Winter 2025 schedule

Discover new perspectives with Writing, Meditation and Expressive Arts Therapy practices.

an exploration for inquisitive minds, leaders, medicine facilitators & self-healers

Writing can be a way to shift activity into the right brain, access what is just beneath the surface our our typical daily awareness, and move out of “planning/doing/analyzing” mode. Artists of every medium know that entering creative flow, allowing spontaneous expression to move through them, without trying to direct the outcome, allows for something new to happen. Authenticity occurs. The result can shock, delight, amaze, and occasionally even inspire us. Improvisation can heal our brains! By increasing neurogenesis (new brain cells being born) which reduces anxiety and depression.

We, Priya Hutner (see below for more about her!) and Laurel Lococo (you know me, but if you want a reminder go to my about page), have envisioned guiding you through a day of quieting, sensing, moving, contemplating, and connecting with whatever and whoever you are, in the moment, using the simplest tools. With writing, meditation, movement, narrative and expressive art therapy processes, beauty, and grounding food, we will support you in experiencing a warm bath of nervous system renewal and maybe some new perspectives and neural pathways.

We are both uniquely engaged in our own multi-media explorations as a way of being, playing, discovering and always changing within our lives. We are excited to be creating this space we are dishing up for you, and can’t wait to see what unfolds in this group.

This Daylong Retreat will Include:

creative writing

yoga with breathwork

meditation & guided visualizations

writing prompts designed to deepen access to what you know

identifying familiar stories you tell, and learning to see yourself as the protagonist

stretching your self-concept

using your own creativity to solve your own problem

allowing yourself to externalize what is held back or contained within

using your imagination to shift your perspective

trauma-informed container held with respect and warmth, to support genuine connection within group

time and space for quiet in gorgeous setting in Tahoe National Forest

hearty and delicious organic lunch

healing warm drinks

gluten free treats

Our Gift to You: a lovely bound journal, set of colored journal pens, and 30 days of  specifically curated writing prompts to take with you, to extend your practice of expressive writing for self-discovery.

Fee: $222 per person, group limited to 16. This class will fill. Sign-up by January 10 for early-bird rate: $200

Group will be held in The Big Sky Family Medicine Dome on the outskirts of Truckee, located close to the Tahoe Rim in the Tahoe National Forest in a private retreat setting.

Submit the form below to sign up. You will be then be given venmo link for payment to reserve your space! Thank you!

About Priya:

Priya Hutner is a writer, private chef and owner of The Seasoned Sage catering company. As a freelance writer, she contributes to multiple publications. She is the former food and entertainment editor for The Tahoe Guide. Priya writes passionately about the environment, outdoor recreation, authors, artists, books and new food trends.

Priya facilitates writing, breath and self-discovery workshops. When she’s not writing, reading or cooking, you can find Priya playing in the outdoors or listening to live music. Priya is the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Tahoe Literary Festival.

Priya’s memoir about growing up in a cult-like spiritual community is due to be published next year. She recently completed her first cookbook, a marriage of the culinary arts with a touch of mysticism. During her time living on an ashram with a self-proclaimed charismatic female guru from Brooklyn, she lived a yogic lifestyle, was an ordained swami, sat with the dying, and founded a retreat and yoga center. She weaves this experience into her teachings and workshops.

| Follow her on Instagram @priya_hutner. | theseasonedsage.com

Join us for a luscious day of yin yoga, rest, expressive art therapy practices, and nurturing lunch and snacks.

This day will be anti-venom for the impact of the “crushing it” and “killing it” lifestyle anthem that has become insidious in mainstream culture.

Together we will experience and then explore ways to incorporate more being - as opposed to incessant doing - into our lives.

Allowing ourselves balance and doing less is not always easy. We believe it is the very simple antidote to many personal and social ills.

We will consider and contemplate the following questions:

How can we re architect our lives and our inner worlds to incorporate more pleasure and peace?

Does our pacing, or self awareness have anything to do with it?  

