The Honoring of Elderhood:
The retreat
Elderhood is a place of empowerment and wisdom
It is one that is deeply earned and one that should be held with deep reverence and devotion.
Elderhood is a season of life that is often held and looked upon with fear and resistance.
To walk into elderhood means we sometimes question our value to society, feel the urgency of purpose and can feel the discomfort of aging.
It is true that walking the space of elderhood brings a range of experiences and it can also be seen and held and felt from a place of internal empowerment.
This retreat was created for women that feel connected to the elderhood path, whether they are currently in that season of life or feel the resonance to being in the energy of it, and are seeking a space where they can come and witness and embrace elderhood in a different, more honoring way.
You are held in this retreat by the embrace of the herd and their wisdom of elderhood, being able to witness how different horses hold this season of life.
You are held with the land in her wisdom of how to be with and hold elderhood in yourself and in the world.
You are also held in elderhood in the wisdom of the women that will be curating this retreat for you, bringing experience, ritual and understanding of how to walk this path with grace and purpose.
We felt this year that our herd was asking for us to create a space for elders to come and witness themselves in their elderhood, from a place of empowerment and purpose, and witness how horses come into that space.
In our herd of horses, the majority of our herd is in their elder stages of life, at over 20 years old, horses in their wisdom embrace each journey of life and walk through it with acceptance, while also knowing the wisdom they carry into that season.
The elder horses of the herd carry a deep wisdom, they lead the herd from that place of experience and are witnessed in their importance in their community.
To walk into elderhood means we witness what we carry and bring into the lives of others and know how to hold that with deep reverence in ourselves.
To support you further, ceremonies and practices will be introduced throughout our time together.
On arriving you will experience the impact of a “Land-ing” ceremony to ground you. Later in the retreat, a “Letting Go” ceremony will assist you in loosening old ideas, beliefs and perspectives to open space for new awareness and understanding of your own personal elderhood. As we close out our time together, you will participate in a powerful Elder Commitment Ceremony, to begin the further unfolding of what calls you forth. Each day wisdom practices will be shared to support your emerging awareness.
This retreat is facilitated in partnership with our own mentor who has been walking the path of elderhood whom we have appreciated so deeply in what she brings to our own life, Linda will be bringing the wisdom and ceremony of elderhood into the space, while we offer the guidance of the herd.
You will be guided through a process that will teach you how to be physically safe with horses, and support where you feel comfortable being with them. The wisdom of the horses can be felt in many ways and experienced. Your process will be honored and your time with the horses will be reflected on what feels the most empowering for you.
Horses take us to a place in ourselves that we can’t always hold for one another, they reveal things to us that we can receive powerfully, a messenger and a guide for the wisdom of our own soul to be experienced through the space of a horse.
To know the horse and to be held in the embrace of a horse, is to know the teachings of your own soul.
All experiences with the horses are done on the ground, no previous horse experience is necessary.
Why horses?
Horses walk in the world that is aligned to nature and her cycles. They do not carry any of the baggage we do as humans, they are not influenced by societal expectations, they hold no agenda or expectation of us.
With horses we get a pure mirror and we also get to be with a being that holds no dysfunctions around the natural cycles of aging and of life. They can show us a different lens and perspective that is beyond what we see, to help us find a different place to land, one that is more in tune and honoring to nature and ourselves.
Horses are guides, they are wisdom keepers, way showers, teachers. We do not have to be horse people to feel the wisdom of these incredible beings, they connect us to our most authentic selves because they can see us in the purity of who we are, and mirror that back to us.
Our time with the horses is about joining them in their space, learning about how to be with them safely, in relationship and connection on the ground, to see them as teachers and to learn how to interpret their body language and wisdom.
Arrive for this retreat on Sunday June 8th - Depart late afternoon on the 12th or early on the 13th depending on travel.
Retreat begins at 9:30 am on Monday June 9th and will complete early afternoon Thursday June 12th.
There will be a morning and afternoon session guided by the herd and ceremony, in circle with the other women who will be joining you in the retreat.
Retreat takes place at our retreat center near Kamloops BC, your retreat includes:
4 nights accommodation in a private cabin
3 full days immersed in space with the herd
Elderhood ceremony and guided practices
Shuttle to and from the ranch if you are travelling in
Catered Meals
Investment: $2800 CDN plus taxes (custom payment plans can be arranged if need be)
Deposit $500 to hold your spot
About your facilitators
Hillary is the founder and lead facilitator of the Epona Rise Retreat Center and Horse Medicine Leadership Academy, she has been leading and teaching retreats and trainings with her herd for the last 12 years.
Passionate about bringing the teachings of the horses to impact the lives of humans, she has been devoted to her own vision and purpose of creating a space in nature where people can come and receive the wisdom of horses, the land and their own inner guidance.
She has over the last 12 years had the privilege of hosting and leading retreats for a range of people who are seeking to become more masterful in their experience of being a human with their own passion of personal and professional growth and development.
Being in right relation and feeling the intraconnection of all beings, while offering hope and compassion to others, is at the center of Linda’s essence. She deeply acknowledges the wisdom carried by beings beyond human within the living planet metabolism and the contribution of feminine energy to all life. As a grandmother and elder, sharing her life learnings and stories, and supporting humans to their coming home to self, is her calling. Humility, curiosity, gratitude and trust inform her. She is in service to her ancestors and they are her guides. She relishes her humanness and significant imperfections with a light heart and inner joy.
In the modernity world, she became a corporate senior executive before she was thirty. As an entrepreneur and pioneer, she successfully cofounded and/or led a construction company; a community skills training organization; a consultancy for board governance, executive leadership and strategy; a non profit centre for leadership and human values; and an executive coaching practice.
Linda lives in Nelson, BC with her cat Peaches. As a relational hermit, she spends time alone, hikes, snowshoes, dances, sings, drums, continuing to explore life, being with friends and supporting her wider community
