The Haven, Gabriola Island

03/20/2026

Transforming... What's New & What Remains Unchanged ✨
In last month's newsletter, our ED, Shane Walders, shared our word of the year: transforming. He wrote about how change can disrupt familiarity, while also protecting continuity and preserving core values.

As this transformation unfolds, we want to share some of what's changing and what's staying the same! Here's the first of those updates...

🌟 Welcome Chef Andrew!
The Healing Institute (the property's new owner) has hired Chef Andrew, formerly of the popular local Woodfire restaurant's Fire Truck Grill.

We're grateful to Bruno for renting our kitchen and serving our community these past years!

✨ Ginger Tea & Yeast Dressing are here to stay!
This isn't the first time the Haven has undergone significant change, while retaining our famous dressing!

We also know how important ginger tea on tap is to our participants and guests!

03/17/2026

🌸Visit us on campus in April...
👉 haven.ca/programs

Anger, Boundaries & Safety
April 9-12
with Greg Gurel

Embodied Resilience: A Therapeutic Yoga Retreat
April 9-12
with Kelly Price

Satir: The Journey to Self
April 26-May 1
with Graemme Brown, Louise Amuir, & Emmanuel Gaillot

Have you attended or are curious about Haven Programs? Join us for online Group Check-ins every other Thursday! Click here to explore our Youth & Teens program offerings!

03/16/2026

Embodied Resilience Therapeutic Yoga Retreat with 🧘

"Embodied Resilience was a fantastic course and I enjoyed Kelly Price immensely. Recent trauma took me out of my body. Returning to myself at the Haven was such a gift." - Cathy

Join yoga therapist, Kelly Price, to explore a holistic, trauma-sensitive framework for embodiment, befriending your nervous system, and cultivating physiological and psychological resilience.

👉 Learn more: https://haven.ca/programs-index/13648/embodied-resilience-a-therapeutic-yoga-retreat-4/

03/12/2026

These are the FIVE FREEDOMS according to Virginia Satir, spoken by Louise Amuir, co-leader of Satir: The Journey to Self this April:

1️⃣ to see and hear what is here, instead of what should be, was, or will be.
2️⃣ to say what you feel and think, instead of what you should.
3️⃣ to feel what you feel, instead of what you ought.
4️⃣ to ask for what you want, instead of always waiting for permission.
5️⃣ to take risks in your own behalf, instead of choosing to be only “secure” and not rocking the boat.

Do any of these resonate more for you than others? Share in the comments below!

For Louise, Satir work is about sovereignty and finding oneself. If this appeals to you, we invite you to join her/them alongside Emmanuel Gaillot and Graemme Brown this April 26th to May 1st for Satir: The Journey to Self.

👉 Learn more: https://haven.ca/programs-index/13496/the-journey-to-self-2/

03/11/2026

Meet the Living Alive: Meaningful Connections Team! 👋

Our program teams include a diverse group of highly-skilled interns and assistants alongside Haven Faculty leaders. This allows for a low participant-to-leadership ratio and creates more opportunities for connection and support throughout the program.

One of the Haven interns you'd meet during the upcoming Living Alive immersion May 10th–June 4th is Roberta Walker.

Roberta grew up in North Vancouver with a deep love of the outdoors, movement, and community. As a teenager she discovered skateboarding, which became both a creative outlet and a place where she found connection and belonging. That passion eventually led to snowboarding and a career as a professional snowboarder, followed by work as a business owner, video producer, creative director, and outerwear designer.

For many years Roberta lived a fast-paced life that looked successful from the outside, yet she felt a growing desire to slow down and reconnect with herself. In December 2018, a life-altering accident forced that pause. Roberta sustained multiple traumatic injuries that resulted in a month-long coma, four months in hospital, several major surgeries, and more than two years of recovery and rehabilitation. During this time, Roberta and her husband began participating in Haven programs to support their healing. What began as a step in recovery became a journey of deeper self-understanding and growth.

