Sacred Sobriety Retreat, Stonehedge Gardens, PA

Come commune with other sober and sober-curious sweeties! Sacred Sobriety Retreat is all about honoring the path of sobriety, having reverence for it, and celebrating it as a lifestyle choice. This retreat is an opportunity to connect and hear each other's sobriety stories. There will be nourishing food, meditation, nature immersion, an open mic, and live music!

Sobriety is sacred and not always an easy choice... let’s celebrate it! If you are not sober but you would like to support and hold space for those who are, you are welcome to join us too.

What does it mean to be sober? 

I don’t pretend to have the final definition of what it means to be sober. I only have my own experience and opinion. To me, being sober means being free of all mind-altering substances: alcohol, “plant medicines,” and some* prescription medications. At the event, we ask that all attendees comply with this definition. Meaning if, for example, you do consider yourself sober but you also smoke cannabis, please refrain from doing so during our gathering. One of the intentions of this retreat is for attendees to experience the rawness of sobriety in the way we have defined it above. If this makes you uncomfortable but you’d still like to attend, please reach out directly to Karsyn to talk about it. 

Some people debate whether coffee or caffeine counts as a mind-altering substance. I wouldn’t consider someone not sober if they drink coffee or use other caffeine. However, I do understand that it can be mind-altering and that caffeine addiction is a real issue and that any addiction can affect someone’s life. At this event, we will not be providing coffee or any caffeine substances. 

*If you are taking a medication that is prescribed to you, you are not excluded from this event. This is a reference to how some prescription medications can be misused and abused.

Do I have to be already living a sober lifestyle to attend? 

While we ask that all attendees come sober and stay sober for the entirety of the retreat, you do not have to already be living a sober lifestyle to attend. We ask that if you are not sober, you come to this event sober-curious or open to holding space for others to share their experience with sobriety. If you are not interested in pursuing sobriety, this event is not for you, but we love you all the same :-)

Schedule 

Friday evening

• You are invited to arrive Friday evening to set up camp, settle in, have a fire, and connect. There will be no itinerary or meals. 

Saturday

• 11am Opening ceremony and introductions
• Stone healing meditation
• Lunch included 
• Sacred Sobriety Circle
• Journal meditation and free time 
• Dinner included
• Live Music performance 
• Open mic and jam 

Sunday

•  Casual morning meeting and breakfast
• Stone healing meditation and release ceremony 
• Sacred Sobriety Circle 
• Yoga
• Closing Circle 
  

Ticket Pricing

This retreat has three ticket prices to make it as accessible as possible. If the first option is still inaccessible to you at this time, please reach out directly to Karsyn (healingwithkarsyn@gmail.com or Instagram @healing_with_compassion and @karsynelyse) to discuss options. If you feel the pull, we want you to be here!

Option 1: $117.00 

Option 2: $144.00

Option 3: $200.00

Please choose the ticket option you can afford. The first option is for those on a tight budget. Option 2 is what I hope most people who have a steady income can afford to pay and is reflective of the baseline value of this experience. Option 3 is for those who are feeling generous and able to give more. People who purchase the second and third options will be helping make this retreat possible so that we can continue to gather intentionally in the future. There is also an option on the ticket page to leave a donation that will help to support the lower tier. Thank you so much for whatever you can contribute at this time!

What to expect

• 2 Sacred Sobriety Circles: Share and listen to each other's journey with sobriety. This is a brave and safe space.
• Yoga and sound healing
• Stone healing meditation: Collect stones to infuse with energy to ceremonially release into a body of water.
• Live music and open mic!
• 3 delicious and nourishing meals: lunch, dinner, and breakfast. Please bring your own snacks as needed.

The Accommodations 

This is an overnight camping event. Please bring your own camping equipment: tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags. There is also an indoor communal area where you are welcome to sleep. If you would like to arrive early, you can come Friday evening, but there will be no itinerary for that night.

Food Included

Meals Provided by Aaron: Aaron’s roots in Holistic Health and Cooking run deep. Raised in a vegetarian household, he has eaten an organic, plant-based diet since day 1. Aaron received certification in Nutritional Consultation from Bauman College. His cooking is informed by his own personal journey to overcome digestive struggles. His mission is to provide meals that are nourishing, delicious, and digestible, all organic and vegetarian with no dairy or gluten. On IG @mango_meal

Yoga with Anthony

Hi! I’m Anthony! I am a yoga teacher who is passionate about bringing folks into an experience that evokes a more sensitive state of being. I really care about re-wilding the human spirit, untaming the body, and cultivating peace in the mind. In Guatemala, I studied yoga with Sacred Paths Yoga, where I learned that yoga is a tool that can show us our most sacred path. Together, we walk it.

I encourage my students to go beyond the physical asana, practicing all 8
limbs of yoga to walk that sacred path–to live a sacred life. Sobriety is a huge part of my sacred journey. For me, sobriety is its own re-wilding and untaming practice. It re-sensitizes me to my inner world and asks me to experience the full spectrum of this human experience. On the mat, we get the chance to practice what it means to exist as a human in this sacred body so that off the mat, we can live that sacred practice in our exchanges with others. It is an honor to be with you at this retreat. Thank you for being with me.

The Land

Stonehedge Gardens is a very beautiful and healing land. We encourage you to explore and commune with the land while you are here. Take a slow walk, smell the flowers, journal by the creek, and listen to the birds sing. This is a time to be gentle, to heal, and to feel.

The Mission 

After hosting a successful and well-attended Sacred Sobriety Circle at Harmonic Earth Festival in 2023, I quickly realized how much our community needed a safe place for sober friends to find each other and share their stories. I feel the mission of this retreat is much deeper and wider than myself. I am merely here to hold space for many more seeds to be planted, connections to be made, and healings to occur. I want people who are sober to feel seen and heard and to have a solid community to turn to in both difficult and joyful times. I also want people who are just discovering their interest in sobriety to choose this path knowing full well they will not be alone.   

The mission of this retreat is rooted in a desire to counterbalance the increasing normalization of substance use in almost every nuanced community. I have chosen to live a sober life, and yet, addiction and substance abuse have not left my line of vision. When I became sober, I saw with clarity how many people around me were abusing substances under the guise of it being normalized. This retreat is not meant to deepen the fissure of sobriety vs. substance use, but rather to firmly hold space for those who choose sobriety, to offer support, solidarity, and community.

My wish is for sobriety to one day break free from the barriers of shame and secrecy. It is a lifestyle that deserves to be more visible so that people know it is an option, that there is another way, and that there is a loving and open-minded community ready to embrace them whenever they are ready. I truly believe Sobriety is sacred, that it should be celebrated, and those who choose to live this way should be proud of themselves for the journey it took to get there. I am so looking forward to hearing your story, see you soon!

Love, Karsyn