7-Day Retreat in Ha’apai, Tonga | Aug 12-19, 2025 – THIS RETREAT IS FULL
The Ocean is home. Considered the mother of us all in many sacred traditions, she absorbs more carbon dioxide than anything else on our planet. For every breath we take, we have the ocean and our plant nation to thank for offering the gift of oxygen, and therefore, life. In these times of profound climate crisis our health depends on planetary health. Planetary health depends on ocean health. In many sacred traditions Ocean is a mirror for our own ancestral lineage: each time look into her; our own essence is reflected back to us.
Our own bodies are 70-80% water; the remnants of oceanic living are still inside us and available to teach us about flow, creativity, and resiliency. This vast salted water wellsprings called Ocean is an oracle, a cosmic bath, and a cauldron for our own saltwater tears. This restorative eco-somatic retreat includes daily encounters with whales, who are magnificent wisdom carriers of the ocean, with much to share about compassion and generosity. Their excrement is literally a transformative offering that fertilizes and increases ocean phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that consume CO2 and create oxygen.
Whales are teachers, healers, and emissaries of love. In this time of big change, personal and planetary loss, and sacred grief, our time with whales will be amplified by mindful and heart-full movement explorations, and writing and ritual practices to share, offer and alter our loss and grief just as ocean transforms waste to the breath of life. Each day is a generous offering of whale and other ocean-dwelling creature encounters; movement, dance, breath, sound, and engaged writing practices; island explorations, and deep “dives” into our living continuum of loss, witness, grief, hope, suffering and joy. There is ample free time to walk the truly remote island of Uoleva, nap in hammocks, relax and read on the beach, and explore the magical coral reef that is returning to “full bloom” after a typhoon destroyed it. The colors are amazing! We spend the 7 days at an elegantly rustic eco-retreat, where the simplicity and company of nature soothes and balms the Spirit. This is a remote location reached by a local plane and boat ride. There is no electricity; showers are solar and accommodation is in local style falas, made of wood, concrete or other local materials. We sleep surrounded by the wild island pigs, butterflies, birds and abundant green.
Our presence at this eco-retreat supports a local Tongan community on an island threatened by rising and polluted waters. This retreat is an invitation to live onward with inspired actions that steward our mother earth.
Amber Elizabeth Gray is an award-winning dance movement therapist, an authorized Continuum teacher, a hatha yoga teacher, and a long-time student and teacher of Haitian sacred dance. Her life’s work is supporting survivors of traumatic life experiences to reconnect to themselves and the world. Learn more about Amber here.
Coming Soon:
- Cost & logistical information