Alive In Your Medicine

A Four-Day Journey with Breath, Community, and the Elements

September 14-18, 2024 at the UnU Center in Embudo, New Mexico

from Alive in Your Medicine 2023

“The Alive In Your Medicine retreat was an extraordinary experience…No matter where you are on your journey Julie’s caring heart, skilled use of knowledge, breath practice, ritual, and creative arts will support you in finding your medicine.” – Kim de Beus

You are medicine, breath is medicine.

Everything and everyone is medicine for something, and your medicine is so needed at this critical time on our planet. Since the day you took your first breath, its animating force has been coursing through you, ready to catalyze a richer expression of all the possibilities that you are.

During this retreat, each of us will deepen our connection with life force, supported by the elements of earth, water, fire, and air.

You’ll have the opportunity to ride the wave of breath, to feel the spark of fire arise in you, to flow with the land, the water, and your senses, and to tap into your innate creativity and intuitive knowing. We’ll have time together to explore what can only be done in community, and free time in the afternoon to integrate or relax as you wish.

You will leave with a deeper felt sense of who you are and what truly brings you alive.

APPLY NOW

Julie Harris is the most “tuned in” and insightful retreat leader and coach I have ever had. (And over the past 35 years, I have experienced numerous spiritual directors and retreat leaders.)

Julie was invitational, compassionate, and full of grace as she led me step-by-step to explore the unique medicine I have to offer the world as a coach and spiritual director. My heart can feel a bit dull at times; however, with Julie’s gentle guidance through breathwork and other activities, I felt it being nourished and rejuvenated.

Julie led us in breathwork each day of the retreat. Remarkably, she was able to strike a perfect balance of tending to the group and individuals. During the sessions, I felt my nervous system being transformed as I relaxed into the present moment.

The retreat was well-organized, yet flexible—structured and flowing at the same time. It was exactly what I needed to step away from the world, breathe, and listen to the Spirit within me. Everything from the food to the timing, to the creative elements was meaningful and thoughtfully prepared. There was also unstructured time every day, which I greatly appreciated, because it gave me time to pause, process, and soak it all in.

Every retreat attendee brought their own story and life wisdom, and I connected with and learned from each of them. Under Julie’s guidance, we approached each other’s lives and stories with a Holy Ground-type of reverence that made it safe to share freely.

The setting of the retreat and our work with nature and the elements was healing in itself. In particular, I loved hiking to the clearing looking out over the breath-taking Blue Ridge Mountains. Meditating and journaling up there was one of the highlights for me!

I would recommend this retreat to anyone who wants to get in touch with inner guidance, discern next steps for life, or simply breathe and rest from the pace of life.”

Amy McCabe

Retreat Details, Application, and Fees

Embark on a transformative journey from September 14-18 at the UnU Center in Embudo, New Mexico! Secure your spot among a small, dedicated group (up to 14 participants) for an immersive experience with breath and nature.

Nestled in the serene landscape of Embudo, New Mexico, the Unu Center awaits you with two lovingly restored 100-year-old adobe buildings on sacred land or tent camping along the Rio Grande. The Main House features a Central Gathering Room and Dining Room, while the Casita provides a cozy haven (ideal for those under 6 feet tall), adobe style!

All-inclusive prices listed below cover workshop tuition, four nights in charming adobe lodgings or Rio Grande camping, and delectable, vegetarian cuisine by holistic chef Chris Theberge (vegan, and gluten/dairy-free options available). Prices listed are per person, and range from $900-1900 depending on lodging choice.

Lodging Options

Choose from a variety of options: Embrace the adventure of camping on the Rio Grande, with outdoor showers and outhouse, OR opt for the comfort of a casa with shared bathrooms. The Unu Center offers a harmonious blend of choices that will support your comfort and connection to nature in an unforgettable retreat experience! 

You will have the opportunity to choose your lodging after your application is approved. Lodging preferences will be honored based on the date that the application is received.

All prices listed below are per person, and include lodging, food, and tuition.

Lodging Options: 

Payment and Cancellation Policy

Upon approval of your application, you will receive a link to choose your housing and complete payment. Payment is due within one week after your application is approved.

Cancellation policy: If you experience a genuine emergency before the retreat or are ill (with COVID or something else that prevents your participation), I am happy to give you a credit for the $400 tuition portion of the fee toward any other work with me. Lodging and food fees are nonrefundable. You may wish to consider travel insurance (at approximately $50-100) as a precaution.

FAQ

Q: Is this retreat for me?

A: Yes, if you want to embody yourself more fully, and feel more alive and connected to what is genuinely authentic to your unique Being. Yes, if you want to be deeply held by nature, community, and the breath in a way that dissolves barriers to your growth. Yes, if you’re willing to put aside any fixed expectations and be pleasantly surprised by what’s possible for you (one of the most common comments I get in both individual and group work is “that was surprising!”).

