Original Medicine Earth-Based Intensive Immersion Retreat
July 21–27, 2026 | Week-Long Retreat | 6 Nights | Tuesday to Monday
Reconnect with your Original Medicine through contemplative practice, mindfulness meditation, and earth-based practices in the living presence of the coastal redwoods. Guided by Carol Cano, Janet Roos, and a team of teachers, this intergenerational, all-gender-inclusive intensive immersion retreat is grounded in Buddhist and Indigenous wisdom and is for those who feel called to step more fully into their authentic purpose, community, and belonging.
Retreat Modalities Included
We practice silence from 10:00 pm - noon the next day, as part of self reflection and mindfulness practice
Contemplative and Earth-based practices grounded in Ancestral Healing
Guided Mindful Movement
Mindfulness Meditation
Daily Wisdom Talks based on Original Medicine's Framework
Daily Rituals and Relational practices
Ancestral Healing Practices
Honor Time for Rest and Self -Care
Community Council
About This Retreat
This retreat is independently organized by Braided Wisdom (Carol Cano, Janet Roos, Carmen Alvarez, Jonathan Relucio, Sarwang Parikh & Kimber Simpkins-Nuccio). Spirit Camp provides the venue, accommodations, and retreat setting. For registration, pricing, program details, meal info, and lodging options, please contact the retreat organizers directly using the button below.
Who the Retreat Is For
This retreat welcomes intergenerational presences from all backgrounds who feel the call to go inward and to do so within an intentional community for a week. It speaks directly to those who sense that the pace of modern life has pulled them away from something essential: their connection to the Earth, to their ancestors, and to the original medicine that lives within them. Whether you are new to contemplative practice or have cultivated an experienced practice with mindfulness meditation and Indigenous teachings, you will find both rigor and warmth here. This gathering is especially resonant for BIPOC practitioners, those drawn to the braiding of Buddhist and Indigenous wisdom, and anyone seeking a container of authentic belonging. If you are ready to slow down, sit in council with others, and let the redwood forest reflect back who you truly are, this retreat was crafted for you.
Retreat Description
Returning to What Was Never Lost
Since 2014, Braided Wisdom has guided hundreds of practitioners toward their own Original Medicine — the inherent wholeness that lives at the core of every person. This week-long mindfulness retreat in Northern California distills the essence of Braided Wisdom's renowned yearlong Original Medicine program into a single immersive residential experience. It is not a workshop. It is not a getaway. It is a carefully tended crucible for genuine personal and collective awakening — held in a redwood forest of Mendocino, where the land itself becomes a co-teacher. The invitation is simple and profound: come as you are, arrive fully, and discover what has always been true about you.
A Living Braid of Buddhist and Indigenous Wisdom
What makes this retreat singular is its commitment to authentic integration.The teaching team — Carol Cano, Janet Roos, Carmen Alvarez, Jonathan Relucio,Sarwang Parikh, Kimber Simpkins-Niccio, Regent Brown, and Rebekah Eppley brings decades of lived practices across Theravada Buddhism, mindfulness meditation, earth-based practices and a genuine presence of each teaching members’ reflections of their own cultural knowledge and presence. These are not parallel tracks. They are woven together into one living braid. We end our evening in the sweet territory of silence until noon the next day — a precious invitation to let the day arrive without noise, savored over breakfast alongside the rhythm of the forest.
This experience is supportive for those searching for: mindfulness retreats, healing retreats, spiritual retreats, meditation retreats, earth-based retreats, nature retreats, personal growth retreats, holistic healing retreats, contemplative practice retreats, ancestral healing retreats, Indigenous wisdom retreats, land-based healing retreats
About The Retreat Facilitators: Carol Cano, Janet Roos, Carmen Alvarez, Jonathan Relucio, Sarwang Parikh, Kimber Simpkins-Nuccio, Regent Brown & Rebekah Eppley
Carol Cano, M.A. — Lead Teacher Carol Cano began her contemplative practice more than 35 years ago at Wat Kow Tahm in Thailand and has since built communities and taught Dharma internationally. A teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and a core teacher and former board member of East Bay Meditation Center, Carol co-founded the Philippine Insight Meditation Community. Her teachings braid Basque, Native American, and Buddhist influences into a grounded, compassionate practice that meets people in the fullness of their humanity. Her background in psychology deepens her ability to hold community with clarity and care. Learn more at carolcano.com.
Janet E. Roos, PMP, CMT-P — Teacher Janet Roos has been recognized as an innovator in Business Technology for over 30 years and brings that same precision and excellence to her contemplative teaching. A graduate of the UCLA Mindfulness Certified Training Program and certified member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association, Janet is a four-time Hall of Fame recognized elite athlete who understands how mindfulness serves peak performance, resilience, and personal growth. She co-teaches Braided Wisdom's Original Medicine Yearlong Program and has sustained her own personal meditation practice for over a decade.
Carmen Alvarez — Teacher Carmen Alvarez (she/her/ella) comes from the Purepecha lands of Michoacan, Mexico, and holds a master's degree in Leadership that she braids fluidly with her Toltec and Purepecha roots, her Mindfulness Teacher Certification from Braided Wisdom's Leadership Training Program, and two completed Indigenous Master programs in Nahualismo and Curanderismo. A practitioner of Mexican Indigenous traditions and a member of a Lakota-centered community, Carmen guides participants through mindfulness meditation, ancestral healing, trauma-informed practices, and ceremonial work rooted in the belief that personal healing ripples outward to family, ancestors, and the wider community.
