5 Day Deep Rest Retreat on the Big Island

Vanessa weaves unique offerings that combine asana, yoga Nidra, meditation and soul work in a group container. She loves relaxing and adventure, and knows them to be two sides of the same coin. Her retreats exist to provide insight, rest and rejuvenation. Being in contact with the land and honoring the rhythms of the body are foundational to her approach. Healthy food and time to explore as well as be in solitude provide a balanced environment, where participants can let go and find their flow. Journaling is used in group work to explore the depths of each individual. We share when we are ready and together, we reflect. Within the constellation of each particular group, a memorable energy is formed. Vanessa is an RYT 500 Hatha Yoga instructor who has been a certified teacher since 2014. She has extensive practice in Yin, Vinyasa and Iyengar yogas, and more than 1000 hours teaching experience. In 2021 she completed a Trauma Informed teacher training. She has sat too many Vipassanas. She has spent much time in solitude in nature, and traveling. She is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York, through TaalTales. Writing has been a vehicle of hers since childhood, and crucial to her trials of self-growth. It is an honor to combine all of my offerings into retreats that are here to serve the soul of the individual, its connection to the group, the earth, and the world.

Aloha pumehana kāua! My fondest and warmest greeting of aloha flows between us. My name is Kumu Hālani Berard-Boshard. I am a native daughter of Hawaiʻi with ancestral roots in Kalaoa, Kona and Kohala on Hawaiʻi island, and Wailuku, and Hāna on the island of Maui. Hualālai is my mountain. Ke kai malino a māʻokiʻoki is my ocean. As an educator for over 30 years, my passion and purpose has been to help revitalize the Hawaiian language and contribute towards the uplift of my people by cultivating a deep sense of pride in my students’ ‘ōiwi (native) identity through the power of word sounds. Our chants, songs, and stories are repositories of ancestral knowledge embedded with pearls of timeless wisdom to enlighten, instruct, and guide us on our life’s journey. When we chant and sing, the energetic vibration and frequency in our vocal chords reverberate inside of us, resonating in the wai (water) within our bodies. The energy and vibration created within then extends out to all of nature, and to the universe, which connects us to the One Source of all that is: Ke Akua Mana Loa. Wahi a kūpuna (according to our ancestors), “ ‘O ke Aloha ke Akua.” (God is Love) and our hā (breath) connects us to the very vibration, frequency and spirit of Aloha which is unconditional love, compassion, and kindness towards ourselves and all beings. Reconnecting with this deep knowing, that we are born of Spirit, sparks a remembrance of our divine essence as beacons of Light. It will be my great honor and privilege to be your guide through an immersive experience into the soundscapes of my beloved homeland. May you experience deeply nurturing, healing frequencies as we harmonize with Haumea, mother earth, and Wākea, sky father, here in Hā - Wai - ‘Ī. And may your spirit be refreshed and revived by “sacred sound healing” with me at Kapoho in Puna, Hawaiʻi.