more detail is given at the beginning of the week so not to repeat info and make this list unnecessarily long :)
Feb 17th Day 1 – Travel Day
We recommend Air Canada, direct flights. It will land around 1pm in Costa Rica. A shuttle (with healthy drinks and yummy post flight snacks) will be arranged to come pick up those from our group and bring you straight to Casa Galini.
500pm – Arrival/Settle
Enjoy the sunset, ground yourself on the 16 acres of jungle, unpack in your cute room and sip on soothing teas...and more yummy welcome snacks <3
Meet your CAD family, and perform your baseline self-assessed stress test | with Cassandra.
630pm – Welcome Dinner
After a long day of travel you get to sit back and relax while enjoying a nourishing welcome dinner “A La Jackie”, your private high-vibe chef for the week!
This meal will be geared towards replenishing your body with what it needs the most post-travel, boosting your immune system to have you feeling your best during your stay.
8pm – Orientation & Opening Remarks
Details of the house and logistics for the week (Jackie)
Group Pledge (Cass)
Self-Compassion Practice (Cass)
9pm - Solo Time
Enjoy refreshments, sharing stories by the outdoor fire, star gaze and listen to the sounds of the jungle. Nestle in for a restorative sleep. See you first thing tmro with an invigorating jungle hike to a nearby on-property waterfall.
Feb 18th Day 2 – Gut Focused
*Flavoured & Mineralized Waters, Coconut Water, Teas will be available every morning and throughout the day*
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Jungle Bathing with Cassandra
Reset the circadian rhythm by waking with the sunshine, getting up and moving, breathing in fresh mountain air. Hike around the property, connect with the Earth’s magnetism, detox the radiation from flying, begin the process of pushing your reset button <3
730am – Breakfast
A fresh, gluten and dairy free (not egg free) breakfast will be served each morning by our one and only, Jackie! Smoothie lovers, we got you, too!
1000am – Day 1 of 6 CAD Lecture (Neuroscience of trauma)
As a group we’ll gather for Day 1 of Cassandra’s signature gut | brain reset program, CTRL ALT + DELETE. The topic is what’ll set the foundation for our trainings as we’ll refer to certain anatomy and their functions as we teach. It’s also just all-around really fascinating.
1215pm – Mindfulness Eating Practice with Cassandra
We’ll cover the importance and science of how mindful eating practices can, and will be, a massive part of your self-healing journey. This is a foundational practice that we’ll take time to engage with, as this is the beginning of neuroplasticity in action. The habits we’ll be teaching will be tools you can teach, and keep for life.
1230pm – Lunch
Each day you’ll experience freshly made gluten, dairy and refined sugar free meals. The meal plan was co-created by Cassandra and Jackie to provide easy to digest proteins, fibres, vegetables as well as nuts and seeds. Although we’ve taken into consideration many of the pro-inflammatory foods when meal planning, we understand that you might have and intolerance to something on the menu. Pls let us know of any concerns you might have :)
130pm – Free Time
Spend the afternoon integrating your learning and experiencing so far. Explore the many hiking trails on-property, or cute neighbouring town … take a short ride to the beach, surf, chill.
500pm – Sunset Gazing
This sunset alone will be worth the trip to CR. Watch the sunset as you peer over the bay from the top of a mountain.
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
A short lecture with Q + A on the importance of sourcing organic food (when possible) when dealing with chronic digestive upset. We’ll also be discussing the energetic effects and the power of blessing your food.
630pm – Dinner
800pm - Evening Time
For those who are up for a short lecture as we sip on carminative teas, join Cassandra in the common area and learn the science behind why certain herbal teas have a gut-supporting effect.
Or, skip the lecture and hang with others by the bonfire, play cards, read a book or enjoy some light snacks.
Each evening we will be creating space for a group check-in/deliberation on our day’s learning. A self-compassion practice will be offered to those who’d like to join. These are the habits, and micro-lectures that help to build out your self-healing tool belt <3
Feb 19th Day 3 – Nervous System Focused
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Self-Belly Massage Practice, Breath Work & Meditation with Jackie
Often, when we experience chronic and painful GI symptoms, our bellies can become a place where we aren’t always stoked to connect with. In this workshop we will be diving into a self-guided belly massage to support organ function, elimination, as well as accompanied breath work and meditation, focused on cultivating a healthy & positive relationship with your belly :)
730am – Breakfast
1000am – Day 2 of 6 CAD Lecture (Our Brain’s Behaviour)
Developing a deeper understanding of our brain’s different personalities of sorts, we can identify not only the thoughts and emotions that signify whether you’re in a stress-response or not (which is the root cause of chronic GI/mood dysregulation) but also the somatic responses to look out for. This is a powerful lesson as it serves as another foundational piece of learning so to further self-heal.
1230pm – Lunch
130pm – Free Time
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
Our evening’s pre-dinner mini-lecture will be led by Cassandra, on the practice of Box Breathing for Resetting the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). By understanding the physiology behind diaphragmatic breathing, Cassandra’s found her clients to be more likely to use it often.
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Each night is yours to discover with zero pressure to show up for any of the activities. We value you leaning into what feels right for you as we move through each day’s lectures and practices.
