Rejuvenate, re-divine, and connect with Queer family in nature for three nights and four days in the pristine beauty of Mendocino. Nestled between coastal redwoods and oak chaparral on unceded Pomo land, River’s Bend Retreat Center is a refuge for rest, play, and building community. 

Gathering in Queer community means healing particular wounds, freeing ourselves and each other, and creating both comfort and love, and a chance to grow into who we have always been//already are. This retreat is an opportunity to gather in all your Queerness within the warm glow of embodiment, yoga, meditation, nature, mindfulness, and play. Connect on a soul level. 

Dive deep into the Yogic & Buddhist tradition with Asana (physical Yoga postures), meditation, pranayama, mantra, stories, and discussion. No Yoga experience necessary. Lucid Dawn will teach Hatha Flow and gentle Yoga in a radically inclusive way.  Her teaching emphasizes therapeutics, alignment, and injury prevention, and celebrates the seasons, celestial movements and life in all of its contours.  

Rev. Liên Shutt will offer meditation and Dharma teachings in the Zen tradition and an inclusive and anti-oppression ethos. Sabrina Davidson will be offering art therapy. Dr. Annie Malcolm will be offering a creative writing workshop in which participants tie learnings from the retreat to their greater queer experience and practice ethnography—acute attention to the ordinary intimacies and intensities of everyday life. 

We will be on 10 acres of land and have ample time to swim or lounge by the Navarro River, explore nearby beaches, and explore the hiking trails into the redwoods. 

We will be nourished with bright, fresh, delicious + nutritious meals provided by Jes of Yes Please Catering.

This retreat is for folks who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Gender non-confirming, Asexual, Two Spirit AND our allies. Our intention is to welcome and celebrate folks 18+ in age from all experiences, religions, abilities, immigration statuses, sizes, and sexual orientations. Our intention is to co-create a space that is pro-Black, pro-Immigrant, pro-Queer, and pro-Trans. We will co-create community agreements to embody these intentions. 

Arrival: Friday, September 1st, 5 pm

Departure: Monday, September 4th, 12 pm

*late arrival and early departure strongly discouraged. Please consider the retreat an investment in your own well-being and in building community. We are unable to accommodate arrivals after 8:30 pm* 

FAQ: 

1. If you would like to arrange to pay by cash or money order, please contact Sabrina directly sabrina@soulflowoakland.com

2. All deposits & payments are NON-REFUNDABLE and NO EXCHANGES. This includes if the retreat gets canceled for reasons beyond the control of the organizers such as acts of God, Covid-19, or Mother Nature. Purchase of travel insurance is required to attend. Please make sure you purchase travel insurance that would cover a cancelled retreat or your personal need or emergency to cancel your retreat. Make sure to check fine print. Fear of travel isn't the same as not being able to travel. Another option is plans that cover up to 75% of your expenses if you cancel for any reason. In these unpredictable times, this type of planning is important to protecting your investment in the retreat. 

Travel insurance recommendations: worldnomads.com or www.allianztravelinsurance.com

Click here for Insurance policies where you can cancel for any reason.

3.  All meals are included and lovingly prepared by Redwood Hill. Ingredients are organic with an abundance of vegetables, protein, and fruit. Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and other dietary needs are available upon request. 

Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a priest lineage holder in the Shunryu Suzuki tradition. Born to a Buddhist family in Vietnam, she received her meditation training in the Insight and Soto Zen traditions in the U.S., Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. They were a founding member of the Buddhists of Color in 1998 and currently is the guiding teacher of Access to Zen, an inclusive, anti-oppression sangha and non-profit in the SF Bay Area. She lives on Ohlone land, currently called San Francisco, with her partner, exploring waterways and forests as often as they can. Visit AccessToZen.org for ways to connect and practice together.   

Lucid Dawn, ERYT500+ is alive to help others thrive.  As a non-dual Tantrik, trauma-informed, therapeutic yogi, & queer witch, with 30+ years of immersion into healing practices she weaves the teachings of Yoga; movement, breath, meditation, & philosophy w/ ritual & practice that acknowledge;  season, celestial movements, and phases of life.  lucid also includes the use of sound healing & expressive arts practices from decades of performing arts background.  lucid's studies in neuroscience, nutrition, essential oils, herbs, plant medicines, Non-Violent Communication, earth magick, energy medicine, peer counseling, grief work, writing, crafting, community organizing & trauma healing also inform their teaching.  lucid is dedicated to embracing all beings & all aspects of being for a full celebration of life, including courageously facing death and gracefully embracing processes of grief, loss, and change.  

Nia Johnson (she/her)  is Soulflow Oakland’s  Communications Director. She is a Yoga Teacher and student whose work explores body awareness, mental health and healing through intuitive movement. She shares her yoga classes on retreat .

