Returning Home to Ourselves: Yoga, Mindfulness and Community  

Summer Solstice Retreat to Whidbey Island with Erin Joosse 

The Whidbey Institute, Clinton, WA

June 19th-21st, 2026 

   Retreat Registration Opening Soon!

“This is one way of speaking about mindfulness or being present: coming home to ourselves. When we bring our mind back to our body we come home. We could consider this state our true home.” 

Kaira Jewel Lingo, We Were Made for these Times 

Mindfulness is a practice that brings us into greater intimacy with ourselves and with the world around us. Time in nature reminds us of our intimate connection with all of life. In this summer solstice weekend retreat at the serene and beautiful Whidbey Institute, we will honor our connection with the cycles of nature and explore yoga and mindfulness practices that bring us home to ourselves wherever we are.  

Your Weekend: 

Contemplative retreat practice offers us the opportunity to pause the doings of daily life, and the chance to tune more fully into our bodies, minds, and hearts.  

Through a balance of scheduled and unscheduled time, guided yoga and meditation practices, and time for rest, we will offer ourselves the gift of slowing down. Your retreat begins Friday at 4pm and completes Sunday by early to mid-afternoon.  

There will be some periods of silence (mornings until lunch on Saturday and Sunday) to deepen your retreat experience. 

Mindful Yoga Practice: You will enjoy both active and restoring yoga classes in support of cultivating grounding and embodying wisdom. All classes will be at a basic and accessible level.

Mindfulness Meditation: You will be guided through a variety of mindfulness practices, including sitting, moving, and walking meditation. An optional morning and evening meditation will be offered, as well as meditation in our yoga classes.

Silence: We will begin each morning with silence until lunchtime but have time in the afternoons and evenings to explore deepening our awareness of ourselves within community.

Unplug: I will ask that you leave laptops and tablets at home, and turn off your phone for the weekend. The opportunity to unplug for a full weekend is a rare treat, creating a fuller experience of spaciousness and inner quiet.

The Whidbey Institute:

They partner with a network of program leaders working in the areas of generative leadership, ecosystem vitality, community resilience, and more to offer one-day and multi-day workshops, conferences, and retreats. Our 106-acre conservation forest campus on South Whidbey Island is open to the public and features integrated gardens and a four-mile trail network.

The Whidbey Institute acknowledges this land, its history, and the people—past, present, and future—for whom this land is an ancestral home. The Whidbey Institute is located on the territory of the Lower Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish, and Snohomish tribes—the island Tscha-kole-chy, named Whidbey Island by colonial settlers.

Learn more about The Whidbey Institute here.

A Gift for Self:

• Be guided through both restoring and enlivening gentle yoga classes, mindfulness meditation, and optional journaling prompts.
• Nourish yourself through community. 
• Feel expanded by resting in the natural beauty of our exquisite Pacific Northwest Forests on the magical Whidbey Island. 
• Take time for silence and contemplation. 
• Enjoy both being in community and time for solitude.  

All levels of practitioners of yoga and meditation welcome. 

Your retreat includes:

• 2 nights’ stay in thoughtful accommodations 
• Use of The Whidbey Institute’s facilities & grounds 
• All meals dinner Friday through lunch on Sunday
• All yoga and meditation sessions

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Erin Joosse has been a student of yoga since the early 90’s, and has taught yoga and mindfulness for more than two decades. She founded Source Yoga in 2005.  

She got her first interest in meditation from her mother Cynthia, who was a joyful, loving, and deeply spiritual woman who explored meditation and other forms of spiritual practice for many years. Erin stumbled upon her first yoga class as a college student in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and from that first class, knew she had found her way into a lifelong adventure of inner exploration.  

Erin is grateful to be the steward of Source Yoga and to have been journeying with this community for so many years. She feels honored that so many people feel at home in the Source studio, and considers her path of business ownership and leadership of the Source community to be one of the most important, challenging, and rewarding experiences of her life.  

She is a yoga instructor certified at the 500 Hour Level, and a Certified teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute. She has a BA in Dance from the University of New Mexico, with an emphasis in Modern Dance, Choreography, and Flamenco. She has been exploring the joy of movement her whole life. She is excited to be returning to school to pursue a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy in the fall of 2025 from PLU. 

She teaches yoga, meditation, MBSR, is passionate about leading retreat practice, and guides the direction of Source Yoga. 

Retreat Opening Soon! 

There are several lovely options for accommodation at The Whidbey Institute. You can choose a single or shared room in a cozy Farmhouse, with shared bathrooms and common spaces. Or enjoy staying in a sweet Scandinavian-style cabin with either a shared bathroom attached or bathrooms a short walk away. Please register for the accommodation that suits your needs, rooms and cabins first come, first served.  

Single rooms and cabins are limited, so consider sharing a room with a friend.  

Please email Erin at [email protected] to indicate roommate preference if registering for a shared room. If you don’t have a roommate you are registering with, I will pair you with another participant looking to share a room. 

Cabins: 

Single Cabin (twin bed) with attached shared bathroom: $900 *6 available 

Shared Cabin (2 twin beds) with attached shared bathroom: $810 *4 beds available (2 cabins) 

Shared Cabin (2 twin beds) with a short walk to bathroom: $770 *6 beds available (3 cabins) 

Farmhouse (all rooms have shared bathrooms): 

Single Room with Queen bed: $870 *1 available 

Single, small room with twin bed: $810 *3 available 

Shared room with 2 twin beds: $760 *6 available (3 rooms) 

To Register: Either pay in full for the option listed above, or set up a payment plan ($300 saves your spot)***If paying the deposit, immediately email [email protected] to communicate which rooming option you are hoping for. Rooms and cabins are available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Final Payment Due:  June 5th, 2025

Cancellation Policy:  

• Full refund available (minus $50) prior to May 22nd 2026 

• Refunds to studio account credit only (minus $100) May 22nd – June 5th  

• No refunds after June 5th unless room is able to be filled