Join specialist somatic psychotherapist Carissa Rodgers for an intimate and trauma-informed 5 day, 4 night signature retreat experience in Maleny Qld to heal and hone your ancient heart wisdom.
“Carissa has a gift for attuning to people’s nervous systems, meeting them exactly where they are, and holding space in the most genuine way.”
— Trina, A.
HOLY: (adjective)
venerated as or as if sacred
The HELD Retreat is a somatic descent and initiation into the ancient ways of the sacred heart.
Together we’ll relinquish any predetermined plans for healing and, instead, explore and embrace the profound experience of simply being held.
This is a place to softly land in your body, soul, and life. We will remember how to pray, heal, be still, and use nature as our guide and ally.
Experience a 5 days & 4 nights supported holy heart immersion where you’ll nurture your body and relax in the renaissance of the senses.
Led by experienced somatic psychotherapist, Carissa Rodgers, we’ll practise awakening the heart and attending to our sacred grief work in a safe, soulful and deeply supported way.
This is a space where both your wild and quiet heart is welcome.
Where you can feel completely HELD
There’s a lot of talk about coming back to the body but very little is said about the spiritual powers of
a Woman’s Heart.
We mostly only come to our hearts through heartbreak or love. Emotional information is encoded in the heart and over time, our unexpressed hurts and grief can lock the heart into patterns of defensiveness and disconnection.
The heart processes slowly, deeply, and resonantly yet we rarely give time to metabolise its hurts. What if I told you we had a power awaiting to guide us in our every day?
But what does returning to the sacred mean for us as Women at this point in time on the planet? Coming back into deep remembrance of the ways we are held by the unseen realms and even more in these times of upheaval, crisis and chaos, we learn to come back into right relationship with all things – our own hearts, each other, and our connection to what is sacred.
Together, we will slow down into the sacred mystery of the body, nourish the nervous system, settle the mind, and soothe the heart so that we may harness its power.
This retreat experience is for the woman seeking:
When a woman’s nervous system is well tended her heart naturally opens. And it’s in our hearts that we find true strength in our sensitivity and remember that Love is available.
Are you ready to be HELD?
Only 8 spots available
“All of you is holy.
You’re already more and less
Than whatever you can know
Breathe out, touch in, let go.”
– JOHN WELWOOD
At The HELD Retreat, you will…
Be profoundly and simply held – by life, the land, the sky, the waters, each other, and the circle itself.
Invite the sacred companions of the unseen worlds to hold our hearts as we heal and grieve any losses – both ablaze and lying dormant – in our hearts.
Learn how to hold ourselves, but also surrender to being held and become in service of the great mystery.
Find your way back into the vast tapestry of Life, and here, centre your heart again so that you can come back into right relation to all things.
Discover your deep heart and how it connects you to the cosmos.
The retreats Carissa leads are extraordinary
“So much thought and care goes into every detail. Set in a world class setting, the blend of group and personal work creates a holistic experience that not only leaves you rested and rejuvenated but also brings about deep emotional shifts. I’m grateful to myself for having said yes, and I admire anyone who chooses to walk their healing journey with Carissa.”
— Hayley, L.
Over the 5 days & 4 nights, we will return to the Sacred as we:
Explore the heart as the portal to the sacred along with the layers of the heart, both personal and collective.
The heart is a bridge to our healing
Our hearts hold significance both in science and symbolism. As a sophisticated and integral part of our anatomy, it is also part of our inner GPS, guiding us with wisdom and ancient knowing. The heart is like a bridge between our body, mind, and soul. It’s where love, courage, and connection start.
A happy, healthy heart isn’t just about feeling good physically; it’s the key to recognising our own innate wisdom, forming deep connections, and living a life full of purpose and truth.
The world needs your heart now more than ever.
Yet we don’t find time to tend to our hearts anymore
So we must CREATE the time.
During this 5 day experience, we’ll be retreating away from the everyday to step out of the familiar ticking of ‘chronos’ or manmade time and into ‘kairos’ or soul time.
While chronos time governs our daily lives with its appointments and schedules, kairos time offers a different experience altogether—a sacred moment where the laws of ordinary time dissolve, and we find ourselves connected to the universe in its entirety.
