Embodied Nature Retreat
Saturday, October 28, 2023
9:45 am-4; 00 pm at Shady Grove Farm
A day-long movement and creative writing retreat to support participants in developing an Embodied Nature Practice to promote emotional and communal wellness through yoga, ecotherapy, community, and nature-based art therapy approaches.
What is an Embodied Nature Practice?
An Embodied Nature Practice is a method of intervention Cynthia Edmonds-Caddy developed based on ecotherapy and ecopsychology principles. The steps of the Embodied Nature Practice are grounded within nature-based arts therapy and helps promote emotional wellness by developing a nature-based practice for sustainable, mentally healthy living.
Who is it for?
This retreat is for anyone wanting to take a day to care for themselves in community, nature, yoga, and reflection. This retreat is geared for Trauma integration and overall wellness.
What will the day include?
The day will include a nature walk, creative writing activities, an outdoor yoga session, rituals, and celebrations. A light lunch featuring local farm-to-table foods is included for all participants. Each participant will also receive handouts and a small gift bag filled with Shady Grove Farm all-natural goodies, and a candle to take home.
Embodied Nature Retreat
Meet The Team
Janie Backs
YogiJanie is a full-time Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher based in central IL committed to community, inclusion, and connection. She owns Yogijanie Trapeze, a Trapeze Yoga studio in Peoria Heights. Janie is also a birth doula, reiki master, and candle maker. Janie has been teaching full-time for seven years with over 2,000 hours of teaching in studios and in communities. Janie is known for her yoga events and unique style of teaching that centers around community, connection, and emotional and spiritual wellness. She received her first 200hr RYT in St. Louis. Another RYT Training in Barcelona, Spain where she obtained her Yoga Teaching Degree, Trapeze Yoga Teaching Certification, and Internship at YOGABODY. Janie moved back to Peoria in 2018 and since then has obtained her Trauma-Informed Teaching, Reiki Master, and Doulaship Certificates.
Cynthia Edmonds-Cady, PhD, MSW
Dr. Cynthia Edmonds-Cady (PhD., MSW) is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Illinois State University. She is also a Fiber Weaver, Folk Herbalist, and Shepherdess who runs Shady Grove Farm Illinois. Her scholarship, teaching, living, and learning, all revolve around strengthening the human/more than human bond in the natural world, understanding embodied ways of healing from trauma, and re/writing our personal narratives by weaving a little magic into them. Her research and writing have been published in numerous social science journals, as well as literary presses. Most days she can be found either in the classroom, the sheep barn, or traipsing through the prairie oak savannas and river basins of her Central Illinois home.
