Retreat Information: 

October 31st-November 2nd
Alton Collins Retreat Center
Eagle Creek, Oregon 97022

Main Point of Contact:

Wayne Marto 425 296 6513

Check-in from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on Friday October 31st
Check-out by 12:00pm on Sunday Nov 2nd
Full payment is due by September 15th, 2025

Cancellation/Payment/Refund Policy:  
A $300 refundable deposit holds your spot
Full payment is due by September 15th, 2025
Cancel before June 30th, 2025: Full refund 
Cancel after June 30th, 2025: Refund minus $300 deposit  
Cancel between August 22nd, 2025 and October 1st, 2025: Refund minus $300 deposit and 50% of any amount paid over and above the deposit.
Cancel after October 1st, 2025: Refund minus $300 deposit and 80% of any amount paid over and above the deposit. 

Retreat Specifics
This uniquely curated retreat includes gentle Yoga + Gong + Pranayama (breathwork) classes, an educational talk series to maximize the effects of the Gongs, an All Night Gong Puja Ceremony (a Gong Puja is honoring and allowing space for our being’s ability to heal – physically, emotionally & spiritually. It is the truest form of honoring thyself), plenty of time for relaxation, reflection and much more. All classes and events are optional. Full class descriptions below.

Your Weekend Retreat Includes:

Lodging
All meals, drinks and snacks
Opening and closing sharing circle
Daily YIN/Restorative Yoga practice (with optional hands on assists) + Gong Meditation + Pranayama
All Night Gong Puja Ceremony (Saturday 10:00pm - Sunday 5:00am)
Calming Yoga Nidra practice (known as “Yogic Sleep”) 
Access to nature trails + time to explore
Optional Educational Talk Series
A chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones
A few other surprise activities and treats

Friday October 31st
4:00pm - 6:00pm Check in, Settle in + Explore and Discover
6:00pm - Welcome Dinner
7:00pm - 7:15pm Facility Tour
7:15pm - 8:15pm Meet, Greet, and Connect - Opening Circle and Orientation
8:30pm - 10:00pm Yoga Nidra + Gong Meditation

Saturday November 1st
8:00am - Breakfast
9:00am - 10:00am Educational Talk: How Sound Heals - The Five Yogic Koshas
9:30am - 10:00am Educational Talk: The Power of Breath
10:00am - 11:30am YIN/Restorative Yoga + Gong Meditation
11:30am – 12:00pm Break
12:00pm - Lunch
1:00pm - 2:00pm Open Time, Walking Meditation
2:00pm - 2:30pm Educational Talk: Mental Causation + Intention Setting
2:30pm - 3:00pm Educational Talk: The Power of Mantras - Gaytri Mantra + Journaling
3:00pm - 3:30pm Break
3:30pm - 4:30pm Slow Flow Yoga
4:30pm - 6:00pm Open Time, Walking Meditation
5:00pm - 6:00pm Arts & Crafts: Making Affirmation Beads
6:00pm - Dinner
7:15pm - 7:45pm Final Preparation for Gong Puja
7:45pm - 8:30pm Open Time, Journaling
8:30pm - 10:00pm Breathwork + Gentle Movement + Yoga Nidra
10:00pm - 5:00am Sacred Sound Gong Puja Ceremony

Sunday November 2nd
5:00am - 5:10am Gayatri Mantra Played (lightly in background)
5:15am - Light Breakfast (fruit, coffee, and tea)
6:00am - 7:00am Open Time, Walking Meditation, Journaling
7:00am - 8:00am Slow Flow Yoga
8:00am - Full Breakfast
9:00am - 10:30am Open Time, Walking Meditation, Journaling
10:30am - 12:00pm Closing Circle, Group Photo
12:00pm - Lunch
1:00pm - 2:00pm Check Out

MEALS (subject to change)

Catered, buffet style, plant-based, and locally grown. Coffee, tea, and fruit throughout.

