Grab your friends and join us for a day of self-exploration at the Garden Retreat | Mind + Body. The Garden Retreat will offer a wide range of opportunities to explore your physical and mental health through nature walks, yoga, Tai Chi, art making and more. We hope the breadth of activities will contribute to your personal wellness practices and inspire you to center your well-being. Each class will be led by an industry expert, who will share valuable tools for how to live a healthy, balanced life. Select one workshop for the morning and come prepared to relax, recenter and breathe. This event is for people of all ages and fitness levels. Price includes admissions, a light breakfast, facilitated reflections, and a sound bath. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Wellness Initiative and related programs was made possible in part by Capital Health Systems and the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-252851-OMS-23]
Show Flow
All programs are outdoors unless otherwise noted.
7:30AM: Gates open
8:00AM: Welcome
8:45-9:45AM: Breakout Workshops
- Drawing in Nature by Shawn Allen-Dela Rosa | Indoors
- Mindful Portraits by Katie Bernard Wong | Indoors
- Forest Bathing by Sharon Lohse & Patty Kleiner *SOLD OUT
- Meditation by Patti McDougall
- Herbalism by Amanada Crooke| Indoors
- Horticulture Tour by GFS Horticultural Staff
- Tai Chi by Dao Concepts
- Wellness Walk by GFS Volunteers
- Yoga by Michelle Onion
10-10:45AM: Community Reflections
10:45-11:45AM: Sound Bath by Sarah Hummel | Indoors
12-5PM: Spend the afternoon exploring the grounds!
Workshop Descriptions
Drawing in Nature
Enhance skills in visual memory through observation and rendering of the landscape and nature using graphite, charcoal, pen, ink, and watercolor. Drawing pad and material provided.
Mindful Portraits
Through consideration of the human form, we can tune into the habits that do not serve our general wellness. Join us as we gain insight into our physical state through breath work, vocalization, and internal visualization, and then translate that into a mindful self-portrait that reflects individual tension, tightness, pain, open and closed spaces, and your general mental state.
Forest Bathing
Forest Therapy, or forest bathing, provides participants the opportunity to explore their senses in a serene part of the grounds and then wander in a number of experiences where they relax and notice what is going on out in nature. A sharing circle will provide the opportunity to share observations with others in the group. Being in nature on a guided walk can lead to less stress, a sense of peacefulness, and a “lightening” of the spirit. Taking the time to observe the hidden beauty that is all around us is a skill that can be taught and re-created in people’s lives with the creation of their own “sit spot” near home.
Herbal Teas for Health
Learn the basics of using herbal teas to support your health. You’ll learn three ways of brewing herbal tea and get to taste each one. You’ll also learn basic herbal safety, how to select teas, and how to brew teas for best potency and flavor.
Horticulture Tour
Join Grounds For Sculpture Horticulture staff to discover the hidden treasures that appear as the seasons change. Gaze in wonder as the gardens transition from winter into spring with a walk through our beautiful grounds.
Find Your Center with Mindfulness Meditation
The stress we experience in our daily lives can cause us to lose touch with our state of balance. Join staff from Robert Wood Johnson Better Health program to practice meditation techniques to help calm your body and soothe your frazzled mind.
Tai Chi
This workshop promotes overall wellness through the practice of Sun Style Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese art that blends exercise with stress reduction. Join staff from veteran-owned Dao Concepts and keep that drive to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
Wellness Walk
Enjoy a morning walk; it’s a great way to boost your energy and connect with others. Select from different walking groups–fast, medium and leisurely–to explore the grounds.
Yoga
This workshop is designed to help you explore how your body moves. You will be provided with tools that give optimal movement through a practice of yoga. Enjoy using your breath as you work through the various asanas (poses) to give you a connection between mind and body. This class will have modifications for all levels, but there will be transitions from the floor to standing. Join us as we discover an even deeper relationship to our own bodies.
Sound Bath
During this final performance you’ll find sensory relaxation, focus, clarity of mind, and an elevation of awareness as the sound bath experience eliminates disorder in the mind and body. The physiological benefits of sound therapy include decreased blood pressure, a boosted immune system, improved sleep patterns, and decreased anxiety. Sound baths offer opportunities to connect with oneself in a powerfully healing way by tuning the internal rhythms and resets the mind-body balance.
Full instructor biographies here
Program accessibility information available.