Italy 2020 Trail Running Retreat

This has been a long time coming. Back in 2003 when I was completely culture shocked by my experience in Montreal, we bought an old ruin of a shepherd's house in Northern Tuscany. It was so cheap we got the money out on our credit cards. 
Here it is, the year after we bought it. Before then you couldn't even see the house.

We went back every summer to build and finally, around 2009, ended up with this:

and we're still building! Last summer we put a roof on the barn - seriously? It's a huge stone structure but we thought we could do it and we did.

I've had a dream about this place for many years, that I want to share it with others and open up this beautiful spot as a retreat centre. We always had volunteers visiting, bartering their skills for board and lodging, so we're used to a crowd... but finally two years ago I hosted a women's healing retreat and it was wonderful!

This year, I am hosting a women's rest and recharge retreat (one spot left!), and for the first time we are hosting a Plant-Based Trail Runners Retreat! 

I am very lucky to have a great coach on board: Coach Kyle coaches runners around the world. He will be offering a one-on-one session with each runner, and of course will lead the daily trail runs and supervise strength work, stretching and other work (gratitude practice, breathing techniques, plant-based nutrition advice). I also have a guest yoga teacher joining us... the one and only Julia Gordon...here is what she has to say: 

"Hello runners and fellow adventurers! I am looking forward to meeting you all in the Tuscan hills!

About me: I completed my Yoga Teacher Training Program at Anamaya Yoga School in Costa Rica in 2016. I discovered my own practice in 2006 while completing a three year contemporary dance program and came to yoga with a passion for expressive movement. Over the years I have found that yoga helps me to maintain a sense of freedom in a fast paced world. By connecting to my body I remember my own strengths and individuality and feel more confident in my place in the world. In my class I’d like to invite people to do the same. During this retreat we can address specific concerns that come up for runners, but also focus on increasing a sense of openness and fluidity in the body in general. I will offer a mix of strength building asana and yin practice, as well as guided visualizations, that will have you up and running through this beautiful Italian landscape."

Our meals will be plant based and abundant. Our menu is designed by the chef at my very own cafe in Montreal, where we serve delicious vegan and vegetarian food. Accommodation is basic and shared, but comfortable and I guarantee you will sleep well. We have a million stars in the sky every night, and a night time silence broken only by the occasional scuffle of the boar roaming in the chestnut groves.

Are you into something different this summer? Challenge yourself! Come along and run with us! Visit us here!

Come Away This Summer!

Dear Friends,
I’ve been feeling the winter blues a little lately. I wonder if you have too. My life decisions recently have been huge but difficult. I’ve chosen to walk away from doing what I love, and I’m walking to different things (or running, actually. Literally).
My school is going through some changes - I am no longer offering group classes, except on demand, and I am moving towards individual mentorship, self-directed work, either in person or online! Super interesting and exciting. And I'm finding the time to build a new project that will unfold in a few years. Also exciting. And the present takes care of itself, with a large family, a cafe, and a marathon to run ...
It's so hard for us to take time off, to remove ourselves from our duties – even if those duties are ones we feel with the very deepest parts of ourselves that we MUST do. The tasks that we actually do have to do, time after time. Listening to an adult child. Comforting a small child. Spending time with a teenager who is growing before your eyes. Nurturing your intimate relationships.
Creating change. Working for what is right. Attending births. Writing for peace. Serving food.
And we get tired! And, of course, that’s ok. If you weren’t tired, it would be very clear that you weren’t fulfilling your potential. And not fulfilling your potential is not your way.
But that’s why, when you are tired, you need to reenergize so that you continue to reach your potential. Continue to care for others, to make change, to provide an example, to live well.
I'm really looking forward to the possibility of surrounding myself with strong, active (if a little tired) women - this summer, for a week.

Please make that first step. I am offering you the chance to spend one week in one of the most beautiful spots in the world, away from your work and your duties, surrounded by nature and the amazing people who will make up our group. I want to take care of you, and I will be there to facilitate, to guide, and to be silent when needed. (and my husband will cook...)

