woven together
connect collaborate & Co-create
Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
Wednesday, October 7 - Sunday, October 11, 2026
Like the Sequoias that grow in groves with roots spread wide and intertwined beneath the earth, we are invited to remember what becomes possible when we gather together in intentional community.
This retreat is an invitation to be woven together; with ourselves, with one another, and with the living world around us.
As we tend the thresholds of re-emergence, we’ll explore what it means to be in relationship: to listen, to be seen, to offer and receive support, and to trust the intelligence that emerges when we come together.
Dear Friends,
When I travel, in addition to visiting that place externally, I also imagine visiting that place inside myself. I invite you to join me for the third of what I hope will be many Qoya in the Sequoia retreats. And I am also inviting you into the part of yourself that has reverence for deep wisdom that comes from eons of lived experience. These trees are treasures. The Giant Sequoias are ancient, wise ones who have continued to grow and transform, tested by time.
These magnificent beings live between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and they are the largest living organisms by volume on Earth. They grow in groves where their roots spread wide and intertwine with other sequoias, withstanding the winds of change together. They need fire to survive and release their seeds, and after the fire clears the forest floor, they experience rapid growth. And they need each other.
This feels like a potentially potent metaphor for many of us, and a reminder that we, too, are not meant to move through life alone, but in connection, supported in ways both seen and unseen, woven together in the shared experience of being human.
I'm inviting you to come and make space to hear the knowing elder voice inside you to speak and guide you amidst the vast view of the mountains. Together, we will create spaciousness for your mind to clear, your heart to soften, and your body to open at its own pace and in its own way. As we gather, there is an opportunity to be held in the support of the circle, where something greater than any one of us can emerge, where insight, reflection, and healing are shaped through our presence with one another.
Like the Sequoias, we are here for the long game. This weekend is an opportunity to root into your deeper purpose and values, to feel the transmission of patience and persistence from these wise old trees, and to rest in that knowing. Our time together becomes a space to be nourished, to be witnessed, and to remember the quiet strength that arises through collective wisdom and shared experience.
Sometimes, we feel the need to create a conscious container for ourselves. If you feel called to step into a space of being together in this way, to listen, to share, and to be supported as part of something woven, let’s explore sharing this experience together.
From my heart to yours,
The Heart of the Matter
This retreat is designed as a sacred container to tend the thresholds of your life where you've been navigating unexpected changes and continuing to rise and grow to meet them. As we gather, we begin to feel the quiet remembering that we are not separate in this, but part of something held, something shared, something woven.
Just as the Giant Sequoias need fire to survive and release their seeds. After the fire clears the forest floor, they experience rapid growth. Maybe we feel ourselves on the precipice of accelerated growth too. And just as these ancient trees flourish after clearing, we too are ready for our own season of becoming, supported in ways both seen and unseen.
The Sequoias teach us about coherence, the art of growing slowly and steadily while remaining rooted in purpose, the wisdom of community support through intertwined roots, and the patience required for true transformation. These Ancient Ones, the largest living organisms on Earth, have perfected the long game of growth and becoming.
We gather among these wise teachers to create spaciousness, in our schedules, in our hearts, for deep listening to the knowing elder voice inside us. As we come together in circle, there is an intelligence that begins to emerge, a shared field where insight, reflection, and healing can arise through our connection with one another. As we bring attention to others, we may find reflections of our own past, present, or future, threads that quietly reveal themselves as part of a greater whole.
This is a time for nourishment, for honoring what you have been moving through, and for allowing yourself to be supported as we meet these winds of change together, remembering the quiet strength of being held in the collective wisdom and healing of the circle.
Inspiration for This Retreat
Like the Sequoias that grow in groves with roots spread wide and intertwined, we are called to gather in intentional community during times of transformation. There is something profound that happens when we come together with the shared intention of tending the thresholds we are individually and collectively moving through.
In this way, we remember that we are not meant to do this alone, we are woven together.
I am also holding the vision that we are going to have a great time.
