Retreat · Jan 15, 2027 – Jan 17, 2027
Wintering ~ A New Year Retreat
Rest, reflection and ritual ~ embracing the slow season
Every January, we gather women to welcome the new year. This year, we're doing something different ~ we're not rushing toward resolutions or building vision boards just yet. Instead, we're turning inward, toward the season of winter and all the ways it asks us to slow down, rest and restore.
Whatever this past year held for you, you're invited to bring it to our retreat ~ not to fix it, but to be witnessed as you release it and create space for something new to emerge. This is a weekend of ritual, not productivity ~ there is no goal or outcome. There is only the slow, sacred work of rest, reflection and connection.
When you're ready for the next step, join us for Visioning ~ A Day of Ritual and Story at my home in North Vancouver on January 31st. We'll be focusing on vision boarding and storytelling for the year ahead. Wintering is where we release the old, find stillness in the present, and listen for the word that wants to come with us. Visioning is where that word takes shape as a vision for the year to come. Join for one or come to both!
- When
- Fri, Jan 15, 2027 – Sun, Jan 17, 2027
- Format
- In-Person
- Location
- Xenia Retreat Centre, Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada
- Schedule
- Friday 3pm - Sunday 3pm
- Shared (3-5 guests)
- $975.00 USD
- Semi-Private (2 guests)
- $1100.00 USD
- Private (1 guest)
- $1300.00 USDOne private room left
Who is this for?
This retreat is for women of all ages who care for others and may be feeling depleted or burnt out. It's for those coming out of a holiday season that may have felt overwhelming, and for those who are seeking refuge to rekindle your relationship with yourself. This weekend is for anyone who has been meaning to make more time for their own care, and for those of us who know how essential it is to create space for community care.
Whether you're in the thick of your own wintering right now, or simply craving permission to rest, this weekend brings together a community of women who understand that life moves in cycles, not straight lines.
What to expect
A weekend that moves slowly, on purpose. In between gatherings, there's ritual, rest, nourishment, long stretches of quiet, and the gift of connection with a group of women who share similar intentions.
During our time together, you'll meet Opa, a thousand-year-old Douglas fir. You'll walk the eleven-circuit labyrinth. You'll find your way into the cold, then warm slowly together in the sauna or by the fire. There's movement to bring you back into your body, a single word that finds you before you leave, and ritual gifts to carry home. There's nothing to prepare and nothing to perform.
Where you'll stay
This 2-night, 3-day retreat is held at Xenia Retreat Centre, a 38-acre sanctuary on Bowen Island, BC. A short ferry ride from West Vancouver, Xenia is home to towering old growth trees, a stone labyrinth, a meditation sanctuary, and a small farm of horses and donkeys who will greet you on your way through the land.
We'll have the entire space to ourselves, and be cared for, fed, and held by this extraordinary place for the whole of our time together. Accommodation is spread across rustic cottages, winterized yurts, and rooms in the main lodge, with beds to suit you whether you'd like company or a room of your own.
Nourishment
Our private chef Marika Richoz will nourish us with the most delicious vegetarian cuisine. All meals are prepared for us with care and curated for the winter season ~ warm, nourishing, and crafted for both body and soul.
From Friday's welcome dinner through Sunday's closing lunch, every meal is made with the same attention you'll bring to the weekend itself. Dietary restrictions can be accommodated ~ simply let us know well in advance.
What's included
Rooms range from shared cottages to yurts to rooms in the lodge. Choose the option that suits you best: $975 shared, $1,100 semi-private, or $1,300 private. All include:
- 2 nights accommodation at Xenia Retreat Centre
- 6 vegetarian meals: Friday dinner through to Sunday lunch
- A copy of Katherine May's book Wintering
- A guided Kundalini yoga class
- Ritual materials and ceremony supplies
- Optional cold plunge in the sea, followed by a sauna
- Extra gifts and treats along the way
Itinerary
- Friday, January 15th 2027Arrive from 3pm
Reflection ~ Looking back
There is an old instinct to take stock before the light returns ~ to look back at the year behind us before deciding anything about the one ahead. Most of us never get to do it properly. We cross from December into January quickly, still carrying everything, with no one to witness what the year taught us and help us let go of what needs to be released.
So we begin gently. Arrive at Xenia and settle into your room. Explore the land, meet the animals, breathe the fresh air. As evening comes we gather in circle for a ritual of arrival, followed by dinner together. We close the night around a fire ~ the flames marking our passage out of the old year and into the quiet of the weekend ahead.
- Saturday, January 16th 2027A full day together
Rest ~ Finding stillness
In the old Celtic world, the Cailleach was the keeper of winter ~ an ancient crone who struck the frozen ground with her staff and called the cold down from the mountains. She was not feared so much as respected: winter came because she willed it, and to survive winter was to learn her language.
Our fullest day, unfolding slowly. We begin with a guided kundalini yoga practice to help us tune into our own winter energy, followed by an invitation to swim in the cold sea for those who want it, and a sauna afterwards to warm slowly and embrace the season rather than resist it. There is time in nature, time on the labyrinth path to contemplate, and long stretches of quiet. We will move, rest, eat well, and let the season set the pace rather than the clock.
- Sunday, January 17th 2027Until we leave at 3pm
Renewal ~ Finding your word
Nothing in nature emerges from winter all at once. The turn happens underground, long before there is anything to show for it. Our last morning honours that ~ not by sending you home with a plan, but by giving whatever has shifted or emerged over the weekend somewhere to take root.
After a quiet morning, we listen for the word that wants to come with us into the year ahead ~ not chosen or decided, but noticed. We each find a way to give that word form, working with what the land offers and whatever winter has left behind. We share what we've made in a closing circle over our final lunch, tidy Xenia together, and make our way back to the ferry ~ still held in the quiet of the season, carrying one word and a community home with us.
What participants say
I recommend this retreat to anyone looking to start their year with intention, connection and joy. Megan puts together a stellar group of facilitators and activities that will encourage you to reflect and dive deep within yourself, while also getting new ideas and inspiration from your fellow attendees. A wonderful and deeply impactful way to start every year. I can't wait to do this next year!
Megan has a unique way of introducing ritual and ceremony in a spacious way, helping us have more meaningful connections and time for reflection of what matters most.
Facilitators
Megan Sheldon
Megan Sheldon (she/her) is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, end-of-life doula, and co-founder of Be Ceremonial, the world's first guided ritual and ceremony platform. She is the author of Ritual Without Religion: A Humanist Guide to Creating Secular Ceremonies, and has spent years crafting ceremonies across the life cycle, with a focus on grief and loss. Her passion is helping people cross the silent thresholds and mark those seemingly invisible moments of change with meaning. She offers workshops, courses and in-person retreats near her home in North Vancouver, BC.