Trauma-Informed Somatic Retreat for Women with Breathwork and Bodywork in the Redwoods North of the Bay Area
A Trauma-Informed Somatic Retreat for Women Who Want Safety First
There is a particular kind of tired that comes from holding more than your body was ever meant to hold. Not just a full calendar, but old memories, survival strategies, hypervigilance, and the constant scanning for what might go wrong next. A Trauma-informed somatic retreat for women is for those who recognize that their nervous system has been doing this work for a very long time—and is ready for a different way. At Redwood Womb, that different way begins with safety. You can explore the full invitation on the Redwood Womb retreat page and feel into whether this transformative retreat is the right next step for your body and story. To see how it weaves into the wider year, you can also visit the Spirit Camp retreat calendar.
Redwood Womb is a five-night, women-only immersion held March 17–22, 2026 at Spirit Camp in Mendocino, Mendocino County, Northern California. While this is not a clinical treatment program and does not replace therapy or medical care, it is intentionally designed as a trauma-informed somatic retreat for women in California. The space is nervous-system aware, grounded in consent, and paced with sensitivity in mind. Practices are offered as invitations, not requirements. You are encouraged to honor your own internal timing and to listen closely to your body’s “yes,” “no,” and “not yet.”
From the first circle, the emphasis is on choice. You’ll hear reminders that you can opt out of any practice, keep your eyes open instead of closed, stay seated instead of lying down, or simply rest on a cushion and let the room move around you. Facilitators name this explicitly so that consent is not something you have to infer—it is woven into the culture of the retreat. This is the foundational rhythm of a nervous-system informed women’s retreat on the Northern California coast: nothing forced, everything offered.
Throughout the week, the intention is not to “dig up” trauma but to create a container where your system can gradually unwind in its own way. You are invited to come as you are—whether your history includes big-T trauma, chronic stress, subtle accumulations over time, or simply a sense that your body is always braced. The redwoods, the slow practices, and the gentle structure all collaborate to remind you that your pace matters and that your story is welcome here.
Somatic Movement, Breathwork, and Bodywork as Trauma-Informed Pathways
Somatic work begins with a simple premise: what happens in your life also happens in your body. Clinical and wellness articles describing somatic therapy frame it as a body-oriented approach that helps people notice and work with sensations, tension, and movement patterns linked to stress or trauma, with the aim of supporting nervous-system regulation and emotional well-being. (Harvard Health) Rather than staying solely in story or analysis, somatic practices invite you into direct experience—how your body actually feels, right now, and how it might like to move, soften, or rest.
In this trauma-informed somatic retreat for women, those principles show up through gentle movement, breathwork, and somatic bodywork led primarily by Ashley “Pearl” Pearlman. Sessions emphasize interoception—the ability to sense your internal landscape—as a way to befriend your own system. Recent resources on somatic movement describe it as a mindfulness-based, sensation-focused approach to movement that prioritizes how your body feels over how it looks, helping to reduce both physical and emotional tension. (Cleveland Clinic)
Practically, this means joints are moved slowly, ranges of motion are explored at your own speed, and pauses for sensing are built into the flow. You might be guided to notice how your feet meet the floor, how your spine curves as you round or lengthen, how your breath responds as you shift from stillness into simple shapes. You are never asked to override pain or push past your limits; you are encouraged to remain in dialogue with your body, moment to moment.
Breathwork in this container follows the same trauma-informed logic. Instead of long, intense breathing sessions that could flood your system, you’ll encounter shorter, layered practices: lengthening exhale, soft belly breath, simple count-based patterns, all framed as options. Somatic and trauma-specialist educators often emphasize that nervous-system healing is less about dramatic catharsis and more about repeated, titrated experiences of safety and regulation. (Academy Of Therapy Wisdom) Here, breath is used to support you in touching into sensation and emotion without losing your footing.
Somatic bodywork, when offered, is approached with the same care. Clear boundaries, consent, and ongoing check-ins are central. You might experience supportive touch designed to help your body feel more grounded, or subtle holds that invite down-regulation. At every step, you retain agency: you can decline touch, change your mind, or request adjustments.
These modalities are presented in layers, so you can titrate your engagement. A practice might begin with simply noticing breath, then add small, slow movement, and then (for those who choose) invite a slightly deeper exploration. You can stay at the first layer if that is what feels right. You can step out of a session halfway through and take a walk under the trees. In that way, this somatic healing retreat for women in Mendocino becomes less about doing everything and more about discovering what truly supports your system.
