Sara Gallagher Bloom
Melanie Richards
September 25 to 27, 2026 | $888 CAD
Your Royal Nature
What to Expect
Nestled in a sanctuary in Lac-Brome, you will wake with the rising sun and rest under the starry skies, eat delicious vegetarian meals amongst new and old friends, experience heart-centric practices, and ground into the earth with healing practices.
❋ Yoga, meditation, movement + moreImmerse yourself in practices designed to connect you to nature in powerful ways.
❋ Nestled in natureA 100-acre property surrounded by old-growth forest is the setting for rest, ritual and transformation.
❋ Vegetarian farm-to-table experienceConserve Cuisine offers simple, well-crafted, Italian-inspired and vegetarian menus with an abundance of local produce.
❋ Sound healing and ceremonySara and Melanie guide you through more than just practice. Ritual, ceremony and healing anchor the weekend for a truly special experience.
The royal path
Raja means “king” or “royalty” in Sanskrit, and Raja Yoga is known as the royal path – a path centred on the mind, with meditation at its heart. Here, “royal” isn’t about status or grandeur. It points toward inner authority – learning to meet the mind with greater steadiness and awareness, and to listen more clearly beneath the noise.
Your Royal Nature is our contemporary exploration and interpretation of that path. Over the weekend, meditation will be woven through Kundalini Yoga, somatic movement, yin and restorative practice, sound and creative work – different ways of refining our attention and listening more closely to what is happening within.
There is something especially fitting about doing this work as autumn begins. As the season turns inward, we’ll spend the weekend asking what feels essential now – what we want to conserve, what can fall away, and what becomes easier to hear when some of the noise grows quiet.
What to expect
Meditation + Practice
Meditation sits at the heart of the weekend, supported by Kundalini Yoga, somatic movement, yin and restorative practice. We’ll work with movement, breath and stillness as different ways of becoming more attentive to what is happening within.
Sound + Creativity
Not everything we learn comes through words. Sound, art and creative exploration will give us other ways to listen, reflect and follow what emerges over the course of the weekend.
Nature +
Space
We’ll be surrounded by the forest at Conserve at the beginning of fall – with time to step outside, rest and let the season itself become part of the practice.
Food + Community
Conserve’s farm-to-table vegetarian cooking is part of what makes a weekend here so special. We’ll gather around the table throughout the retreat, sharing beautiful seasonal food and the pleasure of being together.
The weekend flow
Sample schedule – subject to change
Friday, September 25
3:30–5:30 PM
Arrival + settle in
6:00 PM
Dinner together
7:30–9:30 PM
Opening circle + evening practice
We’ll begin gently, with time to arrive, connect and shift out of the pace of the week.
Saturday, September 26
7:00–8:00 AM
Morning practice
8:30–9:30 AM
Breakfast
10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Meditation + embodiment practice
12:00 PM
Lunch
Afternoon
Free time + creative workshop
6:00 PM
Dinner
7:30–9:00 PM
Evening practice + sound / restoration
Sunday, September 27
7:00–8:00 AM
Morning practice
8:30–9:30 AM
Breakfast
10:00 AM–1:00 PM
Closing practice + integration
Our weekend concludes around 1:00 PM, followed by lunch before departure.
Melanie and I have each spent decades teaching yoga and guiding people in practice and community. We come to this work through different traditions and experiences, but share a love of going deep without losing warmth, humour or humanity. Your Royal Nature brings our approaches together around meditation, embodiment and the inner work of the royal path.
Your guides
Melanie Richards
Melanie is the founder of HappyTree Yoga and has been teaching since 2007. She leads Hatha, Yin and Gentle Yoga teacher trainings and is known for bringing spirituality into practice in a way that feels warm, relatable and deeply human. As Melanie puts it: we laugh, and we go deep.
Her teaching is grounded in compassion, humour and accessibility, creating space for students to feel at ease in their bodies while exploring the deeper dimensions of yoga and meditation. A longtime mental health advocate, Melanie has also brought yoga into hospitals and community programs, including work with cancer patients and underserved youth.
Sara Gallagher Bloom
Sara has been teaching yoga, movement and mindful practices for more than 20 years. As the founder of Montreal yoga studio Morpho Bleu, she has spent decades teaching, mentoring teachers and holding space for practice in community – and has taught just about every style of yoga class along the way.
Today, her work draws most deeply from Katonah and Kundalini Yoga, meditation, breathwork and nervous system regulation. She brings movement, breath and awareness together to help students feel more grounded, connected and at home in their bodies.
What’s included
Your retreat includes:
Two nights of accommodation at Conserve
Friday evening dinner
Three meals on Saturday
Two meals on Sunday
All yoga, movement, meditation and wellness practices
Saturday afternoon interactive workshop rooted in creativity, self-inquiry and seasonal reflection
Sound and restorative experiences
Creative materials
Opening and closing circles
Time in nature
Community and connection
Investment
$888
Payment plans are available.
We’ll also coordinate carpooling for anyone who would like to share transportation to and from Lac Brome.
a few questions?
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Your retreat includes two nights of accommodation at Conserve in Lac Brome. We’ll have the property to ourselves for the weekend, surrounded by forest and nature.
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No. No previous experience with Kundalini Yoga, somatic practice or meditation is required. The weekend is designed to be accessible whether these practices are familiar to you or completely new.
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Transportation is not included, but we’ll coordinate carpooling for anyone who would like to share a ride to and from the retreat.
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The itinerary is a sample and may shift slightly as Sara and Melanie shape the weekend, but the overall rhythm of practices, meals, free time and workshops will remain similar.
Come spend a fall weekend with us in Lac Brome, surrounded by forest, good food and thoughtful practice, exploring what it means to quiet the noise, refine your attention and return to your own inner authority.
Register now
Registration is by email and e-transfer – send a message and Sara or Melanie will respond with more details asap!