Wintering: Tending the Dark Waters of Soul
A residential grief retreat at Haw River State Park
Brown Summit, NC
January 16 – 18, 2026
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” -Joseph Campbell
In winter, the ground has gone fallow and we are in the sacred pause. This is Demeter’s season to grieve the loss of her daughter, Persephone. Winter is not only a season of the natural world, but a place that our bodies and psyches often find themselves, a season that recurs again and again across a life. In winter, there is a seasonal invitation to slow down, to tend our losses, and rest.
With the support of the shortened days, we invite 24 participants to seek the uncluttered quiet of the winter landscape of Haw River State Park, to reverently tend to what lies in the dark waters of our souls. With the company of northern cardinals, bare silver maples, white oaks, and the magic waters of the Haw, we will honor the sacred pause and engage in deep rest and self care. And just as the trees shed their leaves in winter, to become the rich humus of the forest floor, we will unburden our hearts and work with our sorrows to compost them into fertile soil.
Grief has always been communal in our long story as a species. This weekend we will enter the original healing matrix and offer one another a refuge safe enough to allow multiple layers of grief to be touched and released. Over the course of our three days together, we will use the tools of breathwork, movement, writing, and ritual to:
• honor our resistance to our own vulnerability and the seasonal invitation to slow down
• share our emotional selves to bring us into the arms of the sacred
• deepen our trust in our emotional and body wisdom
• cultivate poetic imagination to encourage our entry into the well of grief
• explore grief’s allies, such as anger, emptiness, and numbness
• make a refuge for gratitude and rest
As we practice the courage to be with the authenticity of our hearts, we grow our ability to embody our aliveness and compassion. The beauty of this work is its capacity to expand into our communities and the world. This is a form of soul activism and what we are called to embody in this extreme time.
Listen to Osho Renju’s poem on grief and “the darkness of life” here.
We will begin at 4pm on Friday, January 16 and conclude at 4pm on Sunday, January 18. To cultivate trust and containment, participation for the entire weekend is essential.
To register, click here.
See testimonials from past retreat participants here.
Life’s water flows from darkness.
Search the darkness, don’t run from it.
Night travelers are full of light,
and you are, too; don’t leave this companionship.
~ Rumi
What’s included
• 2 highly trained trauma-informed facilitators and one seasoned spaceholder
• Accomplished world percussionist for Saturday evening’s grief ritual
• Yoga therapist for Sunday’s yoga nidra practice and sound healing session
• 2 nights lodging in single or double occupancy motel-style rooms
• Locally-sourced meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday; breakfast and lunch on Sunday plus tea and light snacks throughout the weekend.
• For commuters: all meals are included except breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
For those local to Greensboro, North Carolina, we do highly recommend giving yourself the space to stay on location, to be more deeply held within the container we create in our “pop-up village.”
Important Note on Timing and Readiness:
If you’ve experienced a significant loss or trauma within the past six months, we invite you to reach out to the facilitators before registering. Community grief retreats can be deeply meaningful, but they often require a certain level of emotional stability to be beneficial. For some, especially in the immediate aftermath of a profound loss, it may feel too soon. As a general guideline, attending a retreat like this is often most supportive six months to a year after a major loss. We’re happy to talk with you and help discern whether this experience feels right for you at this time.
Pricing and cancellation policy
• $725 single-occupancy / $625 double-occupancy* / $525 commuter
Registration will close January 5th at 5pm or when the retreat fills to capacity.
*For double-occupancy, you must sign up with a loved one, friend, or roommate in mind.
We will not be assigning roommates. Be prepared to supply your roommate’s name at check-out, and have them do the same for you.
Cancellation Policy: When registering, we ask that you are crystal clear on your intentions and commitment and consider your reservation and payment as a wholehearted YES to being here. We understand that things can come up that interrupt plans and schedules, but we also know from experience that when we prioritize this sacred work, we will move heaven and earth to honor our grief’s calling. Spaces to work with grief in community through ritual are rare in modern western culture. In our retreats, we seek to create a community of shared values and embodied respect for the preciousness of this work.
