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The Great Sound Escape: A Winter Retreat for Hibernation

Name: The Great Sound Escape: A Winter Retreat for Hibernation
Start: 2026-12-11
End: 2026-12-13
Location: Menla
Rating: 4.8

4.8054 reviews

375 Panterkill Road PO Box 70 Phoenicia, NY 12464 United States

December 11 - 13, 2026

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Lisa

Michele

Lisa Annese

Lisa Annese is an author, motivational speaker, teacher, sound therapist and owner of The Space by Lisa Annese, a spiritual healing and retreat center in Wyckoff, NJ. As a divorced woman, single mother and hearing loss advocate (supporting the needs of her son who has permanent hearing loss), she has chosen to dark into light in her own life, embrace challenges as lessons, and forever change the narrative of her future and that of her family. In her first book, I Am Light, Lisa openly shares stories from her path about finding her own light as an opportunity to educate and help others to do the same for themselves. Learn more about Lisa’s service offerings, retreats, workshops, events and more at lisaannese.com or on Instagram @ lisaannese.

Michele Marason

Michele Marason is a sound healing practitioner, energy worker, and founder of Maratash Vibrations, a holistic wellness practice based in Oradell, New Jersey. Through sound baths, private healing sessions, meditation, and intentional wellness experiences/retreats, Michele creates supportive spaces for relaxation, energetic balance, and self-discovery. Her healing journey began in 2010 when her young daughter was diagnosed with a rare and very serious illness. During that time, Michele was introduced to energy healing and experienced firsthand its profound impact on her daughter and family. What began as a search for support became a transformative spiritual awakening that inspired her path as an energy and sound practitioner. In 2025, while navigating both a breast cancer diagnosis and a corporate restructuring, Michele felt called more deeply toward her soul’s purpose and founded Maratash Vibrations to help others reconnect, or more deeply connect, with themselves through sound, energy, intention, meditation and self-love. Michele’s training includes Jikiden Reiki, The Silva Method, Tibetan Singing Bowls, Crystal Singing Bowls, Tuning Forks, Gong and Sound Meditation Training, Crystal Healing Practices and hospice/end-of-life caregiving. Learn more at Maratash Vibrations or on Instagram at @maratashvibrations.

Details of this retreat

Join Lisa Annese and Michele Marason for a weekend of deep reflection, surrender and a safe sanctuary to hibernate as 2026 comes to completion. Through Tibetan sound healing, mantra, meditation, yoga and sacred ceremony, participants will be guided to honor with gratitude the journey lived thus far and plant blessings of intention as our journey evolves into 2027. Throughout the weekend, Tibetan singing bowls, gongs, tuning forks, mantra practices, and vibrational sound healing will help restore harmony, balance and clear the chakras and energetic blocks allowing our intentions to flow naturally. We will hibernate with deeper intention and self-awareness, remembering who we are and our purpose. Guided by the path of spirit and love, we will plant seeds in your heart to receive abundant blessings for the new year. The retreat will also include Kundalini yoga, meditation, a cacao ceremony, intention setting, affirmations and free time to enjoy the grounds at Menla, creating a sacred space for reflection, release, and deep connection with yourself and the participants sharing this experience.

“Hibernation is not disappearing. It is preparing." - Unknown

Schedule:

Friday, December 11

3 - 6 pm Guest Check In
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9:30 pm Opening Circle and New Moon Sound Bath Meditation with Cacao (Yoga Studio)

Saturday, December 12

7:15 - 7:45 am Early Morning Mantra Practice (Yoga Studio)
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 am - 10:15 am Intention Setting Meditation (Yoga Studio)
10:30 am – 12:30 pm Group Sound Therapy to Balance Chakras & Clear Energetic Connections (Yoga Studio)
12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 - 6 pm Free Time(Private Treatments with Lisa and Michele, Spa Treatments, Garden, Reading, Hiking, Explore Menla)
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9:30 pm Group Discussion & Sound Bath Meditation (Yoga Studio)
7:30 - 9:30 pm Tea Ceremony after Sound Bath Meditation

Sunday, December 13

7 - 11 am Check-out of Rooms
7:15 - 7:45 am Early Morning Mantra Practice (Yoga Studio)
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 – 10:30am Kundalini Yoga, Meditation & Gong Bath (Yoga Studio)
11 am – 12 pm Affirmations & Closing Circle (Yoga Studio)
12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch
12:30 - 2 pm Free Time / Departure

*Please note this schedule is subject to change.