If you’d like to read more about somatic approaches beyond retreat, this overview of somatic therapy and trauma offers a clear explanation of how body-oriented practices can help address stress and trauma-related symptoms while underscoring that they are one part of a wider healing journey. (Medical News Today)
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 Trauma-informed somatic retreat for women. All cabin spaces are included in north of the Bay Area.
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.
Facilitators Who Understand Somatic Safety for Women
The nervous system remembers not only what happened to you, but how you were met when it happened. A key part of a trauma-informed somatic retreat for women in California is who is holding the space—and how. At Redwood Womb, you are guided by two facilitators whose work is rooted in body wisdom, energy, and deep respect for women’s stories.
Ashley “Pearl” Pearlman—found on Instagram as @pearldotyoga—brings over a decade of experience in yoga, personal training, and trauma-informed movement. Her facilitation is steady, clear, and attuned. Rather than dictating what your body “should” be able to do, she offers options and modifications, normalizes pausing, and continually orients you back to what feels supportive. Somatic educators describe this kind of slow, choice-centered movement as central to trauma-informed practice, helping people build capacity without re-triggering overwhelm. (PositivePsychology.com)
Laura Ahern holds the energetic and spiritual dimensions of the retreat as a multidimensional healer, channel, and founder of Anuraya Reiki™. Her presence is devoted to nuance: she understands that emotional and energetic processes do not move in straight lines, and that “big feelings” are not failures but signs of life returning to places that have been shut down. Through guided meditations, group energy work, and channeled clarity, she helps women name what has been heavy and make room for new inner rhythms to emerge.
Together, Laura and Pearl create a field where somatic safety and spiritual depth are not at odds. Pearl tends the pacing of the body; Laura tends the pacing of emotion and energy. You are not pushed into intensity for its own sake. You are invited into a sustainable, compassionate unfolding in a container that understands how sensitive this work can be.
A Somatic Retreat for Women in a Redwood Forest Designed to Feel Safe and Nourishing
The land and structures of Spirit Camp are part of what make this a truly nervous-system informed women’s retreat on the Northern California coast. Safety here isn’t only about facilitation style; it’s also about where you sleep, where you walk, and where you can go to be alone.
Lodging options range from private cabins to shared rooms and bunk-style housing, allowing you to choose the degree of togetherness that feels safest for your system. Private cabins offer a place to close the door, cry if you need, or simply rest without being “on” for anyone. Shared cabins and the bunkhouse offer community for those who regulate best with company nearby. All are nestled among redwoods, with soft linens, adjustable heaters, and blue-blocking lights designed to support rest rather than overstimulate.
The Sanctuary is a haven for decompression. With its copper roof, skylight, and cozy seating, it’s a place where you can curl up with a blanket, journal after a session, or simply lie down and feel the quiet. The Redwood Lodge holds meals and some group gatherings, with houseplants, skylights, and a warm hearth creating a sense of grounded comfort. In the gardens and Magic Meadow, you’ll find sunlight, pollinator-friendly flowers, and open space where your body can move freely—whether that looks like stretching, pacing slowly, or lying on the grass watching the sky.
All of this is held within a sober, earth-based, body-positive environment. Spirit Camp is substance-free, emphasizing natural states of consciousness through breath, movement, and connection. It is queer-owned and inclusive, committed to a culture where a wide range of identities and bodies are welcomed as they are. Together, these elements shape a somatic healing retreat for women in Mendocino that is both spiritually rich and practically comforting. To see more of this trauma-informed retreat setting, you can visit Spirit Camp and glimpse the cabins, Sanctuary, and meadows that will be co-regulating with you.
Trauma-Informed Somatic Retreat for Women in Mendocino, North of the Bay Area
One of the quiet gifts of this women’s somatic retreat north of the Bay Area is how accessible it is. Rather than needing to fly across an ocean, you can drive a few hours north of the San Francisco Bay Area and find yourself in a different world. Travel writers describe Mendocino County as a place where headlands, redwood forests, and small coastal villages create a landscape that naturally invites slowing down and tuning in. (Visit Mendocino County)
The drive into Mendocino County, California gradually shifts from urban freeways to two-lane roads, then to stretches lined with trees, and finally to sections where redwoods gather on either side like tall, silent witnesses. Spirit Camp itself is nestled inland from the ocean, on forested land near the village of Mendocino. Coastal state parks—like Mendocino Headlands with its gentle cliff paths and ocean vistas—are only a short drive away, offering easy, low-effort integration walks before or after retreat. (California)
For most Bay Area cities, the journey takes roughly two to three hours by car, depending on your starting point. This makes it realistic to access deep, somatic work without burning yourself out in transit. You can arrive the day before, settle into your cabin or off-site lodging, and maybe take a brief walk by the sea before stepping into the retreat container.