Jonathan Relucio — Teacher Jonathan Relucio (he/him/siya) brings more than 20 years of experience in social services, community organizing, and leadership development to the teaching circle. A former Senior Trainer for Niroga Institute — teaching trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness in schools, mental health clinics, and juvenile detention centers — Jonathan now teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and East Bay Meditation Center. He co-founded AllThriveEd.org, integrates mindfulness with restorative circles for racial equity, and serves on the Healing Advisory Council for Filipino Advocates for Justice. His practice draws from yoga, dharma, Indigenous medicine, and the arts as pathways to collective liberation.
Sarwang Parikh, LMFT — Teacher Sarwang Parikh (he/they) is a licensed psychotherapist and meditation teacher with more than 20 years of practice in the Dharma path, primarily through Vedic yoga and the Theravada Buddhist lineage. Born into a devotional Indian lineage from an immigrant, working-class family, Sarwang completed East Bay Meditation Center's two-year Spiritual Teacher Leader program and teaches at EBMC, Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, and in diverse community organizations. He serves on the board of Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Learn more at heartroottherapy.com.
Kimber Simpkins-Nuccio — Mindful Movement Teacher Kimber Simpkins-Nuccio (she/they) has taught yoga and mindfulness in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than twenty years, bringing a body-love and social justice perspective to every session. A graduate of Spirit Rock's Dedicated Practitioner's Program and the Spiritual Teacher and Leadership Program at East Bay Meditation Center, Kimber is a visiting teacher at Spirit Rock, EBMC, New York Insight, and Insight Santa Cruz. She is a current member of the Community Dharma Leaders cohort at Spirit Rock and a Teaching Assistant for Braided Wisdom's 2025 Original Medicine training — making her a natural presence at this intensive.
Teaching Assistants:
Regent Brown
Regent Brown, is a Black and Native American, disabled, gender expansive woman, who has been practicing contemplative practices in and out the workplace for almost 20 years. Through mindfulness training in work environments, Regent has expanded both personal and professional practice spaces weaving together ancestral healing training and mindfulness to support thriving communities. As a two time cancer survivor, Regent supports community and clients as a coach, circle keeper, trainer, healer, facilitator, and participant in interdependent wellness practices. Regent is part of a bountiful group of BIPOC meditation teachers working to weave mindfulness practices through their liberatory work, relationships, and communities. To balance a busy work life, Regent continues to manifest joy through activities like karaoke, time in nature, traveling to photograph sunsets, gardening, playing with cats and discovering small parks while walking their aging Corgi mix pup, Perkelsnertz.
Rebekah Eppley
Rebekah Eppley (she/they) worked as a nonprofit fundraiser for the San Francisco Education Fund from 1993-1995 and the Institute on Aging from 1995-2006. She has a background in creative writing and was a librarian at Oakland Public Library for many years where she organized programs and workshops in partnership with local community members and organizations. She currently serves on East Bay Meditation Center’s (EBMC) Programming Committee and volunteers and teaches with EBMC’s Maha Sangha. She has completed EBMC’s White and Awakening in Sangha and EBMC’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership program. She is currently part of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders Training. Rebekah was a participant in Braided Wisdom’s Original Medicine Yearlong Program and the Original Medicine In-Depth Program and is a co-facilitator of the Braided Wisdom Plantain Pod.
↓ Continue reading to learn about Spirit Camp Retreat Center and full retreat details
About Spirit Camp Retreat Center
Spirit Camp is a 27-acre retreat sanctuary nestled in the coastal redwoods of Mendocino, Northern California — one of the most quietly extraordinary landscapes on the Pacific coast. Set among ancient redwood groves with access to forested trails, meadows, and the living presence of the Pacific, Spirit Camp was created to support exactly the kind of work Braided Wisdom brings: contemplative, embodied, and rooted in the earth.
Accommodations at Spirit Camp are thoughtfully designed to balance community and restoration — offering a range of lodging options from shared spaces to more private retreats, all woven into the natural landscape. Guests are invited to move slowly, breathe fully, and let the land do its quiet work.
The Spirit Camp experience includes use of indoor and outdoor gathering spaces suited for council circles, movement practice, ceremony, and solo reflection. The property's trails and wilderness areas make it an ideal setting for earth walks and solo time. Spirit Camp provides the venue and accommodations infrastructure so that facilitators and participants can give their full attention to the work at hand.
Retreat Information
Organized by: Braided Wisdom — Carol Cano, Janet Roos, Carmen Alvarez, Jonathan Relucio & Sarwang Parikh
Venue provided by: Spirit Camp Retreat Center
Spirit Camp provides the retreat venue and accommodations. The retreat facilitators are responsible for all programming, meals, pricing, registration, and retreat content.
For all questions about:
Registration, pricing, and contribution tiers
Meals and dietary accommodations
Retreat schedule and programming
Accommodations and room assignments
Contact Braided Wisdom directly at info@braidedwisdom.org or visit braidedwisdom.org/original-medicine-retreat.
For venue questions (directions, property layout, amenities), visit our Guest Guide and FAQ page.