Empower yourself with techniques and practical skills for creating and sustaining joy and wellness.
Most of us live braced mentally, emotionally, and physically against constant signals of stress in our day-to-day lives. It is essential to periodically retreat from the rigors of daily life to allow ourselves to rest, reset, and learn new skills that will support resilience and create a more peaceful, healthy, and joyful life. Neuroscience research suggests that feeling happy and joyful will create and strengthen neural pathways that support a positive outlook on life.
This three-day retreat at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort empowers women who have received a cancer diagnosis to embrace survivorship as a life practice by teaching practical skills for cultivating joy, health, and whole-person wellness in day-to-day life. Through journaling, creative expression, gentle movement, and educational talks, EASE Cancer Foundation’s faculty will guide each participant in creating their own personalized, sustainable wellness plan.
Click here to view the brochure, which contains the information on this page.
Workshop Highlights
Mindful Journaling. Journaling mindfully has proven physical and mental health benefits, which include stress reduction, improved immune function, sharpens memory, boosts moos, and strengthens emotional functioning. The practice of mindful journaling can also help with the management of personal adversity and change. Research shows the expressive writing promotes self-confidence and allows for access to full brain power.
Optimize Sleep to Maximize Health. Sleep improves mood, physical functioning, regulates hormones, and reduces disease risk. Learn strategies for mastering a good night’s sleep.
A Walk Outdoors. The month of May in the Icicle Canyon is the essence of Spring! With cool night and warm afternoons, a short visit outside will immediately feel restorative. We will take an easy walk through the forest walkways and paths to see what we might find along the way.
Adaptive Pilates. Pilates is a body conditioning exercise that helps to build flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination in the legs, abdominals, arms, and back.
Anti-inflammatory: Eat to Thrive. "Anti-inflammation" focus on food as medicine, intentional mindset for optimal nutrition, and the importance of a healthy gut-brain axis
Nourishment Pearls. Deeper nutritional dive into healthy fats, plant centric protein, and calcium.
Cognitive Reframing & Motivational Techniques. Learn how to identify and change underlying automatic negative thought patterns that influence emotions and behavior, while strengthening personal motivation with attainable goal setting.
Shake Your Soul® is a movement practice that relaxes and regulates your nervous system, energizes your body, and awakens your soul through a fun, fluid dance repertoire set to world music.
Creative Expression through Jewelry Design. This creative workshop will offer attendees time to design and create a piece of jewelry that best describes their survivorship journey.
Community Fire Ceremony is a symbolic event to support release and healing. This ceremony allows us to take a pause. It’s an invitation to step out of the chaos and business of our daily lives and commune deeply with ourselves and all our relations.
A Shared Outdoor Experience. Spending time together outside on the beautiful grounds of the Sleeping Lady Resort provides opportunity for us to create meaningful connections.
Creating a Personal Wellness Plan provides an intentional, summarizing checklist plan, individualized by each participant, to prioritize the key skills and concepts learned during the workshop, to immediately integrate into everyday life for optimal wellness.
Restorative Yoga. This restorative class will offer supports to encourage conscious rest, opening that draws from ever-present healing resources available to us. Mats, bolsters, blocks, and yoga straps will be provided to support our practice together.
Itinerary
Friday, May 12
8:45am: Welcome and Introductions with EASE Cancer Foundation Faculty
9:15am: Mindful Journaling 1 with Jayne Van Brunt, BSN & Teri Hugo Hirss M.Ed.
10:30am: Optimize Sleep to Maximize Health with Katie Kemble, DNP
10:45am: Break
11:00am: A Walk Outdoors with Jill LaRue, FNP
12:00pm: Independent Lunch (on own)
1:30pm: Pilates with Amanda Esmond, DPT
2:15pm: Break
2:30pm: Anti-inflammatory: Eat to Thrive with Chandra Villano, ND
3:45pm: Mindful Journaling 2 with Jayne Van Brunt, BSN & Teri Hugo Hirss M.Ed.
