Our teachers are curated for their quality, depth, integrity and alignment with our educational purpose. Since 1982, a distinguished faculty of authors, educators, activists, artists, performers, and practitioners have shared their work at our Cortes Island campus and in Vancouver.
Want to view all our offerings in one place? You may download our digital catalogue or request a paper catalogue in the mail here.
Interested in presenting at Hollyhock? Learn more and submit your program proposal here.
Scholarships are available for most programs, based on financial need. We prioritize Indigenous people, people of colour, people who identify as LGBTQ2IA+, youth, elders, and those who can articulate how their Hollyhock experience will support positive impact in their lives and communities. Learn more here.
2020 Programs Listed by Date
Resident Service Program
Package Dates
Cortes Island
Support our Cortes campus and get an intimate behind- the-scenes Hollyhock experience with our month-long residential program.
HollyhockTalks: Sheltering in Community
With Karen Mahon Carrington, Robert Beatty and Farah Nazarali
March 26 - April 30, 2020
Online
A 6-week digital series to help you centre, calm, and connect, in order to process the enormity of what is happening in our world right now. Sessions will be hosted by Hollyhock Board Vice Chair Karen Mahon Carrington. Each week will feature different Hollyhock presenters offering reflections and processes to allow us to be truly present to the suffering and possibilities for transformation that are inherent in this moment.
Geopoetics Symposium
April 14 - 18, 2020
Cortes Island
Join artists, scholars, educators, and writers engaging with ecology, climate crisis, and resilience. Leaders in ecophilosophy, place-based education, and geopoetics—an emerging field of creative practice at the nexus of poetics and geography—will dialogue, lead seminars, create, present works, and cross-pollinate.
Metta Vipassana: Cultivating Love & Wisdom (Vancouver)
With Michele McDonald and Steven Smith
April 17 - 19, 2020
UBC Asian Centre
Take a breath in the city through the practice of silent Vipassana (insight/mindfulness) and Metta (loving kindness) meditation. Join a connected community of new and experienced meditators. Enjoy guided meditations, sitting and walking sessions, Dhamma talks, and meditation instruction.
Geopoetics Artists’ Residency
April 18 - 22, 2020
Cortes Island
This self-directed residency offers uninterrupted time for artists, writers, and scholars to work in a community of creative practice, under the theme of geopoetics. Participants will gather for meals and optional workshops/showings/talks, and are also free to completely focus on their own work.
SVI: Social Venture Institute (Virtual)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
April 22 - 24, 2020
Online
Connect with fellow mission-driven entrepreneurs and social venture leaders for our SVI program. Network with peers, develop skills, and build deep relationships that will equip you to confidently tackle the day-to-day challenges of running a socially conscious enterprise. SVI is a practical, peer-learning, alternative ‘business school’ within a confidential and supportive setting. Designed to engage and connect leaders of established businesses and non-profit enterprises.
Metta Vipassana: Awareness as a Path to Liberation
With Michele McDonald and Steven Smith
April 22 - May 6, 2020
Cortes Island
Experience seven days practicing Metta and Vipassana meditation, followed by seven days of cultivating mindfulness. Develop compassionate awareness and a more loving heart with a unique integration of mindful movement.
Fundraising for Social Equity (Vancouver)
With Vu Le
April 29, 2020
Heritage Hall
Join an intimate evening talk and Q&A on fundraising, money, power, and race dynamics. What does it mean to shift from donor-centric to community-centric fundraising? How can we bring racial equity and an anti-oppression lens to the way we raise money?
Hakomi: The Practice of Loving Presence (Vancouver)
With Donna Martin and Georgia Marvin
May 2 - 3, 2020
Granville Island Hotel
Loving Presence represents the heart of Hakomi, a mindfulness-based self-discovery practice. Learn to cultivate open-hearted relating through a well-developed sequence of experiential practices. This program is based on the 2019 publication, “The Practice of Loving Presence” by Ron Kurtz and Donna Martin.
Watercolour as a Path to Awareness
With David McEown
May 6 - 10, 2020
Cortes Island
Explore watercolour’s magical, flowing, spontaneity and learn essential techniques, as you paint directly from nature. Enhance your perception and connection to the earth with this travel-friendly medium. All levels welcome. David McEown has been using watercolour paint to explore earthʼs disappearing wilderness areas for 25+ years.
Hollyhock Sampler May
May 10 - 13, 2020
Cortes Island
3 Perfect Nights - Enjoy a taste of adventure and relaxation with our Hollyhock Sampler: 2 one-hour massage or healing art treatments New! 1 guided stand-up paddle board adventure OR private yoga session Access to Hollyhock amenities Abundant natural beauty, ocean front beach, and hiking trails French intensive garden – ideal setting for photography, painting, meditating Ocean-view hot tubs Complimentary activities: Morning meditation and yoga, naturalist events (morning rows, afternoon guided hikes, garden tours) By-donation Presenter Evenings from visiting faculty *based on weather conditions, stand-up paddle board may be replaced by an additional massage session I have known about Hollyhock for 30 years and it…
The Wisdom of Breath: Holotropic Breathwork® & the Legacy of Stanislav Grof
With Diane Haug, MA, LPCC and William Keepin, PhD
May 10 - 14, 2020
Cortes Island
Using enhanced breathing, evocative music, focused bodywork, and art, Holotropic Breathwork helps to expand consciousness for the purpose of self-exploration, spiritual awareness, and healing. It is an excellent adjunct to psychotherapy, as well as a powerful method of self-care for helping professionals.
Mother, Daughter & the Divine
With Patricia Höglund and Maeve Höglund
May 10 - 15, 2020
Cortes Island
Uncover the mystical magic that can arise in the bond of the mother-daughter relationship. Whether your connection needs healing, deepening, or celebrating, we will journey through rediscovering the divine feminine that is yearning to be unearthed and brought to the forefront of everyday life.
In Relation: Dancing as a Living System
With Laura June Albert and Loretta Laurin
May 10 - 15, 2020
Cortes Island
Experience your body as a living system in relation to nature and our wider social-political landscape. Explore embodiment practices, dance technique, and movement research to expand your range and capacity for interconnection. Elements include western contemporary dance, solo and contact improvisation, anatomy, and nature immersion.
