The Soul Expansion Retreat

Weekend Spiritual Retreat

Connect To The Wisdom Of Your Soul

When:

Novemeber 22nd-24th, 2024

WHERE:

A beautiful, luxurious, riverfront mansion in Lewiston, New York – see pictures below! (Address provided on registration)

ABOUT:

Join meditation teacher & psychospiritual coach, Shawna Thibodeau and medium and spiritual teacher, Laurie Oakes for a transformative women’s weekend retreat that nourishes mind, body & soul.

This retreat is for any woman needing time to heal, rejuvenate and learn skills & practices that can help navigate life’s challenges and stressors with greater ease and to connect inwards to hear the wisdom and guidance of your soul.

Throughout the retreat you’ll be learning and exploring the most effective skills & practices Shawna has found that help facilitate healing, growth and the development of greater self-love, inner peace, joy and empowerment within, as well as teachings and group mediumship from Laurie Oakes on soul growth, tuning in to one’s truths and hearing the wisdom of your soul.

Modalities included on the Soul Expansion Retreat...

The Soul Expansion Retreat includes a powerful combination of modalities that can provide deep release, healing, clarity, insight and shifts within. These include meditation, breathwork, intuition development exercises, group mediumship sessions, inner child work, manifestation work and gentle yoga.

Meditation

Guided meditation sessions to explore the nature of mind, reduce stress and connect inwards.

Breathwork

Breathwork is a practice of consciously working with your breathing pattern, lying down, to music. The rhythmic breathing in breathwork helps put the mind into different meditative states. Putting our mind into meditative states allows us to experience our thoughts, emotions, and situations in life in a different way compared to the analytical/thinking mind. It’s also a space for going inwards and connecting with your inner truths and your heart’s needs & desires.

Meditation & Breathwork can help with...

Insights and understanding of different situations in your life
Healing of the mind and body
Deep sense of peace and bliss
New creative ideas
Deep connection towards oneself
Ideas of life direction/next steps

Release of emotions that might be limiting you and keeping you stuck
Calming of the nervous system
Greater awareness of patterns of the mind
Boosting of mood
Boosting of self-esteem, confidence & feelings of empowerment

Intuition Development Exercises

Practices and group exercises to practice developing the skill of hearing and strengthening your own intuition, your own inner wisdom and your own messages of guidance. The practices of meditation and breathwork throughout the week will also help to strengthen and connect to this inner voice.

Group mediumship sessions

Laurie Oakes is a gifted medium who channels messages from the Divine that assist you on your life path. During a group channeling session, Laurie works around the room and channels a message for each person. Often these messages provide guidance, clarity and direction on different areas in your life and guidance is often provided on ways to work through and approach different challenges. You can also ask Laurie for guidance on a certain area of life.

Inner Child Work & Manifestation (i.e. Co-Creation) Work

Stepping into our highest path also involves healing things from the past that may still be affecting our lives (our thought patterns, belief systems, mood & emotions, behaviours and levels of stress). Through inner child work activities we work to heal the past so that we can move forward in a more confident and peaceful way. After we strengthen our connection to our inner voice and inner guidance system, we then also work to align our energy in the direction of our truths and desires, helping them become a reality within our lives.

Gentle Yoga

Gentle yoga & movement will be included in the week to help strengthen our relationship to our bodies and the messages our bodies hold.

Details

Arrive anytime after 4pm on Friday November 21st (to relax and enjoy the home), and depart at noon on Sunday November 24th.

Programming starts at 6:45PM Friday.

*Note – Dinner will not be served Friday night – welcome to bring a dinner (and put in fridge) or go out in Lewiston prior to retreat. Evening circle snack provided Friday night.

**A retreat that includes skills, practices & concepts that can continue to heal, empower & benefit you for the rest of your life**

A take-home PDF booklet of the skills & practices covered is provided to help equip you with review & resources for continued use at home.

WHAT TO EXPECT

About the Venue:

The Setting

A luxurious colonial-style mansion located in Lewiston, New York. A riverfront property, immersed among the trees, this is your luxury escape into relaxation, healing & rejuvenation.