Jes Vee

Many say the kitchen is the heart of a gathering. I would agree. This is where you can find me providing sustenance and energy for folks' bodies so their souls can be fueled for connection. I work with communities who choose to gather in an intentional way and align with events that aim to nourish and heal communities. I do however also enjoy the occasional event that gathers just to have a real good time together. I enjoy bringing my catering magic to your event, providing you and your guests the opportunity to revel, gather, and just be. I bring over two decades experience in kitchens, many years of working with communities, and a team of passionate people who bring Joy to the kitchen. 

Dr. Annie Malcolm is a queer Jewish creatrix who lives in Oakland. She writes about art and cares for her community. 

Dr. Dawn Yee Sanders (she/her) has been practicing Chinese Medicine since 2016. First internationally, working on cruise ships in private practice and now currently providing over 100 treatments per week at the Oakland Acupuncture Project in a community setting. What she has found is everyone is going through something, no matter where they are from, the human experience is shared. Dawn's goal is to provide meaningful alternative health care to help her patients' feel more comfortable in their bodies and to help find more ease in their lives. 

Nathaniel Jenkins (he/him) is a licensed clinical massage therapist, energy healer and Reiki Master practicing and living in Oakland, California. Nathaniel’s one-on-one healing sessions and group workshops are designed to create a container of safety for anyone who struggles to feel safe in their body, with emphasis on the BIPOC community and those who have been historically othered. Nathaniel centers his practice around discovering what the body wants and needs in order to encourage its natural ability to heal. He empowers each client to be in full agency in their own body and to trust in self, in the body’s wisdom and in the ability to assert boundaries. Working with the chakra system from the root to the crown, Nathaniel teaches his clients to ground the energy within a safe container and to heal sexual shame to come into greater creative self-expression, joy, sensuality and vitality. He focuses on grounding meditation, healing breathwork, and stimulating the parasympathetic autonomic response with deep tissue integrative work, range of motion opening, pain relief and rocking—all designed to feel good in the body off the table. Through his JEDI work, Nathaniel shares knowledge and practices to liberate the Black body, heal the nervous system and release identification around systemic injustice. Nathaniel graduated from the San Francisco School of Massage & Bodywork with over 850 hours of clinical training, is a certified Reiki Master and a leadership facilitator.

Ashley (she/her) has been teaching yoga and practicing bodywork since 2016, though found these medicinal systems years earlier. Being in the roles of student, teacher, and healer have been instrumental to her own healing, namely of managing the dysregulating effects of trauma and its resulting chemical dependencies. On her bodywork table, she blends Eastern energetic modalities with active Western techniques, and approaches sessions holistically, knowing that we hold all that ails us emotionally, mentally, and spiritually in our bodies. Her work is mindful and intuitive, yet firmly rooted in the physical realm, and she seeks to create an experience that is deeply nourishing and allows the person on the table to seek refuge within themselves, while she does the work of relieving physical restrictions and clearing energetic channels. She is also a UC Berkeley alum, grad school drop-out, a student of Mother Earth, astrology, and systems of self-understanding & evolution such as Human Design, and would be honored to have you on her table!

Anuja Bhuta (she/her) is an artist, healer, baker, and musician - who uses her hands to create, relax, and energize. Her massage practice began in 2006 and continues to ebb and flow in concert with her other passions which include pottery, painting, fiber arts, baking, piano, and aerial arts. Anuja offers Swedish, Therapeutic, Deep Tissue, Prenatal massage with an intuitive touch. 

Please note that this retreat will go on regardless of the state of Covid-19. Purchase of travel insurance that covers Covid-19 and other emergencies is required. 

Scholarships and work trade are available for solo camping, shared rustic cabins, and shared tent cabins only. The scholarship deadline has been extended to August 1st.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecRvYt_cn95_4Xm8MGDq1rL4V6vUe7TlgkUk0iDtVe0JXnYg/viewform

The drive from the Bay Area is about 2.5 hours. We organize carpooling and make every effort to support those who need a ride. In 13 years of leading retreats we have never had someone who has needed a ride not be able to get one. However, we can't guarantee a ride to the retreat. 

For those of you coming from outside of the Bay Area you can fly into Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Oakland, or San Francisco. Santa Rosa is the closest airport but likely more expensive than the other three to fly into. If you fly into San Francisco or Oakland, we will help you connect with carpooling. You may want to fly in the night before or plan to arrive before 12 pm September 1st.

Soulflow Retreat Promo Video  

Here are a few testimonies from previous retreats 

Geetali Testimonial

Zach and Emma Testimonials 

Shaketa Testimonial 

Halima's Testimonial 

 This was undoubtedly one of the most divine experiences that I have ever been blessed to be a part of. Everything was intentionally planned and infused with love. I felt safe in body and spirit. The location was beautiful, the leaders and guides were great. I loved the yoga, dance, and meditation offerings and I loved that additional offerings such as massages or solo/group therapy were available as well. The food was really good and I have absolutely no complaints. There was a clear schedule of events, but no pressure to attend or participate in anything. I look forward to being back.  - Dianicia

 I had a fabulous time getting to know fellow attendees and spending time relaxing and rejuvenating in nature! I’ve already recommended it to friends and plan on attending again next year!  - Liz