The Turning Point
The Turning Point
366 King Street, Dawson City, YT, Canada
Up to 12 in group
Dec 15 - 23, 2026
Retreat Highlights
- 8-day transformational intensive ending on the winter solstice
- Live gut-health seminar with UK gastroenterologist Dr. Alan Desmond
- Comprehensive health assessment: bloodwork, ECG, gut health, HRV monitoring
- Integral facilitation with coaches from the UK and Italy (65+ years combined)
- Plant-based, anti-inflammatory cuisine throughout
- Solo vigil and deep inquiry in the Yukon wilderness
- Daily thermal spa access, plus massage, float therapy and a facial
- Northern lights viewing under the darkest skies of the year
- Maximum 12 participants — intimate and intentional
- Personalized 30-day protocol and follow-up to carry the work home
About this Retreat
Dr Mike Ellis is a nurse practitioner with a doctor of health degree, a registered massage therapist (RMT), and has advanced training in medical aesthetics.
He brings 20+ years of clinical experience, including orthopaedic assessment, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and functional medicine. Clinical lead at Yukon Spaces.
Russ Watts knows what it means to be truly out there — and to bring people home changed.
With more than three decades of experience leading individuals and groups through wild and challenging terrain, Russ has worked alongside people in conditions that strip away pretense and reveal what's real. From remote wilderness expeditions to high-altitude environments, he's learned that the natural world is one of the most honest teachers available to us — if we slow down enough to listen.
That insight became the foundation of his work as a professional coach and leadership facilitator. Now holding a PCC credential from the International Coaching Federation, Russ works with executives, emerging leaders, and teams across the globe — through Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and his own independent practice. He brings the same qualities to a boardroom conversation that he once brought to a mountain crossing: deep presence, genuine curiosity, and an unshakeable belief in what people are capable of.
Russ is also a paraglider, climber, and committed student of the places that humble us. He splits his time between the Italian Alps and Tuscany — and counts himself lucky every day for it.
The Yukon in December? He wouldn't miss it.
UK-based Certified Integral Facilitator, artist, and business advisor with over 35 years of experience in organizational and leadership settings.
Stuart's work integrates developmental psychology, systems thinking, and embodied practice. He is especially focused on the poetics of leadership — the role of creativity, art, and story in enabling meaningful change. His facilitation style combines movement, art-based processes, and reflective dialogue to help participants experience insight rather than only analyze it.
Beyond facilitation, Stuart maintains an active practice as a contemporary artist, exhibiting landscape-inspired paintings and conceptual maps. This artistic dimension informs his leadership work.
Details of this retreat
What if transformation requires moving through darkness, not around it?
The Turning Point is an 8-day intensive retreat in Dawson City, Yukon (64°N) that ends on December 21st — the winter solstice.
We live at 64 degrees north. In December, it is dark 20 hours a day, -25 to -35 Celsius. Instead of apologizing for that, we lean into it. Seeds germinate in the dark. We sleep and repair in the dark. Darkness is not empty — it is generative.
This is not a wellness escape. It is threshold work: clinical precision, integral facilitation, and the kind of reckoning that only happens when you stop running.
This retreat requires genuine self-work. We need to ensure you're ready and clear about why you're coming.
It is for people at genuine thresholds — career pivots, health reckonings, relationship transitions — who want both evidence and meaning. We combine clinical functional medicine with integral coaching from facilitators based in Italy and the UK. You will work in -25°C to -35°C conditions. You will spend time in solo vigil. You will be asked questions you've been avoiding.
At minimum, you leave understanding what questions you actually want to ask yourself. You'll have clinical tools — gut health protocols, inflammation markers, data about your body. You can choose to go deeper with those questions if you wish. But you'll know what they are.
The Five Questions
What's holding me back?
What's next for me?
How does the world see me versus how I see myself?
How do I navigate a complex world when I'm bombarded with easy answers — social media shorts, quick fixes, surface-level solutions?
What do I already know that I've been pretending not to?
The Turning Point is an 8-day intensive retreat in Dawson City, Yukon (64°N) that ends on December 21st — the winter solstice.
