SUBTLE BODY | OPEN MIND
-- Embodiment | Meditation | Spiritual Ecology | Forest Immersion | Lucid Dreaming --
A 5 Night Retreat guided by Joseph Bailey and Kate Gallagher
March 22, 2026 @ 4:00PM - March 27, 2026 @ 11:00AM Limited to 20 Participants
H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest near Blue River, OR $1,600 (payment plans available)
Free Program Q&A Sessions via Zoom: Thur 1/29 and Wed 2/11 5:30-6pm PT.
Email us at [email protected] with questions!
ABOUT THE RETREAT
A five-night meditation retreat in the rich, natural world of the pacific northwest. This retreat draws from forest bathing, postural yoga and other contemplative and somatic methods, but especially centers Buddhist wisdom and calm abiding (shamatha or Śamatha in Sanskrit) meditation practice.
This experience will include a combination of:
- Silence and time to go inwards
- Community and time to share at the beginning and closing of the retreat.
- Guided and unguided meditation, nature immersion sessions
- Daily embodiment practices including yoga, pranayama, hiking in the forest, and somatic inquiry.
- Some teachings on method and philosophy, although this will be a practice-centered retreat
- Personal time and space to walk, hike, journal, rest and refresh
- All bedrooms are private to allow for deeper integration.
- There will be 4-5 bedrooms to an apartment, which share bathrooms and kitchens.
- Two fresh, organic, chef-prepared meals daily.
- Three preparatory zoom sessions before we meet in person (they will be recorded and shared with participants who can't join live).
RETREAT OVERVIEW
Sunday, March 22nd, we'll gather in person at the H.J. Andrew Experimental Forest (about 1 hour East of Eugene) for a community meal and entry into retreat. Four days of quieter practice will follow, attuning to rhythms of the forest environment and our internal systems. Through guided and quiet (unguided) meditation sessions, nature immersion, gentle yoga, pranayama, nourishing meals, sleep and dreams, we'll look behind the curtain of appearances to the open mind that is our resting place. There will be options for self-care and individual practice along the way. The retreat will close with communal time, discussion, reflection and farewells. This program is intensive in nature and is best suited for those who have some some experience with contemplative practices and a longing for quiet time. For participants who may want to read about these themes and practices before, during, or after retreat, we recommend the following books: Dream Yoga by Andrew Holecek, The Wakeful Body by Willa Blythe Baker, and/or Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer. If you choose to bring a book into retreat, we recommend choosing just one that aligns best with your current interests. No books or readings are required for this retreat.
TIMELINE
- February 15, 2026 Registration & Deposit* Due Date [$1,000]
- February 25, 2026 | 5:30PM - 6:30PM PT First Zoom Class**
- March 4, 2026 | 5:30PM - 6:30PM PT Second Zoom Class**
- March 11, 2026 | 5:30PM - 6:30PM PT Third Zoom Class**
- March 15, 2026 Second Payment* Due Date [$600]
- March 22, 2026 | 4:00PM Retreat Begins
- March 27, 2026 | 11:00AM Retreat Ends
*Non-refundable after February 15, 2026
** Will be recorded and made available to those who aren't able to attend live.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
| 4-5am | Meditation (optional | for those who want to try the "wake and back to bed" method of lucid dreaming) |
| 5-8am | Second Sleep (Solitary Dream Practice) |
| 6:30-7:30am | Meditation (optional | for those not wanting to disrupt sleep) |
| 8:30-11:30am | Somatic Practices, Nature Immersion, Meditation |
| 11:30-2:30 | Lunch, Personal Time |
| 2:30-5 | Philosophy, Meditation |
| 5-7pm | Dinner, Rest |
| 7-8pm | Meditation |
REGISTRATION
LOCATION & TRAVEL
H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest:
Participants are responsible for getting themselves to/from the retreat location about one hour East of Eugene, which is approximately a 2-3 hour drive from Corvallis. Visit the location and direction page for more information
If you're traveling via air, Eugene is the closest major airport. The retreat center is about a $130, 1-hour Uber ride from the airport. Participants will have the opportunity to self-organize around carpool options. Corvallis participants will drive through Eugene on their way to the retreat center.
