~Thich Nhat Hanh
Our fortification programs, including Sacred Dance, Yoga, The Well, Wilderness Vigils, and Summer Pilgrimage Trips, strengthen us so that we can be of clearer service to our world that needs inspired and capable adults. These practices are available to adults who seek fortification and are ready to do their own inner work so that they can lead the cultural regeneration needed at this time.
These programs are held in-person and are open to participants outside the Two-Year Program
At Springhouse, dance holds us together as a community in ways that words simply cannot. We dance to strengthen our bonds, to celebrate, and to summon the vitality, courage, and joy it takes to serve a world in need. We invite anyone who wants to reclaim their relationship with their bodies, and foster vitality within themselves in the safety of community, to join us. This practice is led by Sarah Merfeld and Sarah Piper Pollock, who have been apprenticing in this practice with Dr. Jenny Finn for five years and have facilitated Sacred Dance for teens and adults for several years.
NO dance experience is required and all abilities are welcome.
Martha Graham, the late choreographer, writes “movement never lies.” The Sacred Dance series are community dance sessions held at the Springhouse campus where we explore the vulnerability and power of relationship to ourselves and each other through movement. The series are held seasonally (Fall and Winter/Spring).
Through movement, dialogue, ritual, and creative expression, we explore various aspects of our lives over the course of 3 days. Sacred Dance retreats are rich and dynamic opportunities to learn and grow within yourself and a beloved community. Retreats offer a deeper dive than individual dance sessions and often include other soul-centered practices like ritual, writing, creative expression, and more.
The practice and study of Yoga is one of the “thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground,” as Rumi says. This series, led by Springhouse staff member and certified yoga instructor, H (they/them), will explore this doorway to the body, the self, and the sacred through the lens of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the first two of the eight limbs Patanjali articulates. Each of these six classes will include pranayama, meditation, asana, self-study, and group explorations. Since they are currently immersed in a three-year masters program in Yoga Studies, H will bring a perspective to the practice that is informed by Yoga’s rich and complex history and an appreciation and growing knowledge of Indian culture.
Facilitator Bio: H Leopold (they/them) is a registered yoga teacher with hundreds of hours of teaching experience, which ranges from teen-only offerings and queer yoga, to mini yoga retreats, gentle practices with seniors, and all-levels flow. They are passionate about creating safe, welcoming, and intimate spaces where all can experience healing.
Know More of Yourself in Community
The Well is for adults interested in an extended community container for building the courage and skills needed to embody our human wholeness. In this program, we identify and cultivate our innate resources and examine what gets in the way. The Well offers an exploration of the Self as a unique expression of the universal patterns of nature. Within each person there are great strengths, untapped potentials, and mysterious depths that we might not even know exist until we discover how to access them, cultivate their powers, and eventually integrate them into our lives.
In this fortification course, we invite the simple yet profound practice of being with the Earth, without distraction, sunup to sundown, four times throughout the year. When we sit with ourselves and the rhythms of the Earth, we encounter parts of ourselves that typically go unnoticed. We also put ourselves in the way of receiving the subtle, or not so subtle, teachings of the Earth.
We will meet once in the beginning of the series to orient to this practice and to one another. Then, we will gather once per season to spend a full day on a beautiful 100-acre property in Floyd County, Virginia. At the end of the day, we will sit together to share insights and reflections that emerged from our solo time.
This practice will be led by Dr. Jenny Finn and Sarah Merfeld, both of whom have humbly engaged in this practice for years and have each participated in a multi-day Vision Quest experience.
“When in doubt, just take the next small step.” ~ Paulo Coehlo, The Pilgrimage
Springhouse offers a summer pilgrimage trip for adults ages 18 and up. The purpose of this trip is to adventure from home to strengthen the home within us. We do this to revitalize and fortify ourselves to be of clearer and more compassionate service to our families, communities, and the world around us. Each year we will prepare and support each other prior to the trip and then adventure together on a journey to various places around the world. Following the trip, there will be a time for reflection and integration.
Dr. Jenny Finn and Sarah Merfeld, members of the Springhouse team, and Cynthia Shealy, LCSW, facilitate this program and lead the trip.
