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Finding Hope, Resilience,
and Strength During
Turbulent Times
April 15-19, 2026
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When the air grows rough with turbulence and the world feels unsteady beneath our feet, the soul longs for a quiet place to land. Join us at enchanting Breitenbush, where
healing waters, soft forests, and mindful presence invite you to exhale.
This retreat offers a sanctuary—an invitation to rest, to listen inward, and to rediscover the gentle rhythm of your own resilience. Through guided meditation, soothing sound baths, exploration and discovery of strengths and resilience, and creative expression that
stirs the spirit, we’ll explore the beauty that emerges from struggle.
In times of uncertainty, it’s often the small acts of awareness and intentional practices that lead us back to balance and beauty. Charlette and Michelle often say, “no mud, no lotus,” reminding us about the importance of honoring our challenges so we can
bloom into our fullest selves. Secure your own oxygen mask, breathe
deeply, and step into a circle of support. Together, we can navigate
the turbulence, steady ourselves, and lift one another up.
TOGETHER, WE CAN INSPIRE ACTION AND INCITE CHANGE!
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Breitenbush Hot Springs
Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat is a remote forest sanctuary of timeless natural beauty on
154 acres surrounded by national forest. Blessed with abundant hot springs, a glacier-fed river, ancient forest and surrounding mountains, it is a place where you will disconnect from digital distraction anddiscover a deep personal connection with the natural world and with yourself.
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This is a journey from pain to possibility, from isolation to communion, from reflection to radiant action—a space where hearts open, spirits settle, and the soul remembers its own capacity to rise.
This transformational retreat is a place to remember who you are beneath the weight of life. Here, hope is not a distant idea—it’s a seed, felt in the breath, in the stillness, and in the small gestures of care.
Resilience is not merely enduring; it is bending without breaking, rising after falling, and discovering the strength that lives quietly within. It is learning to meet your own tenderness with compassion, and your own shadow with courage.
Participants leave carrying more than memories—they carry seeds of their own making:
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Hope that takes root in lived experience
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Strength that blooms from both softness and courage
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Tools to stay grounded in daily life, even amid chaos
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The quiet joy of connection, of being held and holding others
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Rituals and reminders to honor their journey long after the retreat ends
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In community, this transformation deepens.
To walk alongside others who carry their own stories
of challenge and triumph is to witness and be witnessed,
to feel your aloneness dissolve into shared presence.
Together, we create a place of care, reflection,
and belonging where growth is nourished and fear softens.
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Meadow
Pools
Arrive and check in at Breitenbush Hot Springs Resort for your transformational,all-inclusive retreat, with time to settle or soak before dinner!
In the evening, we’ll gather for our Opening Ceremony that will include an immersive breath meditation and sound bath.
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1st Full Day: Mud to Lotus
We begin with breakfast, grounding into nourishment and presence as the
morning light settles over the land.
In our morning gathering, we turn inward—making space to feel our feelings. Through reflective journaling and the creative art practice “Inside Out,” we allow what lives beneath the surface to emerge, without judgment or urgency.
Feeling called by the healing waters? Time is offered for soaking, resting, or wandering, letting warmth and stillness soften the body and quiet the mind before lunch.
Our afternoon session invites reflection on surrender and choice—exploring what is within our control, what asks for acceptance, and how wisdom born from both can move us
into aligned action and meaningful impact.
As evening approaches, we are guided into rest through a breath meditation and sound healing journey with Ashley & Erik of OmTara Music and Events, where vibration and breath invite the nervous system to soften and the day’s wisdom to settle.
We gather again for dinner, followed by time for a gentle evening soak, solitude, integration, or an Access Bars® session for those who have a reserved time.
Allow the day’s insights to root deeply within us.
There is no rush—only listening to what our bodies and spirits need.
Like the lotus rising from the mud,
this day is an invitation to meet what has been
heavy, tender, or unseen— and gently transform it into clarity, action, and impact.
The day unfolds slowly, with guided experiences held in balance
with rest, nature, and the
healing waters.
There are three natural pools lined with smooth river rocks. One of these is designated as a “silent” pool for quiet, contemplative soaking. It overlooks the river below. The other two allow for conversation. All overlook a meadow and have views of the surrounding mountains.
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2nd Full Day: Helping the Helpers
This is a day to nourish the soul.
It’s an invitation to gently turn back toward those
who hold, tend, and give; to receive care as
deeply as it is offered.