The Way of the Guide: Forest Therapy
With Amos Clifford and Christy Thomson
May 15 - 20, 2020
Cortes Island
Way of the Guide explores a process of working in partnership with the more-than-human world to discover and nurture the unique seeds of medicine carried by each person. Supporting the growth of these seeds calls forth a constellation of gifts that is the person’s way of embodying power and beauty.
Living Awake: Grief, Grace & Gratitude
With Lilli Ruth Rosenberg and Katheryn Trenshaw
May 15 - 20, 2020
Cortes Island
Now is the time to live your most radiant life from a place of resilient well-being. Experience and learn how surrendering into life’s rising and falling cultivates essential happiness and true freedom.
Leading through the Body: Dancing Into Wholeness
With Bettina Rothe
May 15 - 20, 2020
Cortes Island
Lead your life with conscious embodiment. Become more resilient, present, and confident through body-based leadership principles, 5Rhythms® movement, and Japanese wooden sword practices.
Media That Matters: The Nature of Media
With Bill Weaver, Greg Coyes, Emilee Gilpin and Nettie Wild
May 20 - 24, 2020
Cortes Island
In an era of divisiveness and disconnection, our relationship to media and technology must evolve. Join a collaborative community of professional and non-professional artists and media makers who want to explore new world views and create flow states that support reflection, dialogue, and a deeper relationship with nature.
Harmonizing Yin & Yang: Foundations, Form & Function
With Paul Bromley
May 24 - 29, 2020
Cortes Island
The Chinese Internal Arts of Tai Chi and Qi Gong regulate the constantly transforming balance between Yin and Yang in the body, mind, and spirit. Through solo and partner practice, we deepen our awareness of these polarities and utilize them to increase harmony with ourselves, others, and nature.
Mindful Self-Compassion
With Megan Prager and Martin Thomson-Jones, PhD
May 24 - 29, 2020
Cortes Island
Cultivate the skill of self-compassion in this empirically supported training program. Self-compassion is strongly associated with greater emotional well-being, less anxiety and depression, maintenance of healthy habits, and satisfying relationships.
Truth & ReconciliACTION (Vancouver)
With IndigenEYEZ
May 25, 2020
The Post at 750, Start Up Studio
By looking inward and examining our own identities, intersectionality, and backgrounds, we gain a deeper understanding of what we bring to our relationships with others. Explore ways in which you are connected to the people in your life in order to relate with greater empathy. Open to Indigenous and Non-Indigenous participants alike.
Apocalypse or Awakening: Living the Climate Emergency (Vancouver)
With Matthew Fox, PhD and Karen Mahon Carrington
May 29 - 30, 2020
Unity of Vancouver
How do we find meaning, purpose, and wholeness as we awaken to the emerging climate reality? How do we resist both denial and despair? Join us for a discussion on how to find our ground, and turn apocalyptic news into an awakening of our species that moves us to a new chapter in our evolution.
Nonviolent Communication: Relating with Heart & Understanding
With Rachelle Lamb
May 29 - June 3, 2020
Cortes Island
Learn a simple, creative approach to sustaining connection and addressing conflict. Through instruction, discussion, and practice, discover this potent and emotionally-intelligent language rooted in heart and conscience. For lovers, leaders, and cynics alike.
Sea Kayaking Adventures Aboard Misty Isles
With Jonas Fineman and Kai Harvey
May 29 - June 3, 2020
Cortes Island
Learn to kayak on the pristine and protected waters around Cortes Island, from the comfort of the 43 foot Schooner, Misty Isles. Certified local guides share their knowledge and passion for the coast. All levels of experience welcome. Limited to 12 participants. Jonas Fineman is the seasoned sea captain and owner of Misty Isles. Kai Harvey is a wilderness guide and owner of Cortes Kayaks. They will also be offering this program on Sept 11-16. mistyislesadventures.com
Core Matter: Yamuna® Body Rolling & Pilates Essentials
With Namchi Bazar, BFA
May 29 - June 3, 2020
Cortes Island
Activate a sense of centered well-being with simple routines easily practiced at home. Learn exercises that gently massage and adjust the whole body - inviting strength, release, and rejuvenation. Let go of unproductive movement patterns and heal injury. Namchi Bazar developed her unique somatic approach with 25+ years as a professional dancer, Pilates Instructor, Yamuna® Body Rolling Practitioner and mother of three.
Activate: digital leadership
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
June 3 - 7, 2020
Cortes Island
Join the sharpest digital minds from political and advocacy campaigns, creative agencies, and progressive causes, for four days of hard-skills training in digital tactics and leadership. Gain clarity on how to intelligently activate your organization from the inside, and crack the code to engaging your target audience to win campaigns, raise money, and hit your goals.
Discover the Essence of Tantra (Vancouver)
With Yogacharini Maitreyi
June 6 - 7, 2020
UBC Liu Institute, 6476 NW Marine Dr, Vancouver
Traditional Tantra is the way and alchemy of the heart. Dance reality into its true essence by clearing energetic imbalances. Elevate, channel and refine your emotions through Arkaya purification tools from the South Indian mystical traditions. Celebrate the beauty and harmony of reconnection with yourself and in relationships. Stabilize into spiritual maturity with an authentic heart-centred guide. All levels welcome.
Hollyhock Sampler June
June 7 - 10, 2020
Cortes Island
3 Perfect Nights - Enjoy a taste of adventure and relaxation with our Hollyhock Sampler: 2 one-hour massage or healing art treatments New! 1 guided stand-up paddle board adventure OR private yoga session Access to Hollyhock amenities Abundant natural beauty, ocean front beach, and hiking trails French intensive garden – ideal setting for photography, painting, meditating Ocean-view hot tubs Complimentary activities: Morning meditation and yoga, naturalist events (morning rows, afternoon guided hikes, garden tours) By-donation Presenter Evenings from visiting faculty *based on weather conditions, stand-up paddle board may be replaced by an additional massage session I have known about Hollyhock for 30 years and it has been…
Luminous Threshold: The Art of the Personal Altar
With Lisa Gibbons
June 7 - 11, 2020
Cortes Island
What do you find sacred and how do you express it? Create a personal altar and learn techniques such as creating antiqued surfaces, acrylic painting, collage, assemblage, and using beeswax and gold leaf. Deepen your experience with meditation, journalling, and guided nature inquiry. Art materials provided.
