Imboho Retreat
Sacred Rhythms • Healing Dances
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Where: 7646 Prince Albert st | When: 10 am-6 pm
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***This event is POSTPONED due to Covid-19***
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Authentic Joy, Sisterhood, Laughter and a deep sense of Belonging
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We live in the age of increasing isolation, yet the longing for Belonging is in each one of us. How can we cultivate a sense of wellbeing and belonging within us, in an environment that is set for stress and disconnection?
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”
Do you believe that human connections come first, and they determine the quality of our lives? Do you believe in the power of community to heal, inspire and empower?
You don’t have to always do it alone. We can be here for each other, as sisters.
In Africa, singing, dancing and drumming are our technology for healing and connection. These practices have both artistic value and therapeutic function. I invite you to come and discover the healing power of Rhythm and live the African Village Experience, for an entire day.
At Imboho Retreat, we become a village together. We cook and share food, stories and rhythms, we hold you with Love and we create a space for you to dance you pain and your Joy. We want you to feel received and comforted.
I will be joined by guest teachers, and as Sons and Daughters of the Mother Land of Humanity, we take you on a healing journey into the heart of Africa. As a result, you will know that you are not alone and that you matter. You will experience authentic Joy and a deep sense of Belonging. You will feel wrapped in a safe, caring and nurturing embrace where you can rest into your Being, recharge your energy, laugh and play like a child and connect to your Soul.
Imboho is a greeting that also means “Welcome” in Maka’a, my dialect from the east of Cameroon. In this retreat, we are greeting and welcoming each other into our village, and together we are welcoming that which has the power to enhance our quality of life and contribute to both our own healing and the greater good of all.
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Why this Retreat?
When it comes to connection, I have experienced both extremes.
I started life in a culture where I fully belonged and had a home, a family and a tribe, then I landed in a place where it was made clear that I didn’t belong. As a result, I no longer felt that I had a home, a family or a tribe, even though technically I was sent to live with “my family”. From the moment I arrived in France at the age of 9, a sense of home is what I started craving the most, desperately. I was yearning for a safe place to return to at the end of each day, where I belonged and I would be received, welcomed and comforted, no matter what the outside world was like. Please believe me when I say that I KNOW the healing power of the experience of Belonging.
Feeling that we matter, we belong, and we are supported is essential to our health and wellbeing, especially for us women.
The modern way of life that most “developed” countries have adopted creates disconnection from ourselves, each other and nature, and statistics show that most women experience mild to moderate depression.
Studies on Women and Mental Health show that one in four of us takes mental health meds!
CNN article by Julie Holland in 2015 (psychiatrist in New York)
Welcome to the increasingly altered states of America. Americans are about 5% of the world’s population, yet we take half its pills, and 80% of its painkillers. This over-medication has led to record numbers of opiate overdoses and also to a growing number of women taking antidepressants — one out of four and counting, according to a report issued by the pharmacy benefit manager, Medco.
This is creating a “new normal,” bringing closer the tipping point for when other women will seek chemical assistance. Like steroids in baseball, when everyone starts doing it, the players who don’t are at a disadvantage. The overuse of psychiatric medication is called cosmetic psychopharmacology, and it’s like cosmetic surgery: as more women get breast implants, the rest of us feel flat chested.
But the new normal isn’t normal at all.
Steady doses of antidepressant advertising aimed at women advance the question from “Should I take an antidepressant?” to “Which one should I take?”
Sadness and fear are not always symptoms to be medicated. Anxiety and tension come foremost from the denial of emotions, from their repression. My patients want to feel better, but really what many of them need is to get better at feeling.
As we embrace new technologies, we need to be careful that we don’t go too far away from nature and what’s natural for us as social primates.
Even when we do not admit it, we recognize ourselves in those statistics. Don’t we? Living today’s modern way of life, we are all at risk.
We already know that as women, we do not achieve happiness and wellness simply by achieving a successful career, raising a family and owning a car and a house. Our life also needs to be grounded in something pure, authentic and timeless, something that does not depend on any outside influence. This retreat was created to give you just that: the inner experience of a Home, a Family and a Tribe. Here, you will experience another way of life that is deeply rooted in the wellbeing of your Soul.
“Research shows that relationships can improve health in a variety of ways, by helping us manage stress, improving the functioning of the immune system and giving meaning to people’s lives.”
Your community is here to carry you when you can no longer carry yourself, to believe in you when you can’t see your own genius, and to celebrate you when all you can see is where you fall short.
You will leave the Imboho Retreat feeling that you belong, that someone has your back and that you matter. You will feel alive, truly witnessed and received in a deep, nurturing way. And you will feel inspired and committed to continue giving yourself this experience of life, moving forward.
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Would you like to feel that way?
Your Tribe is awaiting You.
What will we do for an entire day?
- We cook and make jewelry together to activate and deepen our bond
- We eat together to build trust
- We sing to comfort the Soul
- We dance to connect with the harmony of the Universe
- We drum to recalibrate our vibration
- And we do everything together to activate the healing power of community.
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How much does it cost?
Please know that the sooner you register, the greater the discount we offer because your early registration allows us to finalize our preparations and commit to other expenses.
- Register by August 15th and pay only $129
- Or register 3 friends by August 15th and pay only $109 each!
- Register by September 5th and pay $149
- After September 5th you pay $199 per person
Register now and save up to $90!
Yes Jacky, I want to join the Tribe and meet my sisters!
Click on the link above to pay with Showpass (service fee applies) OR
Send me an interac e-transfer at jayenga@jackyyenga.com. * Please MAKE SURE to follow up with an email so I have your email address and I know where to send you a confirmation of registration and any additional details. Thank you!
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Cancellation Policy
100% of the money is refundable when you cancel at least 21 days or more before the retreat start date.
When you are part of a group and you cancel, the price will automatically be adjusted to reflect the group status (i.e. if you sign-up as part of a group of 3 and you cancel your own registration, the single ticket price will automatically be applied to the remaining two friends of your group, and the amount that will be reimbursed to you will reflect the price adjustment).
Within 21 days of the retreat, no reimbursement will be issued but your credit can be either transferred to someone else or be applied for future programs for the remaining year 2020.
Meet our guest instructors
Maju Maju Dladla
Etienne Cakpo
Yoro Noukoussi
