Wellness in the Wilderness will take place on Sunday, September 24th at Starved Rock Lodge. Start the morning in the LaSalle Room, where you can connect with fellow attendees, and begin your journey with an intention-setting journaling session. The pace of the day is intentionally slow to allow time to breathe and focus, while giving participants a chance to unwind and reset their compass. If the weather is good, the yoga session will take place on the pool patio. This serene location is just outside the Lodge’s indoor pool complex. Tall pines surround this quiet place and sway in the summer breeze above you as you soak up the natural beauty of the wilderness around you. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, Yoga will be moved to the LaSalle Room.
Yoga is a mind and body practice. Various styles of yoga combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation. Yoga is an ancient practice that may have originated in India. It involves movement, meditation, and breathing techniques to promote mental and physical well-being.
At noon, you’ll have a whole hour to enjoy a boxed lunch that you can take and eat wherever you want. Lunch includes: bottled water, whole fruit, hummus with veggies, a turkey wrap and a granola bar (vegetarian wraps will be available upon request).
After lunch, you’ll have another hour to enjoy a sound bath. A sound bath is a full-body meditative experience where people lie down and listen to resonant sounds. It often involves singing bowls, which create an echoing sound that ‘bathes’ people. Some people refer to sound bathing as a healing practice. Some proponents of sound bathing claim it helps people with various concerns, such as stress, processing emotions, or unblocking chakras. Chakras are centers of spiritual energy or power, a concept that comes from Hinduism. After the sound bath, there will be a short break before a 45-minute guided meditation led by Lia Pappas.
Reservations are required for this event. Capacity is limited to 16 guests. Cost is $100 per person. Lunch is included. Please bring your own yoga mat, journal and pen, pillow or bolster and blanket or (for added comfort). Click here to book now or call 815-220-7386.
About the practitioners:
About our facilitator and leading guided meditation, journaling and intention setting:
Lia Pappas, a dedicated advocate of self-care, has evolved her journey to embrace unconventional approaches, including Hypnotherapy, Human Design, and energy work. With an unwavering commitment to personal growth, she finds joy in both refining her own practice and helping others navigate their own paths with Unordinary Selfcare.
Leading the Sound Bath:
April Casey Reaska has been on the spiritual and healing path since childhood. She is constantly finding ways to deepen her practice and teachings of Reiki, Intuitive Art Therapy, Energy Medicine and Sound Healing through classes, extensive reading, inspiration from her mentors and nature.
Leading Yoga:
Dani Claggett has been a student of the yoga practice for over 11 years and an instructor for the last 3 years. Her yoga practice has been a constant in her life that allows her to disconnect to reconnect. Much of the yoga practice is about healing, and as Dani always says, you can’t heal what you don’t let yourself feel. Her teaching philosophy is to bring to others what yoga brought to her: a deeper connection to self. While she weaves many styles of yoga into her practice, Dani specializes in restorative classes that are accessible to students of all levels. In her classes, you can expect to practice breathwork techniques, slow movement and longer holds that promote deeper healing in the body, and using props for support while letting gravity do the work. Dani also incorporates her all-natural essential oil blends into her classes, especially for a relaxing savasana.
Itinerary:
8:30am – Guests arrive (LaSalle Room)
9am-10:30am – Meet & greet, intention setting and journaling
10:30am – 12:00pm – Yoga
(Planning on a 1-hour session, but giving an additional ½ hour
for attendees to take a relaxing break, freshen up or walk around)
12pm-1pm – Lunch 1pm-2pm – Sound bath
2pm-2:15pm – Break
2:15pm – 3pm – Guided meditation
3pm-3:30pm—Wrap up & closing
#starvedrocklodge