We do, however, understand that some things fall outside of our control, and to this end we offer the following:
A 50% refund if you need to cancel before November 30 (minus registration fees).
A 25% refund if you need to cancel before December 15 (minus registration fees).
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer refunds after December 15.
Due to the sheer number of cancellations and requests to move retreats as of late, we can no longer offer the option of forwarding tuition to a future retreat. This updated cancellation policy serves you, as participants in this sacred work, by honoring the time, heart, and soul that we, as facilitators, put into creating supportive and transformative spaces for deep connection and healing.
To help protect your investment and offer peace of mind in the case of unexpected changes, we strongly encourage you to consider purchasing travel insurance.
Scholarships: If attending this retreat creates a significant financial hardship and you seek a scholarship, please fill out this form. There are a few scholarship opportunities available at 25-50% of tuition. For scholarships, we prioritize applicants from historically marginalized communities, first responders, veterans, those in the helping professions, and students. Scholarship applications are due by November 30th.
Expectations we hold for our participants
• We are social justice advocates that aim to create a space of support and care for all who gather. If you enroll in this retreat, our expectation is that you are wholeheartedly in support of and in alignment with creating a respectful and inclusive space for people across a broad range of identities (LGBTQ+, BIPOC, etc.) Please register with this orientation in your heart.
• This 3-day retreat and ritual is not a passive teaching program but a participatory communal space where we ask people to show up for each other and for the soul of the community. Please register with this orientation in your heart.
• This retreat is open to anyone navigating any form of grief, not just those who have lost loved ones. Our intention is to create a container to support all sources of loss and grief, from acute personal losses to earth grief and ancestral loss. Please register with this orientation in your heart.
About the location
This event is located at the beautiful Haw River State Park Summit Conference Center, in Brown Summit, North Carolina. When we are not meeting in the lovely Heron’s Roost for our group time, there are many beautiful trails to explore.
The closest airport to us is Greensboro (GSO). Participants flying in can also look into Charlotte or Raleigh airports. We are happy to help connect folks who might be interested in carpooling from an airport or somewhere else in the region.
What to bring
• A water bottle.
• A journal and pen.
• Items for the grief shrine and altars of support that are sacred and symbolic for you.
• Yoga mat (even a blanket and special pillow for comfort, if easy to pack).
• Please check the weather predictions before you go for appropriate clothing, since winter in North Carolina can vary from 20 degree days, to 60. Layers are suggested, for moving between indoors an outdoors.
• If wanting to walk on the trails and explore the state park consider bringing a warm jacket or coat, gloves, beanie or warm hat.
• Favorite snack(s) for your room and any other creature comforts you may want to nurture yourself. There are no refrigerators in the rooms, however we will have access to a community refrigerator in our meeting space (Heron’s Roost).
Covid policy
Masking is optional, but discouraged given the nature of this work where we all rely on non-verbal cues to communicate and find safety. We do not request vaccination or testing prior to arrival. However if you are symptomatic within ten days prior to the program start date we ask that you please ensure that you are not contagious before arriving. This is a self-monitoring agreement and we trust in your personal integrity. Thank you.
Risk Disclosure Statement
Know that:
• Participation is voluntary.
• You may choose your level of engagement at all times.
• These activities do not replace therapy, counseling, or medical care.
• Individuals with a history of significant trauma, complex grief, PTSD, or medical/mental health conditions are encouraged to consult with a healthcare provider before attending.
Potential risks include, but are not limited to:
• Emotional discomfort, grief activation, or triggering memories
• Minor physical strain or fatigue from movement or ritual activities
• Exposure to natural elements (weather, uneven terrain, etc.)
• Interaction with other participants’ emotional expression, which may feel challenging
• Sensory experiences such as smoke, sound, or ritual materials
About your facilitators
Samantha DiRosa, MFA, RYT, is a university professor, yoga instructor, ritualist, and expressive arts facilitator based in Greensboro, North Carolina. She brings 20 years of facilitation and teaching experience in the realm of higher-education, alongside an artist’s sensitivity and depth of insight, to her work with groups. Having trained with Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow, and Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope, she believes in the power of ritual and ceremony to transmute sorrow and loss into the healing of individuals, communities, and the Earth. Samantha lives with her daughter and her pack of non-human companions in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, the occupied lands of the Keyauwee and Saura Peoples. When she is not teaching, she maintains a small private coaching / consulting practice and spends time connecting with her Celtic and Sicilian ancestral roots.
