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4-Day Shibari Retreat (SOLD OUT – Waitlist is open)
August 30 - September 2
4-Day Shibari Retreat (SOLD OUT – Waitlist is open)
Friday, August 30 – Monday, September 2
REGISTER
Learn, experience, play, and connect through the medium of Japanese inspired rope bondage. This weekend retreat, designed for all levels of experience, explores intimacy, connectivity, and creativity within the realm of Shibari, movement practice, and alternative community building.
Recharge in the sauna, swim in the pond, enjoy nature walks and take in the sun, while our chef prepares a delicious selection of healthy meals to complement your rejuvenating experience at Peace Temple.
Retreat program
Spend the Labor Day Weekend in nature and among old and new friends learning and exploring the intricacies of Japanese inspired rope bondage. The retreat will start with an opening circle to share and set intentions for the weekend, and to learn more about each participant and what draws them to this art form.
Saturday morning will start with a gentle Yoga practice, followed by a hearty and healthy breakfast to fuel up for a day of rope. The day will start with two class options— an absolute beginner rope class, for those with no existing knowledge of this practice, and an intermediate level class for those with an existing practice. This beginner class will cover history and culture of traditional Shibari and Western Bondage, in-depth safety, consent, and risk considerations, and several basic frictions and how to use them for your intentions within your own personal practice. After a break for lunch, there will be another mixed level class, as well as an opportunity to gather in the sauna, followed by dinner, to gently transition into the more social environment of the evening. There will be a fire circle and quiet open rope space for anyone who would like to continue to tie into the evening.
Sunday morning will begin with a meditation and sound healing, followed by breakfast. After breakfast, there will again be an option for two different rope classes of differing levels and subjects. Afterwards we gather for lunch, followed by an open rope space, with an optional guided group improvisation activity. Sunday evening will feature two performances, and time to connect with other attendees before settling in to rest for the evening.
Monday will start with a gentle movement practice, followed by a nutritious breakfast. Our last class block of the weekend will feature an all level class, followed by time to pack up belongings and reset the space. We’ll close our weekend with a group lunch, and a time to come together one last time and share thoughts and experiences and inspirations from throughout the weekend.
All levels of experience with rope bondage and Shibari are welcomed at this retreat. All classes and open spaces are optional, and we encourage everyone to participate in as much group activity as feels comfortable. For those with experience with suspension, there will be several available outdoor hardpoints for use throughout the weekend.
Exact schedule and class descriptions will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tentative Retreat schedule
Friday
- 3:00pm – 7:00pm – Landing/Arrival
- 7:00 pm – Dinner
- 9:00 pm – Opening Fire circle / introductions / Weekend Guideleines
- 11:00 pm – Rest
Saturday
- 9:00 – 10:15 am – Yoga
- 10:30 – 11:30 am – Breakfast
- 11:30 am – 1:30 pm – Class session 1
- 1:30 – 3:00 pm – Open Rope Space / personal time
- 3:00 – 4:00 pm – Lunch
- 4:00 – 6:00 pm – Class session 2
- 7:30 – 8:30 pm – Dinner
- 9:00 – 10:30- pm – Evening fire circle / suspension demo
- 11:30 pm – Rest / Quiet Rope Open Space
Sunday
- 9:00 – 10:15 am – Yoga
- 10:30 – 11:30 am – Breakfast
- 11:30 am – 1:30 pm – Class session 3
- 1:30 – 3:00 pm – Open Rope Space / personal time
- 3:00 – 4:00 pm – Lunch
- 4:00 – 6:00 pm – Class session 4
- 6:00 – 7:00 pm – Sauna
- 7:30 – 8:30 pm – Dinner
- 9:00 – 10:30- pm – Evening fire circle / suspension demo
- 11:30 pm – Rest / Quiet Rope Open Space
Monday
- 9:00 – 10:15 am – Meditation and Sound Healing
- 10:30 – 11:30 am – Breakfast
- 11:30 am – 1:00 pm – Personal time / Guided Group Rope Activity
- 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Class session 5
- 3:00 – 4:00 pm – Lunch / Closing circle and sharing
- 4:00 pm – Departure
Facilitators
Complete facilitators list TBA
Sydona – a Brooklyn-based rope artist, movement practitioner, and photographer who uses her training and performance experience in classical dance to inspire her ventures into experimental and experiential art of all forms. She was first introduced to the New York kink scene in 2018, and has been deepening her practice as a rope performer, educator, and facilitator ever since. In that time she has performed at events by House of Yes, House of X, House of Gemini and Scorpio, Seeking Haven, Hit Me Up!, Le Wand, Nuit des Cordes, and The Box. In 2019 She co-built two 300-square-foot installations at Industria and at Knockdown Center and in January of 2020 and December of 2022, Sydona assisted Hajime Kinoko’s large scale Shibari Web performances at The Dance and The Brooklyn Monarch. She is currently a resident educator at Temple, and is committed to creating safer kink spaces, educational opportunities, beautiful art, and connection to like-minded folks, for the sake of *joy* in ropes.
