Updated January 25, 2024
Thames Centre, Ontario: June 14-16/2024, June 28-30, July 12-14, August 9-11, August 23-25 (tentative). Other dates and times available. For more workshop information scroll further down in the post.
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Holistic well-being, also known as whole person well-being, provides for a more balanced version of ourselves, promoting physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and resilience.
Women’s wellness retreats provide women with unique restorative body, mind and spirit opportunities for improved health. As women, our brains and how we are affected by life’s stressors are unique! Creative escapes and ‘art as therapy’ can help to restore calm and balance, improving resilence. Studies have shown that art can reduce depression and anxiety, and improve cognitive functions by producing both new neural pathways and thicker, stronger dendrites. Exercising our creativity can ensure that we are less likely to develop cognitive impairment and memory problems as we age.
“Despite the obvious gender differences between men and women, research studies indicate that there are many differences in the brains of men and women. Besides the difference in sizes of significant areas of the brain, there are cognitive differences between men and women. The two hemispheres of a woman’s brain talk to each other more than a man’s does. Women recall emotional memories more quickly, and the ones they recall are generally richer and more intense.” 1
“Women’s brains are wired differently than mens. The female brain has greater blood flow in the cingulate gyrus, the part of the brain that’s involved in processing emotions, resulting in more intense emotional reactions and stronger emotional memories. Women are more prone to experience depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.” 2
“In one of the largest functional brain imaging studies ever, Amen Clinics determined unique differences of women’s brains:
- Female brains are busier,
- The emotional centers of women’s brains are more active,
- The cingulate gyrus (ACG), know as the brain’s gear shifter, helps you shift attention and recognize errors, works harder in women. Higher activity in the ACG increases the tendency to get stuck on negative thoughts or negative behaviors and to see what is wrong rather than what is right. It is also one of the brain’s worry centers.
- Brain imaging research reveals that females have larger areas in the brain dedicated to tracking gut feelings, explaining why women tend to be intuitive by nature.
- Production of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin is 52% lower in women. Serotonin plays a major role in mood, sleep, pain, and other issues” 3
- According to the Huffington Post article, creative artwork is good for your brain.
- According to Psychology Today, “There is a whole field of research known as “haptics,” which includes the interactions of touch, hand movements, and brain function.[5]” Writing cursive and hand drawing provide brain benefits.
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The butterfly effect is the concept that small changes over time can create huge life changes. Implementing small changes daily in our way of thinking, accepting, believing and doing can have a profound ripple effect on our body, mind and life balance; improving well-being. Creativity escapes can provide those small changes in our brains.
Join me for customized and botanically inspired creative escapes that may include a variety of offerings, including forest walks (bathing), garden visits, plant based cooking, apothecary herb education, wellness workshops, outings, crafting and art projects. Browse the information below for some of the offerings available for women’s restorative retreats and escapes.
UPCOMING RETREATS:
Restorative Botanical Creative Escapes:
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.”
John Muir
Thames Centre, Ontario: June 14-16, June 28-30, July 12-14, August 9-11, August 23-25 (tentative). Other dates and times available. Contact me at elisabethlhines@gmail.com for more information and pricing.
Pricing is based on customized add ons when selected. Base price for a Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon event with all plant and art materials and meals and snacks, including some of the escapes is $250 + accommodation (at an extra fee – see listing below). Workshop space is in the lower level which requires climbing stairs. Come for just the two days of creating and escapes, arriving after breakfast and leaving before dinner for $200.
Overnight accommodation in my ‘country style cottage’ home is available at an extra fee for up to 8 people. $100 per room, double or single occupancy, per night. Two queen rooms and two with twin beds. Local accommodations can be found through airbnb and booking.com.
My many escapes to nature and creativity through botanical projects have provided me body, mind and spirit support and balance. Reconnecting to nature and nature’s bounty are gifts that can help in finding peace and restore balance, essential ingredients for our ability to cope with life’s stressors. You can follow my escapes on my two instagram pages at https://www.instagram.com/escape_to_the_farmacy/ and https://www.instagram.com/elisabethlhines
Restorative Creative Escape Retreat Features
- Garden and rural wildflower appreciation and plant material collecting for those interested, plant material drying using various methods. DIY botanical press (extra materials fee).
