winter scene of trees covered with snow
  • GilChrist Retreat Center
  • Retreat
  • Southwest Michigan
  • Wellness and Healthcare

This wintertime retreat, on the cusp of spring, will offer quiet and togetherness through yoga practices, hiking, a creative project, and community dinners. Reflection is encouraged in solitude, as well as with one another. Sometimes winter inspires one to seek refuge in solitude and quiet, which can be rejuvenating and other times togetherness is a balm for the cold. This retreat provides space for hibernating in togetherness. The intent is to create a warm atmosphere of choice between solitude or an activity together and reflect on the energies each experience inspires.

About the Facilitator: Marne Johnson Apolo, M.A. RYT

Marne's inspiration for learning and healing through yoga began with her first yoga class with Yolanda Bain in 1996, in San Francisco, CA. With a Master's degree in Communication from Western Michigan University and an intensive 200-hour RYT training with Karina Ayn Mirsky at Sangha Yoga, Marne strives to cultivate creative ways to integrate communication studies with yoga philosophy and practice. She has studied yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater, Angela Farmer, as well as Loving Kindness meditation with Sharon Salzberg and is currently a student of Insight Yoga with Sarah Powers.

Retreat Schedule

Friday, March 17      
5:30 p.m. -- Friday evening yoga practice

Saturday, March 18
10:00 a.m. -12:15 p.m. -- morning yoga and breath practice            
4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. -- Yoga and meditation practice

Sunday, March 19   
10:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. -- morning yoga practice
1:30 p.m. -- check out

Registration and Lodging Details

To join this retreat, contact Marne Apolo to register: $250 early bird registration, $275 after Jan. 15, 2023. Email Marne or text/call her at (269) 270-8513. Space is limited. Please inquire about options for financial accessibility.

Once you have registered and paid for the program with the facilitator, contact GilChrist to reserve your cabin using the online registration form or by calling the main office at (269) 244-1130. Lodging is $60/night per person in addition to the program fee, payable by cash or check at the end of the retreat. Participants will check into their cabins between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 17 at a time you communicate via your cabin reservation. Cabin check-out is at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 19. 

A communal dinner will take place on Saturday evening, so please let Marne know if you have any food restrictions. Other than Saturday evening, individuals are responsible for their own meals. Each guest space at GilChrist is equipped with a complete kitchen. See the complete GilChrist FAQ for more information about the facility.

Note: all group participants are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Partners

GilChrist retreat center logo with white pine sprig

GilChrist is the public retreat center of the Fetzer Institute. We support the Institute’s mission of helping build the spiritual foundation for a loving world by preserving a contemplative environment for healing self, society, and the natural world. We warmly welcome both groups and individuals and people of all faiths and affiliations.

Location


GilChrist Retreat Center

Three Rivers , MI 56265 Day Rd