Roads – found herself in the New York shibari scene in 2017, mostly as a voyeur and witness of the art of ropes. After a 2020 trip to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, she became inspired to tie and express a creative side of herself she never thought existed. Thanks to the guidance of Guatemalan based shibari artists at Pendulo Kinbaku and New York based instructors at Temple NYC, Roads has been studying shibari and tying professionally for 3+ years She comes to rope with a curiosity and yearning to unravel, uplift and transform the complicated beauty that exists in all of us. Roads especially likes to incorporate the use of sound in her rope practice with careful attention to the fluctuations of silence, breath, and natural sounds around us that remind us of life’s beautiful moments. Outside of rope, she specializes in LGBTQ+ immigration law and provides legal services to asylum seekers in the US and Mexico. She also works with plants to restore faith in herself and humanity.
Anna Vomacka – is driven by her curiosities and cravings for community, connection, and spaces of shared learning / (un)learning. Perhaps it is through this desire to connect and preserve her childishly-curiosities that Anna found (and stuck with/got stuck to) dance and movement. Anna’s work explores: collective realities, shared intimacy, idiosyncratic differences, physical manifestations of self-imposed & socially imposed labels, power of identity, emergence of community, and recycling of movements, dancers, ideas, waste. Anna is a 200 hour Certified Yoga Teacher. She completed her Teacher Training in June 2018 with Sondra Loring of Sadhana Yoga, Hudson, NY. She practices Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga, and has taught classes at various YMCA’s, the Shala (Brooklyn), Yogis & Yoginis (Brooklyn) and private lessons.
Margherita Tisato – I am embodiment enthusiast, a dancer, a perpetual learner, and a subtle disruptor. In rope for over a decade, my practice expanded drastically when we founded temple in 2019, and gradually became an integrated element of my somatic work. Aside from rope, my work involves teaching a variety of movement and mindfulness techniques in correctional facilities and substance abuse disorder treatment programs, specializing in individuals dealing with PTSD, addiction, and other mind-body complexities. I also serve as a guest lecturer on embodiment and trauma at colleges and universities, while actively engaging in scientific research on addiction and recovery. My passion lies in creating spaces for exploring suffering, discomfort, and marginalized experiences, finding growth through catharsis and integration via somatic practices leading to liberation, such as stillness, yoga, dance, Butoh, rope, hook suspensions, and laughter. My mission in sharing information and experiences with others is to soften the dichotomy between body and mind, to investigate visceral sensations in order to create emotional resilience, through the main mediums of embodiment, curiosity, dialogue and play. You may catch me performing with Sokolow/Theatre Dance Ensemble, Vangeline Theater, Dances We Dance, or as an independent artist.
Fuoco – began her rope journey as a bottom in Phoenix in 2012 and shortly thereafter moved to London, where much of her early rope learning happened. Upon moving back to the US, she began presenting at cons and intensives around the country sharing her love of rope. As an educator, she’s decidedly non-dogmatic in her approach to teaching. Her classes aim to help bottoms to better understand their bodies in movement, and to offer riggers the knowledge to adapt their tying to the unique needs of their partners. She recently stepped into the role of Director of Education for Shibari Study and is excited to think about shibari education in a new medium. When she’s not doing rope, fuoco is a professional acrobat. Her dedicated study of the mechanics of the body make her especially interested in developing more comprehensive education informed by these practices. She’s also a leftist who believes that kink is inherently political. She strives to bring her politics, her values, and an accountability for those values into her teaching spaces.
Beth Poague – is a curious, solo poly, queer, forest dweller living in the Hudson Valley. She came to rope and kink relatively late in life, and has been doing suspension for three years, as well as attending retreats, gatherings, workshops, and building community. She’s excited to be back at Peace Temple this summer, and excited to be learning, and having many juicy conversations about rope and so many other things! Beth has a Master’s degree in Social Justice Educational Studies, with a focus on disability justice and inclusion. She’s also trained in restorative practices and conflict resolution, including circle-keeping, transformative mediation, and group facilitation. She thinks a lot about somatics and co-regulation, neurodivergence and trauma, healing and connection, abolitionism, collective care, nature and poetry, and is currently in the process of getting certified to teach the Wheel of Consent.
