ONTARIO Oct 18-22 near Brantford (accessible from Hamilton and Toronto Airports)
Did you know that Grof Legacy Training Canada retreats are open as space permits to those not enrolled in GLTC training programs? We have been busy creating retreat opportunities for trainees from all parts of Canada who are studying Stan Grof’s ‘Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys’ the 2 volume ‘The Way of the Psychonaut’ (WOTP). Online livestream courses combine chapters from the WOTP with videos of Stan explaining key concepts. This provides a solid theoretical foundation at the outset of the program.
Directly experiencing non ordinary states of consciousness and learning to support others in holotropic states is equally important for training psychedelic psychotherapists as well as breathwork facilitators. The Grof® Breathwork protocol provides access to holotropic states without the use of substances which are pending legalization. Grof® Breathwork designed to be comparable to the use of psychedelic and sacred plant medicines.
Grof® Breathwork is recommended for those interested in exploring the use of psychedelic medicines for personal or professional use under the safest set and setting with highly trained facilitators. It is particularly useful for those without a lot of experience with psychedelics to learn how to navigate these states without being potentially overwelmed. These retreats are open to those who have participated in other psychedelic trainings.
Way of the Psychonaut Grof® Breathwork Retreats
Wed Oct 18 – Sun Oct 22
Five Oaks Centre, ONTARIO
$1300 including meals, shared accommodation and retreat fees
The ONTARIO retreat will be held at the Five Oaks Retreat Centre near Paris ON (about an hour from Toronto Pearson Airport). The cost is $1300 including shared accommodation, meals and retreat fees. Grof certified trainers are professionals with decades of experience with breathwork and other entheogens. Participants will experience two sessions as an experiencer and two sessions sitting for another person’s experience. As a not-for-profit society, Grof® Legacy Training Canada is committed to affordable training.
RETREAT OBJECTIVES
- Through use of Grof® Breathwork, experience and integrate non-ordinary experiences to build a more solid foundation for your personal growth and development and a foundation for practice
- Develop a sophisticated understanding of the unfolding of the psyche towards wholeness
- Come to trust your “inner healer” to guide you and those you assist to extraordinary experiences
- Come away with key principles for safely navigating these new realms
Textbook: The Way of the Psychonaut: Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys by Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD, Volume 1, Chapter 6 holotropic breathwork is recommended but not required reading or participants. This text provides the foundation for the retreats didactic and experiential knowledge base.
SCHEDULE
| Wednesday Arrival after lunch | 1 pm Check in – Registration 2-4:30 Welcome and Opening Circle 5:30 Dinner 7:00 Introduction and preparation for Grof Breathwork |
| Thursday | 7:30-8:30am – Breakfast 10:00am – First breathwork session starts (breather and sitter pairs alternate) Mandala drawing available 1:00 – Break/ Lunch 2 – 5:00 pm Second Breathwork session 6:00pm – Dinner 7:00 Integration Circle |
| Friday | 7:30-8:30am – Breakfast 9:00am – Grof Breathwork protocol and principles Break/ Lunch 2 – 5:00 pm Third Breathwork session 6:00pm – Dinner 7:00pm – Evening integration and Q&A |
| Saturday | 7:30-8:30am – Breakfast 9:00am –Grof Expanded Cartography of the Psyche Break/ Lunch 2 – 5:00 pm Forth Breathwork session 6:00pm – Dinner 7:00pm – Evening integration and Q&A |
| Sunday | 7:30-8:30am – Breakfast 9:00am – Integration principles and practices 11:00 – Closing circle and farewell |
About the Trainers
Carolyn J Green, BHSc (PT), PhD started her own adventures in self-discovery using breathwork with Dr Ingrid Pacey in 1993 then completed the Grof Transpersonal Training program in 1999 with Stan Grof. She has facilitated over a thousand non-ordinary sessions using holotropic breathwork in workshops and individual sessions in Canada. A number of Canadian facilitators have apprenticed with her. Her clinical background is in physiotherapy. She is also a researcher in drug policy and safety who has degrees from McMaster (PT), University of British Columbia (Public Health), University of Victoria (Health Informatics) and the University of Alberta (Knowledge Translation). She has worked in China, Africa, the Caribbean and Nepal. She is a founding member of the Grof Holotropic Canada and Grof Legacy Training Canada. text.
Alain Menier was certified as a holotropic breathwork facilitator in 2011 and has since organized over 80 group workshops and worked with over a thousand participants. He has given conferences about the relationship between the perinatal experience and the psyche, as well as other aspects of Stan Grof’s work. “Stan Grof’s cartography of the psyche is not only an immense contribution to psychology and psychiatry, but a brilliant and revolutionary epistemological stance. He reports, “It has been lifechanging for me, in the most positive way imaginable.” Alain was the coordinator for Montreal for various studies sponsored by MAPS between 2017 and 2022. Since 2021, he has contributed with Therapsil for their therapists training and has acted as a consultant for Numinus. Enthusiastic pianist, singer and songwriter, Alain has a lifelong passion for music and has refined the art of curating playlists for various holotropic states of consciousness.