Friday Welcome Dinner - vegetable lentil (or wild rice) stew, French bread
Saturday Breakfast - egg/potato/vegetable frittata, bagels + cream cheese, fruit
Saturday Lunch - sandwich and salad bar, egg salad, garbanzo bean salad, cheese sandwich options
Saturday Dinner - baked potatoes with lots of toppings, kale salad
Sunday Breakfast - oatmeal with baked apples, toast/bagels, hard boiled eggs
Sunday Lunch - vegetable lasagna, salad, garlic bread

Please contact Wayne with any special dietary needs @ wayne@beneficialsound.org or 425 296 6513 

What to Bring
For maximum comfort, the following is a list of suggested items to bring to the retreat:

• Yoga: mat, 2 blocks, strap

• Meditation: sitting cushion or bolster, blanket and eye pillow

• Gong Puja: blowup mattress or camping pad, sleeping bag and pillow

• General: flashlight, warm sweater + winter hat, rain-coat, mud shoes, closed beverage container and toiletries

• An intention to transform your life

Class Descriptions

Gong Meditation is a transformative journey of healing and deep relaxation as we bathe every cell of the body in therapeutic sound and vibration. The Gong acoustically elevates us, creating a deep spontaneous meditative state that restores harmony and vitality to the mind, body and soul, leaving you feeling tuned, refreshed and at the height of physical and emotional wellbeing.

The Gong Meditation is best experienced lying down on your back or a similar comfortable position. Wear comfortable clothes and bring whatever you need to be relaxed for the meditation - yoga mat, blanket, pillow, water, eye mask, etc.

Yoga Nidra or Yogic sleep” is a type of meditation that can be traced as far back as 1000 B.C. and generally starts with you lying supine on the floor, supported in whatever way you wish - bolsters, blankets, or blocks, etc. Over the course of the class, Hilary Paris will provide a guided meditation, usually starting with an inventory of our physical body and mental states at that moment.

Using our breath, we’ll go through steps to help clear the mind, and then move to focusing our attention on different parts of the body, breath, and thoughts, until we gain the necessary awareness of our bodies and relaxed state of being.

As your body sinks, you will find yourself in a state between wakefulness and sleep. The objective is to remain in this state of not fully asleep but not fully awake. And in this place of deep relaxation, healing, reconstruction, repair, and reorganization can take place at a cellular level.

YIN/Restorative Yoga is a slow-paced style of Yoga as exercise, incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine with asana (postures) that are held for longer periods of time than in other styles. Advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for five minutes or more. The sequences of postures are meant to stimulate the channels of the subtle body.

Yin Yoga poses apply moderate stress to the connective tissues of the body—the tendons, fasciae and ligaments - with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility. A more meditative approach to yoga, its goals are awareness of inner silence, and bringing to light a universal, interconnecting quality.

All Night Gong Puja Ceremony is a seven hour extended Gong immersion from 10:00pm to 5:00am. In Buddhism, Pujas are expressions of “honor and devotional attention.” A Gong Puja is honoring and allowing space for our being’s ability to heal – physically, emotionally & spiritually. It is the truest form of honoring oneself!

Fifteen tuned planetary Gongs are gently played throughout the night and into early morning hours while guests rest or sleep.  The healing vibrations and subtle energies are imbued with intentions of the highest good, promoting a deep sense of peace and well-being. As the mind floats in a state of cosmic consciousness, the body rests on an optimal plane for healing - strengthening the nervous system, balancing the chakras and increasing energy and vitality

Gayatri Mantra/Chant is a universal prayer and that is considered the essence of the four ancient Indian religious texts, the Vedas. Veda means knowledge, and the Gayatri mantra fosters and sharpens our knowledge-yielding faculties.  It is a sacred chant that demonstrates the unity that underlies all creation. It is addressed to the Transcendent Divine and is considered as having three parts - (1) Adoration (2) Meditation and (3) Prayer. First, the Divine is praised, then It is meditated upon in reverence and finally, an appeal is made to the Divine to awaken and strengthen the intellect and discriminating faculty of mankind.

Gayatri Mantra/Chant

Om Bhur Bhuvaḥ Suvaha
Tat-Savitur Vareñyaṃ
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yonaḥ Prachodayāt

General meaning:
We meditate on that most adored Supreme Lord, the creator, whose Divine light illuminates all realms (physical, mental and spiritual). May this divine light illuminate our intellect.