Embodiment Retreat with Yoga & Mindfulness in Mendocino, California
If you’ve been longing to come home to your body with tenderness, the Embodiment Retreat at Spirit Camp offers a weekend of gentle return—yoga, mindfulness, movement, singing, writing, and invitational group process, designed for those who identify as women, ages 20 and up. Held September 26–28 (Friday–Sunday), this gathering is hosted by best friends and collaborators Dr. Hillary McBride and Lisa Gungor, the co-creators of Sacred Feminine. Learn more and reserve your spot via the Embodiment Retreat listing on the Sacred Feminine page, or browse the full calendar at Spirit Camp Retreats. Over two nights, in the hush of redwood forest wellness retreats on the Northern California embodiment retreat coastline, you’ll be invited to listen for your “yes” and your “no,” honoring self-leadership with care.
The way of the sacred feminine, as envisioned by your facilitators, is a weaving of what was never meant to be apart: mind and body, vulnerability and power, the intimate present and the vast unknown. Each activity is optional and invitational, honoring the agency of your nervous system and the wisdom of your pacing. This is a playful, down-to-earth weekend—affectionately known as “grown-up lady camp”—where transformation sits beside laughter, and tenderness is welcomed as a teacher.
Rejoining Body, Heart, and Play Over One Sweet Mendocino Weekend
Across three sun-dappled days in Mendocino County, expect accessible yoga, embodiment & mindfulness for women, and community conversations that make room for every kind of presence. If you need rest, you rest. If you want to dance, you dance. If writing calls, you put pen to paper and follow the thread. Your choices are celebrated, not graded; your boundaries are honored, not questioned. In this women’s embodiment retreat Mendocino, you’ll move at the speed of trust—your own.
Evenings may bring a chorus of sea air and wind through branches, conversations at communal tables, and the gentle glow of the Sanctuary as the copper roof holds the rhythm of night rain. Mornings invite slow arrival: tea, stretching, the warmth of a wood stove, a circle of women ready to practice together without performance.
What “Embodiment” Means Here
In contemporary wellness and somatic therapy, “embodiment” refers to the lived, felt sense of being a body—attending to sensations, movements, and impulses as sources of real-time information and choice. Somatic psychology emphasizes how awareness of the body can help us regulate, relate, and repair; it’s a way of listening inward that complements talk-based approaches. As Dr. Arielle Schwartz describes, embodiment invites attention to sensations so your body can become a compass for self-leadership and agency. (Arielle Schwartz, PhD)
Popular explanations of embodiment in mental health also note how mind and body continually influence each other—sometimes called “embodied cognition.” In practical terms, that means grounding in breath, tracking sensations, and noticing posture can shift thoughts and mood. Guides for the general public underscore how embodiment practices support stress recovery and trauma-informed care by reconnecting us with interoception—the capacity to sense what’s happening inside. (Verywell Mind, verywellmind)
Mindfulness, as adapted in many Western contexts, complements these embodiment tools by cultivating present-moment awareness with curiosity. Encyclopædia Britannica frames meditation as a family of attention practices that nurture self-awareness and well-being; mindfulness meditation in particular has been popularized in North America since the 1980s and widely integrated into clinical settings. (Encyclopedia Britannica) External guides for everyday practice further highlight how present-moment awareness helps us savor experience and relate to thoughts without over-identifying with them. (Mindful, Calm Blog)
Gentle yoga rounds out this weekend’s toolkit by marrying breath, posture, and attention in a way that supports interoception and accessibility. Britannica’s overview situates yoga as a wide family of practices whose practical, experiential aspects travel well across settings; educators often point to proprioception and interoception—the senses of position and internal feeling—as capacities that yoga can refine in service of mind-body regulation. (Encyclopedia Britannica,YogaUOnline) Note on scope: this retreat offers practical, invitational tools rather than an academic survey of lineages or cultural histories, aligning with the facilitators’ emphasis on lived experience and consent-based learning.
Photo of Deer Haven, one of the our many unique cabin spaces. This cabin has three beds. Cabins have between 1 to 8 beds each and provide several different sleeping arrangements for Embodiment Retreat. All cabin spaces are included in Mendocino retreat for women.
Photo of Group Glamping Tents Setup in Sunset Meadow. We have 10 Glamping Structures that can be added with 1to 3 beds each. This can increase bed capacity of campus to 50 guests across 20 unique accommodation spaces.
