Understory: Exploring Body, Word, and Landscape
With Nica Celly and Jolene Beilstein
August 21 - 23, 2026
To enter the understory is to practice listening below the surface: to slow down, to sense, and to reconnect with the fertile, unseen layers that sustain life both within and around us.
In this workshop-style, three-day retreat, Jolene and Nica will offer a sequence of embodiment practices designed to explore somatic wholeness through inquiries with the word, the body, and the natural landscape. Through new entry points into breath (pranayama), movement (yin and slow hatha yoga), and creative practice (writing and forest bathing), we will tend to our personal understory.
Our hope is that these experiential practices will nurture flow from the micro to the macro, from breath to landscape, restoring resilience in chaotic times.
This retreat is for those seeking a gentle, immersive, and creative reprieve. No prior experience is necessary, only an open curiosity and a willingness to begin.
Schedule (Subject to change):
FRIDAY
- 4:00PM: Opening Guided Meditation & Yin/Restorative Asana
- 5:30PM: Dinner
- 7:00 PM: Circle Up: Tending Your Understory – discussion and words
SATURDAY
- 6:20AM: Meditation (optional)
- 7:00a-8:00AM: Gentle Asana
- 8:00AM: Breakfast
- 10:00AM-12:15 Experience 1: Forest Bathing with Jolene
- 12:15PM Lunch
- 3:00p – 5:30PM: Experience 2: Writing Circle with Nica
- 5:30PM Dinner
- 7:30-9p: Resilience Discussion
SUNDAY
- 7:20a: Meditation (optional)
- 8:00-9:30AM: Asana / Movement
- 10:00AM Brunch
- 11:00 AM Wander and Words with Jolene and Nica
- 12:00 PM: Checkout and Convene at Stump Beach (optional)
For directions to Ratna Ling – Ratna Ling Retreat Center 35755 Hauser Bridge Rd Cazadero, CA 95421
Accommodations are beautiful lux cabins
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
- Transportation to/from Ratna Ling is NOT included – carpooling encouraged
- Payments are nonrefundable and transferable to a future Ratna Ling retreat
- Each cottage includes TWO private rooms with queen beds, large dining & living area, gas fireplace, spacious deck, jacuzzi tub, linens/towels/hand soap, kitchenette with tea & coffee, complimentary wireless internet.
- Vegetarian meals are served during our weekend together.
What people are saying about our retreats:
| “The accommodations were great along with the beautiful surroundings – everything was so peaceful and nurturing” | “It was exactly what I needed – to disconnect, get in tune with my soul and recharge my spirit.” | “It was exactly what I needed – to disconnect, get in tune with my soul and recharge my spirit. .” |
| “Space for reflection while also giving me anchor points through teachings. | “Space and time for meditation and movement classes were truly wonderful.” | “Being able to move at my own pace is a luxury. And of course the food was delicious.” |
Facilitators
Nica guides breath, movement, and creative inquiry as pathways to strengthen self-trust and community connection. Her teaching creates spaces for embodied exploration through classes, interdisciplinary workshops, and collaborative art happenings that bridge contemplative practice with creative process. She holds an MFA from California College of the Arts and a BA from NYU’s Gallatin School, where she focused on visual language and the intersections of art, craft, and consciousness. Practicing and studying since 1998, Nica began…
Learn more about Nica Celly
Jolene facilitates the practices of forest bathing (Shinrin Yoku), therapeutic massage, and somatic education for individuals and groups. Through touch, breath, movement, and deep listening, she invites participants to explore the embodied language of connection and to navigate their lived experiences with greater ease and discernment. Her approach weaves together immersive experiences in nature, therapeutic touch, and somatic inquiry as gentle, first-person pathways toward integration. Working in partnership with the more-than-human world, she helps others…
Learn more about Jolene Beilstein