Beekeeping & Hive Health
With Steve Sheppard, PhD
June 7 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
Honey bees and humans have interacted for thousands of years. Use your senses fully to engage in a process that strives to build a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Awareness of the complexity of this highly social organism is key to appreciating the art of mindful beekeeping. All experience levels welcome.
Fostering Resilience for Health Professionals
With Mark Lau, PhD and Andrea Grabovac, MD
June 7 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
Revitalize, restore, and build resilience during this Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) meditation retreat for physicians, health professionals, and their partners. This retreat includes teacher-guided mindfulness practice and discussion, with a focus on meditation technique. Drs. Lau and Grabovac, MBCT mentors with the UCSD Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute, also offer a 5-day MBCT Professional Training at Hollyhock, Sep 25-30.
Radical Dharma: The Conversation
With Reverend angel Kyodo williams
June 12 - 17, 2020
Cortes Island
Reimagine a path of healing and manifest true justice with radical dharma, or complete truth. Navigate grief, apathy, alienation, and burnout while engaging in bold, inclusive conversation. Empower yourself to dismantle racial injustice and advance our collective awakening. Anyone wanting to deconstruct rather than amplify systems of suffering is welcome.
A Training in Lateral Liberation
With Kim Haxton and Kris Archie
June 12 - 17, 2020
Cortes Island
Explore Indigenous concepts of land, place, and decolonization. Learn about decolonial practices (language, art, economics, gender) and the embodied knowledge of Indigenous peoples. Deconstruct what is considered valid “knowing,” so we can laterally liberate consciousness together.
Going Under the Words: Creating Fiction & Memoir
With Shaena Lambert
June 12 - 17, 2020
Cortes Island
Creating fiction and memoir is part craft, part mystery. Discover ways to shuck the skin of your words, to find the beating heart. Connect with your voice, and wind drama and action into your writing’s DNA. Experience the creative thrill of going deeper.
Run for Office
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
June 17 - 21, 2020
Cortes Island
Have you ever thought of running for office? Have you wondered what it takes? What it might mean for you? Run for Office will bring people from across Canada together for four days to learn how to build an effective campaign and explore the realities of supporting, running, and holding public office as people from communities who have been traditionally excluded from electoral politics. Join a group of progressives with an interest in running for office, or working in auxiliary roles, at all levels of government in Canada. Gain practical campaign skills, refine personal narratives, discover the personal and emotional realities…
Radical Dharma Camp
With Reverend angel Kyodo williams and Suzanne Hawkes
June 17 - 21, 2020
Cortes Island
Gather with people who are already committed to racial justice and anti-oppression. Dive deeper into approaches that confront the intersections of dominance and isolation that keep us from personal and collective liberation. Learn effective tools to challenge the systemic suffering within all of us; practicing wonder, vulnerability, accountability, and love. Reverend angel Kyodo williams is an ordained Zen priest, founder of the Center for Transformative Change, and author of Radical Dharma. Suzanne Hawkes is a facilitator, leadership trainer, and organizational development consultant focused on equitable systems change.
Summer Solstice: Yoga, Ritual, Meditation
With Mara Branscombe
June 17 - 21, 2020
Cortes Island
Summer solstice honours the earth’s most dynamic time of expansion, growth, and abundance. Join the celebration with the art of breath, the healing of yoga, mindful meditation, and shamanic practices. Luminously integrate heart, body, and mind.
Equity Learning Lab: A Deliberate Practice & Growth Space for White Folks
With Stina Brown
June 21 - 25, 2020
Cortes Island
A course of study, introspection and socialization to set a new standard of equity practices and anti-racist action among a cohort of white conveners, facilitators and leaders. An invitation into the conversation in the spirit of directness, compassion and courage to make real change.
Tools for Awesome Living
With Maritza Schafer
June 21 - 25, 2020
Cortes Island
Transform the physical, mental, emotional, sexual, and spiritual aspects of yourself and your life using joy, courage, action, truth, and faith as your guiding principles. Learn and immediately apply effective tools for awesome living. Embrace practices that have the biggest impact on your overall well-being.
Wayfinding: A Courage & Renewal® Experience
With Dan Hines and Keahi Ewa
June 21 - 25, 2020
Cortes Island
Finding our way and navigating our lives and vocations relies on our inner resource of courage. Renew your capacity for greater courage in a Circle of Trust®; an inclusive, safe, and disciplined community space. Learn to more fully realize who you are, as your most wholehearted self.
Creating a Climate for Change: Advocacy Training & Networking
With Clayton Thomas-Müller, Tzeporah Berman, Cara Pike and Hollyhock Leadership Institute
June 25 - 29, 2020
Cortes Island
A skills training and networking opportunity designed for people advocating for a safe and just climate future. Connect to a community of practice and learn successful campaigning strategies, while immersing in nature, practicing self-care, and nurturing community resilience.
Write From Power: Accessing Your Stories
With Janelle Hanchett
June 29 - July 3, 2020
Cortes Island
What do I do with my fear surrounding writing? How do I manage criticism? What if I say something wrong? Develop a new relationship with your writing practice by exploring concrete ways to write honestly in spite of fear, show up authentically on the page, and define for yourself the power of your unique story, voice, and perspective.
Informed by Cancer: Yoga Therapy for Integration
With Anne Pitman
June 29 - July 3, 2020
Cortes Island
Cancer changes us. Join with community in reflection and recovery and as we explore breath, embodied movement, storytelling, and stepping into this "more time". Offer generous listening to the lingering shock of diagnosis, and the anxiety and fear of recurrence. Find agency, authenticity, and a trued path to walk in your post-cancer days, informed by body, breath and soul.
