Singing from the Well:
A Women's Day Retreat

Sunday, October 20th, 2024
10 am - 4 pm
Shadow Lake Centre
Stouffville, Ontario

(45 minutes from Toronto)

*This retreat is now full. To be added to the waiting list, please email Mila at mila@singforjoy.ca.*

Nourish your soul, tend to your body, and uplift your spirit at this day-long wellness retreat for women.

The Singing from the Well retreat is simple - it’s about filling up the well that feeds you through song, nature, community, and connection. We will gather at the Shadow Lake Centre, a short 45-minute drive from Toronto. In between our morning and afternoon song circles, you’ll have time to explore the 300 acres of wilderness trails, enjoy a home-cooked organic lunch, experience the fall colours in their full expression, or simply curl up by the fireplace and rest.

Throughout our day together, we’ll sing simple, soul-nourishing songs learned by ear, in the oral tradition. We’ll play with harmonies, layer songs, and “don’t make me think” songs that get us out of our minds and into our bodies. In the spirit of a small village, we’ll come together on beautiful land to sing, share, play, connect, and rest in the timelessness of the present moment. As always, no singing experience is required.

Since ancient times, women have gathered together to sing songs – to celebrate the cycles of the moon and sun, to mark special moments in life and community, and to share in the daily gifts of tending to land, home, and earth. There is an enduring magic that happens when women sing together – through the weaving of our voices, we remember our power, our rhythm, and our purpose.

The songs we sing will speak to themes of belonging and connection, earth and water, grief and joy, courage and freedom, nature and community, to name a few. They are songs that you can keep tucked away in your back pocket for moments when you need them, and songs that you can weave into the rhythm of your daily life. More than anything, they are songs that were made to nourish and enliven us.

As a wellness practice, community singing is a simple yet powerful way to nourish ourselves, and help to restore our sense of connection, belonging, and wholeness. Group singing is known widely to improve health and wellbeing through the release of endorphins and oxytocin, which thereby reduce stress and increase a sense of joy and connection. Study after study has shown that singing helps with everything from increased lung capacity to reduced heart disease, boosting immunity and even a longer life span.

This retreat is open to all those with lived experience as a woman, including non-binary folks who feel comfortable in a woman-centred space. No singing experience is required, and no one will be asked to sing on their own. Please know that you are welcome however you are – tired and weary, fully ablaze in your brilliance, or anywhere in between.

*This retreat is designed as an adult-only experience, due to the length of the day, and the size of the group. However, pre-crawling babies are welcome.

Schedule of our day

9:30-10 am: Arrival, settle in, walk the land, and drink some tea

10 am - 12 pm: Opening Circle and Singing

12 pm-2 pm: Home-cooked organic lunch, hiking, relaxing, and connecting

2 pm - 4 pm: Singing and Closing Circle

Retreat Host & Facilitator

Mila Redwood is a Community Songleader, Mother, certified Full Voice practitioner, and the Founder of Sing for Joy in Toronto. Like so many others, Mila grew up believing that her voice wasn’t good enough. She carried this belief for most of her life, casting seeds of self-doubt and insecurity. It was through Community Singing that she found the medicine needed to reclaim her voice and vibrancy. Today, Mila uses song as a tool for building community, for restoring our sense of belonging and connection in the world. To read more about Mila, including her personal singing story, Click Here.

Location

We are fortunate to hold this retreat at the inspiring and beautiful Shadow Lake Centre, a short 45 minute drive north of Toronto. The address is: 15041 9th Line, Stouffville, Ontario, L4A 3E4. In between our morning and afternoon song circles, you’ll have time to explore the 300 acres of wilderness trails, snowshoe or cross-country ski on their private lake, or simply curl up by the fireplace and rest.

Cost & Registration

$165 – Includes a home-cooked organic lunch, tea, coffee, afternoon snack, and a “basket” of songs to return home with.

Sliding scale and scholarship spots are available for this retreat. If you would like to learn more about these spots, please contact Mila at mila@singforjoy.ca.