- Botanical art creations using dried plant materials, simple watercolour art and embellishments. See my instagram pages for some of my projects.
- Possible nature escapes: Mill pond trail, conservation park, rural romps for those who are up for it. Good footware required. Hiking pole/s are recommended for the trails. Pole rental can be secured for you. Or relax in the many tranquil escapes in my backyard like the hammock escape. (Optional)
- Vegetarian/vegan meals and snacks – (Optional) Discussion on research information about health benefits of a more plant based diet. Recipes provided. There are local restaurants.
- Optional add ons: Bodyfeedback demonstration – teaching you how to use your body’s balance as useful wellness information. Find out how determining your weak list can help you to improved health. Bring a sample of your drinking water in a glass jar for sample testing, along with any personal care products you would like to learn to test.
- Optional add ons: Join me for gentle bodywork breaks (5 minutes) to provide relaxation and restore body, mind and spirit balance. This is a combination of tai chi, qigong and breathing.
- Optional add ons: Tapping for health demonstration, includes EFT Emotional Freedom Technique demonstration.
- Optional add ons: Discussion on how life balance challenges can affect hormone balance and cause dysregulation and unwanted symtoms. (optional) Life Balance Board discussion (optional)
- Optional add ons: BodyFeedback Interview and Therapy session (this is an extra charge)
- Optional add ons: EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprogramming) therapy benefits for post traumatic stress, trauma and medically unexplained symptoms. Discussion and demonstration using the BodyTalk Active Memory equivalent. (optional)
This holistic wellness retreat experiences can help you to recharge and refresh, and provide you with opportunities to learn holistic self-care strategies for a healthier you. Your body and mind can heal itself – with some guidance and supports. Your body comes pre-installed with many amazing abilities to restore and heal.
This creative healing retreat will be hosted and presented by
Elisabeth Hines, C.N.C., C.B.P. Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Holistic Nutritional Consultant, Internationally Certified BodyTalk Practitioner.
I look forward to conntecting with you! Wishing you health and happiness!
Check out and follow me on my creative escapes for body, mind and spirit at https://www.instagram.com/escape_to_the_farmacy/ and https://www.instagram.com/elisabethlhines
I share my holistic ‘stop, start and change’ protocol that has helped many of my clients as well as me to recover from multiple health challenges. Follow my road map for improved health! I will help you navigate your journey! Read what clients have said about The Whole Person Well-being Equation.
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Holistic Wellness Retreat Menu Items to Customize Your Experience
Body + Mind + Spirit Life Balance = Resilience = Ability to ‘rock and role’ =
Overall Whole Person Well-being
Implementing strategies to maintain a healthy life balance in the midst of life’s stressors will help you to stay grounded, like the roots of a tree. Check out my Wisdom from a Tree blog post.
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Women’s Holistic Retreat:
Spend a holistic well-being weekend/week day retreat at my ‘country style cottage’ home with your women friends and learn how to identify and manage your body, mind and life balance disruptors; and how to improve your health using natural, holistic strategies. Your retreat can be customized to suit your needs and desires and those of your group.
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Location:
Thames Centre, Ontario
Accommodation:
$100.00/night/room (2 persons/room). 2 Queen, 2 Twins with shared bath.
Minimum 2 nights stay.
We can accommodate groups of 8 (additional pull out sofa if needed).
We are environmentally conscious and maintain a healthy air quality home, free of synthetic scents, cleaners and sprays.
Bedding is washed in natural laundry products.
No synthetic air fresheners or scented candles. Minimal natural scents.
All shared bathrooms are supplied with organic and natural personal care products for you to try/use during your stay (shampoo, body wash, conditioner, soaps, lotions, deodorant, hairspray). So leave your synthetic ingredient personal care product equivalents at home – especially if they are synthetically scented. We are environmentally conscious about water usage and request guests to be mindful of shower water usage.
Healthier for you and healthier for the environment!
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Includes a healthy vegan/vegetarian breakfast! Non-gluten options available.
We will try to accommodate for allergies and intolerances.
Healthy vegan/vegetarian lunch and dinner also available (extra). Please inquire. There are a variety of local restaurants and take out options
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Customize Your Retreat:
Free fifteen minute private consult to discuss your personal well-being challenges.