Tantra for Couples: Cultivating Sacred Intimacy
With Devi Ward Erickson and Chris Erickson, PhD
June 29 - July 3, 2020
Tantra is an ancient spiritual science designed to activate, heal, and enrich every area of life. Learn practical and effective Tantric methods to cultivate a deeply sacred, utterly joyful, and profoundly pleasurable intimate connection - in and out of the bedroom.
Hollyhock Sampler July
July 3 - 6, 2020
Cortes Island
3 Perfect Nights - Enjoy a taste of adventure and relaxation with our Hollyhock Sampler: 2 one-hour massage or healing art treatments New! 1 guided stand-up paddle board adventure OR private yoga session Access to Hollyhock amenities Abundant natural beauty, ocean front beach, and hiking trails French intensive garden – ideal setting for photography, painting, meditating Ocean-view hot tubs Complimentary activities: Morning meditation and yoga, naturalist events (morning rows, afternoon guided hikes, garden tours) By-donation Presenter Evenings from visiting faculty *based on weather conditions, stand-up paddle board may be replaced by an additional massage session I have known about Hollyhock for 30 years and it has been…
Joy of Ukulele | Two Programs for Beginners and for Advancing Mastery
With Kimo Hussey
July 3 - 8, 2020
Cortes Island
Move beyond basic ukulele technique and establish effective practice strategies to master this joyful instrument. Explore fretboard geography, embellished chords, signature progressions, melodies, harmonies, and critical listening. Kanikapalu (jam sessions) and optional hula lessons culminate in a final performance.
Discover Cortes: Nature Adventures
With Bill Ophoff
July 3 - 8, 2020
Cortes Island
With birds and wildflowers at their vibrant peak, explore Cortes Island’s magnificent rainforest and teeming waters. Learn about the stars, the sea stars, and everything in between on this adventure of inspiring hikes, kayaking, beach walks, and a sailing excursion to Mitlenatch Island – the “Galapagos” of the Georgia Strait. Limit of 12 participants.
7 Practices of a Mindful Leader: Mindfulness, Sensory Awareness, & Zen Practices
With Lee Klinger Lesser and Marc Lesser
July 3 - 8, 2020
Cortes Island
Amidst a world of busyness, take time to stop, reflect, and renew. Leadership is primarily about cultivating clarity, empowering others, and skillfully responding to change. We are all leaders, and have tremendous capacity for influence in our work, families, and relationships.
Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) Yoga
With Marie Soleil Boisvert
July 8 - 12, 2020
Imagine practicing yoga while floating on the clear ocean water surrounding Cortes Island. Trade in your yoga mat for a stand-up paddleboard and challenge your sense of balance! Find your centre; practicing awareness, mindfulness, and presence. Expect the unexpected, and lots of laughter! Limited to 12 participants.
The Future of Children: Transforming the Educational Paradigm
With Phillip Moore, Gabriela Masala and Solomon Masala
July 8 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
Experience a new educational paradigm and activate the wisdom of the inner child. Connect with self, community, and nature through awakening to love-based ways of exploring, learning, and teaching. Expand awareness through imagination, songs, stories, and meditation. Ages 14+
Eat Real to Heal: Boost Immunity & Reverse Chronic Disease
With Nicolette Richer
July 8 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
Eat Real to Heal is a new way of eating and living based on a 100-year-old metabolic nutritional therapy. Rebuild your metabolism, kick-start your immune system, regenerate your tissues, and heal your body from the inside out.
Power of Hope: Ignite!
With Power of Hope
July 12 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
Collaborate with other inspired adults and discover what magic can happen when we bring our most authentic selves into the room. Grow your understanding of what brings groups of people together and enables them to deeply connect with each other. One part creative retreat to wake up your spirit, one part leadership development to enhance your work with groups.
Drawing Towards the Earth: Making Journals for Life
With S. Portico Bowman
July 12 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
Learn how to draw with graphite, charcoal, red ocher, and other earth elements. Drawing from the life and works of Paulus Berensohn (1933-2017), you’ll also create a coptic stitch Arcadia Playshop journal and a bookmark in the Bargello tapestry technique. Berensohn’s healing arcadia frames the path to ecological recovery on a global scale.
IndigenEYEZ: Leadership Essentials
With Kim Haxton
July 12 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
This leadership training invites you to personally experience and practice change. Strengthen your capacity for healthier relationships; reclaiming your innate power and agency. Learn to create culturally safe spaces for community building that support movement towards positive systemic change. Open to Indigenous and Non-Indigenous participants alike.
Metamorphosis: Unlocking Unconscious Tension
With Cindy Silverlock
July 16 - 19, 2020
Cortes Island
Unconscious tension is the chaotic energy underneath abuse, addiction, relationship issues, global dilemmas, and the inability to move past grief or trauma. Change your life by easing deep tension with awareness and a gentle touch practice - for use on self, others, and animals.
Horse Play for Families
With Oriane Lee Johnston
July 16 - 19, 2020
Make friends with the horses on a farm near Hollyhock. Learn to groom, lead, and communicate with them, and to play in the field with empathy and self-assurance. Kids ages 9+, with an adult. Limited to 12 participants.
Aung Medical Qi Gong
With Dr. Steven K.H. Aung, CM, MD, OMD, PhD
July 16 - 19, 2020
Cortes Island
Realign vital energies with this ancient Chinese wellness practice of breath work, concentration, and movement. Learn hands-on how to intuit, assess, harmonize, and heal vital Qi for yourself and loved ones.
The Mystery of the Soul
With Margie Gillis and Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD
July 19 - 24, 2020
Cortes Island
The mystery of the soul can be embraced, experienced, danced, and explored, but never exhausted or diminished. Reclaim and celebrate the mystery of your soul with dance and spiritual teachings.
Summer Gathering: Navigating the Tides of Change
With Rick Ingrasci & Peggy Taylor
July 19 - 24, 2020
Cortes Island
If you want to create a new culture, throw a better party! Join a diverse group of multigenerational change makers for some serious fun. Share your gifts and projects, and learn about local solutions catalyzing wide scale social change.
