The association of breath with spirit, with the divine, is deeply rooted in so many of our ancient indigenous cultures, including Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, the meditative and spiritual core of yogic traditions, Christianity and Judaism.  This knowledge has been preserved and is practiced today by shamans, mystics, yoga masters, healers, medicine people, meditators and available to all of us should we choose to learn. I’d like to share with you a translation from Sanskrit of one of the many beautiful Yukti verses of the ancient yoga meditation teachings that I find inspiring — the first written version apparently appeared around AD…

Email register@haven.ca or call 1-250-247-9211 ext 1 to register. Online registration is not available for this program. Teens Alive 1 is the first of two 3-day back to back programs offered in 2026 and is a pre-requisite for Teens Alive 2. Now in its 34th year, Teens Alive has supported over 500 teens in developing emotional resilience, genuine communication, compassion for themselves and others, and meaningful connections. Although some teens were reluctant to attend for the first time, many then continued to return year after year. Created by Linda Nicholls and David Raithby, the program invites teens into a dynamic exploration…

Email register@haven.ca or call 1-250-247-9211 , ext 1 to register. Online registration is not available for this program. Teens Alive 2 is the follow up program to Teens Alive 1. These 3 day programs are being offered back to back in 2026 and Teens Alive 1 is a pre-requisite for Teens Alive 2. Now in its 34th year, Teens Alive has supported over 500 teens in developing emotional resilience, genuine communication, compassion for themselves and others, and meaningful connections. Although some teens were reluctant to attend for the first time, many then continued to return year after year. Created by…

Grieving: Endings, Losses and Change Grieving is a powerful capacity that is largely undeveloped, overlooked and undervalued in our culture.  In this program you learn to grieve fully and responsively. Ongoing life experiences of attachment and separation, situations of helplessness and disappointment naturally arouse grief that we tend to suppress. We experience separations, losses and endings through deaths, relationship breakups, aging, career changes, geographical moves, children growing up and leaving home, discrimination, failed dreams, interruptions in life through illness, injury or trauma.  Our personal grief is further fueled by grieving consciously or unconsciously, for our planet, our environment or the…

Haven Style Embodiment Training An embodied person is said to have “one eye looking in and one eye looking out.”  Meaning, an embodied person is physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally present and congruent within their self in the moment while also congruent and present in the moment, and responsive to, others and their environment. As we heal we become embodied; as we become embodied we heal.  Authentic, lasting transformation must include our body. Psychological and emotional energy restrictions from traumatic events and neglectful emotional experiences are held deeply in our body, and lie at the root of distress, dissociation and disembodiment. In order to…

Come Alive is our most popular core program and the perfect place to begin or continue your journey in personal or professional growth and transformation. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, and locations join us and most experience something profound. We are grateful for the land and sea that sustain us.  We are deeply grateful to learn, live and play on 7 acres of forested land by the sea that is the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, a community of Coast Salish Peoples.  Our peaceful yet vibrant centre on Gabriola Island offers…

An Invitation to Deepening Your Practice of Being  If you’ve taken Come Alive or another Haven program, you already know the experience of waking up to yourself — that moment when you feel more present, more open, more connected with who you really are and with others.  And you may also recognize the reality of how this is possible:  Being is more than a moment.  Being is a life practice.    A life practice is an intentional, integrated way of living awake and aware A life practice is sustaining the commitment to showing up for yourself and others—daily, imperfectly and…

Grieving: Endings, Losses and Change Grieving is a powerful capacity that is largely undeveloped, overlooked and undervalued in our culture.  In this program you learn to grieve fully and responsively. Ongoing life experiences of attachment and separation, situations of helplessness and disappointment naturally arouse grief that we tend to suppress. We experience separations, losses and endings through deaths, relationship breakups, aging, career changes, geographical moves, children growing up and leaving home, discrimination, failed dreams, interruptions in life through illness, injury or trauma.  Our personal grief is further fueled by grieving consciously or unconsciously, for our planet, our environment or the…