October 22–25, 2026 Seven Oaks Retreat Center in Madison, Virginia

Crossing the Threshold is an invitation to deepen your relationship with the natural cycles of life by learning to hold impermanence with grace, curiosity, and even joy. Over four days, we will follow the rhythm of the season, exploring how the body holds tension, fear, and story- while creating space for reflection and letting go.

Karen Loving and Cara Cutro will guide a weekend of embodiment, reflection, ritual, and rest- set within the peaceful landscape of Seven Oaks Retreat Center in Madison, Virginia. This retreat offers an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and the season through grounded practice, restorative quiet, and intentional time away from daily life.

What to Expect:

Embodiment and Reflection

• Deep movements practice – discovering how the body holds stories and fears

• Guided Tarot and symbolic reflection to support clarity, transition, and insight

• Meditation and heart opening practices of renewal and reflection

Ritual and Rest

• Seasonal ritual woven thoughtfully throughout the weekend

• Evening sound baths to help ground and regulate the nervous system

• Ample time for rest, journaling, walking the land, and quiet integration

Connection and Closure

• Fireside circle gathering and holding space for our voices

• Nourishing meals and meaningful connection in an intimate group setting

• A closing circle to carry the experience forward – being in our life with more ease

This retreat is intentionally spacious. Alongside our scheduled sessions, there will be time to nap, reflect, explore the grounds, sit quietly, or simply be. We believe that spaciousness is an essential part of the work.

Have you noticed that in this “Winter of 2014”, that most of the snows have showed up on Monday evenings or Tuesdays?
I have especially been aware of this because I travel on Tuesdays to my office in Warrenton. My clients and I talk or email (every week):
what to do next, travel, not travel? Reschedule, what day, time?

Last week, we just ignored the snow and met as if it was a warm sunny day. My plan according to the weather last night was, snow showers and then rain, not so – we couldn’t pretend today….so another day to reschedule and hope that this is the last “Tuesday snow” of the “Winter of 2014”.

I was remembering how it is in Montana, where we travel quite often. They get snow starting in October and sometimes in the higher elevations, into June. That is a long time to have snow on the ground. My observation is that they accept the weather as it is and very seldom close schools, reschedule appointments, open late. You see the children playing outside when it’s 30 or below and snowing. I guess your entire way of thinking about the winter weather is adapting and accepting.

Will we adapt to winter in a new way? I wonder? Our experiences go deep if we have always lived in a moderate climate, it starts at an early age, and you anticipate the seasons to be the way they have always been. Can we accept the changes?

The weather is a great teacher in learning acceptance, (side story), we used to fly a hot air balloon and if the wind was blowing a certain speed we didn’t fly, period! This is a true example of acceptance of the weather and what is. The reality of being in the air and at the mercy of the weather was much more extreme than your car sliding off the road in snow.

How much will we remember about the “Winter of 2014” that will still be held in our experience when we go into the “Winter of 2015”?
Hope they come on Fridays!!

My car had to be towed last week, and as I was sitting there waiting for them to arrive, I  noticed how my stress of anticipated “perceived” events or situations created a bodily reaction. It seemed almost fearful as my belly tightened, I held my breath and started running around very unfocused or unaware.

I felt I had to prepare in some way for the this new situation.

I started thinking about other situations where I anticipate an event and the thought of “what will be” creates an anxiety in my body and it says you must prepare. I don’t want to ignore it and suppress my emotional “reaction” which would just lodge in my tissue to come out at a later time. So what if I acknowledged the reaction and changed with “responding”. In the Alexander Technique principles we call that “pausing to give yourself time” to become conscious, aware, present in where you are and what choices you have.

Doesn’t this evoke a calmness, clarity and inner peacefulness that says I have time to make a choice that is healthy and productive? Changing anxiety to inner calm.

Sometimes our unwarranted perceptions and assumptions teach us about ourselves, we grow in that awareness of realizing our truth..

As I let my breath become conscious, I was calm as they arrived, we had a great conversation together as I rode with the driver with my car securely towed back home!

Changing my thinking in how I responded instead of reacting with fear created a very healthy and pain free experience.