Healing Family & Ancestors: Ritual and Resonant Family Constellations
With Jill Purce
July 24 - 29, 2020
Cortes Island
Transform inherited patterns into magical blessings. Jill’s unique ceremonial, shamanic healing rites, using chant and family constellations, restore coherence within family fields in oracular ways, unavailable in normal therapy. Excluded relations are reintegrated as powerful allies. Relatives do not need to be living. Individuals and families welcome.
Time of Transition
With Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD
July 24 - 29, 2020
Cortes Island
Life changes are times of passion and opportunity. Working with teachings from Jungian psychology and various spiritual traditions, detach and break free from old roles and expectations. Ritual, reflection, and wisdom guide your journey and passage toward your new sense of self. Thomas Atum O’Kane, PhD, holds a doctorate degree in transpersonal psychology and is a former senior teacher in the Sufi Order International. atumokane.com
Dancing from the Inside Out
With Margie Gillis
July 24 - 29, 2020
Cortes Island
Move into your body’s experiential wisdom to reveal the soul in motion. Listen to your body’s inner impulses, conversations, and emotions to deepen your well-being along with your artistic and creative expression. An exceptional opportunity. All levels welcome. -- Margie Gillis is an internationally acclaimed dancer/choreographer, performing for 40+ years, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Song of the Drum, Dance of Life
With Gordy Ryan and Zoë Ryan
July 24 - 29, 2020
Bumbamba! Join us in a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the music and dance of the Olatunji Drums of Passion at Hollyhock. Activate the fire in your hands, the beat in your feet, and the song in your heart on a soulful journey to the well of inspiration in our reunion at the Olatunji Hall.
Singing in the Vocal River
With Rhiannon
July 28 - August 2, 2020
Rhiannon’s expertise lies with the connection between body and voice, teaching the invention of melody, harmony, rhythm, language, and story while guiding the singer towards the heart and soul of their musical self.
Founders + Friends
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
July 29 - August 1, 2020
Cortes Island
Embrace wondrous summer days on the shores of Cortes Island: bask in the beauty of this special place, delve deep into conversations that matter, and nourish your heart and soul. Join with Founders + Friends as we explore the work of Hollyhock, learn from our shared experiences, and envision the future.
Science & Spiritual Practices
With Rupert Sheldrake, Merlin Sheldrake and Cosmo Sheldrake
July 29 - August 2, 2020
Science sheds new light on many spiritual practices, including rituals, pilgrimage, meditation, chanting, and rites of passage. Explore spiritual traditions and reconnect with the natural world through singing, listening, looking, telling stories, thinking, and having fun.
Building a Vocal Community™
With Ysaÿe Barnwell, PhD
July 30 - August 2, 2020
An awesome power emerges when uncommon voices are blended for the common good. Experience traditional African music, African American spirituals, and civil rights anthems while learning about their extraordinary historical, social, and political context. Everyone welcome.
Weaving Embodied Liberation
With Yvette Murrell, Jennifer Moore and Michelle Phillips
August 2 - 7, 2020
Cortes Island
Conjure a liberatory vibration that integrates ritual and play. Co-create movement, story, and sound for designing intuitive loveships with ourselves, each other, and the land. Let’s dream together with radical imagination toward Liberation!
The Art of Leadership
With Robert Gass
August 2 - 7, 2020
Cortes Island
This dynamic, internationally acclaimed program is for leaders actively engaged in making a difference in the world. Through this powerful transformational training, learn to empower and engage others in effective action to broaden the impact of your work. By application.
Fearless Abstract Painting
With Samantha daSilva
August 7 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
The process of creating evolves into ideas. Ditch the fear and approach your next blank canvas with excitement and creative energy! Using rollers, tables, acrylics, canvas manipulation, plaster, sand, and wood shavings, create ethereal textured abstracts and become the fearless artist of your dreams! No previous experience necessary.
Spoken Song: Discover Your Musical Mind
With Chloë Goodchild and Rebecca Nash
August 7 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
Discover the art of spoken and sung voice as creative metaphors for everyday life. Experience the richness of your own authentic vocal expression; inspired by improvisation, world music, classical, jazz, folk, ecstatic poetry, devotional chant, breathwork, and a shared love of silence. For amateurs and professionals alike.
Falling Awake: The Ecology of Wonder
With David Abram
August 7 - 12, 2020
Awaken your animal intelligence, shake your senses free from outmoded concepts, and invigorate your felt experience. Through elemental encounters with the land, creaturely shapeshifting, and heartfelt conversation, open a new relationship between your body and the breathing earth.
Climate Hope: Tools for Thriving in the Climate Era
With Karen Mahon Carrington
August 12 - 17, 2020
Cortes Island
Develop new maps to navigate through these times of climate emergency and social upheaval. Discover tools to strengthen your capacity for cultivating joy, acceptance, and right action. Foster personal and community resilience as we work together to restore justice and balance to the world we love.
Heart of the Condor: Andean Wisdom Teachings
With Jhaimy Alvarez Acosta
August 12 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jun 23, 2020.
Ground yourself in the wisdom teachings of the Andes while discovering the keys to harmonizing the three bodies of the serpent (mind), puma (body), and condor (soul). Connect to your heart, Mother Earth, and the Cosmos with the support of traditional Andean Indigenous knowledge, passed down through generations since time immemorial.
Sharing the Path: For Couples
With Judith Ansara & Robert Gass
August 12 - 17, 2020
Cortes Island
Rediscover and deepen the joy and intimacy of your loving partnership. Break free from negative patterns while learning practices of authenticity, self-responsibility, empathy, deep listening, problem solving, and sacred sexuality. Enjoy a deeply connecting time together and take home profound tools to support your life as a couple.
Hollyhock Sampler August
August 17 - 20, 2020
Cortes Island
3 Perfect Nights - Enjoy a taste of adventure and relaxation with our Hollyhock Sampler: 2 one-hour massage or healing art treatments New! 1 guided stand-up paddle board adventure OR private yoga session Access to Hollyhock amenities Abundant natural beauty, ocean front beach, and hiking trails French intensive garden – ideal setting for photography, painting, meditating Ocean-view hot tubs Complimentary activities: Morning meditation and yoga, naturalist events (morning rows, afternoon guided hikes, garden tours) By-donation Presenter Evenings from visiting faculty *based on weather conditions, stand-up paddle board may be replaced by an additional massage session I have known about Hollyhock for 30 years and it has been…
iPhone Photography for Everyone
With Dr. Charles Steinberg
August 17 - 22, 2020
Cortes Island
A high-quality camera is almost always in your bag or pocket! Learn how to use it to create artful images. Forget bulky gear and challenging editing. Go way beyond snapshots. Inspire your creativity, improve your skills, and learn the amazing functions of your phone camera with beautiful Cortes Island as your subject.
