Awakening the Spine, Spirit & Senses

Aug 16-23, 2026 | Mabou, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Step into an immersive, land-based retreat that brings together movement, energy medicine, sound, art, and community in one of the most breathtaking regions of Atlantic Canada.

This 8-day retreat is designed for practitioners, facilitators, artists, and curious seekers who are ready to deepen their self-care, expand their energetic awareness, and experience learning that is embodied, creative, and restorative.

Cape Breton Island itself becomes part of the teaching — through ocean, forest, music, dance, and shared meals — offering a powerful container for renewal and insight.

What Makes This Retreat Unique

This is not a passive retreat — it is a living, experiential classroom.

Throughout the week, participants are guided through layered learning experiences that weave together:

• Touch for Health Five Element Theory

• The Spiritual Essence of the Spine

• BioEnergetic Wellness Formula (intention, awareness, activation, community, intuition)

• Tai Chi & gentle movement

• Dance & creative expression

• Sound healing & frequency exploration

• Intuitive painting

• Nature-based integration

• Introductory Therapeutic Touch (TT) practices for self-care and families

Each day builds on the next, allowing concepts to be felt, practiced, and embodied — not just understood intellectually.

What You’ll Experience

• Daily Tai Chi sessions in inspiring community spaces, studios, and outdoor locations

• Spine Resonance workshops exploring how frequency, movement, and the Five Elements support vitality, regulation, and healing

• Intuitive Painting as a gateway to insight, emotional processing, and creative flow

• Sound baths and music-based explorations for nervous system regulation and deep rest

• Trauma-informed movement and sound practices focused on gentle unwinding and safety

• Introduction to Therapeutic Touch principles for personal and family care

• Shared meals, beach walks, markets, music, and dance woven throughout the experience

You’ll leave with practical tools, embodied understanding, and renewed connection — to yourself, to community, and to the natural world.

Who This Retreat Is For

This retreat is ideal for:

• Wellness practitioners and facilitators

• Movement teachers, energy workers, and body-based therapists

• Artists and creatives seeking embodied inspiration

• Individuals navigating stress, transition, or burnout

• Anyone curious about energy, movement, and holistic self-care

No prior experience is required. All practices are offered in an inclusive, accessible way.

The Deeper Intention

At its heart, this retreat is about working together — developing new awareness, shared understanding, and practical skills that ripple outward into families, communities, and professional work.

You will be supported to:

• Reconnect with your body’s innate intelligence

• Understand the spine as a bridge between structure, energy, and spirit

• Experience how movement, sound, and art support healing

• Build community through shared presence and practice

Location

Various locations across Mabou, Inverness, Creignish, Judique, and the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Dates

Aug 16 – 23, 2026

Cost for the retreat:  $800 plus tax

Reserve your spot today.  Registrations accepted on a first come, first served basis.  Maximum of 15 participants.  Refunds will only be offered until July 1, with a $100 registration withholding fee.  After July 1, registrations can only be transferred, not refunded.  This exclusive package will be intuitively organized based on the participants and our general itinerary.  We look forward to bringing you an experience of a lifetime with music, movement, art, photography, herbs, soundscapes, landscape, dance, and the beauty that Cape Breton Island has to offer, all wrapped up in a daily lesson plan that invites new ideas, and training for self-care and client sessions. 

With a full team of presenters from Ireland, Scotland, Virginia USA, BC, and Cape Breton Island, you will have an immersion into the NeuroArts that will inspire your senses, spirit, and wellbeing like never before.  Stay tuned for the introduction of this amazing team in our blog. 

Accommodations are available for you at the beautiful Glendyer Bed and Breakfast: The Glendyer is an historic B and B in beautiful Mabou, Cape Breton. The Glendyer offers an idyllic country setting, Celtic heritage, and hot breakfast. NS Tourism #STR2526B1372. Just let them know Michelle sent you as we secured a special rate for the retreat.

(902) 945-2345

stay@theglendyer.ca

instagram.com/theglendyer

theglendyer.ca

Travel:

Flights are best to Halifax, although you can land in Sydney, Cape Breton.  Consider carpooling, and rent a vehicle for the week to provide you with your own transportation to the various venues and highlights.  There is so much to explore in Nova Scotia and on the island.

From Halifax to Cape Breton, and to Mabou specifically is 3.5 hours without any stops.  If you are taking a red-eye, you will need a nap before making the trip, Mount Tom has an energy that really pulls at tired bodies. If you choose to arrive a few days early, Halifax is an incredible port city to explore with many famous historical sites and a great music and museum scene.  If several wish to arrive early, we can help coordinate a house rental for people to enjoy the sites together with a reduced cost for accommodation.

If you choose to arrive to Sydney, it is a 2 hour drive to Mabou.  There are also several historic sites and the waterfront to explore if you are interested in the Fortress of Louisbourg and the Bell Museum in Baddeck on the way.

Flights home, please consider that the retreat will not finish until Sunday afternoon, so flights will be best in the evening or the next morning.  There are several hotels near the Halifax airport that have shuttles to the terminal.

The post Artfilled Wellness: A Cape Breton Island Energy & Arts Immersion Retreat first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.

Dr Michelle Greenwell will highlight setting up your day for success through awareness, intention, posture power and integrative movement patterns using special exercises, Tai Chi patterns, and movement ideas.  She is joined by doctoral student, and intuitive musician extraordinaire, Colin MacLeod of Scotland who will be playing intuitively to the group and with the exercises to maximize the speed and agility of your transformation from chronic pain, stiff joints, and lower energy into vitality and resiliency.  Dr Greenwell will share the BioEnergetic Wellness Formula for successful daily habits, and together you will be empowered to engage in a wellness plan that meets you where your needs are and what you need to be inspired.

No experience is necessary.  Seated and standing options for movement will be offered.  This special group will grow in skill as you are nurtured for your personal needs and goals.

Course dates:  Tuesdays 12 pm Atlantic, 8 am Pacific, 4 pm UK.  September 9, 16, 23, 30, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov 4, 18, 25, Dec 2 (no class on Remembrance Day Nov 11).

The original course was offered in the spring of 2025 with great success and insights and you are welcome to purchase this special series as an adjunct to this course, however, it is not a pre-requisite.

In our first series we explored movement through the award-winning program for Unwinding Trauma, created by Tanya Levy, Michelle and Colin and presented in Tenerife, Spain and San Diego, USA.  In this series we will be exploring the Essence of the Spine and its relationship to sound, muscles, and whole body movement. We will continue our exploration of the sequences in the 108 Moving Meditation by Master Moy Lin Shin, both seated and standing, as well as some special patterns from Sabre and Lok Hup. Each set brings us deeper into the tissue and organs of the body to improve circulation, lymph flow, joint mobility, clear minds, and building energy. Our special focus each week is to help you gain experience with being grounded, finding your heart center, opening your mind to new ideas, and transforming your life into vitality and resiliency.

If you have never taken Tai Chi before, this is a great starting place. If you have never done the Seated Form of Tai Chi, this will be a great introduction.  If you have movement challenges, this will provide you with the space to adjust as you need.  If you have pain, an injury, or low energy, we recommend that you do everything at 40% effort, small and light.  With time you will find your energy grow and you will be able to ease into the exercises as you learn about your internal mechanics of moving.

Thank you for signing up for this life-expanding course.  We are looking forward to meeting you.

Please note that if you send an e-transfer you need to add tax to the course fee.

For full resources for Colin MacLeod, you can go to www.celticfiddleguru.com or www.harmonicsforbusiness.com.

The post Movement and Music – Expanding your Knowledge first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.