If you want to see what other retreats are held on this land—each with its own flavor of healing and exploration—you can browse the Spirit Camp retreat calendar and imagine different seasons, modalities, and communities in the same redwood embrace.
FAQs for a Trauma-Informed Somatic Retreat for Women
Is this retreat right for me if I’m working with a therapist?
For many women, a Trauma-informed somatic retreat for women can be a supportive complement to ongoing therapy, especially when there is clear communication with your provider. If you are currently working with a therapist, it is wise to share the retreat details with them ahead of time and explore together whether this timing and level of intensity feel appropriate. The retreat is not a substitute for therapy or crisis care, and it does not provide individual clinical treatment—but it can offer resourced space to practice regulation, embodiment, and self-connection alongside your therapeutic work.What if I feel overwhelmed and need to step back from a session?
You are encouraged to listen to yourself first. If at any point a practice feels like too much, you can slow down, change the shape, or step out of the space entirely. There are quiet places to walk, sit, or rest nearby, and facilitators normalize this kind of self-titration from the very beginning. In a trauma-sensitive movement retreat in the redwoods, leaving a session early is not seen as a problem; it is seen as a skillful choice. You can always rejoin when and if you feel ready.Are there quiet places onsite where I can be alone between sessions?
Yes. One of the gifts of this somatic healing retreat for women in Mendocino is the abundance of quiet nooks for solitude. Your cabin can be a personal sanctuary where you rest with the door closed. The Sanctuary often has open times for silent presence between sessions. Trails through the forest and garden paths offer gentle, low-stimulation spaces for walking, sitting, or lying on the earth. You do not have to be social during downtime unless that genuinely feels supportive; introversion and inwardness are fully welcomed here.
Soft Landings Beyond the Retreat Container
When the retreat itself has closed, your nervous system may still be integrating. Rather than rushing straight back into full-speed life, you might choose to stay in Mendocino County for an extra day or two, giving your body a softer landing. Two nearby experiences in particular offer low-effort, high-support ways to stay in conversation with the land.
Mendocino Headlands offers an easy coastal path that encircles the village, with mostly flat walking and expansive views of the Pacific. State park guides describe the network of trails along the bluffs as gentle routes where you can move at your own pace, pausing often to take in rugged cliffs, sea arches, and the changing texture of waves below. (Hiking Project) For someone just leaving a trauma-informed somatic retreat for women, this kind of spacious, slow walking can feel like co-regulation with the ocean itself—big, rhythmic, steady. You can stop as often as you like: to lean on a fence rail, to sit on a bench and feel your feet on the ground, to breathe with the tide.
For a forest-based integration, you might choose a short loop in one of the nearby redwood state parks highlighted by local Mendocino guides. Articles featuring parks like Russian Gulch or Van Damme describe accessible trails under redwood canopies, with soft ground, mossy trunks, and filtered light—routes that can be walked in under an hour while still feeling worlds away from everyday noise. (Visit Mendocino County) Here, your steps can be tiny, your pace unhurried. Each breath of cool, resin-scented air becomes another gentle cue to your system: it is okay to slow down; it is okay to feel; it is okay to rest.
These soft outings are not extra “work.” They are extensions of the retreat’s core medicine: presence, pacing, and compassionate listening to your body. A simple walk on the headlands and a brief wander under redwoods can become bookends to your time in this women’s somatic retreat north of the Bay Area, helping what shifted inside you find roots in real landscapes.
If your body already feels a subtle yes, you are invited to honor that. Explore this trauma-informed somatic retreat for women in the Mendocino redwoods, and allow the redwoods, the practices, and the community to hold you as you learn what safety can feel like now. For more ways to meet this land across the seasons, you can visit the Spirit Camp retreat calendar and imagine future returns to this nervous-system aware sanctuary.
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