Discover Cortes: Nature Adventures
With Bill Ophoff
August 17 - 22, 2020
Cortes Island
With birds and wildflowers at their vibrant peak, explore Cortes Island’s magnificent rainforest and teeming waters. Learn about the stars, the sea stars, and everything in between on this adventure of inspiring hikes, kayaking, beach walks, and a sailing excursion to Mitlenatch Island – the “Galapagos” of the Georgia Strait. Limit of 12 participants.
Improv Your Life – For Life
With Joshua Townshend-Zellner
August 17 - 22, 2020
Cortes Island
Through harnessing the power of the creative process and deepening our commitment to “sound and movement,” we access new worlds. Work with unique theatrical techniques, writing, breathing exercises, and more, in order to allow your true self to emerge with fuller expression.
Sensory Awareness: Rediscovering Experiencing
With Judyth Weaver, PhD
August 22 - 27, 2020
Cortes Island
How can you know another until you know yourself? If you do not fully experience your own feelings, how can you understand the feelings of others? Sensory Awareness is the practice of deeply exploring your sensations and feeling your actions, reactions, and interactions from the inside out. Return to your natural resources and discover more authenticity and vitality.
The Art of Spiritual Guidance: Year Two
With Thomas Atum O'Kane, PhD
August 22 - 27, 2020
Cortes Island
Spiritual Guidance is an art, a gift, and a calling that has been long practiced in contemplative traditions to support spiritual development and personal transformation. This in-depth training takes an interfaith approach while encompassing insights from transpersonal and Jungian psychology. Open for new registrations in 2021.
Decolonization and Reconciliation: Teachings and Music from the Land
With Melina Laboucan-Massimo and Nick Demeris
August 22 - 27, 2020
Cortes Island
Move from an era of separateness (from nature and people) to a new paradigm of interconnectedness. Examine the extractive and exploitative practices of colonization, and begin a path of healing and genuine reconciliation between Indigenous peoples, settlers, and the Earth itself - through deep listening, song, story, and ceremony.
Writing as a Spiritual Practice: The Healing Power of Telling Your Story
With Mark Matousek
August 22 - 27, 2020
Cortes Island
Memoir is a path of self-knowledge. Learn to tell the whole truth and your essential stories will emerge, bringing insight and transpersonal wisdom. Writing exercises and group dialogue guide you toward creative discovery, increased mindfulness, and better composition. Everyone welcome.
Podcasting: The Story from Hear
With Jenni Schine, Jennifer Moss, Brady Marks and Jacqueline Mathieu
August 27 - September 1, 2020
Cortes Island
Tune into the power of sound, listening, and community storytelling. Attentive sound-walks, story creation guidance, and technical skills for podcast production advance your acoustic projects within a supportive, group environment.
Leadership in Motion
With Akaya Windwood and Sarah Crowell
August 27 - 31, 2020
Cortes Island
To lead in troubled times means to integrate body movement into social movements. Cultivate and affirm leadership practices that grow other thriving leaders. Expect vibrant and emergent learning spaces that center the wisdom of women and our bodies in motion.
Create to Liberate
With Khari Wendell McClelland and Rebekka Goldsmith
August 27 - September 1, 2020
Cortes Island
Explore nature, the arts, imaginative play, and personal/collective power for personal development, working with groups and developing facilitation skills. Expand your creativity to live a more meaningful, just, joyful, and connected life.
Hollyhock Sampler September
September 1 - 4, 2020
Cortes Island
3 Perfect Nights - Enjoy a taste of adventure and relaxation with our Hollyhock Sampler: 2 one-hour massage or healing art treatments New! 1 guided stand-up paddle board adventure OR private yoga session Access to Hollyhock amenities Abundant natural beauty, ocean front beach, and hiking trails French intensive garden – ideal setting for photography, painting, meditating Ocean-view hot tubs Complimentary activities: Morning meditation and yoga, naturalist events (morning rows, afternoon guided hikes, garden tours) By-donation Presenter Evenings from visiting faculty *based on weather conditions, stand-up paddle board may be replaced by an additional massage session I have known about Hollyhock for 30 years and it has been…
A Journey of Sound, Movement & Breath
With Michael Mayzel & Ayi Wong and Maria Filippone
September 1 - 6, 2020
Cortes Island
Connect to your inner process with therapeutic Sound Journeys, and learn about the foundations of sound healing. Enjoy grounding and dynamic yoga practices, and combine chanting with movement. Auditory vibration, movement, stillness, and breath provide the groundwork for healing and transformation.
Future-Proof Leadership
With NOBL, Sarah Dickinson and Erin Cooper
September 1 - 6, 2020
Cortes Island
These times call for resilient leaders who can adapt themselves to change with ease, while navigating teams through uncertainty. Come together with a diverse group of leaders to explore recurring themes and practical principles of building the adaptability of you, your people, and your organization.
Forest to Sea: Earth Based Medicine
With Yarrow Willard
September 1 - 6, 2020
Cortes Island
Awaken your inner herbalist and deepen your connection to the healing power of nature. Learn to create lasting health practices, make herbal medicines, and sharpen your senses as you build relationships with the plants, mushrooms, and seaweeds of the West Coast.
Vibrant Pastel Landscapes
With David Shkolny
September 6 - 11, 2020
Cortes Island
Create vibrant landscapes in soft pastel, a versatile and expressive medium. Using photo references as well as plein air outings, experience the unique opportunities that pastel provides. No prior experience necessary, suitable for all skill levels. A supply list will be provided.