Body + Mind + Spirit Life Balance = Resilience =
Ability to ‘rock and role’ =
Overall Whole Person Well-being
Free group session on the importance of greening your health, home and beauty products for a healthier you. Includes discussion and direction on the best strategies to detoxify your body pollution.
Free scheduled group question and answer period daily. YOUR BODY CAN HEAL ITSELF: Follow My Road Map.
Free Essential oil therapy for symptom relief, immune system support and to promote healing (discussion and sampling).
Free (optional) overnight aromatherapy while you sleep to improve sleep and mental function and provide calming.
Free (optional) bedtime self application of complimentary essential oils to your reflexology points to improve sleep, mental function and calming.
Free allery kit laser pen balancing to eliminate food allergies, demonstration.
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Holistic Retreat Menu (at extra cost):
Select the items from the menu below that you would like to add on to your holistic women’s retreat. Please order these items at the time you book your stay to ensure they will be available.
#1 – BodyFeedback Interview & Therapy –
$50.00/half hour (each/private)
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#2 – Weak List Assessment –
This neuromuscularbiofeedback assessment provides you with information for your very important ‘stop, start and change’ list. Bring your food, supplement and personal care items lists with you.
$50.00/half hour (each/private)
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#3 – Bodyfeedback for Health Protection Instruction –
$50.00/half hour (per group)
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#4 – Body, Mind & Spirit Life Balance Vision Board Workshop –
What can you ‘stop, start & change’ today
for ‘a healthier you’?
While a vision board provides you with an opportunity to visualize what you want in life, a ‘body, mind and spirit’ life balance vision board workshop will help you to identify your personal body, mind, spirit and life balance disruptors. The ‘body, mind and spirit’ life balance vision board (and accompanying instruction booklet) is an assessment tool and working planning chart prompting you to make required changes to achieve and maintain body, mind, spirit and life balance. This mindfullness workshop is available in full weekend or mini format as an add on. Please ask for details.
The boards below are two of my personal ‘body, mind, spirit’ balance boards.
Body, Mind, Spirit Life Balance Vision Board – $125.00 (includes):
- All material required
- Take home ‘body, mind and spirit’ life balance vision chalk board (with instruction booklet). Option of wood or adhesive vinyl chalkboard allowing for easy roll up and travel in a suitcase.
- Copy of THE WHOLE PERSON WELL-BEING EQUATION (see below)
- Health protection using body responses demonstration. This neuromuscularbiofeedback assessment provides you with information for your very important ‘stop, start and change’ list. Bring a suspect food, supplement or personal care item with you to test.
- Vegan lunch and refreshments, recommendations on how to transition to a healthy balanced plant based diet for healthy longevity
- Botanical Spa Therapy herbal bath sample
- Essential oil samples
- For more information on this workshop and board visit.
- To book a space email elisabethlhines@gmail.com
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#5 – Botanical Creative Escape
Weekend event includes plant material collection and drying. Botanical press DIY (optional), botanical escapes, plant based meals and snacks. Additional optional free and paid add ons. See upcoming events above for more details and Instagram links.
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#6 – Silk Screen Printing using Embroidery Hoops
Make & take silk screen project. Contact for more information and cost.
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#7 – Get Started on Your Book Workshop
Direction and book set up to get you started on the writing of your first book through self-publishing (no costs to write or publish). Writing your story can be very therapeutic and also help other people in their well-being journey. Bring your laptop with internet capability.
$50.00/half hour (per group)
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#8 – Get Started on Your Blog Workshop
Direction and set up to get you started writing your personal blog (no costs to write or publish your blog on the internet). Writing on your blog regularly can be very therapeutic and also help other people on their well-being journey. Bring your laptop with internet capability.
$50.00/half hour (per group)
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#9 – Get Started on Social Media Workshop
Although it can be intimidating to get started (I can relate), once you are set up it can be an enjoyable and comfortable experience as well as a powerful business marketing tool. Learn how to create and set up your social media pages. All social media platforms are free to set up and use. Bring your laptop with internet capability.