Often experienced in moments of profound bliss or deep reflection, kairos time invites us to transcend the constraints of the clock and access our own timeless wisdom.
Through practices like sacred gatherings, ceremonies, silence, and immersion in nature, we can invite the essence of kairos into our lives, understanding more deeply the importance of healing, restoration, replenishment and spiritual connection and transcending the boundaries of past, present, and future.
As we learn to dwell in kairos time more regularly, we discover a profound appreciation for life’s unfolding journey and the limitless potential inherent in every moment.
“Carissa creates a very intentional, supportive, and incredibly nurturing environment”
I was able to show up in a way I hadn’t before—raw, vulnerable, and open. It was a journey of shedding old survival mechanisms and creating space for new growth. It wasn’t just a retreat to relax and unwind (although we certainly did that) it was a space carefully designed by Carissa for the real and meaningful work to occur for each of us as individuals.
– Sarah, B.
Over the 5 days & 4 nights, we will return to the Sacred as we:
Compassionate presence practices
Learn to be fully present and supportive emotionally, spiritually and socially for yourself, and for those who are hurting – whether we have the answers or not.
Self-inquiry and heart exploration
We’ll examine compressed grief and learn how to track emotions and sensations in your body, leaning into your feelings rather than avoiding them.
Cultivating body presence
Learn how to let difficult emotions move through and release from the body through movement, breath, sound and somatic practices.
Safety for vulnerability and authenticity
Come together with a group of like-hearted women and be deeply witnessed and safely held in your own authentic self-expression.
Mini workshop on the science of the heart
Intellectually understand the physiological heart-brain connection and how to listen to the voice of your heart, tuning into your heart’s deepest desires.
Exploring holy ground of grief
Using Francis Weller’s 5 gates of grief, we’ll identify losses at each of the gates so you can learn to move through grief and begin your heart’s healing journey.
Spirituality and heart awakening
Explore the spiritual dimensions of heart awakening and come to understand the heart as a gateway to your infinite self.
Dream Circles
Each morning will be an opportunity for us to come together, share our dreams and explore their meaning and deeper insights.
Nature Immersion
Through being at one with the land and remembering our deep bonds with the natural world we’ll develop our Eco centric nature.
“When we are held, we can let go.”
– Berns Galloway.
The heart is the doorway into the universe and a portal to our infinite spiritual self.
It reveals to us layers of our own personal patterns – but also reveals layers of consciousness in the universe. When we know where to look, we get to know ourselves more deeply beyond the defended self, the patterns and the stories.
Are you ready to awaken and explore the infinite world within your own heart, your own experience and human nature?
Let’s come together in a sacred women’s circle and ceremony, to connect, listen, and share our inner wisdom.
As we learn to dwell in kairos time more regularly, we discover a profound appreciation for life’s unfolding journey and the limitless potential inherent in every moment.
Only 8 spots available
Throughout the 5 days & 4 nights we will:
Connect with our heart, body and mind through embodied meditative enquiry.
Soften your body and move with the group in a joyful celebration of dance.
Embrace therapeutic touch practices to correct and balance your energy field.
Develop your inner knowing so you can connect with your deepest wisdom through guided expert reflective practices.
Unplug the stress response and reset your body’s settling response through restorative practices and deep body rest.
Access our somatic (body) intelligence so we can come back to the body and senses using somatic psychotherapy practices.
We will also be exploring The 6 Gates of Grief
We tend to associate the word “grief” with the pain of losing loved ones. But grief is not always about death or even great trauma. It is all around us, touching all aspects of our lives. It is by definition, deep sorrow that is felt by the soul. It is a natural and necessary part of the human experience.
Tending to grief (whether we recognise it as ours or not) is a significant and often surprising piece of our heart-healing work, not to be overlooked or underestimated. Stepping tenderly through the 6 gates is essential to becoming healed and whole.
Renowned psychotherapist, writer, and soul activist Francis Weller said, “Trauma always carries grief, though not every grief carries trauma,” and that is what we will discover as we move through the 6 gates.
GATE 1:
Everything we love we will lose.
At this gate, we find a sense of stability in an impermanent world
Gate 2:
The parts of us that haven’t known love. At this gate we reveal the parts of us we hide away and find self-compassion
GATE 3:
The sorrows of the world. Grief over destruction of the planet and injustice. At this gate we remember and explore our wild entanglement with the world
Gate 4:
What we expected and did not receive. Loss of village and connection. At this gate we look at what might be lacking as we stay in our adult presence.