One of the ways that we tend the threshold is that we slow down enough to feel connected, and then go only as fast as we can stay connected. Everything on this retreat is offered with the intention to nourish and inspire you as you reconnect with your body, mind, heart, spirit, each other, nature, spirit, and Life. To explore what becomes possible when we allow ourselves to be woven together.
I am grateful for the opportunity to invite you and also offer my humble reverence that the trees are the main teachers. We will ready ourselves to listen with as much embodied presence and heart as we can muster.
This retreat is a response to the heartbeat I hear in so many conversations, a deep need for time and space to reconnect with ourselves, each other, nature, life, and spirit, and to remember what becomes possible when we are woven together.
What You'll Receive:
Daily Qoya Inspired Movement Classes: Spaciousness for deep listening through movement classes designed to create space for your mind to clear, your heart to soften, and your body to open at its own pace and in its own way.
Ancient Wisdom Immersion: Time among the Giant Sequoias to receive the transmission of patience, persistence, and the art of growing through transformation. The opportunity to deepen your personal practice by making offerings from your heart.
Relational Skill Building: The opportunity to practice relating skills that support one another compassionately and encouragingly, creating intertwined roots like the Sequoias that help us withstand the winds of change together.
Woven Together: We gather to create a sense of community through connection, placing ourselves in a space where the collective wisdom of the circle can be experienced and integrated. Guided by the Sequoias, we explore collective care and mutual support, and the ways their strength and structure mirror our own, reminding us that growth is a process best held in relationship.
Spaciousness for Deep Listening: Listening to the healing forces of nature with the mountains, the sequoia trees, the morning tea ceremonies, and being out under the moonlight.
Vast View Contemplation: Morning meditations and evening gatherings amidst the Sierra Nevada mountain skyline to support expanding your perspective and recognizing your place in the interconnected web of all things.
Integration Ceremony: A culminating integration ceremony on our last morning hiking up to meet the sunrise of the re-emergence of the new day.
Nourishing Meals: Three freshly cooked organic Ayurvedic-inspired vegetarian meals per day, assorted teas, fresh fruits and snacks, plus dinner upon arrival and brunch on departure. This vegetarian establishment honors the Earth while accommodating most food allergies.
Nourishing Your Nervous System: Together we will immerse ourselves in expanding our awareness of our nervous system and the ways that nourish and befriend it.
testimonials
“A few months ago, I was initiated into the magical world of Qoya by the fabulous founder, Rochelle Schieck, and the other Qoya Collective retreat facilitators. Having just spent a week studying with 30 or so other women, I can honestly say that Qoya is an essential way to connect with your own essence. Through dance, movement and meditation, you remember. You remember how to feel truth in your body. You listen deeply to your intuition. And you feel into how wise and wild and free you really can be!”
— Gemini A.
"Every few years, I try to make my way to one of Rochelle's retreats, and I feel like it is so profound to help me remember who I am and what is most important. In the busy momentum tunnel of life, I can lose parts of myself and not always make time for that deeper listening to myself for reflection and healing. I also find myself able to get more clear on decisions moving forward, reconnecting with my intuition and my soul voice. Ultimately, I feel more like myself when I go on these retreats. I was so happy to gift this to myself for my birthday this year, and encourage you to follow your heart if you're looking for an experience like this."
— Alison
“The experience of focusing on "I am you, you are me, we are one" helped me realize that I'm really not as alone as I often feel in my struggles. Sharing this experience with so many amazing women will help me to deepen my own practice. I'm so excited to have taken the next step towards where I want to be in this world by practicing my own sacred work rather than just plugging along doing what I "think" I should or have to do to get by. This experience has truly helped me to discover that and to embark upon the next step of my journey.”
— Megan
“I'd never felt so alive, connected, and at home in my body and being. I was yearning for that re-connection once again and to deeply connect in and weave with the Qoya community. The women present always have such powerful heart and integrity. The Qoya retreats are a huge highlight for my life and sacred work. It feels like HOME all around.”