Where exactly is everyone going?

What do you want to accomplish with your living?

We will talk about:

Dopamine vs Seratonin

Being vs Doing

Discuss the difference between happiness and satisfaction

Discover and reimagine our own “have-tos” in life

Identify what we can do less off

Become conscious of our favorite ways to enjoy living, and which ones are the most beneficial to a deep sense of satisfaction in life.

For the active minds that are put at ease by knowing, here is the timing of the day:

9:30 AM: Arrive in silence. Find your place in the Dome. enjoy some tea.

10 AM: Be present and ready to begin.

10:10 AM: introduction, circle opening

10:30 AM-12 PM: yoga practice

12 PM: journal inquiry

12:30: lunch

1:30: expressive arts process

3:15: Yoga Nidra

3:45: Close the circle

4:00: Goodbye

Fee: $222 per person, group limited to 16. This class will fill. Sign-up by January 20 for early-bird rate: $200

Group will be held in The Big Sky Family Medicine Dome on the outskirts of Truckee, located close to the Tahoe Rim in the Tahoe National Forest in a private retreat setting.

Submit the form below to sign up. You will be then be given venmo link for payment to reserve your space! Thank you!

About Shari:

I was introduced to yoga in 1996, took the leap to start teaching in 2003, and have been supporting the bodies, minds and hearts of my beloved Truckee/Tahoe community ever since. I am a meditator, yogi, climber, skier, art dabbler and nature enthusiast. I am a mama, lover, daughter, sister, teacher and friend. My greatest teachers have been my 17 year old daughter and my wonderful pets. I have trained with the best teachers in Ashtanga, Iyengar, Maya, and Anusara Yoga. I assisted the Wanderlust Teacher Training for 6 years. I also completed Jack Kornfield’s and Tara Brach's Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training in 2022.

I teach to the life that is presenting itself. I love asana for everything it does for the body and being, and yet it is not the main focus of what I like to share. I encourage students to nurture the connection to their own heart. People come to my classes, workshops and trainings to learn how to love, be loved, and remember that they are love. I encourage vulnerability, imperfection, getting messy and falling apart. I strive to embrace with my students the tougher emotions such as shame, guilt, anger, grief and doubt. I walk alongside students where we support each other in this school of life, as life continues to experience itself.

I am thrilled to be collaborating with Laurel in offering, Rest in Love, in the beautiful setting of The Big Sky Family Medicine Dome. The art of rest has been a continuous journey for me and I have come to learn it is truly one of the best ways to love oneself.  

Winter Botanical Ice Dyeing Workshop:

A Creative Exploration of Color, Silk & Snow

Join us for a hands-on journey into the vibrant world of natural dyes, where we'll harness the beauty of plants and the magic of winter to create stunning, one-of-a-kind textiles. In this workshop, you'll discover the art of ice dyeing, a playful and innovative technique that uses ice (or snow, in our case) to imprint bold, colorful patterns onto fabric using botanical dyes.

In alignment with the winter season, we'll explore the fascinating process of using cold temperatures to create beautiful, unpredictable designs. Whether you're a beginner or experienced in textile arts, this workshop offers an opportunity to embrace nature's creativity and take home your very own unique wall hanging, crafted during our time together.

Leave with new skills, a deeper connection to the natural world, and a beautiful piece of art that reflects the seasonal beauty of winter. All materials will be provided, and no prior experience is needed—just bring your creativity and love for nature!

This Workshop will include:

guided meditation

connection with and honoring the plants we are incorporating

education about the cultural origins of this dyeing process and the social significance of handmaking

instruction and practice making your own unique botanical snow dyed silk, for a wall hanging or for wearing

the grounding experience of working with your hands and natural materials

delicious lunch

making something beautiful

Fee: $380 per person, group limited to 10. Sign-up by February 1 for early bird rate of $300. This includes all materials for the process, including your personal peice of silk art.

This workshop will be held in The Big Sky Family Medicine Dome on the outskirts of Truckee, located close to the Tahoe Rim in the Tahoe National Forest in a private retreat setting.

