‘Be WIth The Forest’ DAY Retreats
Are you in a helping profession (people, animals, the environment)? Are you a cancer or trauma survivor, a caregiver, or in a recovery program? Then this program may be for you or for your organization (staff/volunteers). This program is trauma-informed and designed for all abilities. It’s a day to slow down, step away, and reconnect with yourself. It’s a day for self-care.
Located at the GreenTREE Center, Amherst, Maine, on 80 acres of forest and wetlands bordering the Union River.
Give yourself the gift of sustainable self-care as you experience: 1) ‘Be with the Forest’ Program 2) Simple Stretching and Mindful Breathing 3) Journaling and Sound Healing 4) Simple self-care tools to use at home and work
Join Yael Calhoun, an educator, author, and yoga teacher as she guides you through your day. This program was developed by Yael Calhoun, MA,MS, E-RTY, and Rebecca Carroll, RTY.
1) ‘Be with the Forest’
A day to slow down and experience the forest using your five senses and breathwork. This program is a trauma-informed adaptation of shinrin-yoku, or forest immersion as a science-based tool for regaining emotional, physical, and mental health. (More information: Forest healing history and resources.)
2) Simple Stretching & Mindful Breathing:
A guided practice in an indoor yoga space and in the forest.
Use simple stretching and mindful breathing to manage how you are feeling: explore gentle options to find what feels right for you today.
3) Journaling & Sound Healing & Tea
A Day of Connecting with nature and with others in a forest setting.
A Day to Reconnect with yourself.
Journal Entry: Ring the Bell that Still Can Ring - song by Leonard Cohen
4) Simple tools for self-care at home and at work:
A day to practice simple breaks with others and to receive links for many free breaks and practices - mp3s, mp4s, and handouts for your sustainable self-care program.
Retreat Pricing: Individual $95.00 includes all activities and materials. Please contact Yael for group rates. Scholarships available.
1st Saturday/3rd Sunday of the Month 10:00 - 3:00. Optional 3:00-4:00 walk to river. Begins August 2026. Receive an email notification.
Join Us for A Day of Noticing …
A Day of Noticing things large and small …
A Day of Noticing light, textures, sights, scents & sounds of the forest.
A Day of Noticing Unexpected Finds…
A Day of Noticing …
Please contact Yael for more information.
Join our mailing list for the calendar of events.
Contact Yael for information on organization retreats in Maine. We can design a program to meet your group/location needs.
Contact Rebecca for Utah-based retreats or sound healing programs.
Some comments our classes:
From Veterans (from 4 wars):
“I can finally feel my breathing. I could not before. It feels really good.”
“I love the pacing of the class. It gives me time to stretch and to breathe…”
“It brings my anxiety and stress levels down tremendously! Thanks You!”
“That was amazing and I love it with my whole being! Thank you! - Love It!”
“Awesome class, I feel I can handle anything that happens on the way home!”
“I can’t believe I am saying this, but right now, at this moment, I am not feeling any pain.”
“The program has helped me reduce my blood pressure by 10-20 points … have helped me to heal quickly. It’s helped me reduce my pain medication by 20 to 30 percent …”
“It motivates me to do the movements .. like today I was in a lot of pain and very little pain now.”
“Doing this yoga for pain, I no longer need to get epidurals or shots for my back or anything else.”
From Refugee Women (from 15 countries/tribes):
“I am with my body now, before I wasn’t with my body,” Iraqi refugee.
“I am exciting to share with all the ladies with back pain. We meet every Saturday and do all the exercises we learned at this class. Thank you!”
“I feel much lighter, like I am up there, not down on the floor.”
“I can teach my kids and my work and every morning I do the stretch.”
“I did the stretches and breathing at work when I really hurt. My boss wanted to know what I was doing, so I showed her and she wants to do it too.
“After last week’s class, I had the best night’s sleep. I haven’t slept all the way through the night is so long. It was the best sleep.”
“I remember what you say, ‘find a better way to move,’ at night when I have pain in my legs.’
“I had a stroke a while ago, I have a lot of pain. I do this at home and it feels better.”
“My shoulders were so heavy – now, after the stretching and breathing, my shoulders feel light. I am really surprised.”
“The women in my group say it works for their back pain, a lot of back pain in my community. They do it at home too.” “They would love the booklets so they can do it at home!”
Our programs are based on these books.
In Trauma Informed Yoga for Pain Management, Calhoun guides people with persisting pain, and their yoga teachers, in an important evolution - into an understanding of how to practice yoga in a way that addresses the interplay of mental health and physical health issues. The book's focus on techniques grounded in science and supported by lived experiences is exactly what so many readers need.” ~ Neil Pearson, Physical Therapist, Yoga Therapist, Clinical Associate Professor UBC, and co-author/editor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care
“Here's a thorough and totally practical mind-body guide for pain management. It is informed by years of teaching trauma-informed yoga to veterans, refugees, incarcerated people, and the health care professionals working with clients among these diverse populations. I hope this book is as widely read by yoga teachers and front-line therapists helping guide trauma survivors to wholeness as it deserves to be.” ~ Rob Schware, PhD, Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director of the Give Back Yoga Foundation.