Getting Here

Menla, 375 Panterkill Road PO Box 70 Phoenicia, NY 12464 United States

Accommodation

Deluxe Queen

Deluxe Queen Room with Queen Bed and Private Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning All Rooms in Lhasa are Handicap-Accessible, Including Four Rooms with Wheelchair Accessible Showers. Deluxe Queen Rooms are Available in Lhasa Inn and Kathmandu House * Please note that rates include meals and accommodations

Deluxe Double (Shared Room)

Deluxe Double Room with Two Full Size Beds and Private Bathroom Free Phone and Hi-Speed Wifi Internet Access Available Air Conditioning All Rooms in Lhasa are Handicap-Accessible, Including Four Rooms with Wheelchair Accessible Showers. Deluxe Double Rooms with Private Bathrooms are Located in the Lhasa Inn * Please note rates include meals and accommodations. This booking is for one bed in a double shared room: We May Assign You a Roommate if You Do Not Register with One.

Customer Reviews

4.80 out of 5.0 average rating

Robin • Jul 01, 2026

4.0

Verified

This is a special place

I attended Menla for a Therapist Ketamine retreat. There were approximately 35 attendees and 8-10 faculty. The buildings and the grounds are stunning and do what they set out to do..... force you to relax! The conference center offered so much space and ability for smaller groups to break out. I was fortunate enough to stay in a deluxe room which had stunning and peaceful decor and a very comfortable bed.

The Menla staff was welcoming and helpful.

I was disappointed with the meals. I live in the SF Bay area and am fortunate to have access to very high quality and thoughtful vegetarian food. I found the meals to be Okay but not delicious. I should mention that our group didn't have breakfast. I did appreciate the creative beverage offerings and constant access to fresh fruit - the apples were yummy!

Anonymous • Jul 01, 2026

3.0

Verified

Nice place, kind staff, pricey, food was not good, not enough

The cabin was comfortable, and the shared areas were nice. The food, however, was extremely limited—mostly beans and vegetables, essentially a $2 meal with no meat or chicken. After one hour of being served, most of the food was gone and not replenished, so arriving around 1 p.m. meant finding almost nothing left. Beans can also trigger gas and discomfort, and the Indian dishes were too spicy, causing bloating. For the price of the stay, the meals felt inadequate.

Staff should wait until meetings are finished before moving items or making accommodations. The trail signs were also confusing and unclear; improving them would make a big difference.

Anonymous • Jun 29, 2026

5.0

Verified

Breathing in the Heart of Nature

I've visited the center twice, in June 2025 and June 2026, and both times I found it restful, peaceful, and a place to feel at one with nature, with many opportunities to swim, walk, and hike without leaving the center. It's a great place for meditation, reflection, care, and nourishing food. I had a spa session with Nitty, a Reiki practitioner with over 30 years of experience, and it was better than expected. While there, I saw many animals and birds, and a woman using the Cornell University bird app was able to identify 37 species in one sitting on the patio of the main building. The staff is very friendly, and the spa center with a swimming pool is the most luxuriously built of all the buildings. The biggest luxury I've found in Menla is silence.

Sherri • Jun 24, 2026

5.0

Verified

Wisdom Path with Isa and Bob

What a time to be at Menla! What a time to be blessed to work with Isa and Laura at the Sacred Stream and to partake in the Wisdom Path at Menla this past weekend. It was not hard to feel Bobs immense energy xoxoxox

Thank you for the beautiful room, the delicious food and the friendliest staff! And thank you for welcoming my two small doggies!! Sending you all lots of love and light, Sherri Serino

Annie • Jun 18, 2026

5.0

Verified

Such a beautiful setting

Menla is the best retreat location I have been to. (Others are Garrison Institute, Omega, Art of Living in N.C., and Insight Meditation in Barre, MA) It's beautiful, peaceful, has great walking trails. It's beautiful campus to walk across. The lodging is excellent-- great beds, linens, rooms, artwork on wall. And the food is the best I've had-- all vegetarian but with lots of flavor.

The Great Sound Escape: A Winter Retreat for Hibernation

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Lisa Annese

Michele Marason

Details of this retreat

Getting Here

Accommodation

Deluxe Queen

Deluxe Double (Shared Room)

This is a special place

Nice place, kind staff, pricey, food was not good, not enough

Breathing in the Heart of Nature

Wisdom Path with Isa and Bob

Such a beautiful setting

Deluxe Queen

Deluxe Double (Shared Room)

Have a question for your host?

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