Tag: Brooksong Retreat and Cancer Centre

You might remember, around this time last year, joining me for 30 days of summer practices dedicated to Brooksong Retreat and Cancer Support Centre, based out of Haliburton, Ontario – helping to support people across Canada.

Each summer the Brooksong community comes together for our annual Summer Fundraiser which celebrates the many ways we can nurture wellness and connection. Inspired by Move, Create, Connect, participants are encouraged to engage in activities that support physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being in ways that are meaningful and accessible to them – and doing it together in community as a beautiful way to support eachother. 

It is our hopes through this inititative to not only support folks to nurture wellness within themselves, but to also help spread awareness and raise funds for the incredible care Brooksong offers through retreats and programs for folks living with cancer; both for those with a diagnosis and for caregivers.

How did I become connected with Brooksong?

In 2022, I was diagnosed with a rare presentation of Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was first introduced to Brooksong through a friend during the early days of my own healing journey with cancer, which continues.  I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend some of Brooksong’s virtual programming, as well as an in person retreat with my husband. These experiences were both life affirming and life changing. We were held, offered space to explore movement, found comfort and understanding in community, ate nourishing foods, dove into creative practices and experienced deep support through reflective exercises, land connection and drumming.

Our retreat weekend was held with love and compassion by an incredible team who helped us to feel safe to explore our healing process in the ways we personally needed.  

Brooksong is incredibly special, and has become very dear to my heart. The Centre is located on a beautiful expanse of land surrounded by ponds, open spaces and forests. In my experience, every time I make the journey, I feel how incredibly healing it is just arriving there.  

 I am deeply honoured to now be a part of the facilitation team offering care and support at some of the in person retreats.  

Cancer hits you hard; physically, emotionally and financially.  This I understand.

The ability to go on a retreat focused 100% on your healing isn’t often accessible financially, coupled with all the changes during times of illness.

I am in awe at how everything Brooksong offers is free of charge to participants.  All programs and retreats are funded through generous donations by amazing people and organizations who are able to comfortably offer this type of support, who care about the mission of Brooksong and the work that is being done.  

I’ve been excited all year for this years summer fundraising event that runs from July 1 – August 31 annually and celebrates the important health benefits of moving our bodies in whatever ways we are able as well as taking part in creative practices, while aligning with and nurturing the vision and mission of Brooksong Retreat & Cancer Support Centre.

I believe so strongly in what Brooksong has created and have felt the impacts personally in my own family. I am excited to join this community challenge for the second year in a row.

How will I help support this years fundraising initiative and give myself daily time to move, create and connect?

I’m committed to a daily tending practice over the summer months, which I’ll be recording 30 days of my community challenge sharing short tending practices with you.

I hope you’ll join me through yoga, song, meditation, creativity, journaling, breath and other practices to help us tend to our inner gardens through the summer months. Our tending needs us to start with how we offer ourselves care – nourishing and considering the ways we care for our body, mind and spirit. In this act of nurturing ourselves we are also supporting the momentum of something meaningful in our world.

The practices I’ll be recording and sharing start July 20th and run through to August 18th and are inspired from my time at Brooksong as well as my tending your inner garden offerings, a program born through my own cancer journey in 2023. 

I took this photo during a trip to Haliburton last May, 2025, when I was offering massage at a Brooksong retreat. This beautiful sculpture is from the Haliburton Sculpture forest, another incredible place. It’s named the Sleep of the Huntress and was birthed by Doug Stephens . She is very special and offers me a deep reflection on how I tend to my own inner garden, honouring our need for rest and renewal.

I invite you to view my fundraising page if you’d like to make a donation directly to Brooksong.

Where can you find the recordings for the daily practices starting July 20th 2026 ?

I’ll post them on my fundraising page

and

you also have the option to register to receive the daily practices with a short message, directly in your inbox, by clicking on the link below to sign up:

Registering for the practice videos is free for everyone, making a donation is 100% optional.

We’ll explore themes such as: Grounding and Presence, Community, Joy and Play, Healing, and Integration.

You’re also invited to a free virtual restorative class on Monday, July 20th at 7:00 pm EST.

 I am deeply grateful for your support and hope you’ll join me in any way you’re able for this fun and nurturing initiative. 

We’ll be learning with eachother and definitly leaning into joy along the way.

Don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Together we can create a huge impact through simple acts of kindness, this kindness starts with how we tend to ourselves.  

Here we go!

Lots of love,

Amber

Photo above, me, Spring 2023

photo of me from a few years ago – drinking in the trees, the wildflowers, and the healing rays of the sun