Nature-based Meditation Retreat

Name: Nature-based Meditation Retreat
Start: 2026-08-19
End: 2026-08-23
Location: Sacred Weaving
Rating: 4.88

4.888 reviews

100 acres of private property in North Saanich BC

Up to 12 in group

August 19 - 23, 2026

Retreat Highlights

Nature wanders
Way of the council
Movement practices
Deep imagination
Soulcraft practices
Healing/Wholing exercises
Introduction to Bill Plotkin's map of the psyche

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Sarah

Dr.

Sarah Frizelle

Sarah Frizelle is a counselor in private practice in Victoria BC who offers wholistic counselling to individuals, couples and families. She has worked with individuals in roles of educator, psychotherapist and wilderness guide for over 25 years, sometimes combining all three roles in nature-based therapy or eco-psychology with individuals and groups. Sarah works to support positive personal, family and cultural level changes. She embraces transformative learning and is dedicated to unleash the creative gifts and potential of people to heal and transform, in support of creativity, collaboration and innovation.

Dr. Stéphanie Marchal

Dr. Stéphanie Marchal is a registered psychologist working in Victoria. Her practice focuses on relationships, attachment, trans-generational trauma and transitions/transformations. She is a wilderness personal guide, and studied with Animas Valley Institute and Francis Weller among others. She works with people toward recovering their wholeness, uncovering their gifts, and applying these in their lives and for the good of their community. She has experienced wilderness as a powerful ally in these tasks. She is personally interested in supporting deep and courageous transformations driven by the participants. One of Stephanie's focus is to support the weaving of authentic experiences and visions with the person's embodied life. She's a firm supporter of people's authentic voices and helps them be heard. She uses dream images, guided journeys and somatic practices to help clarify the thread to deep experience, and support integration and manifestation. Visit Stéphanie's page: www.SacredWeaving.org

Details of this retreat

This 5 days fully catered course offers a supportive and enchanted diving into mindfulness meditation in the context of the natural world, with guides Stéphanie Marchal and Sarah Frizelle, both accredited Wild Mind Practitioners (Animas Valley Institute graduates), and long-time meditators. Together, we will explore how to be present with our breath, body, emotions, and thoughts with greater clarity and kindness, while becoming aware of our deeper motivation and support.
Each day will include guided practices, teachings, and time for questions and reflection. You’ll learn foundational skills such as:

coming into the present moment
seeing things as they are
working skillfully with emotions
cultivating compassion and a wise, steady heart
allowing yourself to be held by nature and the World

We also explore how mindfulness can support us in meeting the challenges of our lives—and the world—with greater awareness and care .
Some sessions will include time outdoors, inviting the natural world—sounds, sights, and quiet sitting—to support and deepen our practice as well as deeper explorations of our relationship with nature.
This is a fully catered retreat. We’ll oscillate between formal sitting practices, nature centred mindfulness experiences, some deeper invitation to connect to wilderness and there will be some mindful work times in the kitchen or garden (about 90 min a day).

Please contact us for more information.

Stéphanie and Sarah

Schedule

Some nature wanders throughout the day, council time, art, movement

Note: Schedule is approximate and may change

Getting Here

Sacred Weaving, 100 acres of private property in North Saanich BC

Directions

Sent upon registration or contact facilitator

Accommodation

Program Price

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms

Free Wifi

Spa

Sauna

Pool

Towels

Free Parking

Kitchen

Tour Assistance

Hot Tub

Coffee/Tea

Cafe

Restaurant

Fitness Center

Yoga Studio

Housekeeping

Bicycles For Rent

Beautiful private property in North Saanich, 100 acres meadows, Cedars, Arbutus, Fir and Maple; mossy bluffs with ocean views; Ravens, Wrens and Cooper's Hawks and tens of song birds including migratory ones.

Meals

Menu Types

Vegan

Vegetarian

Pescetarian

Ayurvedic

Includes Meat

Organic

Gluten Free

Dairy Free

Nut Free

What's Included

Camping and all meals
All teachings

What's Not Included

Drives from and to the center although carpooling is encouraged

Customer Reviews

4.88 out of 5.0 average rating

Theodore • Jul 03, 2024

5.0

Verified

Nourishing program, facilitators, and land

The Cedar Song Center is in gorgeous, varied land that is tended with care: a perfect place for the nature-based explorations of land and psyche. I recently attended the Wild Mind Immersion, led by Stephanie Marchal and Sarah Frizelle.
Remembering, I'm nourished by the care, humour, wisdom and experience of the facilitators, as well as the gifts and camaraderie brought by the participants. The land held us in discovering how aspects of ourselves connect with the wild, providing mythically rich spots for soul encounters.
The childrens' nature school taking place elsewhere on the land felt supportive as well, as I reckon the land is glad to sense human little ones running around joyfully. I feel a kinship with the land, the hosts, and the work being done there.

kathleen • Sep 21, 2023

5.0

Verified

Beautiful land, incredible life-changing experience

I attended a ReWilding Immersion here in August, 2023. I sought out this experience to address a lack of connection I felt with the natural world, and could not have anticipated how much more I would get from this retreat.

I connected with my wholeness, called upon and honed my deep inner knowing, expressed long-held and largely unconscious feelings, and left feeling more aligned, healed and connected to myself and the more-than-human world.

Stephanie and Sarah were such incredible guides and facilitators, sharing their knowledge and gifts generously. They walked the perfect line of giving us space, freedom and trust to explore our own processes, while always being present if support was needed.

The land itself is incredible, with a variety of trees and plants and creatures to connect with. Pease Lake is a short walk away, and I enjoyed a few peaceful swims. The house was used to prepare our meals and held some of our gatherings. It all felt 10/10 perfect to me.

Gina • Aug 25, 2023

5.0

Verified

Very compassionate, caring and easy to talk to

Sarah has a gift of deep listening and reflecting back one's strengths, grief, love and longing in an easy, gentle, compassionate way. She is at home with the language of magic and mystery, and welcomes the journey into dark and scary places in search of lost treasures.

Gina • Aug 25, 2023

5.0

Verified

Deep listener

My experience of Stephanie is that she is a compassionate and deep listener who asks skillful questions to gently nudge and deepen a person's understanding of themselves. She also has a sense of humour, and is down to earth.

Gina • Aug 25, 2023

4.0

Verified

Gorgeous space!

Cedar Song is a beautiful space surrounded by nature. The kitchen is well stocked for all food prep, the bathrooms and showers are fine, and the big room is spacious, and beautifully adorned with elements of nature. There are different meeting places around the property, a large deck to dine on, and paths in multiple directions to wander onto the land.

Nature-based Meditation Retreat

Retreat Highlights

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Sarah Frizelle

Dr. Stéphanie Marchal

Details of this retreat

Schedule

Getting Here

Directions

Accommodation

Venue & Amenities

Meals

Menu Types

What's Included

What's Not Included

Customer Reviews

Theodore • Jul 03, 2024

Nourishing program, facilitators, and land

kathleen • Sep 21, 2023

Beautiful land, incredible life-changing experience

Gina • Aug 25, 2023

Very compassionate, caring and easy to talk to

Gina • Aug 25, 2023

Deep listener

Gina • Aug 25, 2023

Gorgeous space!

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