Submit the form below to sign up. You will be then be given venmo link for payment to reserve your space! Thank you!

About Frida:

Growing up in 6 different countries, art became my haven and trusted companion amidst change. I am a multimedia artist and designer currently weaving together textiles, painting, murals, mending, and botanical dyeing. 

At the core of my practice, I have the intention to bring nature closer to people and people closer to nature. I imprint the colors and patterns of nature in my work to trace our way back home.

Harness the momentum of the rising energy of the spring equinox with this transformative day. Use your breath as you may never have before, guided by Nayla through a 2 hour Himalayan Kriya Breathwork journey, to accelerate your body’s natural ability and need to detoxify. This ancient practice, which she learned directly in intensive practice under the tutelage of a Himalayan master, has noticeable impact after even just one sitting. Rooted in the Vedantic and Tantra Kriya Yoga traditions, this energizing and integrative experience blends breathwork, kundalini, kriya, asana, mantra, and meditation to activate and awaken your entire being, clearing stuck energy deep within your cells and energetic body.

This specific journey invites you to embrace the natural cycle of death and renewal. Together, we will do the sacred work of allowing what is passing to pass through and on, creating fertile ground within for new seeds to be planted. Through breath, movement, liberated physical expression and stillness, we will honor the body’s innate ability to release. This release is what creates the space within to nourish what is ready to grow.

This Daylong Retreat Includes:

Himalayan Kriya Breathwork Journey

Education about breath and how to begin developing breath as a source of power

Self-Reflection and time to journal, considering what you can allow to pass through you

Expressive Art Therapy Practice designed to connect with what is most alive in your body and heart

Delicious organic lunch and snacks

Nayla and Laurel intend for you to leave Clarified, Tonified, Energized, and Grounded… Ready to step into spring with purpose, open to the unknown field of pure potential.

What seeds will you plant as we welcome this season of thaw and the warmth of transformation?

Fee: $222 per person, group limited to 16. This class will fill. Sign-up by February 15 for early-bird rate: $200

Group will be held in The Big Sky Family Medicine Dome on the outskirts of Truckee, located close to the Tahoe Rim in the Tahoe National Forest in a private retreat setting.

Submit the form below to sign up. You will be then be given venmo link for payment to reserve your space! Thank you!

About Nayla:

“You are the most sophisticated tool you have. The drug is you.”

Nayla Tawa is a certified international breath and mindfulness coach, Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher, motivational speaker and storyteller on a global mission to help others reclaim their inner wisdom and get unstuck so they may be brave enough to live the extraordinary lives they dream of! With over 2500 hours of yoga and breath training,

Nayla lived in India and studied directly under one of the world's youngest Himalayan masters. As a survivor herself of a near death experience that left her broken on the side of the road in a country most people have never even heard of, with no pain meds and no medical care, Nayla had a choice to make: evolve or dissolve.

Her story has inspired thousands worldwide to find their own strength in the face of despair. As a world explorer and wellness industry expert, Nayla teaches on such topics as resilience, PTSD, trauma, breath, and mindfulness. She has been featured in several media outlets including Rolling Stone Magazine, The Huffington Post, Backcountry Magazine, Fox News, and Outside TV. Her name means both “achiever” and “charitable,” She is here to dream big, live big, and give you the tools to inspire you to do the same!

You can find Nayla on social platforms under @naylatawa and @thatbreathchick, as well as her website: www.naylatawa.com 

Spring 2025 schedule

how to speak your truth, take responsibility for your needs & resolve conflict:

The practical process of Non-Violent Communication guides us toward empowerment, harmony and collaboration, in even the crunchiest moments with family, friends, and co-workers.

Please come join me in this 4 week, Instruction and Practice Focused Group.

In this group, I will teach the core principles and 4 parts of Non-Violent Communication, as pioneered by Marshall Rosenberg decades ago, and used internationally in conflict resolution initiatives around the world.

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