Gate 5:
Ancestral Grief from the trials and tribulations of our lineages. At this gate we grow a relationship with silence and solitude
GATE 6:
The harms we’ve caused, both
personal and collective. At this gate we begin to develop right relationship with sorrow
On top of that, we will also be…
HOLD RITUALS
Coming together in ritual– inviting the oldest knowing to come forward.
INVITE BEAUTY
Inviting beauty in, so the soul can heal. Beauty in the space, beauty in the heart.
PRACTICE KINDSIGHT
Developing deep insight and kindness, not just for others but also for ourselves…
And at the end of the day, you will leave feeling:
~ connected, open and expansive, free, full of wonder and gratitude ~
You’ll have expert guidance:
Carissa Rodgers
Heart Guide for this program, Carissa will facilitate Eco-psychotherapy sessions and gentle Touchwork sessions throughout the 5 days as well as an evening heart medicine circle and morning dream circles.
Jamie Lee
As an experienced, highly sought after and deeply intuitive Bodywork Practitioner, Jamie’s sessions offer a potent and visceral sense of being held by another. We are honoured to have her offering bodywork sessions as a complement to the program.
Daniel Rodgers
Fire Keeper and cook, Daniel will provide nourishing meals and a warm fire. He’ll also carry our gear, provide first aid and take care of any other practical needs. He will not be near or involved in Sacred Womens processes.
Our true guide is always our heart.
And the land and the skies and the water.
HELD Retreat Details:
When: Thursday 2pm 8th May to Monday the 12th May at 2 pm
Time: The retreat will start from 2pm on day 1 and close approximately 2pm on day 5
Where: Mali Retreat Centre, Maleny
Facilitator: Carissa Rodgers and special guests
Cost: Glamping Cabin (5 spaces) – $2997 or 2 x monthly payments of $1600 or 4 payments of $850. Early bird payment of $2497 if paid in full by January 15th. BYO Camping for (3 spaces) – $2497 or 2 x monthly payments of $1350 or 4 payments of $625. Early bird payment of $1997 if pay in full by January 15th.
What to wear: Your comfort is the most important thing. As a guide, soft, comfy, layers that are easy to move in are a good option but you can dress in whatever feels good for you.
What to bring: Your journal, a pen and a water bottle.
There is a maximum of 8 women for the HELD 5 Day, 4 Night Retreat and preparations are required so please book your spot as soon as possible.
“Carissa has helped me to heal in ways I didn’t think were possible for me.”
While I initially had some anxiety about being away from my kids and stepping into a group of women I didn’t know, that quickly melted away. Carissa’s comforting presence and the safe space she creates allowed me to open up and express myself. There’s never any pressure, you’re supported to share and heal at your own pace. After the retreat, I felt lighter than I had in years—so blissed out and bubbly, a side of me that my partner was beyond happy to see again.
Kylie, W.
Your HELD Retreat experience includes:
5 days & 4 nights in beautiful, comfortable glamping accommodation (or BYO camping) at the Mali Retreat Centre on the Sunshine Coast in Maleny, Queensland
Enjoy having a luxe glamping tent all to yourself with comfortable beds and beautiful linens (5 available) or be closer to the land and bring your own tent (3 available).
Your experience does not include:
Join Us — Glamping Tents
5 luxurious single glamping tents available
PAY IN FULL SAVE $500
(until January 15th)
EARLY BIRD
$2497
(Before Jan 15th)
REGULAR
$2997
(After Jan 15th)
PAYMENT PLAN
$1600
(2 x payments)
EXTENDED PLAN
$850
(4 x payments)
Join Us — BYO Camping
3 spots available
PAY IN FULL SAVE $500
(until January 15th)
EARLY BIRD
$1997
(Before Jan 15th)
REGULAR
$2497
(After Jan 15th)
PAYMENT PLAN
$1350
(2 x payments)
EXTENDED PLAN
$625
(4 x payments)
Meet Your Retreat Host
I’m Carissa Rodgers, Certified Somatic Psychotherapist, Trauma Therapist and Psychedelic Assisted Therapist, and part of my mission is to create healing communities.