*This retreat is now full. To be added to the waiting list, please email Mila at mila@singforjoy.ca.*

Cancellations & Refund Policy:

A refund will be issued if notice is received by September 28th, minus a $20 admin fee. No refund will be issued for cancellations after September 28th, unless it is due to illness. For cancellations up to October 19th due to illness, we will offer you a full refund minus a $20 admin fee. If the workshop is cancelled by the host, you will receive a full refund.

Colds, Flus, & Covid

In an effort to keep everyone healthy, we ask that you stay home if you are sick, or have tested positive for covid in the five days before, or have had an exposure with someone who has tested positive in the past five days. If this is the case, you will be offered a full refund, minus a $20 admin fee.

The Shadow Lake Centre is equipped with two commercial HEPA air purifiers, and windows that will be cracked open for ventilation.

Masking is optional and welcome. For the purpose of creating a nourishing singing experience, Mila will not be wearing a mask.

As we continue to navigate these post-pandemic times, we warmly encourage everyone to check in with each other before hugging, hand shakes, and even close-talking. We all come with different comfort levels, and we trust that we can navigate this terrain together throughout our day.

Testimonials

“Mila holds some serious song magic, and has a beautiful ability of weaving song, playfulness, and deep meaning into her workshops. These moments of group singing are cherished, and feed my soul in ways that are palpable for days after. Singing in this way has helped me to feel ever-more confident in my own voice and ability to share songs.” – Sammy Tangir
 
“Singing with Mila has changed my life. It has helped me to overcome my fear of singing out loud. Her loving and warm approach is deeply healing for the spirit and I feel so free when I am singing in a circle with her. I always leave her workshops feeling lighter and full of confidence.” – Edane Tobias

“I am so delighted to have discovered Mila's retreats. We sang all day and it wasn't enough. Mila has such a clear, positive and down-to-earth energy. Grounded and uplifting all at once. Her calm presence really rooted the experience. She made it all feel so simple - I'm still marvelling that we learned those beautiful harmonies together in a way that seemed so effortless.” – Kate Keenan

”The Singing from the Well retreat was so uplifting, full of passion and connection. My heart opened and my spirit soared in song. I've found myself humming the various songs we learned together all week. Little musical earworms of hope, joy and caring.” – Amy Gourley

“Thank you a thousand times for creating a space where I felt safe, seen, heard, honoured, respected and valued. I felt that I belonged in the most beautiful way in the circle of women that you invited on this journey. Every song resonated in its own unique way and felt like a balm to a different part of my soul, one I did not even realize needed soothing. Thank you again from a deep place in my heart for the time we spent together.” – Sacha Salenik

“Mila draws you in with authenticity and opens you up with her joy. Then, you remember parts of who you really are, and you come home to yourself. Connection and healing happen in the safe, thoughtful, exuberant song-scape that Mila creates. As she moves our group, I experience myself as an essential part of an essential whole, and I know that singing is everyone’s birthright.” – Sarah Vandenberg

“Mila holds space with warmth, wonder, and wisdom. The songs she offers seem to be carried in her bones, and her leadership approach is embodied, welcoming, and playful – always uplifting the voices in the room, embracing the gifts that each individual brings to the circle. I felt so deeply nourished by my experience in her workshop, being held by and with community, weaving harmonies, playing, laughing, and crying together – it was like protein to my soul!” – Michaela Bekenn

“Singing with Mila changed my life. Learning to sing with her group was a waking-up kind of experience. It felt like breathing. I now know that I’m going to be singing for the rest of my days.” – Parker Glynn-Adey

I respectfully acknowledge that this gathering will take place on the traditional territory of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinaabe First Nations. I also acknowledge the enduring presence of the Chippewas of Georgina Island to the north of Stouffville, and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island to the east of Stouffville. I strive to learn to recognize my part in the ongoing history of colonization, and to understand how our community can work towards reconciliation, repair, and uplifting indigenous values and traditions.