WILD WONDER RETREAT
Summer Camp for the Wild Hearted : Forest Therapy, Natural Movement, Yoga
The earth is your ally. Nature is your playground. Your body is a compass.
Your body and mind evolved for a world that no longer exists. Reclaim the nature of your humanity. Join us for six days of nourishing natural movement, forest therapy, and yoga on the pristine eastern side of Iceland. Explore the natural movements of being human as you explore your connection to the more-than-human world. Feel how the landscape breathes life into food you forage and harvest off the land. Receive the nourishment of living food fresh out of the ground. Refresh your mind, free from the clutter of screens and the urgency of modern life. Bask in the wonder of the Northern Lights and star speckled skies. Be called home to the embrace of Mother Earth.
WHO IS THIS RETREAT FOR?
Anyone who loves nature and has a sense of curiosity. Forest bathing and natural movement are suitable for anyone who can walk, regardless of size, shape, age, gender. The retreat is beginner friendly and trauma sensitive. Your hosts have four decades of combined experience adapting practices to suit the needs of the beautiful diversity of humans.
RETREAT SETTING
The historic Icelandic Wilderness Center hugs the boundary of eastern Iceland’s rugged terrain. The mountainous area is known for its forests and mild climate. The Northern Lights kiss the sky in late August and early September. The Wilderness Center is a living museum, experiencing the rustic traditions of Iceland with modern comfort. Each meal is made from fresh food right out of the ground. Geothermic pools and wild ponies dot the landscape.
Together, we’ll follow the rhythms of nature over six days. Each day we’ll have time for yoga and natural movement, exploring what it’s like to move as a human. We’ll connect to the more-than-human world through the practice of forest bathing, basking in the healing benefits nature offers. Your experiences will be co-created by Yonnie Fung, natural movement guide and Clare Kelley, certified forest therapy guide. These inspired guides are holding space to allow the medicine of the forest to create a journey of renewal.
You’ll have the opportunity to learn about foraging, and enjoy it along with fresh food off a certified organic farm. Enjoy all organic, wildcrafted meals crafted to nourish your body and spirit. We’ll take a field trip to an abandoned farm and ride in one of Iceland’s cable ferries. In your free time you might enjoy taking a mountain bike or hiking along the beautifully rugged terrain -- you might see some of the wild Icelandic ponies or elves. You’ll have ample time to rest -- perhaps in a hammock in front of a cozy fireplace.
DATES
Tuesday, August 20 -- Sunday, August 25 (6 days, 5 nights)
ACCOMMODATIONS
The Icelandic Wilderness Center is a living museum. Beds are built to give you the experience of Iceland’s traditions with modern comfort. We encourage you to consider sharing a bed with someone if you’d like to reduce your cost. As is customary in Iceland, bathrooms are shared. Most people will enjoy bathing in the geothermal pools outside.
Price per person: $2350
A non-refundable deposit of 50% is required to secure your space. Balance is due by August 1.
Bring a friend and save!
Bring one friend, save $300
Bring two friends, save $600
Bring three friends, save $1000
Friends must register and pay their deposit. Once their deposit is paid, we will apply your discount to the remainder of your balance.
PRICE INCLUDES
Accommodations at Iceland Wilderness Center, voted best stay in East Iceland 2018
Pick up and drop off at Egilstaddir airport (see below for airport details)
Two yoga/movement and forest bathing excursions daily
All meals, organic and fresh out of the ground
Field trip to Abandoned Farm with Traditional Icelandic Cable Ferry
Foraging excursions -- berries, mushrooms, and more
Onsite sauna, spa, hot spring, outdoor tub
Hammock and fireplace cozy room
Mountain bikes in free time
Stargazing room to see the Milky Way and (if lucky) the Northern Lights
Stunning hiking trails with pristine waterfalls
NOT INCLUDED
Airfare (see below for recommended flight options)
Transportation between Keflavik and Reykjavik airports — for comprehensive travel details, visit https://yogawithyonnie.com/return-to-wild-wonder
Travel insurance (highly recommended) & visa (most people do not need one; details are below)
Extra purchases at the cafe
CANCELLATIONS/REFUND POLICY
If you must cancel your retreat, the required deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable, unless we can fill your spot with another participant, given sufficient time.
