The retreat takes place in Bayfield, Wisconsin, surrounded by peaceful woodland and the vast waters of Lake Superior. The deep immersion in this quiet Northwoods setting offers space for grounding, reflection, and rest. You’ll have time to walk forest trails, experience the character of nearby Bayfield, and slow down while being part of a supportive group experience.

The retreat is hosted at Wild Rice Retreat, a thoughtfully designed center set within 100 acres of woodland near Lake Superior. Its Scandinavian-inspired accommodations are modern and comfortable, with single and double rooms, private bathrooms, large windows, and outdoor spaces that connect naturally with the surrounding forest. The center includes spacious workshop rooms, indoor and outdoor dining areas, walking trails, fireplaces, and a cedar sauna with a rain room.

The entire retreat center will be reserved exclusively for our group.

You will be guided by Deb Dana, LCSW – a clinician, consultant, and author specializing in complex trauma and Polyvagal Theory. A founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, she is widely known for translating the science of the autonomic nervous system into clear, practical tools that support safety, regulation, and connection.

This retreat balances structured inner work with time for rest and self-care. You’ll have space for optional massage, time in nature, use of sauna, or quiet time on the grounds. The schedule allows for both inward focus and deep relaxation. This is an opportunity to step away from conventional conveniences and embrace simplicity.

While you may think your brain is in charge, the heart of your experience and how you navigate the world, begins in the body, with the autonomic nervous system. This is where the stories emerge about who you are, how the world works, what you do, and how you feel. Sometimes you struggle to keep your balance; other times you move easily through the day.

The autonomic nervous system is both creator of, and witness to, your lived experience. It is an embodied, biological resource that is always present and ready to guide you. Science shows that with practice, your connection to the biological state of safety can be strengthened and new patterns of connection created. The nervous system knows the way to safety and connection, the way home to regulation and it’s ready to help you get there.

Every therapeutic encounter is a meeting of nervous systems. Beneath the words, the autonomic nervous system – yours and your clients’ – is quietly at work: listening, shaping the stories we tell ourselves, and influencing our capacity for safety, connection, and change. Understanding this autonomic experience is at the heart of what Polyvagal Theory offers clinicians.

In this retreat, Deb Dana will help you to make the journey from personal awareness to clinical application, because as a clinician, your own autonomic regulation is essential to successful work with clients. Getting to know your autonomic patterns helps you create an environment that supports connection and lets you be present with clients in a way that invites them into the regulated state of safety that is a core element of treatment.

During this retreat, you will discover how to use the body’s regulating circuits to help clients regain a sense of safety, and gain skills to engage the nervous system’s natural pathways to regulation. You’ll learn a new way to accompany your clients on their path to healing.

After organizing and facilitating over 30 retreats, we’ve developed a format that balances depth, structure, and space for integration. During this retreat, you will:

• You will be guided by Deb Dana,  LCSW, a clinician, consultant, and author specializing in complex trauma and Polyvagal Theory.
• You will join healers and seekers from all over the world equally as passionate about Polyvagal Theory.
• You will experience multiple ways of discovering and exploring your nervous system – lecture, small group exercises, dance/movement, sound bath, forest bathing, deep body connection through guided meditation, and more.
• You will acquire new insights and skills; you will return to life and work with new ways to accompany your clients on their path to healing.

• You will be in a retreat setting that includes local experiences (walking by a beautiful lake, visiting a nearby town, eating local food) and a natural rhythm of rest, reflection, and embodied integration.

• Spend time in a genuinely natural, rural setting that supports rest, reflection, and informal connection with peers.
• Stepping away from daily routines here means accepting a setting less focused on resort-style amenities and more on spaciousness and nature immersion.

A guided nature therapy walk offers space to slow down and experience the surrounding forest through the senses. Gentle mindfulness practices support presence, observation, and a renewed sense of connection with the natural world.

A visit to the nearby town of Bayfield offers time to walk along the waterfront, explore its quiet streets, and experience the atmosphere of this small Lake Superior community. The outing creates space for gentle exploration, local culture, and relaxed time together.

A sound healing session uses crystal singing bowls, crystal pyramids, and gongs to create an immersive field of sound and vibration. While resting in a supported position, participants are invited to relax, settle into the body, and listen inwardly.

Chakradance combines spontaneous movement, guided meditation, and music inspired by the chakra system. Participants are invited to move at their own pace, reconnect with the body, and explore their inner experience through rhythm and expression. No dance experience is needed.

A guided sauna and cold immersion session combines periods of heat with cooling and cold-water practices. Moving between these contrasting sensations creates space to explore the body’s responses, deepen awareness, and settle into a more grounded state.

Tina Zorger, Psy.D is the Assistant Director of Deb Dana’s Foundations trainings.

Tina has had a pivotal role in helping create the training series and supporting Deb and participants during Polyvagal workshops and retreats over many years. She has over 25 years of clinical experience at her private practice with a focus on treating trauma and providing Polyvagal consultation.

Over the course of the retreat you’ll experience personal discoveries and practice clinical application. You’ll learn to:

• Articulate the core principles of Polyvagal Theory and their relevance to trauma-informed clinical practice.
• Map the autonomic states of the nervous system.
• Recognize autonomic activation and regulation through experiential practice.
• Cultivate personal practices for nervous system regulation that support well-being and build capacity for presence in clinical work.
• Identify how nervous system states influence clinical presence and the therapeutic relationship.
• Utilize your regulated presence as a co-regulating force in the therapeutic relationship.
• Assess client autonomic states with increased accuracy and nuance, recognizing subtle shifts between safety, mobilization, and shutdown.
• Guide clients in mapping their own autonomic patterns using accessible, trauma-sensitive language and practices.
• Adapt nervous system practices to meet the specific needs and cultural contexts of diverse client populations.  
• Modify co-regulating practices to match a client’s autonomic capacity for connection.
• Assess for patterns in client autonomic states to inform session planning.
• Integrate Polyvagal Theory into your existing therapeutic modality, enhancing your current clinical approach.
• Create a personal and professional plan for ongoing nervous system awareness and regulation practices beyond the retreat.

Our group sessions will take place in the Great Room, a spacious and versatile gathering space designed for teaching, experiential exercises, meditation, and movement practices. Its open layout, natural light, and connection to the surrounding woodland create a calm and supportive environment for both group work and reflection.

Meals are prepared onsite at Root, where nourishment is approached through whole foods and Ayurvedic-inspired principles. Seasonal menus emphasize fresh vegetables and fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, with dietary needs collected in advance. Meals are served in a welcoming shared setting, creating space to slow down and connect around the table.

Accommodation is arranged separately with the retreat center and depends on the chosen room option. All rooms have bathrooms. The amounts below reflect the total cost of accommodation and meals at the venue.

When registering, please let us know your preferred room type. Here are the available room options and their accommodation rates:

Joanna Skrzyszowska

Retreat Coordinator

retreats@lifearchitect.pl

or call us +48 500 700 857

8:00 am – 4:00 pm (BST, UTC+1)

3:00 am – 11:00 am (EDT, UTC-4)