March 23–27, 2026

Surrounded by lush, regenerative beauty, experience a restorative retreat of guided practices that connect Self, Body, and Nature. Restore your resilience and return to your rhythmic life. We look forward to sharing this experience with you!

Monday, March 23 - Friday, March 27, 2026*

Movement practices for all abilities fortify your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. You will learn to listen to your body, appreciate your vulnerabilities, and practice contemplative communication.

Price includes: 15 Teaching Sessions, 17 Meals, and 6 Nights Lodging!

Early Registration = $1400 until December 1, 2025
December 2, 2025 - January 31, 2026 = $1600

Registration Ends: January 31, 2026!

*Airfare and transportation to and from the airport, Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), not included. Make your flight arrangements to arrive on Sunday PM, March 22, and depart on Saturday AM, March 28, 2026

Can’t join us in 2026? Join us in 2027. RSVP Now

Location

La Huerta is a 12-acre farm located in Alajuela Province, San Mateo, Costa Rica, a world away from the distractions of modern life. La Huerta operates according to the ethical values and design principles of permaculture—a balanced, whole systems approach to community building that promotes regenerative and restorative relationships between humans, nonhumans, and the earth. La Huerta implements efficient water harvesting and management systems, soil improvement processes, composting, effective use and re-use of resources, and edible landscape design. Working in community, they encourage recognition of the interconnection of all living beings and thus, foster health and healing in mind, body, and spirit in relationship with neighbors, visitors, and the non-human world.

Imagine spending seven days and six nights surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of nature, where you experience an immersive Self-Care retreat emphasizing guided embodied practices that promote integration of aspects of the self (qi, mind, body, spirit) and a reconnection with the natural world, fostering increased vitality.

Enjoy living and sleeping next to the earth in a spacious glamping tent while eating nourishing food planted, grown, harvested, and cooked on-site.

In various workshops, you will explore the vital relationship between the human body and the earth, approaching them as partners for creating and sustaining a healthy life.

Meet Your Facilitators

Pictured (left to right): Brenda Harris, Guy Nave, Jane Hawley, Scott Hurley.

Brenda Haris

Brenda promotes health through a synchronized balance of movement and stillness. She is an acupuncturist and Chinese medicine provider who works to ignite the body’s innate ability to be strong, content, and joyful in daily actions to live the fullest life possible. Brenda holds a Masters degree, is nationally accredited and board certified. Her education emphasized scholarship and clinical practice, in East Asian philosophy and biomedical science, informed by classical texts and infused with case discussion and lineage transmission. Brenda’s long-time practice of medicine, qigong, Yijing, and herbalism is her way of living and guide for helping others to Be Vital Now! ™

Jane Hawley

As a dance artist, teacher, and scholar, Jane investigates how the body is understood and experienced as an intelligent instrument fostering the integration of mind, body, and spirit. She is deeply curious about exploring the relationship of self to body through somatic movement education, which values the judgments and decisions of the body gathered from the engagement with self, others, and the environment. In 1996, Jane created Movement Fundamentals® (MF) as a paradigm to support the development of selfhood and artistry through creative, regenerative, and inclusive practices that empower people to love and feel gratitude for their bodies. This paradigm engenders all bodies as works of art that dance. The MF paradigm is presented nationally and internationally, and in 2019, Jane and MF alumni developed the Movement Fundamentals Institute for certification and ongoing research.

Scott Hurley

For over twenty years, Scott has been engaged in deep reflection on contemplative spiritual practices rooted in Daoism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Influenced by the importance these traditions place on silence and stillness for experiencing sacred reality, he has been committed to a seated meditation practice for most of his adult life. He has also been practicing martial arts for many years and is currently studying internal Chinese martial arts, qigong, and Yijing (I-Ching) divination with Master Wu Zhongxian. Scott teaches qigong and internal Chinese martial arts at the Acupuncture Center Decorah and is an associate professor in the Identity Studies and Religion departments at Luther College. His work focuses on the intersections of identity and power, self-cultivation and the body in martial arts, contemporary Daoist and Chinese Buddhist practice, and human-nonhuman animal relations.

Guy Nave

Guy is a religious scholar and practitioner whose research and scholarship focus on the intersection of religion and social justice. This interest is part of a larger focus that explores and challenges socially constructed binaries and dichotomies—especially between so-called “material” and “spiritual” realities. Guy explores how these dichotomies often hinder us from living fully in the moment with awareness and appreciation for the “fluidity” of our existence as physical and spiritual beings. Guy believes awareness of this fluidity helps us better recognize our interconnectedness with each other and all of creation.