Our first retreat, hosted on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard, MA - was simply incredible in every way.
If you are unfamiliar with New England weather, it can be *quite* unpredictable. While most of us New Englanders favor the fall season - not every day is a perfect fall day! For the retreat though, we were blessed with some amazing weather. We had one rainy morning and it made for an additional morning ocean plunge challenge, followed by some unexpected fun hopping into the back of Chef Nick's pickup truck to get back into dry warm clothes quicker!
There was a balance of all things we find particularly beneficial for creating an aligned, ancestral human experience. Movement, Nose-to-tail and seasonal menu, circadian regulation using grounding, sunlight, red light therapy, saunas and cold plunges, wellness education, unstructured free time and of COURSE, community connection.
Here are some of the (captured) highlights:
Ancestral Based Menu curated by our professional chef, Check Nick. E of KiTHCen!
The food exceeded out wildest expectations. Each meal was nose-to-tail incorporating every part of the animal in unique ways. While everything is of course optional to try everyone delved right in, tried something new, and was incredibly surprised by how delicious a fully nose-to-tail menu is! We had beef heart, beef tongue, many varieties of liver, bone marrow, and more! All of our meat was locally sourced throughout New England, along with all seasonal, organic produce. Allergies are always accounted for and Chef Nick is happy to cater to all diets. Our only ask is to come in with an open mind and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised!
On top of our menu, Chef Nick was just an integral part of our retreat experience in general. He is warm, personably, and since he is basically *always* in the kitchen, he is happy to chat and show retreat guests how he is preparing our delightful meals! During this retreat, he walked the group through an amazing Bone Broth, Homemade sausage, and his infamous "leftover frittata" recipes! Guests left with written recipes of a few of their favorite dishes, to make at home!
Circadian Biology Regulation through Cold Plunges, Sauna, Grounding & Morning Light Exposure!
There were many modalities of circadian regulation available during our retreat, thanks to the cooperation of Mother Nature for the beautiful sunshine amidst lots of rainy weeks! Just a short walk from the beach, we embarked on daily sunshine walks and cold plunges (optional, but certainly a recommended experience!). Back at the retreat center we also had the pleasure of a full educational experience with cold plunges. After a Circadian Biology seminar, we proceeded to try them out for time under the guidance of cold plunge guru, Jen Theriault! Also available at the retreat were Red Light Therapy and Sauna therapy, free to enjoy at any time by guests.
Various modalities of Human Movement!
We had a BLAST moving our human skin-suits in so many different ways! Kathleen lead a Primal Flow class to kick off the week, Michael Peshler of Athletic Strength Training brought us through an incredibly challenging and FUN beach workout, and Aly Clark, YT-200 closed off the weekend with a much needed restorative yoga class. In between, we had plenty of time to practice movements we wanted to play around with more!
Wellness Education!
A huge portion of what we focus on at our Ancestral Wellness Retreats is expanding our education and diving into the WHY behind living a more aligned human experience. While we spent more time listening than taking pictures, we had three wonderful presentations on Science Dogma, Mitochondrial Health and Circadian Biology! As always, we think the most beneficial way to learn is to make sure you are comfortable while learning - chairs are always optional :)
Adventure, exploration & community connection!
Another big factor in our retreats is allowing the freedom for each individual to be able to experience the level of challenge, rejuvenation, community connection and personal time that they prefer. We aim to have have you leave feeling like you got the perfect balance of education, adventure and personal restoration.
It's hard to put into words the range of emotions felt before, during and after the retreat. To quote a song, "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you find you get what you need."
To those that attended we can never thank you enough for taking a chance on us and for making our first retreat so incredibly special. The group continues to communicate and support one another months after the fact and we hope lifelong friendships have been established.
A few reflections from guests:
"Engaging, Informative, Entertaining"
"Your vision reenergized my soul! The intimate setting and food made the educational content easier to hear! The journey to health isn't. Following the path of life - using what is provided! Whole.. Real.. With Intent"
"There's literally nothing I would change! I had an amazing experience and learned a lot of new things."
To those who will attend in the future we cannot wait to meet you and for you to discover just what you ae capable of!
Until then,
Much love,
J & Kathleen