Though, if you’re down to hang out, you can sip on gorgeous organic teas, chat with your retreat fam by the fire, snack on high-vibe snacks or read in our cozy reading nook.
Feb 20th Day 4 – Fascial Focused
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Group LifeStretch Practice with Jackie
80% of the info we get to the brain which influences a decision, or response, comes from the body. We are a very cerebral society, often not being taught the somatic ways to move trauma and pain from the body. This morning’s practice will be a self-guided fascial release class accompanied by a mind-blowing lecture on how the fascia is a key piece in healing the body.
730am – Breakfast
1000am – Day 3 of 6 CAD Lecture (Gut Health – A Recipe for Success)
As an integrative coach, Cassandra educates her students on the role that functional gut testing, as well as the latest in neuroscience-based approaches to root cause healing the gut | brain connection. As you’ll notice, the content doesn’t revolve around restrictions or medical diets. We teach you how to learn about, and triage, your unique responses to foods, and how to retrain that experience.
1230pm – Lunch
130pm – Free Time
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
This evening’s workshop will be on the body’s Queen Nerve, the vagus nerve. We’ll learn about its inhibitory nature as a break for our nervous system, why it atrophies (especially after trauma), how to self-identify if it’s responding well or not, as well as what to do about it by practicing vagal toning exercises as a group.
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Feb 21st Day 5 – Genetics Focused
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Group LifeStretch Session with Jackie
730am – Breakfast
1000am – Guest Lecture on Genetics with Dr. Robyn Murphy
Dr. Murphy is one of Cassandra’s favourite teachers, practitioners, and friends. It’s a treat to have her here to share her wisdom on how our environment (inc what that entails) affects our genes and their expression. This is a lecture you won’t want to miss.
1230pm – Lunch
130pm – Free Time
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Did you know that we’ve evolved over millennia to engage regularly with storytelling? Both listening to, and offering our own has been deeply engrained in our DNA. This evening’s workshop will be set around the fire as Cassandra teaches the scientific benefits (and pleasures) behind hearing, and sharing, a heart centred and authentic story (good movie anyone?? See the connection?).
Feb 22nd Day 6 – Gut Focused
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Breakfast
800am – Ventanas Beach & El Pavon Waterfall Tour
Enjoy one of the best local beaches in the Uvita area. It is a small bay, so great for swimming and enjoying the waters. You can also have fun exploring and playing in the caves found on the adjacent cliff. Chairs and umbrellas are available for comfort and shade but plenty of sand space and palm trees if you just want to throw a blanket down. Also, washrooms on-site for a small fee & some local vendor stands.
After a few hours at the beach, we will go and visit a local waterfall, a great way to rinse off the salt from the ocean and enjoy the freshwater pools. We will also enjoy an awesome lunch at a local freshwater Tilapia farm across the road from the waterfall. They call their fish, HAPPY FISH because their pools are fed with fresh mountain water and surrounded by pure rain forest jungle. Veggie/vegan or chicken options available if fish is not your thing. All their produce is grown on the property!
300pm – Returning to Villa
Rest, Relax, Enjoy the Pool, Fill your cup!
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Feb 23rd Day 7 – Nervous System Focused
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Ileocecal valve education and self-massage with Dr. Robyn
730am – Breakfast
1000am – Day 4 of 6 CAD Lecture (Nutrients & Nutraceuticals)
1230pm – Lunch
130pm – Free Time
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
A quick word on bitters & bitters dosage
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Feb 24th Day 8 – Fascial Focused
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – HRV Lecture & Workshop
Neuroplasticity-based meditation
730am – Breakfast
1000am – Day 5 of 6 CAD Lecture (Exercise as Medicine)
1230pm – Mindfulness Eating Practice & Lunch
130pm – Free Time
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Feb 25th Day 9
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Jungle Group Walk
730am – Breakfast
1000am – Day 6 of 6 CAD Lecture (What does the rest have in store?)
1230pm – Lunch
130pm – Free Time
Rest, Integrate, Explore, Surf, Beach Time
Good time to start packing up your stuff to be able to enjoy the evening festivities
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Evening Time
Feb 26th Day 10
600am – Morning beverages available
630am – Intuitive Movement
Tap in and give your body what it needs most on your last full day
730am – Breakfast
800am – Labyrinth Beach Walk
Special activity that Jackie will explain and coordinate if you are interested
1230pm – Lunch
130pm – Free Time
Rest, Integrate, Explore, Surf, Beach Time
Good time to start packing up your stuff to be able to enjoy the evening festivities
500pm – Sunset Gazing
600pm – Pre-Dinner Discussions with Cassandra
Do stress test again (self-assessment), How did they Shift? What did they Learn?
What practices will they continue when they go back home? Reminder that they have access to post course support platform
630pm – Dinner
800pm – Closing The Container & Celebrating (Full Moon)
Closing Remarks from Facilitators
Group Pledge for self
Bon Fire with Music & Dancing
Evening Snack
Feb 27th Day 11
700-1000am – Check Out & Departures
Coconut Water & Fresh Fruit served in the am to have you well hydrated for your travel day
Breakfast To Go for your travel to airport