there at 10:30 to ensure an on time shuttle departure. We will send an email with a meeting point when the retreat comes closer. The San Francisco Airport is a small airport and very easy to navigate. If you cannot arrive by 14th please let us know. We want to get a full day of play in on Sunday. The shuttle is $75 each way, $150 total.

There will be a shuttle “Point Person” (a fellow Quester) who will oversee making sure everyone has arrived to the meeting spot on time. They will have everyone in their group’s cell phone number, and you will have theirs, so if you need to get in touch with each other once you have landed, that is your go-to person! They will call the shuttle once everyone in the group has arrived and get you on your way to the retreat. The shuttle can be paid using cash or a check at registration. We will stop in Healdsburg on the way to Bishops Ranch to eat lunch.

What time should I arrive? 

Please arrive to the San Fransisco Airport by 9:30 on April 14th. If you have any problems we will find you a transportation solution to get to the Bishops Ranch

The retreat starts at 12:00pm on April 14th. Once the van arrives to Bishops Ranch

What time does the retreat end? 

The retreat will end on April 18th at noon. Shuttles will return to San Francisco departing Bishops Ranch at 12:30 pm, and arriving at the airport around 2:30pm.

What if your flight is late or you do not make your shuttle: 

If your flight is late or you do not make your shuttle, you can take the Sonoma Airport Shuttle from SFO to the Sonoma Airport. The Sonoma Airport is about 30 minutes from the Bishop’s Ranch, so you can take a taxi or uber from the Sonoma Airport to the Ranch. Please let one of the staff know if this happens and remember, it is all part of the adventure!

Click here to learn more about the Retreat: Q&A

Cancellation policy for Sonoma Wine Country Retreat:

• If you must cancel, your $500 deposit is NOT REFUNDABLE
• Full refund, less deposit, will be given with at least 91 days notice 
• Within 90 days of your camp sorry but absolutely no refund will be given

no exceptions will be granted to the above policy.

Please note: We are sorry but injury and illness do not disqualify you from any of the above cancellation policies. We are UNABLE to transfer deposits or any payments from one year to the next. We highly suggest that you get trip insurance.

We reserve the right to cancel retreats with inadequate participant interest, in which case all money paid to Women’s Quest will be refunded. Women’s Quest CANNOT be held responsible for any personal expenses, such as airline tickets due to changes in itineraries or tour cancellations.

Payment policy:

For all 2024 retreats, a 4% fee will be added to full and balance due payments made using Paypal.  Retreat deposits will not have the additional charge applied. You can always send a check to get out of PayPal charges:

Please make check to Women’s Quest at:

2525 Arapahoe Ave, Suite E-4, #181, Boulder, CO 80302

You can also avoid fee’s by paying with a bank transfer via Zelle, contact colleen@womensquest.com for more information.

Covid-19 Policy

For questions email colleen@womensquest.com to get a better idea of Covid-19 policies.
As a small company Women’s Quest is unfortunately not able to provide refunds of payments for retreats cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.  This is primarily due to our financial commitments with the various retreat venues.  As a result, the Women’s Quest policy for Coronavirus cancelations is to apply all payments to next year’s retreat or to any other Women’s Quest retreat of your choosing through the end of 2024.  For those facing financial hardship as a result of the virus outbreak, we will work with you to find a solution that works for both you and our venues.  Because of the unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances of the outbreak, this policy supersedes earlier policies.

Until further notice, all participants are required to receive a negative Covid test within five days of the start of the retreat.  Additional safety guidelines may be issued prior to the retreat by Women’s Quest.  Everyone is also required to comply with the local regulations on Covid safety. We will do our best to keep you updated on policies as they develop and we request you do your best to stay informed as well by checking with us and with the local regulations for the venue. Please note that even if the location does not have a testing policy, the Women’s Quest Covid policy does.

Travel Insurance

We highly, highly recommend you get travel insurance to cover your expenses and losses, in the event you cannot make the Women’s Quest retreat for any reason or if  you test positive or come down with Symptoms prior to the retreat, develop Symptoms during the retreat, or cannot return home due to Covid related issues.  We recommend getting insurance that covers the cost of your trip, medical care while at the retreat, and coverage to pay for the necessary quarantine period if you test positive or come down with Covid.  Please remember, if you have to cancel your trip in the unfortunate event you come down with Covid, test positive, or suffer Symptoms prior to or during the retreat and need to leave, Women’s Quest cannot provide a refund since we have to pay your trip expenses well ahead of time.

You can do your own investigation by checking out Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison company that helps travelers search, compare and buy travel insurance online https://www.squaremouth.com/22393

Are you ready to join Women’s Quest on our Sonoma retreat? Sign up today!