The Retreat–

Enjoy a profound, transformational weekend retreat in a community of like-hearted women as we explore how awakening and embodying our Divine Feminine energies can both enrich our own lives and help guide the cultural changes that must happen NOW!  Today’s macro-challenges include ecological degradation, economic injustice, sexual exploitation and many others–all rooted in patriarchal patterns that have suppressed women and distorted cultural values for hundreds or thousands of years.

Also, these patriarchal patterns often strike us very close to home:

• We can feel alienated from our own female body, due to experiences with objectification, body shaming, and comparisons with narrow cultural stereotypes of women’s beauty, especially with age.
• We may feel chewed up by the “war between the sexes”—as in this time of rapid cultural change, we experience mismatched desires and expectations in men’s and women’s roles, both at home and in the workplace.  The old ways no longer work, and the new patterns are not yet established.
• In the cultural chaos around sexuality, we may find ourselves somewhere between (1) suspecting that we may be unnecessarily repressing our sexuality as a result of residual negativity from past religious and spiritual teachings and (2) horror at the objectification, commodification, and trivializing of sex so rampant today. Either way, we may feel cut off from the depth of connection in our intimate partnership(s) that our soul so deeply desires.

In this retreat, you will–

• Enjoy a very rare opportunity to dive deep into your own Divine Feminine essence: guided by an experienced, knowledgeable, respectful facilitator; supported by the collective energies of our group of like-hearted women.  We will be held in the arms of Mother Nature, surrounded by natural beauty, and nourished with delicious, healthful food prepared by the Centre staff!
• Learn holistic self-healing practices for the female organs that connect the spiritual and the physical levels and release emotional residues from difficult sexual or relationship experiences. Many women have also reversed vulvo-vaginal atrophy and other physical issues with this self-care approach.
• Understand and experience the dynamics of the “Inner Marriage” between your own masculine and feminine energies. The Taoists are very clear that Yin and Yang cannot exist without each other.  Cultivating this dynamic within yourself can deeply enrich your relationship with an “outer” partner as well as your everyday experience in Life.
• Come out with a stronger internal foundation for standing in your power and confidence as a woman, with a clearer compass for navigating your ongoing growth as a woman.

Meet Susanna, your Retreat guide–

Susanna McCan has been involved with women’s empowerment and cultural evolution directly or indirectly for most of her life.  She is deeply grounded in both religion and spirituality.  She was raised as a Southern Baptist minister’s daughter in the ‘50s Bible Belt.   During her formal education at Harvard University, she studied Jungian archetypal psychology and comparative cultures.  Her first major career was teaching and practicing meditation full time in the Vedic tradition.

Her life experience as a woman covers a very wide range.  After three years in a cloistered community of women dedicated to full-time spiritual practice, Susanna returned to “the world,” got married at age 40, and raised a wonderful daughter.  She was divorced at 57 and is now a happy grandmother in a happy intimate partnership.

Her most recent 20-year career as an architectural designer and consultant in the ancient system of Vedic architecture gives her a unique appreciation of the human body as a temple, well beyond the metaphor!  Susanna also brings her long-time experience with Taoist Qi Gong practice into her teaching, including women’s sexual Qi Gong.

 Intuitively, Susanna realized early on that there has been very little deep wisdom about sexuality either in our general culture or in our religious and spiritual spheres.  She studied everything she could find in esoteric sources, and was blessed with opportunities to practice some of what she was learning.  Later, she studied with several of the original teachers in the field of “sacred sexuality.”  When the priest sex scandals broke into public awareness, Susanna realized how the antagonism between spirituality and sexuality has been a linchpin holding patriarchal oppression in place.  She dedicated her remaining years to bringing out true wisdom about sexuality and embodied spirituality to support the cultural healing that needs to happen now.  Susanna started this work internally many decades ago.  She has been actively teaching her women’s self-healing and empowerment workshops for eight years now.

If you have questions about the Retreat, contact Susanna NOW by email at susanna.mccan@gmail.com (or phone her at 1-641-469-3735).  We are getting near the end of our registration window!!!

The Carp Ridge EcoWellness Centre–

Our Retreat facility is nestled into 190 acres of wilderness woodland, yet it is quite convenient to metropolitan Ottawa!  The staff is very experienced preparing delicious, healthy food with fresh, local, organic ingredients.  If you have special dietary needs, let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Registration–

Registration fees vary according to accommodations.

When you register, please let us know your first and second choices for accommodation, and sign up for your first choice.  Also note any special dietary needs.

We still have a few spaces!  Due to the need for the EcoWellness Centre staff to plan food purchase, if you register after Tuesday, May 21, you MAY need to bring your own food or eat out at a nearby restaurant.  (We can work this out with you if necessary!)

Register Here! 

Use drop-down menu to select your choice.

You will be able to pay with PayPal
OR with a credit or debit card.