Gatherings held at Wild Life Refuge
To participate in events here, we ask that you agree to our core principles and join with a free membership. For events requiring registration, follow the link for more information and to reserve your spot.
Breath - Body - Spirit
$633 (on-site lodging and meals included)
Join Valerie White Island at Wild Life Refuge for a weekend retreat to nurture your body through the life-changing practice of Transformational Breath®. Discover your personal breath pattern and explore the power that it holds for you. Gain a stronger connection with yourself and discover a deeper level of awareness. Leave the retreat empowered and equipped with new tools and techniques toward your holistic healing goals.
Elemental Play
A nature inspired exploration through aerial dance & flow arts
Retreat: $150-$225 (single day pass available) | Meal plan: $75-$150 | Optional on-site lodging: $25-$150
Spend a glorious weekend flying, flowing, moving and expressing, in cultivation of beauty and wonder, within an intimate and restorative sanctuary.
This is an opportunity to learn from experienced teachers and one another, to hone your skills and try new modes of expression and play. You’ll have opportunities to fly on multiple aerial apparatuses on outdoor rigs, dance with fire and LED flow toys, and create crafts out of natural materials. No matter your level of experience, we welcome you! We’ll truly have something for everyone.
Relax! Enjoy! Soak in the forest, sit around the fire, contemplate the night sky, share and be inspired. Let’s see what we feel and what we create. We’re here for movement, connection, rest, and balance.
This event is an Elemental Aerial Arts production in collaboration with Wild Life Refuge.
Workshops
Earth - Forest fae dance, yoga and mobility, nature craft with watercolor and cyanotype, partner dragonstaff, poi
Air - Forest and meadow flying on aerial rigs and lollipop, harness, sling, mermaid flying, silk fan dance, unique apparatuses
Fire - Butane bubbles, fire poi, lounge at the campfire
Water - Mermaid pool photoshoot
Breath - Body - Spirit
$633 (on-site lodging and meals included)
Join Valerie White Island at Wild Life Refuge for a weekend retreat to nurture your body through the life-changing practice of Transformational Breath®. Discover your personal breath pattern and explore the power that it holds for you. Gain a stronger connection with yourself and discover a deeper level of awareness. Leave the retreat empowered and equipped with new tools and techniques toward your holistic healing goals.
Healing Through Mantra, Breath & Sacred Fire
Gathering: $125 (dinner included) | Optional on-site lodging: $100 ($150 for two nights)
When: 5pm - 9:30pm. Participants are welcome to arrive as early as 2pm to enjoy the tranquil grounds. Please aim for a 4:30pm arrival at the latest. We welcome you to linger afterwards for stargazing and enjoying the gardens and forest at night. Book your overnight stay if you would like to lounge into the morning.
Facilitator: Souvik Dutta | Host: Tona Williams and Wild Life Refuge
Join us for an immersive evening of rejuvenation, connection, and spiritual exploration in a peaceful natural setting. This unique workshop combines the ancient wisdom of mantra chanting, pranayama (breathwork), Vedic philosophy, and sacred fire practices to help participants cultivate inner balance, clarity, and vitality.
Throughout the evening, we will explore the transformative power of sacred sound through traditional mantra chanting. Participants will learn how mantras have been used for thousands of years to harmonize the mind, awaken higher awareness, and align with beneficial planetary and divine forces described in the Vedic tradition.
We will also delve into the science and practice of pranayama, using conscious breathing techniques to calm the nervous system, increase life force energy (prana), and support physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Discussions on subtle energetics and the universal life force will help participants gain a deeper understanding of how ancient wisdom traditions approach healing and transformation.
As the sun sets, we will gather around a sacred fire for a traditional fire-cleansing ceremony (Agni practice), symbolizing purification, renewal, gratitude, and the offering of intentions. The fire serves as a powerful reminder of our connection to nature, spirit, and the transformative forces within ourselves.
Art Connection
Artmaking social with Spirit Lake Arts
Join us for a lovely Saturday afternoon! Bring a portable medium you want to use; water-soluble paints, charcoal, clay, pastels, collage, knitting — or something experimental! We’ll have extra art supplies if you need them.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing. Just show up!
Choose your artistic adventure:
Possible live models (clothed) sitting for us - or we pitch in to model for each other
Grab a portable easel and head outdoors
Lounge on an outdoor rug, by the pond, or on the patio
Make music
Wander the forest trails
Learn from and share with other artists
Day of the Wild Woman
Join us under a New Moon to connect with our embodied creative flow, each other, and all the delightful elements at Wild Life Refuge.