Full refund, less deposit, will be given before 90 days notice of retreat start date.
Cancellations made within 90 days of your retreat: 50% of the total amount (less deposit) will be refunded.
Cancellations made within 60 days of your retreat: Absolutely no refunds can be given, no exceptions.
THERE IS AN ENTIRE WILDERNESS WITHIN YOU, AN ENTIRE WILDERNESS AROUND YOU. WHAT WILL YOU DISCOVER THERE?
Yonnie and Clare combine forest therapy and natural movement to create a safe environment in which you can explore what it means to be a human connecting to the natural world on your own terms. As dear friends, Yonnie and Clare hold the intention of a retreat space that is warm and inclusive.
WHAT IS FOREST BATHING?
Forest bathing, also known as forest therapy, comes from the Japanese practice of shinrin yoku, which translates literally as “bathing in the forest atmosphere”. Unlike a hike or a naturalist talk, forest bathing is an immersion into the sensory connection to nature. Over the course of a walk, you’ll slow down, explore how to move naturally through the landscape, open our senses, and nurture our relationship with ourselves and the world around us -- the more-than-human world. Through a series of guided invitations, you’ll find your own ways of connecting to nature, relaxing into the presence of the sights, smells, sounds, textures, and taste of the Icelandic woods. There’s no rush and no right or wrong way to experience forest therapy. Come as you are and witness the beauty of your own relationship to nature.
WHAT IS NATURAL MOVEMENT?
Natural movement aims to help you reclaim your evolutionary and biological movement behaviors to improve your quality of life. You’ll build skills to help you move with more freedom and ease, while increasing your mind-body connection and your connection and respect for nature. Set aside the stress of needing to burn calories and feed your FitBit. Natural movement explores the movements of humans across landscape, adding in play and discovery. Natural movements include breathing, walking, running, jumping, balancing, crawling, climbing, carrying, throwing, catching, and more. Movements are scaled and adapted to a person’s fitness level to offer options that work for the body you’re in today.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
Yonnie Fung is a mind-body movement educator, that draws from yoga, natural movement, yoga therapy, and nature. She is also a Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator. Yonnie deeply values offering movement that is accessible and inclusive, especially to those who have traditionally not felt at home in fitness and yoga studios. She founded Yoga with Yonnie in 2011, an award-winning yoga space in Beijing that tied together her interests in yoga, movement, embodiment, and nature. It was founded on a dedication to small classes, genuine human connections, and yoga and movement practices that are tailored to suit each unique individual. Yonnie has taught movement to people of all shapes, cultures, ages, sizes and abilities in private and small group settings. She has also led yoga, nature, and walking meditation retreats.
Yonnie and recently relocated to Washington, DC with her husband and four-year whipsmart and adventurous daughter.
Clare Kelley is a certified forest therapy guide, mind-body movement educator, and public health advocate. She has devoted countless hours of training: exploring health, nature connection, embodied movement and yoga, kinesiology, anatomy, and neurology. Clare’s guiding and teaching style favors curiosity over authoritative knowledge, student-led learning, hands-on sensory experiencing, and guiding her students and clients to discover what they need to know to feel whole and connected. Clare founded DC Forest Bathing, applying her public health background and movement expertise to the healing benefits of nature. A master of embodied movement, Clare teaches Pilates, yoga, and functional movement. She holds a special certificate in working with neurological conditions. Emphasizing inclusivity, her work interweaves science, wisdom traditions, love of play and nature, and the metaphysical.
Clare lives six blocks from the White House with her two house panthers, Francie and Neely, and 90 plants.