EMBODIED PRESENCE
Qoya Inspired Movement, Nature Offerings, and Community Connection
You’re invited to immerse yourself into the embodied practices of movement and ritual in a community of like-hearted beings to remember the power of your embodied presence. Together, we turn toward community, nature, and the healing power of the present moment to calm the stressed body, overwhelmed mind, and anxious heart. With reverence for the wholeness of our being and the dynamic nature of human experience at this time, we nourish ourselves with delicious healthy farm-to-table meals, time in nature, spaciousness to rest, and encouragement to savor joy.
Qoya Inspired Movement is based on the idea that through movement, we remember.
Through movement, we remember our essence is inherently wise, wild and free. Wise, wild and free also draw reference to the movement forms we do in our sessions to invoke our presence.
Wise honors the practices of yoga, meditation, and contemplative practice to access our inner knowing. Wild honors the authentic expression possible through dance, not in a performative way, but like those sweet moments when inhibitions are laid aside, and we express how we feel by the way we move. Free honors the practices of pleasure that nourish our being by encouraging dancers to imagine there is no way to do this wrong, and the way you know you’re doing it right is that it feels right in your body.
We honor our relationship to nature in community.
Nature offerings will be made to the elemental forces of earth, water, air, fire, and the cosmos by ceremonially creating beauty with flowers, stones, and other items that inspire the heart to express its gratitude for the living energy that animates our world.
Community sharing is an opportunity to honor our human desire to be seen, heard, and known. Through partner sharing, small group connections, and circle sharing, we experience the healing power of embodied presence as we speak, listen, and hold the space for the wisdom of the circle to emerge.
Gathering with community to prioritize your prayers in nature sets the stage for magic.
My name is Rochelle Schieck.
I’m a devoted lifelong student of movement and healing modalities that bring us back to a place of embodied presence.
My varied studies and travels coalesced into the creation of Qoya in 2009. Instead of saying I am the creator of Qoya, it feels more true to say for the last 12 years, the consciousness of Qoya has been creating me!
I’ve taught thousands of Qoya Inspired movement classes, trained hundreds of teachers in 20 different countries, and led over 80 retreats on 6 different continents around the world.
I'm still in awe every time I dance by how powerful movement is as medicine and invite you to join me in my years-long experiment in the ways in which movement can bring us back to the center of ourselves, back to our wise, wild and free essence.
ITINERARY
Friday, June 25th
4:00pm Opening Ceremony
6:00pm Nourishing Dinner
8:00pm Sound Bath
Saturday, June 26th
8:00-9:00am Breakfast
9:30am-12:30pm Qoya Inspired Movement Class
12:30-3:00pm Lunch and Free Time
3:00-6:00pm Nature Offerings
6:00-8:00pm Dinner and Free Time
8:00pm Fire Ceremony
Sunday, June 27th
8:00-9:00am Breakfast
9:00-11:00am Qoya Class
11:00am-12:30pm Integrating with Nature
12:30 Lunch
Blessings on your next adventure!
COST AND HOUSING
Menla Mountain Retreat Center is one of our favorite places to hold retreats. It's deeply sacred land, and was commissioned by the Dalai Lama himself! The land is the oldest known meteor impact crater on Earth, and the local Native American peoples, including the Esopus and Mahicans, regarded this valley and region, with its enormous first-growth hemlock trees, as especially sacred, a place of the spirits. We love their supportive staff, delicious food, cozy rooms, and beautiful landscape, and it is the perfect healing setting for our time together.
Single Queen Room ($1,222): Single rooms all have Queen beds and a private bathroom.
Single Twin Room ($977): Single rooms all have Twin beds and a shared bathroom.
Shared Twin Rooms ($777): Shared all have Twin beds, and you’ll share the room and bathroom with your roommate.
If you’re registering with a friend and wish to room together, please email us at info@qoya.love to let us know.
COVID-19 SAFETY
To attend the retreat, guests must have: negative PCR COVID test 72 hours prior to arrival, OR negative FDA authorized antigen test within 6 hours of arrival, OR proof of completion of vaccine series at least 14 days prior to the retreat.
Kindly submit all test results or COVID vaccine records to covidsafety@menla.org. Attendees do not need to submit a negative test result if vaccinated. Masks are required in all public spaces. Learn more about Menla’s Covid safety guidelines here: https://menla.org/covid19-guidelines/
PRICE + REGISTER
Pricing is per person.
Your all-inclusive retreat includes 3 days and 2 nights of:
Qoya Retreat Tuition
cozy eco-luxury accommodations at Menla Mountain Retreat Center
delicious nutritious vegetarian food
What’s not included:
Transportation to Menla. It is easily accessible from New York City and Boston by bus or car. Check out the full directions here.
Register today to claim your spot.
Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel for any reason and we can find a person to take your spot, we will refund the amount paid minus a $250 administration fee. If we cannot find a person to take your spot, there are no refunds; however, you can transfer your paid spot to someone else, so you can send a friend or family member to the retreat in your place.
“The beauty we admire
Is a visitation from another moment,
Infusing body and heart.
Memory transports us beyond time and space,
Into the living presence of wonder.”