After spending five days many years ago in a silent retreat focused on awakening the heart, and almost 20 years of dedicated clinical and spiritual practice and inner work, I want to share with you what I have come to learn about the Heart.
We often associate grief with the death or loss of a person, but we’ve neglected to see how grief is woven right throughout our lives. Any change (even the ones we want) represent a loss.
Some losses are harder than others, but we neglect to acknowledge the loss of everyday things. Loss of jobs, friendships, relationships, pets, homeland, finances, health, life transitions – kids growing up, loss of youth and the list goes on.
This grief lives on in the cells of our body, hidden so well in the busyness of our day to day lives that we often don’t realise it’s there and individual therapy could never replace our deeper longing for connection with one another.
So in order to heal, we need to come back together.
That’s why I’m so passionate about creating safe healing spaces for women to share experiences, stories, thoughts, ideas and prayers. In tapping into the rich, collective generational wisdom, the circle itself becomes our greatest teacher and healer.
As a qualified trauma therapist and co-founder of Wide Bay Counselling & Psychotherapy, I have over a decade of experience supporting women who have experienced trauma, chronic stress, great loss and abuse. As well as mindfulness, ritual, ceremony, movement, dance and therapeutic touch practices, my work is deeply grounded in the science of Attachment Theory, Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt Psychotherapy and Relational Psychotherapy.
“We are always, already being held, by something infinite and vast.
We cannot do anything to “get to” this but only open and surrender into it. It is not inside us, but we are inside it. It is pure, autonomous intelligence.”
– Matt Licatta
If you’re still unsure if this is the retreat for you, keep reading…
The HELD 5 Day, 4 Night Retreat is for women only.
This is a safe, sacred space for women of all ages and backgrounds. A space where ALL of you are welcome. The circle is a universal symbol with extensive meaning. It represents the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, all cyclic movement. A sacred circle forms when women who desire deeper connections come together to share from their heart, support one another and honour the sacred.
Some previous self-development work is assumed.
This is for ANY woman who is ready to embark on a path of healing but will be particularly useful for those who have already travelled at least some of the way on a healing journey, either through personal work or with a therapist. Ideally, you’ll be familiar with my work and/or have attended one of my circles, workshops or self-compassion retreats, as this is an extension of that work. Whether we’ve worked together or not, you will never be asked to do anything unexpected. You won’t be pushed to do something you don’t want to, nor made to feel that ‘you’re resisting/ blocked’ if you choose to sit something out. If you’re still not sure and would like to chat through whether this is a good fit for you or not, you can book a 15 minute discovery call with me here.
This is a trauma-informed space.
Meaning it is a space responsible for the wellbeing of those attending by understanding the sensitive nature of trauma and traumatic responses – and the practices are carried out with these guidelines in mind. I am a certified Somatic Psychotherapist, Trauma Counsellor and Self-Compassion Coach with over a decade of experience working with women suffering from the effects of trauma, loss, grief and deep stress. This is my soul work.
You do not need to have experienced past trauma, grief or stress to benefit immensely.
Though many of the women attending have lived through significant past trauma, stress, loss or grief (acknowledged and sequestered) it is not a prerequisite for those wanting to learn sacred grief practices for themselves and others, and to deepen their connections.
This retreat will change you in ways you didn’t expect.
There’s a certain magic that’s created when like-hearted souls come together to share, heal and grow – but please know the work we are doing here is deeply grounded in the science of Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt Psychotherapy and Compassionate-Focused Therapy. We will also use a beautiful combination of somatic therapies, ritual, ceremony, movement, dance, and gentle therapeutic touch practices to support your heart healing.
And if you’re nervous to take a whole 5 days away for yourself…
It’s normal to feel apprehensive about leaving your responsibilities behind but you’ll find that not only will all of that immediately fall away once you step into the warm, safe space of the sacred circle but you’ll come home with far more patience, kindness and gratitude for yourself and your loved ones than ever before.
“Working with Carissa has changed my life.”
The work we’ve done together over the years in private sessions, group work and on retreat has improved not only my health but how I feel about myself. I trust Carissa and her work deeply, and whatever she offers, I’m in. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
– Anonymous
Ready to feel HELD?
“Sometimes. Hold your heart.
And just breathe.”
– Jaiya John