Collective Pause Retreat: The Pause Between

WELCOME TO THE TRAUMA & EMBODIMENT ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIOTEAO is a start-up non-profit organization that will provide high-quality, embodied, trauma-informed and culturally-competent services for youth and adults/families in Ontario. Our focus is on prevention and recovery, providing advocacy for vulnerable and marginalized community members, and challenging the root causes of oppression within the healthcare system. We hope to weave a web of interconnected and trauma-informed mental health services across Ontario, so that no one who needs support slips through the cracksWe all have “unconsciously rooted” stories. These stories are connected to our bodies and lived out in the unspoken language between each other's bodies. For example, our uncomfortable or ‘’over” comfortable feelings, guilt, shame, anger, fear - these may be projected into our diverse community spaces if left unconscious. Once conscious, we can bring these feelings to visibility by being authentic in the shared experience.OUR MOTTO: "Transforming Mental Health Care in Canada, One Community at a Time"

TEAO Canada

Healing in community, returning through the body.

Port Dover

<h4>Collective Pause Retreat: The Pause Between. Healing in community, returning through the body.</h4>This is a 3-day retreat with the option to book for all 3 days or just the day retreat, for women.Our Collective Pause Retreats are designed to:<ul><li>Create a healing sanctuary for bodies to rest, reconnect, and reclaim space through somatic and community-based practices.</li><li>Interrupt cycles of burnout and trauma, offering intentional pause and nervous system repair in a world that often demands overperformance from marginalized communities.</li><li>Honour Indigenous teachings that remind us of the interconnectedness of land, body, and spirit, and invite participants to engage with practices of reciprocity, respect, and cultural humility.</li><li>Foster embodied leadership rooted in softness, self-trust, and community accountability rather than urgency and individualism.</li><li>Integrate grief, joy, and resistance through movement, breathwork, collective processing, and cultural rituals that honour the fullness of our experiences.</li><li>Provide trauma-informed space where participants can safely explore their own healing, unlearn harmful internalized narratives, and build capacity for sustainable advocacy and care.</li><li>Model liberation in practice, reminding us that rest, joy, and collective care are not luxuries, but necessary acts of resistance and survival. Accessibility and Inclusion: We recognize that systemic barriers often limit access to healing spaces. To support equity and inclusivity, Indigenous participants and those from marginalized communities are welcome to reach out if cost is a barrier, as price offsets are available. Transportation can also be arranged for attendees in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge who are concerned about the distance. Email: info@teaocanada.com</li></ul>

Friday

Gentle welcomes, tea & grounding snacks. Participants settle into their rooms and explore the space.

Arrival & Check-In

Guided somatic meditation, land acknowledgment, and intention setting.

Opening Circle: Arriving in Body & Spirit

Restorative vibrations to soothe the nervous system and prepare for sleep.

Sound Bath & Gentle Release

Saturday

Slow, intentional breath and body-based practice.

Morning Movement & Breathwork

Breakfast + Morning Reflections

Exploring how trauma lives in the body and how to reclaim space, voice, and power.

Workshop: Embodied Boundaries & Safety

Break & Gentle Integration

Art as a tool for ritual, memory, and embodied storytelling.
(All materials provided)

Healing Through Art: Creative Grief & Expression

Lunch & Outdoor Pause

Guided communal processing with ritual, drumming, and deep listening.

Collective Grief Circle

Rest & Integration Time

Movement as resistance, rhythm, and cultural remembrance.

Afro-Diasporic Movement Session: Joy in Motion

Dinner + Open Conversation

Ancestral honoring, storytelling, spoken word, and reflective silence under the stars.

Evening Fire Circle: Stories, Songs & Silence

Sunday

Nature Walk & Sensory Meditation

Breakfast

Mapping your healing. How do we carry softness, power, and pause back into daily life?

Closing Workshop: Integration & Intentions

 Final Reflection Circle + Shared Affirmations

Parting gifts, resource packages, hugs, and collective gratitude.

 Lunch + Goodbye Ritual

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