Retreat Program Overview
We are so delighted to co-organize this Heart Free as a Wild Deer: Meditation & Somatic Practice Retreat. Led by Sean Oakes, this retreat will be held in tune with the natural rhythms of the Shelterwood Collective (Cazadero, CA).
Sean will lead a variety of practices & teaching - Insight Meditation, chanting, Yoga, somatic movement and Buddhist study. Sean intends to lead practices in nature, weather permitting. There are lovely shaded places to gather along with lush trails to walk along.
There are more details about Sean’s education & training along with the site (Shelterwood Collective) further down.
No prior meditation experience is required to participate in this retreat. Practitioners from any and all genders, orientations, backgrounds and professions are welcome.
The retreat will be held in Noble Silence. And participants will also sign up for a work meditation AKA yogi job - these vary from food prep, to table clean up and so forth. This is our opportunity to both integrate our practice and to serve the community – our Sangha.
There are a variety of sliding scale lodging options - more on that below. And starting with dinner on the 1st, we’ll be serving 3 vegetarian meals / day along with access to snacks, tea and coffee throughout each day.
During this autumn retreat, the weather and temperatures can vary. Thus, we’ll provide participants with a packing list for your comfort and safety.
The image below is an example of what our full retreat day schedule may look like.
Retreat Site & Lodging
This retreat will reside at Shelterwood Collective, a Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ-led community forest and retreat center. Comprised of 900+ acres, Shelterwood Collective is nestled above the Russian River in Sonoma County, CA, on Unceded Kashaya and Southern Pomo territory.
There is a loop trail that starts / ends at camp. This trail is 3 miles on gravel and takes about 1.5 hours. There is another hike up to a natural clearing that looks out on neighboring ridgetops and a couple that meader along the creek. All of the hikes all require decent mobility. For more accessible paths, individuals are able to walk around camp and/or along the winding path for cars.
Glamping tents along with individuals who choose to bring their own tent will reside in the meadow, a quick walk (less than 30 seconds) from the Redwood Lodge. This lodge has a fireplace in the common area along with individual heaters in each bedroom. This is where the kitchen is as well. Depending on the weather, the dining area may be inside by the fireplace or just outside on the adjacent deck. The lodge also has hot showers and 2 ADA accessible bathrooms with flushing toilets.
There is a spacious meditation hall near the meadow and Redwood Lodge (again less than 30 seconds from between each site). Depending on the weather and time of day, practice may be held here. There are large sliding glass doors that connect the space to the outdoors.
Our sliding scale lodging options are listed below along with a slideshow of images. For precise pricing and other lodging details, please see our registration page HERE (link available in May 2025).
Single fully furnished bedrooms in the Redwood Lodge (with heaters)
Shared fully furnished bedrooms in the Redwood Lodge (with heaters)
Large glamping 13 ft bell tents (with a wooden bed frame, supportive foam mattress and duvet)
Shared LG glamping bell tent (for 2 individuals who already know each other and request this)
Medium glamping 10 x 10 ft tents (with a cot, pad and sleeping bag)
BYOTent or Van
Retreat Cost & Policies
This retreat is offered on the basis of dana, the Pali word for generosity. This tradition of ‘Dana,’ or mutual giving, has supported Buddhist cultures for 2500 years. In Asia, the monks and nuns offer the teaching and the lay people support the monastery and fill the monks’ begging bowls each morning as they walk through the village on alms rounds. It is a beautiful exchange in which the hearts of both giver and receiver are opened in joy and gratitude.
Our retreat tickets just cover the basic costs of putting on the retreat: food, cook, site fee, administration costs, and other incidental expenses. It does not include compensation for Sean (time spent planning & teaching) or for Off-Grid Retreats (time spent organizing). On the final retreat day, you will be invited to share dana (AKA to donate) to the Retreat Teacher and to Off-Grid Retreats.
We offer the retreat fees on a sliding scale (based on the lodging you choose) to allow each participant to pay for what is most appropriate for themselves. We also provide a scholarship option for those who are unable to pay our lowest sliding scale fee. To see our pricing and/or to register, please click HERE (link available in May 2025).
Cancellation Policy: Available in May 2025.
COVID Policy: Off-Grid Retreats takes COVID precautions seriously and will adhere to any state mandated requirements. Currently, Off-Grid Retreats does not require any COVID test(s) or vaccination(s) to attend this nature retreat. But we reserve the right to change requirements, if the state's mandated requirements change. We also kindly ask people to stay home if they feel sick the day before and/or the day of this retreat.
Retreat Teacher
Sean Oakes, PhD (he/him, queer, of Spanish/Puerto Rican and Northern European ancestry living on unceded Pomo land in California), teaches Buddhism, Yoga, and somatic practice. He received teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield, wrote his dissertation on extraordinary states in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance, and focuses on the integration of philosophy, somatics, and social justice discourse with the Dharma. He teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, Insight Timer, and elsewhere. Learn more about Sean here.
If you’re interested in learning more about Sean and/or this retreat, we welcome you to join our free zoom led by Sean -> LINK TO ZOOM REGISTRATION AVAILABLE IN MAY 2025