The Sacred Path of Connection & Belonging: A Women’s Springtime Nature Retreat
With Heidi Bourne and Laurie Cousins
March 5 - 9, 2025
The in-person Women’s Springtime Nature Retreat is open to both beginning and seasoned practitioners, to all female-identified persons over the age of 18, including LGBTQIA+.
Gather with a group of women for a restorative, spacious and nourishing retreat as winter turns to spring. Over five days and four nights we’ll connect with ourselves, each other, and the natural world as we renew and reclaim our innate strength to inhabit our lives with creativity, trust, compassion and wisdom.
Drawing on the perspectives of Buddhist practice, everyday mindfulness, and the wisdom of the natural world, our silent retreat includes meditation throughout the day, mindful movement, small group practice discussions, and daily dharma wisdom talks. This spacious silent retreat includes time to take a hike, write, draw or paint, rest, and connect in the gorgeous surroundings of Big Bear Retreat Center. Each day our catered vegetarian meals will be nutritious, varied and carefully designed to support contemplative retreat practice.
We hope you’ll join us!
Registration for this retreat closes on February 19th, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.
What retreat participants have to say about programs at Big Bear Retreat Center
“The natural beauty of Big Bear Retreat Center offers the perfect space to feel interconnected to all life and to open to the beautiful teachings we experienced this week. The cabins, meditation hall, food, and staff all supported our opportunity to become still and stable, to open our hearts to all of life. Thank you for this beautiful experience. I’ll be back.” – Cheryl T
“I treasure the retreats with Heidi Bourne & Laurie Cousins. Their dedication and love for the practices, their clear and warm teaching styles, their knowledge, compassion, and humor deeply enrich my life and keep me coming back year after year.” Melissa R.
“It’s hard to put into words just how precious and sacred it is to spend time with other women in a silent retreat surrounded by nature and supported by Laurie Cousins and Heidi Bourne. They are very skilled teachers with expansive warm hearts. Time in retreat nurtures my whole being and helps me meet my life in all its complexities with steadiness, compassion, and wisdom. Retreats with Laurie and Heidi are one of my favorite times of the year.” Ally Z.
SEE OUR CABINS AND CAMPUS
ACCESSIBILITY
We are committed to accessibility. Big Bear Retreat Center has faith in the power of belonging and generosity. Please review our FAQs for more detailed information on accessibility to our campus and programs.
Location – Big Bear Retreat Center sits at an elevation of 7,000ft in a small mountain community in Big Bear Lake, California which is about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles.
Physical – We recognize disability as a valued aspect of diversity. Please contact us to share your specific needs so we can make your retreat as comfortable as we can.
Financial – We recognize that economic opportunity is not currently equal for all, please contact us if finances are a challenge in any way, as we have several options to make these retreats financially accessible to you.
Teachers & Facilitators
Heidi Bourne is a meditation teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition and is the founder and guiding teacher of Pacific Mindfulness. She has been teaching since 2005 offering classes, series courses, nature retreats, trauma-informed and resiliency-focused professional programs, and teaches regularly for Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Heidi is especially interested in the integration of the common sense, accessible and timeless teachings of awareness, ethics, and compassion into the complexity of our everyday lives. She is known for her grounded, down-to-earth humor and presence. Heidi holds certification in mindfulness facilitation from UCLA, trauma resiliency from the Trauma Resource Institute, and is a…
Learn more about Heidi Bourne
Laurie Cousins is a mindfulness teacher, integrative somatic practitioner, and trauma-informed educator based in Los Angeles. Part of her education and professional training include the mindfulness centers of UCLA and UCSD and she teaches their signature evidence-based programs of Mindful Awareness Practices and Mindful Self-Compassion. Laurie is mentored by Susan Kaiser Greenland and a lead teacher of the International Inner Kids Collaborative. As a certified CRM Teacher of the Trauma Resource Institute and specializing in the field of trauma and addiction recovery for over 15 years, Laurie offers a holistic approach in her teaching and private practice through somatic-centered healing, trauma-sensitive compassion training, and resiliency building. Laurie draws from her passion for the…
Learn more about Laurie Cousins