Flying SOULO: Your Story on Stage
With Tracey Erin Smith
September 6 - 11, 2020
Cortes Island
Transform your life’s stories into a Solo Theatre Show or Keynote. Through improvisation, writing exercises, and one-on-one coaching, uncover the stories that need to be told and reveal your truth in a powerful and entertaining show. Culminates in a short performance of the work created in class.
Move Without Pain: Essential Somatics (Sept 6)
With Martha Peterson
September 6 - 11, 2020
Cortes Island
This program is also offered on Sept 11-16, click here.
This program is also offered on Sept 11-16, click here.
Learn to use your brain to reverse the physical effects of stress, restore brain to muscle connection, and defy creaky old age. Create a routine of easy, safe, and essential Somatic Movements to eliminate chronic pain and keep you moving fluidly and effortlessly throughout your life.
Sea Kayaking Adventures Aboard Misty Isles
With Jonas Fineman and Kai Harvey
September 11 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
Learn to kayak on the pristine and protected waters around Cortes Island, from the comfort of the 43 foot Schooner, Misty Isles. Certified local guides share their knowledge and passion for the coast. All levels of experience welcome. Limited to 12 participants. Jonas Fineman is the seasoned sea captain and owner of Misty Isles. Kai Harvey is a wilderness guide and owner of Cortes Kayaks. They will also be offering this program on May 29-June 3 mistyislesadventures.com
Writing the Other
With Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford
September 11 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
Writers know it’s important to include characters from different identities in their work. Many are afraid to create characters whose identity differs from their own and worry about getting it offensively wrong. But representation is too important to ignore. Learn how to do it well
Move Without Pain: Essential Somatics (Sept 11)
With Martha Peterson
September 11 - 16, 2020
Cortes Island
This program is also offered on Sept 6-11, click here.
This program is also offered on Sept 6-11, click here.
Learn to use your brain to reverse the physical effects of stress, restore brain to muscle connection, and defy creaky old age. Create a routine of easy, safe, and essential Somatic Movements to eliminate chronic pain and keep you moving fluidly and effortlessly throughout your life.
Earth Wisdom, Horse Wisdom: A Nature Retreat with Horses
With Oriane Lee Johnston and Kera Willis
September 11 - 14, 2020
Cortes Island
Journey into the heart of the world with horses as our guides. Practice breath and body meditation, hands-on touch, joyful play with the herd, and a journey ride on horseback. Limited to 12 participants.
Your Soul’s Plan: Awakening to Your Life Purpose (Vancouver)
With Robert Schwartz
September 12 - 13, 2020
UBC Liu Institute
What soul plan did you make before you were born? What circumstances and relationships did you choose and why? Find the answers in a “Between Lives Soul Regression,” along with insight, healing, and a greater capacity for joy. Recognize life’s challenges as the great teachers and healers your soul intended them to be.
SVI: Social Venture Institute (Cortes Island)
With Hollyhock Leadership Institute
September 16 - 20, 2020
Cortes Island
2020 marks 25 years of convening SVI on Cortes Island! Join over 100 purpose-driven business leaders as you share your challenges and successes in an atmosphere of trust and goodwill. The interactive nature of SVI offers boundless opportunities to ask hard questions, get advice, and build deep relationships. Level up your organization, your network, and your leadership capacity so you can continue your mission to improve the state of the world with greater confidence, energy, and resilience.
Psoma Yoga Therapy
With Donna Martin & Shelley Winton
September 20 - 25, 2020
Cortes Island
Experience a gentle body-mind/spirit practice for healing that can be integrated with Hakomi (mindfulness-based self-discovery). Learn how habitual tension and movement patterns may have psychological meaning, discover and transform the roots of unnecessary suffering, and find the keys to true health and freedom. No experience is necessary.
Beyond Interfaith: From Spiritual Misfits to Interconnected Communities
With Shahar Rabi, PhD
September 20 - 25, 2020
Cortes Island
Learn the tools and skills needed to establish trauma-informed methods of developing long-lasting and sustainable spiritual communities. Engage in meaningful dialogue about the future intersection of faith, psychology, and science. Bring home essential practices for today's diverse and complex world, and embody the heart of your contemplative life.
Peace, Poetry & Prayer
With Farah Nazarali
September 20 - 25, 2020
Peace is at the core of our being. Peace visionaries know that bringing peace into the world involves courage, collective action, and renewal of the spirit. This program combines peace, poetry, yogic practices, and universal prayers and rituals to dedicate ourselves to inner harmony, family reconciliation, reverence for the Earth, and peace in our world.
Mindfulness Meditation: A Way of Love and Compassion
With Robert Beatty
September 25 - 30, 2020
Cortes Island
Wake up from the trance of everyday life. You are not your moods, anxiety, compulsions, past wounds, or addictions. Awaken to the freedom, love, compassion, and joy that is your natural state. This program is held in silence (except sessions) — common areas on campus are shared spaces.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): 5-Day Professional Training
With Mark Lau, PhD and Andrea Grabovac, MD
September 25 - 30, 2020
Cortes Island
Take your next step on the transformative journey to becoming an MBCT teacher. MBCT is an empirically validated group program designed to prevent depressive relapse. For mental health professionals. Pre-approval required.
Ayurveda for Modern Life
With Insiya Rasiwala-Finn
September 30 - October 4, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
Experience the transformational wisdom of Ayurveda, India’s self-healing science. Up-level your vitality, purpose, and joy with yoga study, self-care, and mindful food practices. Ayurveda helps us live in true harmony with the rhythms of nature and the flow of life, so that we can experience authentic mind, body, and spirit well-being.
Dare to Lead: A Call to Conscious Leadership
With Gayle Karen Young Whyte and Elissa Berrol, Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator
September 30 - October 5, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
Take time to reflect and reorient your leadership map. Learn the 4 research-based skill sets of daring leadership, and practice leading from a place of consciousness and authenticity. Re-calibrate your internal compass and expand your adaptive capacity to lead your organization from a place of courage, compassion, and connection.
Whole Human Health: Functional Medicine 2.0
With Dr. Lawrence Cheng and Dr. Devon Christie
September 30 - October 5, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
Embody your well-being potential! Create your own personalized optimal wellness plan for lasting health and happiness informed by a synthesis of integrative and functional medicine, mind-body medicine, and leading-edge neurobiology. For anyone seeking an empowered approach to their own personal health.