Leaders Who Invite Voice, Agency, and Joy
Co-creators Lisa Gungor and Dr. Hillary McBride began Sacred Feminine in 2018 to nurture empowering, enlivening spaces with women who wanted both depth and play. Lisa is a Grammy-nominated music artist and author with a 200-hour YTT; Hillary is a therapist, researcher, and author with a PhD in Counselling Psychology and registration as a clinical counsellor (RCC). Their friendship is the heartbeat of this work. Together they design non-hierarchical, choice-honoring environments where your voice matters, your boundaries are celebrated, and your joy is welcome. Over seven years, their retreats have become beloved for weaving movement, singing, journaling, and group process into a weekend that feels at once spacious and meaningful.
Redwood-Held Comfort, Playful Minimalism, and Summer-Camp Warmth
Spirit Camp is a transformational retreat center nestled among redwoods—equal parts cozy and alive. You’ll find an array of stay options that meet you where you are: private or shared cabins, a bunkhouse with nostalgic charm, and seasonal glamping when the weather welcomes canvas and starlight. Spaces are impeccably cleaned and energetically refreshed. Blue-blocking lights, warm linens, and thoughtful design tilt the environment toward rest, regulation, and delight. Learn more about the center at the Spirit Camp homepage.
Meals are plant-forward, locally sourced, and crafted to support practice—nourishing without slowing you down. Communal tables make conversation easy; the Lodge hums with gentle music and laughter. The Sanctuary—copper roof, skylight, south-facing windows—holds quiet meditations and tender circles alike. Whether you step into healing nature immersion or curl up with tea and a journal, the campus invites you to be exactly as you are.
In Mendocino’s Redwoods, Close to the Coast
Spirit Camp sits in Mendocino, on the rugged edge of Northern California, just about three hours from San Francisco and Oakland, and roughly two hours from Santa Rosa. Ten minutes from the village of Mendocino and a breath from Highway 1, it’s a place where ocean fog drifts through trees and clifftop trails wait a short drive away. The center is accessible for travelers across the Bay Area, making it a natural choice for a women’s retreat North of San Francisco. Explore more upcoming weekends on the Spirit Camp Retreats page.
FAQs
What does “embodiment” look like for beginners?
For newcomers, embodiment is simply the practice of noticing what you feel—breath, temperature, muscle tone, posture—and letting that information guide your choices. In this embodiment retreat in California, every activity is invitational; you can start small, rest often, and trust your pace.What’s the vibe if I opt out of an activity?
Opting out is honored. Your “no” is part of your self-leadership. The weekend is designed so you can pause, journal, stroll the gardens, or sip tea in the Sanctuary without losing connection to the group. Participation is never performative.What should I pack for redwood weather?
Layers are key—mornings and evenings can be cool along the coast. Bring a warm jacket or sweater, comfortable shoes for trails, a water bottle, and a yoga mat if you prefer your own. A journal and pen are encouraged for writing sessions.
Nearby Nature to Wander Into
Russian Gulch State Park
A few minutes east of the village, Russian Gulch opens into a lush canyon threaded by a creek and crowned inland by a 36-foot waterfall. The headlands hold the famed Punch Bowl—an immense collapsed sea cave where waves churn and echo—while the cove offers beach access for tidepool exploring and a pause with salt air on your skin. Trails range from gentle strolls under redwood canopy to longer loops along the creek; there’s even a paved three-mile bicycle trail for easy cruising between forest and coast. (California State Parks)
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Encircling the village on three sides, the Headlands serve up broad-sky clifftop paths, sea arches, and hidden coves. On clear days you might spot migrating whales from bluff viewpoints; on fog-kissed mornings the trails feel like walking inside a watercolor. It’s a perfect complement to the retreat’s quiet work—steady steps beside the Pacific, wind in your hair, and a horizon that reminds you to breathe. (California State Parks)
Top Transformational Retreat Experiences in Northern California
If you’re searching for a mindfulness weekend getaway, craving the renewal of a redwood forest wellness retreat, or exploring a Northern California embodiment retreat, this weekend offers an approachable path. You don’t need to be “good at yoga” or versed in meditation. You only need an open curiosity about your own experience and a willingness to honor what you need. The rest unfolds: movement, breath, laughter, a circle of women ready to welcome you as you are.
Final Invitation
Spirit Camp is a place where the forest slows your nervous system and community warms the edges. From sunrise stretches in the Lodge to firelight conversations in Magic Meadow, the weekend gathers around presence and play. If something in you perks up reading this—if your body leans forward—consider it an invitation. Learn more and reserve your spot for Embodiment Retreat via the Sacred Feminine page, and explore all upcoming weekends at Spirit Camp Retreats.
TOPICS:
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