Pause in the Pasture

You already know you need to slow down. The hard part is actually doing it.

For the second time, Pause in the Pasture is back — a full-day immersive retreat held on a living, breathing farm, where the land itself does part of the work. No agenda to power through. No performance. No way to do this wrong. Just a day to set it all down and let your nervous system remember what rest actually feels like.

This retreat falls on World Mental Health Day — October 10 — and that's no coincidence.

World Mental Health Day is observed every October 10th as a global reminder to prioritize our inner lives. This year, we're marking it the way we believe mental health should be honored: not with a lecture or a checklist, but with a full day of embodied, restorative experiences. Research has shown that spending time in nature reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression and lowers cortisol levels — and interacting with farm animals has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, promoting a sense of calm, grounding, and belonging. Add humming and toning (which activates the vagus nerve and shifts the nervous system toward rest), gentle movement, meditation, and breathwork, and you have something the world needs more of: a real prescription for renewal.

Held at Heirloom East Bay, this experience is a gentle self-exploration journey rooted in presence, compassion, and belonging. Guided by the grounding spirit of the land, the natural rhythms of the season, and farm-to-table nourishment, the day unfolds through a carefully curated arc of restorative experiences — all designed to help you pause, listen inward, and reconnect with your own wisdom.

Here's what the day holds:

Welcome Gathering & Tea — Arrive to warm tea and a grazing table, ease in at your own pace, and meet the people you'll be spending the day with.

Guided Reflection & Intention Setting — A nurturing blend of meditation, journaling, and creative inspiration to help you arrive fully and set the tone for your afternoon.

Gentle Movement for Every Body — A grounding, accessible movement experience with yin-inspired flow and somatic breathwork. All bodies, abilities, and experience levels welcome — supportive options throughout.

Vocal Toning Circle — Guided by the founder of Tone Circle™, this immersive group experience uses breathwork and freeform vocal toning to shift your energy, open your heart, and drop you into a state of deep presence. No singing experience needed. Just your voice, exactly as it is.

Farm Wandering & Reflective Time — Unstructured time to explore the farm, connect with animals, journal, reflect, or simply be.

Yoga Nidra Meditation — A guided journey into the space between waking and sleep, where the body gently releases what the mind cannot. One of the most deeply restorative practices available to us — no experience required.

Crystal Alchemy Sound Bath — Lie back and let sound do the healing. Crystal singing bowls and layered harmonics wash over you while gentle vocal toning weaves through.

Farm-to-Table Dinner & Closing Reflection — We come back together over a nourishing meal to integrate the day — and leave you with something to carry home.

And yes — there are goats.

Good to know:

This retreat is inclusive of all bodies, identities, beliefs, backgrounds, and levels of experience. Whether you are new to these practices or returning to them, you will be met with care, choice, and support throughout the day. Come as you are.

What to bring: yoga mat · personal notebook · water bottle · pillow or blanket for the sound bath

What's provided: food and refreshments for the full day · yoga blocks · dedicated quiet spaces · the chance to feed the people-loving goats and sheep up close

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MEET YOUR GUIDES

Briana | Founder, Tone Circle™ — Vocal Toning Meditation

Briana's mission is to reconnect human voices with human hearts, offering all people more access to deep listening and authentic expression of their innate inner wisdom. A classically trained opera singer, it was vocal toning that healed her relationship with her voice after burnout and personal loss led her to go silent. She now leads transformational vocal workshops and sound experiences that guide others to release fear, self-judgment, and the limiting beliefs keeping them from stepping into the full power of their voice. As founder of Tone Circle™, Briana is committed to making vocal empowerment accessible to all — creating welcoming, meditative spaces where people return to their voices for greater calm, clarity, and collective harmony.

Erin | Founder, The SoundBird Sanctuary — Sound Practitioner & Yoga Nidra Instructor

Erin is a certified Sound Practitioner, Yoga Nidra and Trauma-Informed Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). Her work centers on accessibility, safety, and deep listening, creating spaces where people feel supported exactly as they are. She weaves sound, somatic breathwork, Yoga Nidra, and intentional movement to support regulation, resilience, and self-awareness. Grounded and intuitive, Erin's approach honors the nervous system and the body's innate wisdom — inviting participants to connect with their own capacity for healing and restoration.

Meri | Founder, Grounded Sound Healing — Sound Practitioner & Tone Circle Facilitator

Meri is a sound practitioner and lifelong listener whose work comes from lived experience. Years of navigating chronic autoimmune illness, emotional trauma, and burnout — and two decades holding space for others in hospitals, mental health programs, and social services — taught her what it means to feel disconnected from your own body. Sound helped her come back. Now she guides others through that same doorway — into stillness, recalibration, and reconnection — using breathwork, vocal toning, and crystal alchemy bowls to create experiences that are gentle, grounded, and deeply restorative.