Vladimir Kuperman – Host and the creator of Peace Temple. Vladimir is a leader of Peace Temple, a spiritual retreat center in the beautiful Catskill Mountains, devoted to creating and holding peaceful and inspiring community events, where creativity, spiritual growth, sustainability, respect for nature, and respect for each other are practiced. Besides hosting the retreat, Vladimir will facilitate the Central American Sauna.
To register:
You may send the complete payment, or a 50% deposit (the remainder is due one week before the retreat start date) and fill out the form below with the screenshot of your payment.
Early bird pricing has ended for this retreat.
$720 cost includes all meals and camping (bring all your camping gear).
SOLD OUT – Fill out the registration form below if you’d like to join the waitlist or register for the second Shibari weekend September 12 – 15, 2024
All identities, orientations, and levels of experience are warmly welcomed and encouraged to attend. If the cost of attendance is prohibitive, please reach out via peacetempleretreats@gmail.com to inquire about potential scholarship or discounted attendance.
- (SOLD OUT) Add $75 for a three-night stay in our cozy dorm with a full-size bed (bring your own bedding). If sharing the bed with another participant, the second person pays $38 in addition to the retreat cost. When registering, provide the name of the person you are sharing your accommodation with to help us track available spaces.
- (SOLD OUT) Add $375 for a three-night stay in our private cabin with a queen-size bed (bedding provided). If sharing, the second person pays $75 in addition to the retreat cost. Cabins are available for a maximum occupancy of two people (please inquire for availability). When registering, please provide the name of the person you are sharing your accommodation with to help us track available spaces. Please note that cabins do not have private bathrooms; bathroom facilities are shared among guests.
Venmo or Zelle full payment OR a 50% deposit to 917 968 3214 to book your spot.
Please use the Friends and Family (keep purchases option turned off) option when making the payment, as avoiding the transaction fees helps us to keep the retreat cost lower for you.
VENMO: https://account.venmo.com/u/Vladimir-Kuperman
You must write in the note part of the payment your full first and last name and email, and clearly specify what this payment is for.
This retreat is not yet sold out.
Refund policy
Peace Temple reserves the right to cancel a retreat at any time. If Peace Temple cancels a retreat, you will receive a full refund. Some retreats may have special cancellation policies; please see individual retreat descriptions.
Unless otherwise stated within program descriptions:
Full refunds are available up to thirty (30) days before your program or stay.
Nonrefundable credit toward a future Peace Temple retreat is available up to fourteen (14) days before your retreat, or you may choose to receive a 50% refund at this time. Credit may be applied to any Peace Temple retreat in 2024-2025.
No credit or refund is available if you cancel within seven (7) days of the retreat; if you do not show up; or if you leave an event early for any reason. No refund will be available if you attend a program and are dissatisfied with its presentation or content.
Fill out the form to complete registration
We will review your registration and get back to you with a confirmation.
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We are now offering two separate weekends for this 4-day retreat!
Please read through this FAQ:
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Will the programming be the same for both weeks?
No! While the general schedule structure will remain the same, there will be some new facilitators and different class offerings.
Can I sign up for both weeks!
Yes!
I’m currently registered for Week 1, but would prefer to attend Week 2, can I switch?
Yes, as capacity allows. Please email peacetempleretreats@gmail.com with your request.
When someone signs up for weekend 2, do they get taken off the waitlist for weekend 1?
Yes, unless we receive an email asking to remain on the waitlist for weekend 1, upon registration for weekend 2, your information will be removed from the waitlist for weekend 1.
Can I attend solo?
Yes! All levels of experience and types of partnership are welcomed. There will be some programming to help facilitate new friendships and community building, including games, peer skillsharing, group discussions…
I’d like to attend but I can’t arrive by the 3-7pm arrival time. Can I still come?
We ask that all participants arrive by 9pm at the very latest on the first day of the retreat and stay through the closing circle on day four to create a closed container environment. If you need an exception to these departure/arrival times, please email.
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Retreats provide time and peace away from your day to day routines. Going on a retreat helps to re-energize your body and soul, while providing you space to think creatively and time to reflect. If you truly want to be productive and effective in your daily life , then setting aside time to detox your body, being in nature, consider your life’s purpose and your personal values, vision and mission is vital.
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Please write to peacetempleretreats@gmail.com to inquire for details.