$50.00/half hour (per group)
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#10 – Creative Art Therapy to Change/Heal Your Brain
Exercising our creativity enhances the quality of our lives and nurtures overall well-being. Creativity is an innate gift that every person has, which for some, may require some mentoring to activate. Creativity takes many forms. Arts and crafts have long been the go to for art therapy. Any hobby or activity that allows for the creative process can be considered art therapy. Whether you like to paint, draw, craft, sew, woodwork, knit, scrapbook, play music, write, compose, cook or garden; your brain and overall health will reap the rewards of the creative process involved in them.
Studies have shown that art can reduce depression and anxiety, and improve cognitive functions by producing both new neural pathways and thicker, stronger dendrites. Exercising our creativity can ensure that we are less likely to develop cognitive impairment and memory problems as we age. Immersing ourselves in the creative process of art gives us a temporary time out from the body and mind’s focus on life’s stressors, ‘the unexpected’, past trauma and grief. Engaging in some form of ‘art as therapy’ regularly allows us to escape from our feelings of stress and pain; providing our body and minds the time and space we need to promote healing.
According to the Huffington Post article, creative artwork is good for your brain.
According to Psychology Today, “There is a whole field of research known as “haptics,” which includes the interactions of touch, hand movements, and brain function.[5]” Writing cursive and hand drawing provide brain benefits.
Check out the upcoming Women’s Creative Escapes information above in this post and my Instagram posts at https://www.instagram.com/escape_to_the_farmacy/ and https://www.instagram.com/elisabethlhines
Art Therapy Mindfulness Workshop: Wisdom from a Tree (temporarily unavailable)
A ‘Wisdom from a Tree’ art therapy mindfulness workshop can help you in your quest to manage life’s stressors, process painful emotions like grief and feel more mindful, grateful and grounded. Join me for a therapeutic two day workshop to create your personal ‘Wisdoms from a Tree’ unique artwork. I can lead you through the steps that I used to create my version and you can customize your creations by selecting your favourite ‘Advice from a Tree’ poem messages and other creative embellishments. This two day art therapy mindfulness workshop is suitable for beginners as well as providing advanced artists opportunity to further their creative expression.
The workshop includes:
- a beginning meditation to help you to unblock any barriers to your creativity
- mindfulness ‘wisdoms from a tree’ worksheet
- a 24” x 36” canvas (my reused canvas was 36” x 48” while the original thrift store poster plaque was 24” x 36”)
- use of brushes and all paints colours used in the “Wisdom from a Tree’ canvas
- use of fine point marker for the inspirational lettering
- use of transfer paper
- supplies for decoupage if you decide to embellish your artwork
- group instructions
- one on one guidance as neede
- filtered water and herbal teas
- a daily vegan lunch is included with many gluten free options
- daily walk in nature break/breaks starting at my backdoor green space (bring suitable clothing and footwear for changes in weather). This will help you physically and mentally to be more creative and inspired.
- a complimentary aromatherapy massage during the weekend
What to bring:
- to save time on workshop day search the internet for your inspirational version of the ‘Advice from a Tree’, ‘Lessons from a Tree’ poems. You can customize your version like I did.
- cut and paste motivational magazine clippings if you want to add these to your art work using decoupage
- any art markers or supplies you have that you would prefer to use. Please make sure that you have labelled
- indoor footwear
Available at an additional fee:
- Bed and breakfast accommodations are available in my home at an extra fee.
- For more information on this workshop and costs, bed and breakfast and other offerings that may be available contact me. Scroll down the page to Holistic Retreat Menu item #12 for this workshop information and cost.
$300 Two day art therapy mindfullness workshop
(workshop and supply cost per person)
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Creative healing retreat will be hosted and presented by:
Elisabeth Hines, Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Holistic Nutritional Consultant,
Health by Design
Author of THE WHOLE PERSON WELL-BEING EQUATION
www.mybodycanhealitself.ca
Inquiries: elisabethlhines@gmail.com
SOURCES:
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Two Minds, The cognitive differences between men and women. NEUROBIOLOGY | SPRING 2017, By Bruce Goldman, https://stanmed.stanford.edu/how-mens-and-womens-brains-are-different
- Male and Female Brains: Are they wired differently? Rob Pascale and Lou Primavera Ph.D., April 25, 2019, |Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/so-happy-together/201904/male-and-female-brains
- 7 Differences Between Male and Female Brains, Amen Clinics, September 22, 2021, https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/7-differences-between-male-and-female-brains/
Two minds
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