Event cost: $200. Participants can choose to book separate overnight lodging to lounge into the night and enjoy Sunday morning here ($100 one night/$150 two nights).
Weather permitting, we’ll spend most of the day outdoors. Tona Williams and Silvia Lopez will be our facilitators. There will be rituals of spirit and form. There will be nudity. There will be wild, messy art. We will explore practices of embodied, energetic, and elemental connection.
This particular offering is for female-bodied folks only (we’ll do other versions that are open to all). Please message admin@wild-life-refuge.com to let us know you’re potentially interested in future versions of this event - we’ll be sure to add you to our contact list!
Paths to Belonging
$550
A two-day journey to explore what it means to truly belong — to others, to yourself, and to the world around you. Come ready to reflect, connect, and step into deeper understanding.
WolfWhale Retreats (Julia Yates and Cortney Arnold) and Tona at Wild Life Refuge have curated a two-day experience of community and union. During this retreat, we will take you on a journey of exploration. As a group, we will uncover what true belonging means and how we can live in alignment and authenticity.
Art Connection
Artmaking social with Spirit Lake Arts
Free/By Donation for Members of Spirit Lake Arts - Join Here
Join us for a lovely Saturday afternoon! Bring a portable medium you want to use; water-soluble paints, charcoal, clay, pastels, collage, knitting — or something experimental! We’ll have extra art supplies if you need them.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing. Just show up!
Choose your artistic adventure:
Possible live models (clothed) sitting for us - or we pitch in to model for each other
Grab a portable easel and head outdoors
Lounge on an outdoor rug, by the pond, or on the patio
Make music
Wander the forest trails
Learn from and share with other artists
Foundations in Shamanism
From $399
Join Jessica Riphenburg to integrate shamanic practices and a shamanic way of experiencing reality into your daily life for your personal healing, evolution, empowerment and connection to the web of life.
There is a required application process to determine a good fit before registering. This course is a prerequisite for Jessica’s Shamanic Practitioner training, which will begin in 2026.
Art Connection
Artmaking social with Spirit Lake Arts
Free/By Donation for Members of Spirit Lake Arts - Join Here
Join us for a lovely Saturday afternoon! Bring a portable medium you want to use; water-soluble paints, charcoal, clay, pastels, collage, knitting — or something experimental! We’ll have extra art supplies if you need them.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing. Just show up!
Choose your artistic adventure:
Be inspired by the live, clothed models sitting for us
Grab a portable easel and work outdoors
Make music
Wander the forest trails
Learn from and share with other artists
Echo and the Ink
Cultivating wellbeing through sound, arts, intuitive knowing, and rituals of connection
Free/By Donation
This is a brand new series featuring a different group of practitioners each time. Come and enjoy! To prepare for your participation, please acknowledge our core principles and become a free member of Wild Life Refuge.
Arrive beginning at 1pm — Give yourself some time to settle in to the space of Wild Life Refuge.
Our opening circle begins at 2pm — We ask that you arrive in time to be present for this.
We go until the bonfire is out. Feel free to leave when you need to — we’ll wind down between 6 and 8.
In small groups, rotate through the offerings happening in our distinct indoor and outdoor spaces. Wander off on your own to stroll in the woods or contemplate the koi pond as desired. This event is meant to welcome you to the Wild Life Refuge space, introduce you to wonderful local folks, and take a restful interlude in comfort and community! Please message Tona with questions and to RSVP.
Our Co-Facilitators for April 12:
Leah Rachuj — Sound calibration, exploration, and rejuvenation
Gina Onderak — Shamanic healing ritual and meditation
Jake Hulce — Readings at the fire pit
Tona Williams — Intuitive artistic expression
Facilitators Connection Circle
This is a private gathering specifically for female event facilitators in the Madison area to connect and support one another.
Breath - Body - Spirit
From $555
Join Valerie White Island at Wild Life Refuge for a weekend retreat to nurture your body through the life-changing practice of Transformational Breath®. Discover your personal breath pattern and explore the power that it holds for you. Gain a stronger connection with yourself and discover a deeper level of awareness. Leave the retreat empowered and equipped with new tools and techniques toward your holistic healing goals.
What to Anticipate:
(4) 1-hour breath sessions with Valerie ☀ Daily guided meditation ☀ Daily guided movement ☀ Optional group activities ☀ Shared-room lodging included ☀ Nourishing meals ☀ An informal and intimate group setting with a maximum of 6 participants total