Today, Roberta continues that journey as part of The Haven’s Training Program, supporting leaders, assistants, and participants as an intern. She brings compassion, lived experience, and a deep appreciation for community to supporting others on their own paths. Roberta will be part of the team supporting participants in the upcoming Living Alive: Meaningful Connections immersion, May 10th–June 4th. If you’re feeling called to deepen your relationship with yourself and others, we invite you to join us!

👉 Learn more: https://haven.ca/programs-index/13485/living-alive-meaningful-connections/

03/05/2026

🌟New Dates & Newly-Added Programs
Dates for Anger, Boundaries & Safety (now April 9-12!) and some Come Alive sessions have shifted! See All: https://haven.ca/in-person-programs/

We've also added...

1️⃣ Conscious Breathwork: A Training for Personal Mastery & Professional Skill Development
July 24-26
with Linda Nicholls

2️⃣ When One Door Closes
October 1-4
with Jo-Ann Kevala & Sonya Dicks

Browse all: https://haven.ca/in-person-programs/

03/02/2026

New Blog: 💞 Why Your Relationships Feel Harder Than They Should — And What You Can Do About It
by Gillian Enright, co-leader of Living Alive: Meaningful Connections

"We don’t talk enough about how confusing relationships can be — not just romantic ones, but every kind of relationship we’re part of.

Even when we care deeply.
Even when we’re doing our best.
Even when we’re competent, capable, and responsible.

Relationships can still feel tangled, reactive, or exhausting.

I know this personally..."

👉 Read:

Written by Gillian EnrightProgram Leader, Living Alive: Meaningful Connections We don’t talk enough about how confusing relationships can be — not just romantic ones, but every kind of relationship we’re part of. Even when we care deeply.Even when we’re doing our best.Even when we’re compe...

02/27/2026

FREE!⚡️ONLINE: Navigating Conflict and Anger in Relationships
📍 March 17, 7:30pm PT
In this free 45-minute online session, Greg Gurel, Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling, will offer insights on how you can learn to navigate conflict and anger in a safe and boundaried way in support of healthy relationships of all kinds.

You can expect to come away with an idea of where to look for sources of anger. Join us!

👉 Register:

The boundaried, safe and responsible expression of anger can help you stand forward on your own behalf and create the life and relationships you want.

02/25/2026

What's Come Alive like? Hear from a participant...
"Come Alive was a magical experience for me. The leaders created a trustworthy and attuned container that allowed me to access some very deep vulnerability. The group dynamic allowed me to learn from everyone else's experiences. I came away with a much clearer sense of my next steps in life, an increased confidence in my ability to engage kindly and actively when conflict arises, a higher level of trust in my own self-understanding and agency, and a higher level of trust in other people's ability to handle their own reality.

During the first day or so, the concepts being taught seemed basically familiar from other books and courses I've taken, and I was starting to wonder if this was too "introductory" a course for me. But then we started getting into more embodied exercises, role play, group work... and I felt like I cracked open. I saw how these modalities can be so much more powerful than individual talk therapy, didactic lectures, or reading a book.

Now, two weeks later, I am still feeling more energized than before, less stuck than before, and am already taking major concrete steps to bring my life more in line with the vision that became so much clearer to me during Come Alive. Thank you to the Haven for this life-giving experience." - Andrew

🌟 Come Alive in 2026!
About: https://haven.ca/come-alive/

April 3-8 with Cathy Wilder and JoAnn Kevala
May 5-10 with Susan Clarke and CrisMarie Campbell
June 21-26 with Jo-Ann Kevala and Jane Olynyk
Aug 16-21 Cathy Wilder and Jo-Ann Kevala
Sep 20-25 with Ian Curtin and Louise Amuir
Oct 11-16 with Susan Clarke and CrisMarie Campbell
Dec 1-6 with Ian Curtin and Cathy Wilder

👉 Register: https://haven.ca/come-alive/