To learn more about Samantha, click here. To email Samantha, click here.
Summer Estes MA, LCMHC, is a psychotherapist, breath facilitator, Enneagram teacher, and founder of Embodied-Intelligence. She has a special interest in deep inner work, that integrates both perennial wisdom, somatic, and mindfulness practices. She is curious about human development and consciousness and plays with her curiosity through the practice of Inquiry as a student of A.H. Almaas Diamond Approach. Summer has been a student of the Enneagram under the teaching of Russ Hudson since 2010 and completed her training through the Enneagram Institute in 2019. Summer was naturally drawn to the work of Francis Weller and sees coming together to bear witness to ourselves and each other in sacred space as a vital nourishing practice. She loves facilitating learning and healing environments where participants connect to what is real and alive within themselves. In addition to private clinical practice, Summer has served on faculty for the wisdom school, The Second Breath Center, and led many workshops and retreats. She has worked in the healing arts for over 18 years.
To learn more about Summer, click here
Beth Farrand is a spiritual coach, group facilitator, breath facilitator, retreat leader, homebody-adventurer, flower lover, artist, and mom to 3 sons & 1 golden retriever named Millie. Beth is a graduate of the Shalem Institute’s Spiritual Guidance Program and has been a spiritual coach for 13 years. She loves holding presence and space for others as they seek to listen to their own inner wisdom. Beth brings her decades of experience with internal work, her supportive presence and her ability to hear beneath the surface, to her sessions, groups and retreats. When she is not coaching or facilitating, you will find Beth hiking and exploring nature around her home in the beautiful North Carolina mountains.
To learn more about Beth, click here.
Sandy Blocker is the University Accompanist at Elon University who plays world percussion instruments for modern, ballet and African dance classes. He was trained from an early age as a classical dancer. At age 18 he moved to Virginia to study ballet with the School of Norfolk Ballet before receiving a scholarship to move to New York to study with the Joffrey Ballet School. He felt the call to world percussion drumming in an African dance class at UNCG, which led him to many trips over the Atlantic to study various forms of drumming. Sandy is a versatile world percussionist, proficient in playing African, Middle Eastern, and South American rhythms on a variety of percussion instruments, including the riqq, djembe, and conga drums. He has drummed with Malidoma Somé and will be accompanying our grief ritual Saturday evening.
Veda Spidle is a certified Yoga Therapist who focuses on breath work, meditation, sound healing, and gentle yoga. She has over 4,000 hours of teaching experience and holds certifications in a variety of holistic modalities, which includes 800+ Hours in I AM Yoga Therapy, Advanced I AM Yoga Nidra, Kundalini Yoga, and Reiki. Veda’s passion for teaching gives her an open-hearted, knowledgeable, and intuitive approach that allows her to instruct people of all ages and ability levels.
To learn more about Veda, click here.
Statement on Diversity, Inclusivity, and Cultural Appropriation
As facilitators, our intention is to create an inclusive space that honors all cultures and ethnicities. However, as white-bodied, cisgender men and women, we recognize the privilege and systemic advantages inherent in our identities, and we recognize that the racial lenses and gendered systems that have shaped our experiences and perspectives differ significantly from those of BIPOC individuals. We are dedicated to actively listening, learning, and unlearning, and we are committed to ongoing growth as facilitators in this area.
In our work, we approach any rituals, songs, or practices from non-dominant cultures with deep respect and gratitude. They have been shared and gifted with blessings to aid in our collective healing. We are committed to acknowledging and honoring the sources of these practices, recognizing the responsibility that comes with engaging with them.
May our collective grief cry serve as a catalyst for change and liberation, as we work towards dismantling oppressive systems and creating a world where all beings can thrive.
Samantha DiRosa 