From Age-ing to Sage-ing®: Deepening the Sage Within
With Annie Klein and Nancy Gray-Hemstock
October 5 - 9, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
“Sage-ing” is a new approach to growing older. Discover skills, philosophies, perspectives, and tools to improve the second half of your life. Recognize the value of experience, and learn to respond in practical and positive ways to the changes that occur as we age.
Wild Mushrooms & the Mycology of Consciousness
With Paul Stamets, D.Sc (Hon.)
October 5 - 9, 2020
Cortes Island
Save the world, one mushroom at a time. Fungi offer powerful, practical solutions to enhance both human and ecosystem health. Roam the wilds of Cortes Island and learn mushroom identification, easy-to-grow cultivation methods, as well as various culinary and medicinal applications. -- Paul Stamets, D.Sc., is a renowned, award-winning mycologist. The Star Trek Discovery series recently named a character - Astromycologist Starfleet Lt. Commander Stamets - in his honour.
Hollyhock Sampler October
October 9 - 12, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
3 Perfect Nights - Enjoy a taste of adventure and relaxation with our Hollyhock Sampler: 2 one-hour massage or healing art treatments New! 1 guided stand-up paddle board adventure OR private yoga session Access to Hollyhock amenities Abundant natural beauty, ocean front beach, and hiking trails French intensive garden – ideal setting for photography, painting, meditating Ocean-view hot tubs Complimentary activities: Morning meditation and yoga, naturalist events (morning rows, afternoon guided hikes, garden tours) By-donation Presenter Evenings from visiting faculty *based on weather conditions, stand-up paddle board may be replaced by an additional massage session I have known about Hollyhock for 30 years and it has been…
Deep Ecology Camp
With Wade Davis, PhD, Nora Bateson and Rex Weyler
October 9 - 13, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
As humans we do not stand apart from Earth's enduring ecology. To address our global challenges, we must start with our roots as creatures of this Earth. Explore how human society might discover this genuinely ecological frame - living with all beings, accepting our animal nature, and existing inside a living process.
The Gift of Gratitude: Fall Yoga Retreat
With Fiji McAlpine
October 9 - 14, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
Gratitude enhances and enlivens every aspect of our life, and can be intentionally brought into our daily routines. Celebrate this season of gratitude with dynamic flow and nourishing yin yoga practices. Learn to mindfully connect to the present, allowing yourself the opportunity to ground and appreciate all that is.
Inner Economics: Your Relationship with Money
With Karen McAllister
October 9 - 14, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
Free yourself from your blocks around money! This personal inner work will benefit your community, relationships, and career or business. Achieve the financial results you need to thrive, not just survive, while staying in integrity with yourself and others along the way.
Wim Hof Method, Breathwork & Your True Nature
With Cian Dalton
October 14 - 18, 2020
Cortes Island
Optimize your health with oxygen and cold exposure, reducing inflammation and strengthening your immune system. Learn practical tools to overcome stress, and develop a deeper connection to yourself and nature.
Wild Mushrooms & the Mycology of Consciousness
With Paul Stamets, D.Sc (Hon.)
October 14 - 18, 2020
Cortes Island
Save the world, one mushroom at a time. Fungi offer powerful, practical solutions to enhance both human and ecosystem health. Roam the wilds of Cortes Island and learn mushroom identification, easy-to-grow cultivation methods, as well as various culinary and medicinal applications. -- Paul Stamets, D.Sc., is a renowned, award-winning mycologist. The Star Trek Discovery series named a character - Astromycologist Starfleet Lt. Commander Stamets - in his honour.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Levels 1-2 (Vancouver)
With Alina Frank & Dr. Craig Weiner
October 16 - 18, 2020
Blue Horizon Hotel, Garibaldi Room (31st floor)
Learn powerful evidence-based Clinical EFT tapping techniques to quickly and effectively create changes in negative emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours. This training is for individuals looking to use EFT for self-help, and to integrate it safely into professional client-based practices. -- Alina Frank & Dr. Craig Weiner, DC, are internationally respected EFT trainers and directors of the EFT Tapping Training Institute.
Alchemy of Forest Therapy: Week-Long Immersion
With Amos Clifford and Christy Thomson
October 18 - 25, 2020
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off listed prices. Offer valid until Jul 31, 2020.
When the discursive mind becomes quieter and the intelligence of the heart comes to the foreground, a new consciousness emerges. Forest Alchemy is our ongoing exploration of what happens when we connect head, heart, and body in the crucible of the forest.
Champions of Change (Vancouver)
With IndigenEYEZ
October 22, 2020
TBA
This leadership training invites you to personally experience and practice change. Strengthen your capacity for healthier relationships; reclaiming your innate power and agency. Learn to create culturally safe spaces for community building that support movement towards positive systemic change. Open to Indigenous and Non-Indigenous participants alike.
Advanced Facilitation: Cultural Fluency & Collaboration (Vancouver)
With Julian Griggs, Michelle LeBaron and Joenita Paulrajan, PhD
November 18 - 20, 2020
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Learn to unleash the full potential of groups in this advanced training. Move beyond the constraints of conventional models for group facilitation, drawing on four areas of competence: awareness of role and social location, cultural fluency, intuition, and presence. For experienced facilitators.
Hello Again: A Fresh Start for Parents & Their Adult Children (Vancouver)
With Dr. Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté
November 20 - 22, 2020
Friday Evening Event:
SFU Woodwards Cinema
149 W. Hastings St.
Saturday/Sunday Workshop:
SFU Harbour Centre, Segal Rooms
515 W. Hastings St.
Explore what it takes to outgrow and transform old dynamics in parent/adult-child relationships. Clear the way for a new relationship grounded in authenticity and mutual compassion, unencumbered by what came before. -- Dr. Gabor Maté is the author of 4 bestselling books published in 25 languages, including In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, and recipient of the Order of Canada. Daniel Maté is an award-winning theatre composer and lyricist who also runs a popular "mental chiropractic" service.