The first steps?
Check out the retreat: https://www.mbcdoulaschool.ca/summerbirthretreat.html
Like what you see? Pay the deposit. https://www.mbcdoulaschool.ca/store/p16/Summer_Retreat_%28deposit%29.html
Contact me! Leave a comment and I promise I will get back to you.

Making that first step is the most important thing you can do for yourself, today. I promise you won’t regret it.
With Love and Respect,
Rivka

Coming up in 2018!

2018 has started and is moving along quite nicely. I can't believe it's been a year since I went to Greece to work with the families there who were fleeing war and destruction in Syria and elsewhere. That was a life-changing experience for me ... more on that in another post!

But for now, I am motivated and excited to present some very interesting activities coming up over the next few months. At the Peace Cafe, 1002 Van Horne, Montreal, we host all sorts of events, and listed below are most of our doula-related activities, led by leaders in their fields from our Montreal birth community:

On the third Sunday of every month, doulas and anyone who's interested can meet at the Caffe della Pace, 1002 Van Horne, from 6pm until 7:30pm, to catch up, share birth stories and support. The next one will be on January 21, at six pm. 

Sunday, January 21, 9:30am-5:30pm, Yoga for Doulas One (Prenatal)

Wednesday, February 7, 6-9 pm, Postpartum Herbs

Saturday, Sunday, February 24, 25 9 am-5 pm, Supporting the Breastfeeding Newborn

Sunday, March 18, 2018, 9:30am-5:30pm, Yoga for Doulas Two (Labour and Postpartum). 

I am also hosting two very exciting events!

On February 6, 2018, my Radical Doula Study group will commence. This will be an eight week course for those wishing an introduction to doula care. It will also be a chance for more experienced and knowledgeable students (and myself) to come together and learn more about the craft, and also in the process to teach the incoming students. This is a different way of looking at knowledge, learning, and how we process: February 6, 2018 - March 27, 2018. 5:30-9pm, Radical Doula Study Group. Cost $400 for new students; $100 per month for advanced participants (ongoing).

AND for the first time, we are hosting a Summer Doula Retreat up in our mountain hideaway!!

Mountain Hideaway

It is so important to recognize when you need to take a break! If you are working with people and their bodies, you may find yourself tired, fatigued, "burnt-out", distressed, or even physically ill. If you're working with people on the edges of our affluent society, you may feel that you do not deserve a break, but you do! I propose a week in the fresh air, away from everything (limited internet access, be warned!). We will take walks and learn about the herbs that live around us; meditate; think and talk; be silent. We'll eat good vegetarian food, and strengthen our bodies and our spirits for the year ahead. We'll laugh and probably shed a tear or two.

Come away with me!

https://www.mbcdoulaschool.ca/summerbirthretreat.html

Italy, July 2012?

The studio

We are very excited to present a storytelling and healing workshop with myself, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Barbara Mainguy and friends that will take place in Umbria, Italy July 2012. It will be a unique retreat in a special place right in the center of the "green heart of Italy". We are inviting anyone who is interested in story, the healing power of narrative, writing, birth, or just plain relaxing and staring at the view.

Please go to Storytelling and Healing for more details.

Birth and Language, Words and Life

I am very pleased to present our next Italian get-together.
It will be held at a wonderful retreat in the green heart of Italy, from July 14 to 21, 2012.


Casa della Pace is a calm, beautiful, loving environment that allows you to fully relax, retreat from your daily worries and cares, and concentrate on what really matters.

This week-long retreat in July 2012 will not only be a chance for us to explore language and narrative during birth, but through all of our life cycles, from birth through childhood, adulthood, giving birth and raising children, old age, and that final cycle, death.

We will be exploring the universality of language, the power of words, and the joy of storytelling. Guest facilitators will include Lewis Mehl-Madrona,whose current interest is narrative medicine.

We will be working towards an anthology of stories and pieces emerging from the retreat, which will be published in 2013.

Registration is limited. If you are interested, please contact us (leave a comment) and we will email you our application form.