Through guided experiences and unhurried space,
we explore how small, intentional practices can restore resilience and keep us rooted in ourselves.
We greet the morning in stillness, beginning
with a guided meditation and reflective journaling,
allowing breath and awareness to arrive before the day fully opens.
Breakfast follows, nourishing body and spirit alike.
As the morning unfolds, we gather for a mid-morning exploration of self-care—not as another task or “to-do,” but as a series of meaningful, bite-size rituals.
Together, we discover practical ways to weave resilience-building
habits into the fabric of daily life.
Time slows to gentle drift. Space is held for soaking in the healing waters, for quiet reflection, or for an Access Bars® session if you have reserved one—
an opportunity to rest deeply and receive all that the
healing grounds of Breitenbush have to offer.
After lunch, we return to one another in a shared afternoon session of journaling and group reflection, followed by a hands-on creative practice: shaping a clay “Hope Container.”
This vessel becomes a symbol of what we choose to carry forward—tender, resilient, and alive.
We gather for dinner, then release into a spacious night—
time for soaking, solitude, or a reserved Bars session—
allowing care to ripple outward, long after the soaking pools
have settled from visitors and the day has closed.
Spiral
Tubs
Aligned in the four cardinal directions, the four Spiral Tubs vary in temperature. Ranging from 100 to 110 degrees and ending with a cold water dip, which is sure to awaken the internal senses, creating the perfect wheel of sacred water medicine.
3rd Full Day: Sources of Strength
This day invites us to recognize what sustains us. Drawing from an evidence-based, strengths-focused, upstream approach to mental health and well-being, we gather the inner and outer resources that support resilience, connection, and long-term care—within ourselves and our communities.
The morning begins with breakfast, followed by breath meditation and sound healing guided by Ashley & Erik of OmTara Music and Events followed by unstructured time to soak in the healing waters, rest, reflect, or receive an Access Bars® session if you have reserved one.
This spaciousness allows the body to integrate what has already been revealed.
We come together for guided Sources of Strength practices.
Through reflection on your personal journey from Mud to Lotus, we honor what
has shifted, softened, and strengthened along the way.
The day’s work culminates in the intentional creation of spirit bundles—
a keepsake that holds symbols, intentions, and reminders of the
strengths you carry forward.
We gather for dinner, then ease into the evening with time for
soaking, solitude, or a reserved Bars session—
allowing the threads of the retreat to weave themselves
into something lasting, rooted, and whole.
Sauna
The Steam Sauna is a cedar cabin steam rising through slots in the floor. The artesian water geyser would rise 30 feet in the air every few minutes, just like Old Faithful, had it not capped it off.
Meals
Vegetarian buffet-style meals each day cooked with love from nearly 100% organic ingredients, and produce from local farmers. Dietary adjustments include low gluten, no eggs, or no dairy.
Labyrinth
A meditative walk to the center of the labyrinth is a journey to one’s own center, with song of the nearby river. It outlined in river rocks; modeled after the nave at Chartres Cathedral in France.
Morning Closing Ceremony: The Lotus Path
This final morning is a blessing and farewell. The Lotus Path honors the journey traveled together—
recognizing both the pain that shaped us and the resilience that helped carry us forward.
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As the retreat draws to a close, we gather in ceremony to honor transformation from the mud of challenges and pain to the resilience and strength of a beautiful lotus.
This is a sacred pause, a space where reflection, gratitude, and intention meet.
Each participant will receive lotus seeds to take home and tend—
living reminders of the capacity to grow through pain, loss, and change,
and to bloom again and again.
Time is then offered for soaking in the healing waters, resting, or quiet reflection,
allowing the retreat to settle fully into body and spirit.
Off-the-Grid
There is no cell service, TV or guest Internet, providing you with the unique opportunity for a digital detox.
Important
Information
Substance-free
Environment
This is a space free from alcohol and drugs. This creates a serene atmosphere to connect with yourself, the land, and those around you.
Soaking Areas
All soaking areas are clothing optional. Clothing is required on the remainder of Breitenbush grounds.
Charlette and Michelle are the co-founders of Incite Agency for Change, a social enterprise inspiring hope, encouraging individual and collective action, and creating change for healthy communities where all people can thrive. Emerging from vastly different professional backgrounds, Charlette’s in nursing (RN, CCRN) and Michelle’s in public health (MPH, CHES), we have a combined four decades of experience in injury and violence prevention and health promotion. About 5 years ago, we started our business together. Now, often called a dynamic duo, we refer to ourselves as best friends, business partners, and sisters from another mister!
