Featured Event: SHIFT ‘shop
Bow Sanctuary’s yoga hall, sauna, and garden on Jan 6, 2024
SHIFT ‘shop is a new workshop series being offered at the Bow Sanctuary in Bow, WA. Led by Courtney Klop, these seasonal workshops focus on self-care from a perspective of “creating a sustainable and nurturing relationship with yourself amidst life's hustle and bustle.” (Klop) SHIFT is an acronym of five principles that come alive in each workshop:
Self-care
Healing
Integration
Fortitude
Transformation and Thriving
For this feature, I attended the Winter SHIFT ‘shop focused on Rest held on January 6. Upcoming workshops include Spring’s focused on Mindset, Summer’s workshop regarding Movement, and the one in the Fall with the theme of Nourishment.
Bow Sanctuary & Persimmon Bistro
Bow Sanctuary is located in north Skagit County in the valley where the mountains meet farmland and the Salish Sea. It’s an unassuming location filled with many surprises like this Japanese-inspired garden with wellness practitioners offering one-on-one sessions, group classes, and workshops. There is a newly added Bistro with a seasonal menu highlighting locally-sourced ingredients. To call this place a gem is an understatement.
Alongside the various offerings, individuals can walk the gardens in addition to their scheduled service appointments or after finishing a bite to eat. On the second Wednesday of each month, you can join the Garden Club to learn new gardening techniques.
SHIFT' ‘shop
This four hour workshop was intentionally crafted and provided a lot of opportunity for reflection and introspection. We started the afternoon off with a group share on what brought us to the workshop and then shifted into an explanation of why rest is so crucial during Winter. To summarize: Winter can be seen as the bridge between old and new, and this pause can offer us the opportunity to rest, introspect, and integrate. We naturally flowed from this lesson into an exercise where we chose a signal word from a jar and developed an affirmation to carry us through the afternoon, the season, or the year.
The remainder of the afternoon provided us with more experiential opportunities with yin yoga, mindfulness practices, and a chance to use the onsite sauna. Where yin offered us an opportunity for integration, the mindfulness walks and sauna were an exploration into building fortitude (from the five principles).
Although most things are not linear, personally, I can share that each of the practices offered at the workshop gave me a sense of the five principles of SHIFT: (S)elf-care, (H)ealing, (I)ntegration, (F)ortitude, and (T)ransformation. I anticipate that the workshops offered later this year will provide more opportunities for attendees to tap into their understanding of self-care and find new practices to take home. You can register for the workshop by looking for Bow Sanctuary on Mindbody.
Bow Sanctuary is located where the Chuckanut Mountains meet the bountiful Skagit Valley. Our beautiful Japanese inspired Pacific Northwest gardens is an offering to locals and visitors alike to enjoy many modalities both in a group and one-on-one. Yoga and body movement, yoga therapy, massage, meditation, somatic experiencing, and more. Website & Instagram
Courtney Klop (she/they) is a passionate and dedicated professional specializing in integration, self-care, stress management, and spiritual awakenings. As a queer woman, Courtney brings a unique perspective to their work, fostering an inclusive and affirming environment for all individuals. With over a decade of experience as a lifestyle coach + personal trainer since 2012, Courtney has cultivated a diverse skill set and an immense background. Website & Instagram