I’m Jackie. I’ve had the immense joy of leading international retreats since 2013. It’s incredible to witness how this community of beautiful and brave souls has gown since that time, and I am continuously humbled by the transformations that occur, both in others and in myself.

A little about me…

My main role in life is as a parter and a mother. For the past eleven years my husband and I have lived in Costa Rica, where we brought our three beautiful children into the world. My children are by far my greatest teachers, and so much of what I strive for in life is embedded in a deep prayer for them and the generations ahead. My family and I have live held between the jungle and the Machuca River that runs for miles and miles. Living with the beauty and harshness of Mama Nature has brought me countless lessons and gifts- most importantly an immense healing for my soul and a deep appreciation for life. Nature is my main inspiration for all of my creative projects, including these retreats, and my hope is to create containers within nature that allow others to receive these healing gifts too.

A little about my journey…

I’m about to turn 40 next year, and if I could go back in time and tell my younger self one thing it would be this: the only person you need to be worried about letting down in this life is yourself!. My early years were filled with difficulty, but with the wisdom of age I see how great of teachers those struggles actually were. And I’m forever grateful for them because they set me on a path of healing that has taken me to place I could have never imagined.

i’ve always been fascinated by spiritual texts, and would flip through everything from the Bible to the Bhagavad Gita in my teens. I remember being fifteen or so and pulling an old school yoga book off our bookshelf and directing myself through lion’s breath in our living room. It wasn’t until my early 20’s that I started regularly practicing yoga asana. I was on my healing path from an eating disorder, and practicing yoga was my first experience with truly connecting with my body, rather than constantly punishing it. I promised myself to stay on this path, and to learn as much as I possibly could. I was still young though, and often got caught up trying to be the “perfect yogini”. It wasn’t until my 24th birthday when I spent four nights alone in the desert on a vision quest that I finally heard the quiet whispers of my own real voice, clear as day. I also saw all that needed to still be shed to get in touch with my true self. The solitude of nature and absence of distraction allowed me the clarity to see myself authentically the first time. What I found there alone in the Gila Wilderness was the first spark of a flame that would forever remain lit in my heart, one that continues to illuminate the way forward for me.

Since then I have continued my spiritual journey through more vision questing, moon dancing, yoga & meditation, Earth medicine and somatic healing- all of which have kept that inner voice at the forefront of my path. I feel passionate about supporting others on their own paths, and love witnessing what feels authentic to each individual person. I don’t believe this journey is a linear one- rather I believe it’s a spiral. We pass through familiar and foreign spaces, sometimes revisiting the same lessons over and over, but with every step we spiral closer to our center, to our true selves. That’s the journey I’m committed to forever taking.

A little about my work…

In 2010 at 23 years old I took my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica, where I deepened my practice and opened up a whole new world of knowledge to learn and integrate. I began teaching right away, at first in Costa Rica, then in Michigan where I lived for several years. I absolutely loved teaching, but I also felt a call to support others who wanted to use yoga and mindfulness as a way to heal their relationship with their body and food. So I embarked on a 700-hour Yoga Therapy training with a specialization in eating disorder recovery, and had the privilege of working at the Inner Door Center in Royal Oak, Michigan as one of their lead yoga therapists. For the next few years I taught yoga in studios, worked as a yoga therapist and began leading yoga retreats. The first retreat I led in Costa Rica changed my life! I was astounded at the positive transformations that were happening in such a short amount of time, and the meaningful bonds that were forming between the people who came. I knew that this was something truly special, and I had to keep going. Fourteen years later I’ve led retreats in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Peru, Italy, Sedona, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama and Portugal… and next up, Greece!

I’m not the type of person who pays much attention to credentials, but in case you are (which is cool!), here are mine: I’m an E-RYT 200 with the Yoga Alliance and a certified Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapist (IAYT). Currently I’m deepening my studies in somatic healing in combination with yoga in an advanced IAYT yoga therapy training, and early next year I plan to complete my 500 hour RYT.