We live at 64 degrees north. In December, it is dark 20 hours a day, -25 to -35 Celsius. Instead of apologizing for that, we lean into it. Seeds germinate in the dark. We sleep and repair in the dark. Darkness is not empty — it is generative.
This is not a wellness escape. It is threshold work: clinical precision, integral facilitation, and the kind of reckoning that only happens when you stop running.
This retreat requires genuine self-work. We need to ensure you're ready and clear about why you're coming.
It is for people at genuine thresholds — career pivots, health reckonings, relationship transitions — who want both evidence and meaning. We combine clinical functional medicine with integral coaching from facilitators based in Italy and the UK. You will work in -25°C to -35°C conditions. You will spend time in solo vigil. You will be asked questions you've been avoiding.
At minimum, you leave understanding what questions you actually want to ask yourself. You'll have clinical tools — gut health protocols, inflammation markers, data about your body. You can choose to go deeper with those questions if you wish. But you'll know what they are.
The Five Questions
What's holding me back?
What's next for me?
How does the world see me versus how I see myself?
How do I navigate a complex world when I'm bombarded with easy answers — social media shorts, quick fixes, surface-level solutions?
What do I already know that I've been pretending not to?
Schedule
(EXAMPLE)Morning practice — guided movement or breathwork in the cold morning air
Breakfast together
Morning session — facilitated group inquiry into identity, purpose, or what you're carrying
Lunch
Afternoon — extended solo time at the Yukon River, paired walks through town, or 1:1 coaching
Optional drop-in gathering — a gentle re-grouping, no agenda
Dinner together
Evening storytelling circle — unhurried, whole-group sharing as the dark settles
Thermal spa each evening — hot tub and sauna, with treatments scheduled through the week
Breakfast together
Morning session — facilitated group inquiry into identity, purpose, or what you're carrying
Lunch
Afternoon — extended solo time at the Yukon River, paired walks through town, or 1:1 coaching
Optional drop-in gathering — a gentle re-grouping, no agenda
Dinner together
Evening storytelling circle — unhurried, whole-group sharing as the dark settles
Thermal spa each evening — hot tub and sauna, with treatments scheduled through the week
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Yukon Spa and Wellness Centre, 366 King Street, Dawson City, YT, Canada
Directions
Whitehorse Airport pick up included, retreat starts/ends in Whitehorse but mainly facilitated in Dawson City
Accommodation
Guests stay in two locations across the retreat. On the first and final nights, accommodation is provided in Whitehorse, convenient for arrival and departure flights. For the six nights in Dawson City, guests stay in comfortable lodging within the town itself — Dawson becomes the campus, and accommodation is part of experiencing the place. Rooms are warm, private, and restful, designed as a quiet retreat from the intensity of the daily program. The spa and thermal facilities are central to each evening: a hot tub and sauna available throughout, plus restorative treatments during the week.
Program Price
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Yukon Spa, Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, Y0B 1G0
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
All meals are plant-based and built around gut health — anti-inflammatory, microbiome-supporting, whole foods prepared by our culinary director. Shared, unhurried, and central to the experience.
What's Included
- 8 nights accommodation (Whitehorse on arrival and departure, plus six nights in Dawson City)
- All meals — plant-based, anti-inflammatory cuisine prepared by our culinary director
- Comprehensive health assessment: full bloodwork, ECG, gut health assessment, HRV monitoring
- Clinical oversight throughout the program from our Clinical Director
- Live Zoom seminar and Q&A with UK gastroenterologist Dr. Alan Desmond
- Integral facilitation with two coaches (UK and Italy) across all sessions
- Daily thermal spa access (hot tub, sauna)
- One massage, one float therapy session, and one facial during the retreat
- Guided northern lights viewing
- Solo vigil and facilitated group inquiry sessions
- Both of Dr. Desmond's books on gut health
- Personalized 30-day protocol and follow-up consultation
- Ground transportation: Whitehorse to Dawson City return
What's Not Included
- Airfare to and from Whitehorse (guests book their own flights, arriving December 15 and departing December 23)
- Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
- Personal expenses and incidentals
- Additional spa treatments beyond those included
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic beverages
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