Q: Do I need to have experience with Integrative Breathwork?

A: No prior experience with breathwork is required. One of the reasons this retreat is small is so that I can tend to both the group and individual experience in breathwork. The breath attunes to the layer of material in your being that wants to be known and worked with in the moment. In this way, both novice and experienced breathers will receive exactly what they need.

Integrative Breathwork is simultaneously gentle and powerful. It is by far the most profound practice that I have experienced or facilitated.

Q: Is this an Enneagram retreat?

A: Although I will not be teaching “about” the Enneagram in this retreat, the wisdom of the Enneagram is foundational to the way that I facilitate and companion people.

One of the most basic gifts of the Enneagram is understanding that everything starts with the Body Center, regardless of your dominant Enneagram type. This retreat will help you to deepen the capacity of your Body Center, as well as support the opening of the heart and mind. We will be working with grounding, stillness, flow, power, and expansion in the body, and with some of the underlying emotions of the centers, such as anger (Body Center) and grief (Heart Center).

If your main exposure to the Enneagram is as a cognitive system, you will greatly enhance your felt understanding of how the Enneagram lives in you through participating in this retreat.

Most people who attend this retreat will have experience with the Enneagram, and it’s also not necessary.

This experience has changed me. What I’ve taken in has the potential to grow some deep roots and take me to a whole new level of how I see myself and how I live my life…

Some of the practices that Julie so skillfully and compassionately led us through felt uncomfortable. As I breathed through my discomfort, however, I was able to see these practices as an invitation to go to deeper places – ones I’d resisted for years.  To face my wounds and bring them into the light to finally be understood and begin to heal. Her presence and support helped me to move through my resistance and to feel safe going to some of these dark corners.

Julie orchestrates this beautiful and powerful experience around breathwork and the four elements to help us find our “medicine”, while also fostering trust and cohesion within the group so you know these are people who have your back and want nothing more than to support you. We all felt that an energy had been created over those four days that was incredibly special and unique, and that would have a permanence in our lives.

A memory that I’ll cherish perhaps more than any other was on the last day, sharing collages we created of images we were drawn to. It was like calling forth our soul voice to take center stage and give expression to what is most important for us to know at this time. Some of what the other people shared with me brought my heart fully online (hard for me!) and made me feel seen, heard and understood at a level I’ve never felt. It was like being fully immersed in pure, unconditional love.

Like every opportunity I’ve created for myself that could bring real shifts and deep, deep growth, I almost found a reason not to go. And yet I’ve learned to let the voice of my soul speak louder than my ego, and I’m so grateful that the impressions of these four days will forever be a part of who I am and am becoming. And for the amazing people who I’m now sharing this life path with because I said “YES”!”

— Cheryl Stevens

Schedule

Check-in

• You can check in to your room starting at 5 pm.
• The retreat begins with dinner at 6:00 pm.

Check-out

• The retreat ends with lunch served from 12-1 pm. 
• Room check-out is no later than 1 pm. 
• Please plan your departure so that you are able to stay through 12 pm on Wednesday, as we will spend the morning integrating your experience. 

About the Retreat Center

The site of the UnU Center in Embudo, New Mexico was chosen specifically for its high-vibrational energy of the sacred grounds on Rio Grande (long revered by the natives of the region), and the surrounding magical granite and ancient lava mountains.

Embudo, NM is situated 40 miles north of Santa Fe, 20 miles south of Taos, and 100 miles northeast of Albuquerque. Learn more about the UnU Center here.

What is Integrative Breathwork?

Integrative Breathwork is a dynamic and healing practice of conscious connected breathing that facilitates your ability to fully participate in life. Because the breath attunes to precisely what is needed for you during this practice, it can be beneficial for many types of inquiries, including:

• Opening to creativity, love, and beauty
• Connecting more deeply to inner guidance, purpose, and power
• Expanding your capacity to meet and trust whatever is showing up for you, including holding reverent space for fear, anxiety, anger, and grief

COVID Policy and Mutual Care

Because breathwork puts me and you into close contact with each other, we will be practicing mutual care before and during the workshop to protect the health of all, especially those who are or live with people in high-risk categories. As a result of this policy, everyone who signed up for the retreat in 2023 was able to attend, and everyone stayed healthy during the retreat. Please read the retreat COVID Policy here.

I feel seen and held tenderly by Julie always. I recall my first meeting with her and that tenderness and depth in her eyes – to her soul — this remains with me and I feel that connection each time we meet. I trust her implicitly.

– Phil Shovlin