— Lainie Love Dalby
Itinerary
TENTATIVE Schedule
October 7-11, 2026
ARRIVAL
Wednesday, October 7th
3:00 PM: Arrival and settling in
5:00 PM: opening ceremony
6:30 PM: welcome dinner
thursday, October 8th
7:00 AM: optional Morning mountain meditation and tea ceremony
8:00 AM: Nourishing breakfast
9:00 AM: Qoya inspired movement practice
12:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Free time for personal reflection and rest
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM: afternoon session
6:30 PM: Dinner
8:00 PM: EVENING SESSION
Friday, October 9th
7:00 AM: optional Morning mountain meditation and tea ceremony
8:00 AM: Nourishing breakfast
9:30 AM: Qoya in the Sequoias-
spending day amongst the trees
5:00 PM: Return to retreat center
6:00 PM: Dinner
8:00 PM: evening ceremony
saturday, October 10th
7:00 AM: optional Morning mountain meditation and tea ceremony
8:00 AM: Nourishing breakfast
9:00 AM: Qoya inspired movement practice
12:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Free time for personal reflection and rest
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM: afternoon session
6:30 PM: Dinner
8:00 PM: evening session
DEPARTURE
Sunday, october 11th
7:00 AM: Morning sunrise hike and integration ceremony
10:00 AM: Nourishing brunch
11:00 AM Departure
blessings on your next adventure
THE VENUE
Nestled in a pristine mountain valley on 200+ acres of rolling hills adorned by California Oak Savannah, our retreat center offers the perfect balance of rustic charm and modern comfort. The property sits at the gateway to the Trail of 100 Giants, providing direct access to one of the most accessible and awe-inspiring Giant Sequoia groves in the Sierra Nevada. The retreat center is 60 miles from Meadows Field Bakersfield Airport, 177 miles Los Angeles Airport, or 110 miles from Fresno International Airport
The center operates virtually off-grid, powered by solar energy and designed to minimize environmental impact while maximizing connection to the natural world. Large windows and outdoor spaces ensure you'll feel immersed in nature throughout your stay, with views of the surrounding mountain peaks and endless sky.
Common areas include a spacious great room with fireplace for gathering, a commercial kitchen for shared meals, and multiple outdoor spaces perfect for movement practice, meditation, and ceremony. The property's location in the Sierra Nevada provides ideal conditions for moonrise viewing, spectacular sunsets, and some of the clearest stargazing in California.
Rooms
Main Retreat House (Sleeps 11-13)
Each room is named for one of the five elements, connecting you to nature's wisdom:
Jal (water): King Room with en-suite bath - $2850 Per Person, Single Occupancy
Bhumi (earth): Queen Room with external/private bath - $2700 Per Person, Single Occupancy
Vayu (wind): Two Twin XL beds with en-suite bath - $2400 Per Person, Double Occupancy
Agni (Fire): Three Twin XL beds with en-suite bath - $2400 Per Person, Triple Occupancy
Akash (space): 4 Full Bunk beds with en suite bath - $1900 Per Person, Quad Occupancy
Additional Accommodations
The Lotus Pad (Tiny Home): King room with en-suite bathroom - $3300 Per Person, Single Occupancy
The Forest Sage (Container Home): King room + Queen room with private balcony - $2600 King Room, $2400 Queen Room. Single Occupancy for each of the two rooms. Shared bathroom.
The Dreamer (Container Home): Queen room + Twin room - $2400 Queen Room, $2200 Twin Room. Single Occupancy for each of the two rooms. Shared bathroom.
for those who
feel a calling
If we know the future is asking for more connection and collaboration, how do we create spaces to practice that in real time, with real people?
This retreat is an invitation into that practice.
To be in relationship.
To listen deeply.
To offer what you have.
To receive what is here.
And to remember that there is so much available to us when we move together rather than alone.
If there is anyone you would like to share this with, please send this to them and I will schedule a time to meet with them before registering so I can answer any questions they may have and share more about Qoya Inspired Movement and the energy we are wanting to create together.