6:00pm: Community Dinner
Saturday, May 13
8:00am: Community Breakfast
9:00am: Announcements with EASE Cancer Foundation Faculty
9:15am: Nourishment Pearls with Chandra Villano, ND
10:30am: Cognitive Reframing & Motivational Techniques with Katie Kemble, DNP
11:45am: Independent Lunch (on own)
1:00pm: Shake Your Soul® with Teri Hugo Hirss M.Ed.
2:15pm: Mindful Journaling 3 with Jayne Van Brunt, BSN & Teri Hugo Hirss M.Ed.
3:30pm: Creative Expression through Jewelry Design with Jayne Van Brunt, BSN
5:30pm: Dinner Kingfisher
7:00pm: Community Fire Ceremony with Teri Hugo Hirss M.Ed
Sunday, May 14
8:30am: Community Breakfast
9:30am: A Shared Outdoor Experience with Jill LaRue, FNP
10:15am: Creating a Personal Wellness Plan with Chandra Villano, ND
11:00am: Restorative Yoga with Jenn Crawford-LeRoy, CYT, CAWC
11:45am: Parting Reflections with Jayne Van Brunt, BSN & Teri Hugo Hirss M.Ed.
12:00pm: Adjournment
Faculty
Jenn Crawford-LeRoy, CYT, CAWC has been teaching yoga since 2000 to multiple populations. Well-trained in multiple therapeutic yoga lineages, traditions, and developments, Jenn is also an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach and brings a breadth of yoga therapeutic principles to her students. She invites joy, curiosity, strength and learning to every session.
Amanda Esmond, PT, DPT, OCS is a Physical Therapist and Pilates Instructor. She has Doctor of Physical Therapy and is certified in Orthopedics from the American Physical Therapy Association. She has special interests in sports rehabilitation, orthopedics, orthotic therapy, and manual therapy. Amanda enjoys working with special populations.
Teri Hugo Hirss, M.Ed. is a registered movement therapist and educator. She is a life coach and stress management consultant. She leads retreats internationally, as well as, from her home base in the green Mountains of Vermont. Teri has spent the last 30 years empowering women to live their lives fully and joyfully.
Katie Kemble, DNP, ARNP, FNP-C, AOCNP, FAANP is an oncology nurse practitioner at Confluence Health and Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Washington. She conducts and facilitates translational research and has spent 30 years creating innovative programs supporting cancer survivors and the communities in which they live.
Jill LaRue, FNP is a retired Family Nurse Practitioner of 30 years. She practiced in Cashmere for Confluence Health, and retired in May 2015. She believes that healthy lifestyles are crucial to our sense of wellbeing. A lifelong learner in the outdoor environment, she loves spending time outside, whether it be biking, hiking, Nordic skiing, gardening, or walking the dog.
Jayne Van Brunt, BSN is an artisan, oncology nurse, and healthcare coach. Leaning on her 35+ years experience in nursing, she began to advocate for change. She is the author of The Nightingale Gene, a book written to address burnout in nurses and caregivers. Her coaching programs encourage women to find balance in their lives through storytelling, art, and cooking.
Chandra Villano, ND has been a Naturopathic doctor for 19 years and an exercise physiologist in cardiopulmonary rehab for 10 years. Nurturing vibrant health through whole foods and mindful living, she is passionate about neuroscience, miracle mindset, the endocannabinoid system, and gardening. She is a cofounder and teaching faculty of the EASE Cancer Foundation.
Lodging
Loft Room at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. Photo courtesy of Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort.
Call Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort at (509) 548-6344 and mention that you are with the EASE Cancer Foundation to receive special lodging rates.
Family Room ($220 per night + tax): The 270-square-foot deluxe family room features a queen size bed and a hand-hewn log bunk bed. Accommodates up to four people.
Loft Room ($230 per night + tax): Feel like you are sleeping in a luxurious tree house in this premier 325-square-foot room. The Loft features one queen size and one twin bed on the main floor and full size bed upstairs. Accommodates up to five people.
Registration
Space will be limited to 20 participants. Registration includes Friday & Saturday night dinners, breakfast on Saturday & Sunday, and all supplies. Lodging is not included. If you have a journal you wish to use, bring it. If not, journals will be provided.