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
Your $1,600 payment includes
Participants will stay in single bedrooms, unless a double bedroom is preferred; all bathrooms and kitchens are shared with 3-4 housemates. You can view sample accommodations here. If you're traveling by car, please bring an extra towel, cozy pillows, blankets for your bed. Basic bedding and towels will be provided.
- Pre-Retreat Zoom Sessions (Feb 25, March 4 & 11 5:30-6:30pm PT - Will be recorded.)
- Guided Retreat
- Single Room Accommodations for 6 Days and 5 Nights
- Two meals daily (lunch @11:30am and dinner @5pm)
PACKING LIST
- Meditation bench or cushion (chairs will be provided)*
- Yoga mat
- Journal and pen
- Hiking shoes; Outerwear
- Clothing layers
- Comfy socks
- Toiletries
- Extra snacks, breakfast items, tea
- Items for a personal and communal altar
- 1-2 personal blankets
- Pillows, bedding, extra towel for your comfort (basic linens will be provided)
- Eye mask, earplugs
- Flashlight or headlamp
- Non-phone timepiece.
*[Some cushions, benches, pillows, blankets, zabutons can be provided as requested].
ABOUT THE TEACHERS
JOSEPH BAILEY...
Joseph Bailey’s wisdom traditions inquiry spans over 50 years. It began in the early 1960’s as a child living in Japan as a secular Christian within a military culture. Retreats in India in the early 80’s deepened his practice. The last 30 years’ primary focus has been in the Buddhist tantric and dozoghcen traditions (Tibetan and Indian). He completed a variety of foundational practices and long individual retreats within the Tibetan Buddhist Nyingma and Dzogchen paths. Somatically his path includes a variety of hatha yoga, pranayama and other Indian and contemporary movement practices. The mid-80s found him teaching hatha yoga in the Iyengar and Ashtanga traditions. He has been a student of a variety of somatic practices and lately with Continuum and Imaginal and Ecstatic Movement. Through the 80s and 90s he was a mountain, river, and wilderness guide. Over the last 5 years he has studied nada yoga (sound practice within the Tibetan and Indian traditions). Currently he is interested in the tantric and dzogchen wisdom traditions, ancient and contemporary somatic and sounding practices, and mythopoetic inquiries that help people thrive in concert with the more-than-human-world.
KATE GALLAGHER...
met contemplative practices through postural yoga as a sophomore in college. It took a few years to develop an interest in the quieter, more still practices of meditation -- and the importance and value of embodiment work remains a vital piece of her practice and teaching. Kate's pursuit of yoga teacher trainings across the U.S. in 2009 unexpectedly landed her in the good care of teachers in the Gelugpa and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. It is in these styles of study and practice, and in the rich lineage of Indian yoga, that she has since found a personal, contemplative home although she maintains a great love for contemplative and mystical perspectives from many traditions.
Kate earned a Master's degree at OSU in Applied Religious Ethics, completed and taught several advanced yoga teacher programs, trained in the secular, research-based curriculum of mindful self-compassion (MSC) and in 2018, had the immense privilege to spend a year in a solitary, largely silent meditation retreat centered on shamatha (calm abiding) and vipassana (inquiry/insight). Kate works as OSU's Contemplative Studies Initiative Director, teaches courses in the School of History, Philosophy, & Religion, and oversees the Marigold Center. Kate's approach to postural yoga is dynamic, intuitive, and biomechanically mindful; her approach to meditation is systematic and welcoming. Practices of lucid dreaming and dream yoga are her long term passion project.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
For ability-related accommodations, please email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 541-737-4785.
Please, take note: This program is not refundable after February 15th, 2026 unless we are able to fill a vacated spot. For those making travel reservations, especially by plane: in the unlikely event we need to cancel the retreat due to low enrollment, we will know and notify you by February 15th, 2026. Participants will be refunded registration fees in the event of a low-enrollment cancellation. Oregon State University is not responsible for lost travel funds.