Guided Meditation Sessions (taught by both Shawna & Laurie)
2 Guided Breathwork Sessions
2 Yoga Practices (no experience needed, beginners welcome)
Workshop/Group Teaching: What is the Soul? - Why we experience life as a physical body + The path of the soul and the path of healing, evolving and raising consciousness
Strengthening Our Intuition Group Exercise
Group coaching circles throughout the week to reflect & to connect
Trauma, Soul Growth & Healing the Inner Child Workshop - Saturday morning - **a favourite of past retreat guests!**
Group Mediumship Session with Laurie
Working With Challenging Emotions + EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) Workshop (Saturday)
Empowerment Workshop: Using Law-of-Attraction & Manifestation to Step Into a Life of Greater Empowerment (Sunday)
Sacred Letting Go Ceremony - Sunday morning Daily Group Coaching Circles for inner reflection, journaling, connection & healing
Friday Evening Snacks Saturday Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (cooked by our private in-house chef) Sunday Breakfast (cooked by our private in-house chef)

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm thinking about coming alone...is this ok?

Absolutely! YES YES YES! Going to a retreat alone can be extremely powerful and transformative. Common feedback we also receive is the welcoming, safe and connected vibe we create and the relationships you create on retreats sometimes turn in to lifelong friends. Around 50% of Shawna’s past retreat attendees have come on their own and this % increases with international retreats.

I'm not too experienced in meditation, breathwork, yoga or mediumship...is this ok?

Another big YES! We welcome women of all levels and complete beginners too! Retreats are a great place to learn or to solidify established practices and routines.

Is there a what-to-bring list?

Yes, a retreat information email with all this information will be sent out closer to the retreat date.

What if I have dietary restrictions?

The villa is able to accommodate for dietary restrictions. Send an email to befree@shawnathibodeau.com if you have any dietary restrictions to ensure that week’s menu will accommodate you.

Meet your facilitators

Laurie Oakes

Her journey to find answers about spirituality and life outside of the physical body began at a young age. She found herself questioning her soul’s purpose, following her intuition, and receiving messages and “inner knowings” as young as she can remember.

Today, she shares her wisdom through various platforms, including workshops, retreats, and online courses. Her teachings empower individuals to awaken their spiritual potential, find inner peace, and live authentically.

Laurie gently guides her clients into letting go of the trauma and that which no longer serves them and empowers them with channelled guidance on their journey of personal growth and spiritual exploration.

She believes in the inherent divinity within each person and strives to help others discover their own inner truth and connection to their Creator.

Shawna Thibodeau

I’m a Registered Nurse specializing in mental health and crisis treatment but my true passion lies outside the hospital and involves coaching others to feel and live as their best selves.

Through my private practice, Be Free, I offer coaching programs, classes, workshops and retreats to help individuals develop wisdom and skills that can provide greater peace, balance and happiness.

I thrive on using a unique approach, combining knowledge in mental health with EFT tapping, meditation, energy healing and spirituality.

What Clients are Saying

"Laurie is the real deal. She has helped me so much that I have happily referred her to several friends. I have attended several of her retreats and well as had personal sessions with her. Both have changed my life. The insights I have gathered about myself, the openness of Laurie to assist, and her genuinely open and loving attitude has all been awesome. I fully recommend Laurie's retreats and services to anyone wanting to learn about themselves. Laurie is like a life partner and she is invaluable to my life journey. Thank you Laurie."

"My experience this past weekend at the Journey to Self day workshop was incredible! Shawna and Laurie fostered a safe and inviting space to share, learn and grow. The course offered many different aspects of self that anyone could implement with the end goal being peace, healing and happiness. The strategies and tools provided throughout the day are an invaluable resource that I will be using daily to improve my focus and life goals. I am inspired by both these professional women; I have been taking Shawna's Breath Work class for close to a year now and love it. I also joined the Five Weeks of Manifestation course - quite eye-opening! Laurie and I have an upcoming 1:1 meeting too. I feel blessed to have found these amazing women - funny how life send us opportunities when we are looking! Thank you ladies"

"I've done a private reading, as well as attended a couple classes at Calming Tree, and have always had a wonderful time, so I finally decided to sign up for a retreat. I attended a half day retreat hosted by Laurie, and Amy of Calming Tree Yoga, and my only regret was not signing up for a full day! I experienced a level of relaxation, and love, that I haven’t felt in a long time, and it’s been such a beautiful springboard to my week, and the refresh I have absolutely needed! I cannot wait to attend more retreats and events in the future. If you are local to Niagara, please, please, PLEASE check out Laurie and Amy, and their offerings, you will not be disappointed!"

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