Berkshire LGBTQ Leaders Self-Care Day Retreat @ Kripalu (Stockbridge, MA)

Join 12 Berkshire LGBTQ Leaders in exploring Kripalu self-care offerings (see list below) & group discussion 4:00-5:45pm about how to cultivate self-care in our lives, our organizations, & the broader Berkshire LGBTQ community.

IMPORTANT: Must Register no later than 5 pm on 3/1/26. This retreat is limited to LGBTQ+ adults who volunteer for or help lead Berkshire Pride, Rainbow Seniors, Q-MoB, Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition/Berkshire Queer History Project/Berkshire Trans Group, Seeing Rainbows, Railroad Street Youth Project, 18 Degrees, or the QSA at BCC & MCLA. Representatives from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation & Berkshire United Way are also invited to participate because of their long-standing support of the LGBTQ organizations in the Berkshires.

During the Self-Care Day Retreat you may arrive & leave whenever you like (6:30am-9:30pm) and explore FREE of charge any of the transformational Kripalu self-care offerings taught by world-class teachers, such as yoga, hiking, yogadance, meditation, Ayurvedic stress reduction & nutrition classes, journaling & storytelling class, amazing meals, beautiful sauna, & less structured activities like napping, walking the labyrinth, reading a book, looking out at the spectacular Stockbridge Bowl & mountain views. You can explore as little or as much as you want.

We invite you to join the leadership group for a discussin 4:00-5:45pm and for a dinner afterwards 6:00-7:00pm so we can brainstorm some practical ways we might incorporate self-care into your life, the programming of your organization, and the joint programming we might offer the Berkshire LGBTQ community, which could include a monthly LGBTQ Self-Care FREE Day Retreat at Kripalu.

KRIPALU AS A SANCTUARY FOR LOCAL LGBTQ+ PEOPLE: Because of Kripalu's strong commitment to diversity, equity, & inclusion especially in the local rural communities near Kripalu, Kripalu invites you FOR FREE, to spend a day exploring many ways to practice self care, rest, rejuvenation, and building a team to support one another and our communities in prioritizing the daily practice of transformative self care. Throughout the day you will have the opportunity to try

• many forms of yoga,
• meditation,
• yoga dance,
• various Ayurvedic wellness clases, including nutrition, rest & relaxation techniques
• mindful hiking,
• kayaking (in the warmer months),
• walking the labyrinth
• eating some of the freshest & best food you've ever had,
• rest and relax, and
• meet with the other LGBTQ leaders/volunteers at every meal to talk about your strengths in self care and in what ways you want to improve or transform your relationship with your body and Spirit.

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You can arrive whenever you want and leave whenever you want and attend any of the R&R programs offered on (note you must enter the specific date of the retreat you are registering for & this online R&R schedule is only populated about 3 months in advance & is subject to change), and you only have to pre-register for guided hikes.

WHAT TO BRING:

1) Comfortable clothes you can move freely in (you can store your street clothes & technology in a locked locker); this might include slippers

2) If you might like to hike or walk outside, please also bring good walking footwear (that could get muddy), raingear, water bottle, a fleece or pullover, warm jacket, & sunglasses.

3) Your ID and license plate number to give to Kripalu to get your name badge & parking permission.

4) Water bottle made of metal or plastic but not glass

MEAL SCHEDULE:
LGBTQ group meets at every meal to check in about 1) our self care goals for the retreat, 2) what we are discovering at the retreat that we may want to bring back to our ordinary life, 3) what challenges we have with self-care and what help experience the group may have that might help us, 4) how we may want to support one another when we go back home. The LGBTQ meal schedule is:

Breakfast 8-9am (we meet in our Home Room)
Lunch 12:30-1:30pm (meet in main dining hall)
Dinner 6-7pm (meet in main dining hall)

CARPOOLING/RIDE-SHARE: If you need a ride or are open to carpooling, please indicate that when you are registering, & our ride coordinator will try to match you with people nearby who are interested in carpooling or offering rides.

REACHING FACILITATORS BEFORE THE RETREAT: In your confirmation email we will provide the contact info for the Retreat Facilitator Ava Taylor, who is Kripalu's Marketing & Diversity Director & a long-time yoga practitioner, as well as for Bart Church, who is a Certified Therapeutic Yoga Instructor and long-time facilitator of queer self-care day retreats & 5-day retreats at Kripalu (but who is not on staff at Kripalu), who will be coordinating registation questions & communication for the 4/20 Berkshire Leaders Self-Care Day Retreat.

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Host or Publisher Q-MoB (Queer Men of the Berkshires)