We came together around our shared passion for building community capacity to positively impact systems, structures, and as many lives as possible. The focus of our work is mental wellness, suicide prevention, and intersecting topics like substance use prevention and houselessness/housing insecurity. We recognize the significant importance of “upstream” life protectors such as building individuals’ strengths and resilience in order to weather life's challenges, and we also weave this approach into all of our work. We are certified trainers in a number of evidence-based suicide prevention trainings that we provide throughout Oregon.
We both also have lived experience that makes us passionate about this topic and about offering retreats that provide an environment for healing, skill building, hope, and transformation. Charlette is a suicide loss survivor who started her healing journey at Breitenbush 20 years ago attending organized and personal retreats. Michelle also has lived experience and found a sense of hope by empowering individuals and communities to navigate difficult times. We have both supported children, loved ones, and countless others through life’s complexities, including suicide crises, and we are committed to creating a positive ripple affect with the individual and collective impact of wellness experiences like this retreat. As well, Charlette has the lived experience of raising a child, now 24, with medical needs including open heart surgery at age 13, followed by significant and sudden mental health concerns, including suicide ideation and behaviors, time spent in a pediatric psychiatric unit, and methamphetamine and heroin addiction and recovery.
We have both come through turbulent times, even in the past couple of years. Now, along with many many others in the world, we are facing even more turbulence for ourselves and our loved ones. We are excited to create a restorative space for all individuals where you can rest and rejuvenate in the healing waters of the hot springs (which we do as often as we can!), and experience a retreat that can help you both sit in the mud and move towards hopefulness. We often say “no mud, no lotus.”
Breath Meditation & Sound Baths
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Your breathwork and sound bath experience will involve guided, intentional breathing to release tension and open your consciousness, followed by a sound bath using overtone-emitting instruments like singing bowls and gongs
to induce deep relaxation and inner exploration. By lying down or sit comfortably, you can surrendering
to the sound frequencies that slow brainwaves, calm the nervous system, and promote a
sense of freedom, healing, and connection to the inner self.
Erik Blender and Ashley Collins of OmTara Music & Events create music and mindfulness experiences that nurture connection of mind, body, and spirit. Based in the Pacific Northwest, they offer yoga, meditation, and mindful music events across the region, as well as in California and Hawaii. Ashley Collins (she/her) is an Integration Counselor, Psychedelic Facilitator, and Meditation Guide with extensive experience in healing and transformation. Her trauma-informed approach integrates Hakomi, parts work, and nervous system regulation to support awareness and change. Erik is a meditation teacher, musician, and sound healer dedicated to practices that awaken and align. He is a certified Yoga & Meditation instructor with IKYTA and a Level 2 Trauma-Informed Yoga teacher with Warriors at Ease, specializing in breath and meditation for PTSD regulation.
Together, Erik and Ashley will offer sound baths and a progressive daily breath practice, helping participants not only learn new skills but embody them. Attendees will leave with practical tools they can use anytime, anywhere.
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Access Bars, one of the tools of Access Consciousness, can help release locked up energy to allow for more ease and joy in many areas of your life. The Bars process is done by lightly touching 32 points on the head which store the electrical components of thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs, judgments and points of view. Often compared to a reset on a computer, you'll feel calm and peaceful after a Bars session. Sessions during the retreat are 40 minutes and take place in a private and relaxing setting while you’re fully clothed (comfortably) on a massage table. Benefits can include increased clarity/intuition/awareness/well-being, relief of stress/tension/anxiety, release of blocks and build up of emotions and stuck beliefs.
Get Your Bars Run!
Leah Svendsen is an artist and the founder of Element in Joseph, Oregon, a gallery, shop and creative space where she paints with wax and resin, teaches encaustic painting, sells local art, curates soulful home goods, and provides the Access Bars healing service.
After receiving her B of A in Art at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, she spent 18 years as the marketing manager for a bank. In 2021 she followed her intuition into a life of art, energy work and entrepreneurship. This leap into a more aligned path came about after experiencing Access Bars, an energetic treatment that clears thoughts, feelings and emotions which are not your own. Attributing the Bars process to this shift in her life, she felt drawn to sharing it with others and became certified in 2022.
We hope to see
you there!
Chelle & Char
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