Connect, collaborate and co-CREATE!
Tending the Threshold of Re-emergence
Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
Thursday, MaY 21 - Monday, May 25, 2026
Imagine what it would feel like to be you looking up at a Sequoia Tree.
Prepare to listen deeply for the guidance the spirit of nature can offer you.
Sense yourself amidst the mountain landscapes, contemplating the vaster view of your journey.
Honor all that you've been navigating.
Make space to intentionally nourish yourself, come into coherence, and receive the fortitude for what's next.
Connect, collaborate and co-create.
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 our second of what I hope is 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.
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'll 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, and gather intentionally to support one another compassionately and encouragingly.
Like the Sequoias, we're here for the long game. This weekend is an opportunity to root into your deeper purpose and values, feel the transmission of patience and persistence from these wise old trees, and rest in that knowing. Our weekend gathering will be a portal for reflection, nourishment, and fortification. This is an invitation to harvest the wisdom of winter, prepare to re-emerge with Spring and tend the thresholds we're crossing, individually and collectively.
Sometimes, we feel the need to create a conscious container for ourselves. If you are called to connect, collaborate and co-create, let's make a time to talk and explore sharing this adventure together.
From my heart to yours,
The Heart of the Matter
This retreat is designed as a sacred container for re-emergence, a time to tend the thresholds of your life where you've been navigating unexpected changes and continuing to rise and grow to meet them.
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 experience rapid growth after the forest floor is cleared, we too are ready for our own season of flourishing.
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. This is a time for nourishment, for honoring what you've been going through, and for skillfully supporting one another as we navigate these winds of change together.
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 our thresholds and supporting one another's re-emergence.
I am also holding the vision that we are going to have a great time.
I love acronyms as templates for arcs of transformation. Calling on the word CREATE, I invite these parts of us to re-emerge:
C- Creative
R- Relational
E- Expressive
A- Artistic
T- Trusting
E-Embodied
If creation is the antidote to anxiety, let us see what we can create together.
May we reconnect with our bodies, minds, hearts, spirits, each other, nature, spirit and Life!
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 be able to listen to them with as much embodied presence and heart as we can muster.
This retreat is a response to the heartbeat I hear in so many of the conversations I am having, where there is a pulse of readiness to re-emerge. Let's connect, collaborate and co-create what's next with love.
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.
Threshold Tending: Practices and rituals designed to honor what you've been navigating and support your coherence as you root into your deeper purpose and values.
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.
Community Connection: Shared meals, heart-centered conversations, and the magic that happens when women gather in sacred space with intention.
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
May 21-25, 2026
ARRIVAL
THURSDAY, May 21st
3:00 PM: Arrival and settling in
5:00 PM: opening ceremony
6:30 PM: welcome dinner
Friday, may 22nd
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
saturday, may 23rd
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
sunday, may 24th
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
monday, may 25th
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
This gathering is for those who want to prioritize spaciousness, a deep connection with nature, ritual and ceremony, conscious approaches to collaboration and cultivating embodied presence. If you feel called to join this transformative gathering, please fill out the room and payment preferences survey above and then we will send you an invoice to confirm your room and registration.
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.