The Pause Between
A Nervous System Retreat for Women in Perimenopause + Menopause
January 22-24, 2027 Whistler, BC
When you don't quite feel like yourself anymore, understanding what's happening can be the beginning of finding your way back.
Join us for a weekend to understand what's happening in your brain and body, feel less alone in the experience, and discover practical ways to feel more grounded, supported and at home in this phase of life.
Early bird $444 + GST until December 15, 2026
Regular price $525 + GST
*Option to pay with credit card above or if you prefer to pay via e-transfer please reach out to Shannon here.
Maybe it's not just you.
Have you been doing all the things you're supposed to be doing and still not quite feeling like yourself?
You move your body.
You try to eat well.
You prioritize sleep.
You may have talked to your healthcare provider.
Maybe you've even got your hormones dialled in.
And yet...
You feel anxious when you never used to.
Your brain feels scattered.
You forget why you walked into a room.
Noise, people and stimulation feel like a lot more than they used to.
Your patience is thinner.
The mental load feels heavier.
Things you used to handle without thinking suddenly feel like a lot.
And somewhere in the middle of all of it, you might be wondering:
Why does everything suddenly
feel so fricken hard?
You're not failing at midlife. And you're not the only one feeling this way.
You don't need to become a different person.
You deserve to understand what's happening and have some support as you navigate it.
We just want to help you understand and feel supported.
Imagine giving yourself a weekend where you don't have to figure everything out.
A weekend where you can exhale and just be you, exactly as you are in this moment.
Where you can sit in a room full of women and realize you're not the only one whose brain suddenly seems to have its own agenda or whose body sometimes feels like unfamiliar territory.
Where you can ask the questions you've been wondering about.
Where you can laugh about the weirdness of midlife.
Where you can learn something and then actually feel it in your body.
Where you don't have to be productive.
Where nobody needs anything from you.
The Pause Between is a chance to step out of the noise and into a little more space.
Space to understand what’s happening.
Space to breathe.
Space to figure out what you need now.
Less doing it alone. More “oh thank god, it's not just me!”
We want this weekend to feel like a soft landing.
A place where you can show up exactly as you are, be around women who get it, and talk honestly about what's happening
without feeling like you need to have it all figured out.
You'll leave with a better understanding of what's happening in your brain and body, practical tools to support yourself,
and the reminder that you don't have to navigate this alone.
“I just returned from a beautiful retreat with Shannon. From the start, Shannon’s warm and gentle energy made the whole experience feel so welcoming and grounding. The breathwork and yoga nidra practices were very restorative. I left feeling refreshed and connected. I would wholeheartedly recommend this retreat or any offering from Shannon and The Collective Alchemy!” ~ Chelsea, HR Director (past retreat participant)
This is a three-day retreat in Whistler for women navigating perimenopause and menopause, as well as women who are curious about this phase and want to understand what to expect.
We'll bring together menopause education, neuroscience, nervous system education, breathwork, somatic practices, yoga, reflection and honest conversation.
The idea is to connect the dots between what you're learning and what you're experiencing in your own body. To understand what's happening, explore what helps, and leave with tools you can actually use in everyday life.
There will be laughter, probably some tears, and plenty of opportunity to connect with other women navigating this stage of life.
WHAT IS THE PAUSE BETWEEN?
THIS ISN'T A GOOD VIBES ONLY RETREAT
It’s a space to get real.
We can talk honestly about what’s happening to our body, anxiety, cognitive changes, stress, overwhelm, relationships, careers, caregiving, boundaries, expectations and, yes, sometimes the patriarchy.
You don't need to arrive calm, centred or with everything figured out. We want you to show up as you are. No filters here.
This isn't a space where you have to perform wellness.
We'll bring in the science, but this isn't a medical seminar.
We'll move, breathe, reflect, journal, talk, laugh and make space for the parts of midlife that can feel messy, complicated and hard to explain.
And we'll do it together.
Early bird $444 + GST until December 15, 2026
Regular price $525 + GST
*Option to pay with credit card above or if you prefer to pay via e-transfer please reach out to Shannon here.
“Taking a workshop with Tara is delightfully effective on so many levels. Her skill and professionalism are superb, while her fun approach makes learning a blast! She's bringing together modalities that empower all involved, taking you to the next level." ~ Denise Holden, Holistic Nutritionist
WHY THIS PHASE CAN FEEL SO DISORIENTING
Your body is changing. Your life may be changing, too. And sometimes it can feel like nobody gave you the memo or the roadmap.
For many women, the cognitive and emotional changes of perimenopause are some of the most surprising.
You might understand that your hormones are changing, but still wonder:
Why do my brain and body feel so different?
Why am I suddenly anxious, sometimes for no obvious reason?
Why does stress or overstimulation feel harder to manage?
Why am I questioning things I never used to question, from my relationships and career to my boundaries, priorities and identity?
There are physiological reasons for some of these changes. Social pressures, life circumstances and the demands of midlife can play a part, too.
Understanding how these things connect can make the experience feel less frightening and help you find ways to support yourself through it.
Early bird $444 + GST until December 15, 2026
Regular price $525 + GST
*Option to pay with credit card above or if you prefer to pay via e-transfer please reach out to Shannon here.
Here’s what you’ll leave with...
A little more understanding.
Why your brain and body may feel different right now.
A little more self-trust.
More confidence recognizing your own patterns and understanding what you need.
Tools that fit into real life.
Not another 27-step morning routine.
A better understanding of your nervous system.
Recognizing your early signs of stress or overwhelm, and what helps you find your way back.
A little more space.
Between what happens and how you respond.
Less fear around what's changing.
Because unfamiliar doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong.
And hopefully, a little more of you.
You won't leave with a perfectly regulated nervous system.
You may still lose your shit sometimes.
But you might understand what's happening sooner, have a better sense of what you need, and know how to find your way back to yourself.
The Pause Between Retreat
January 22-24, 2027 | Whistler, BC
$444 + GST early bird until December 15, 2026
$525 + GST regular price
Three days of programming
The Pause Between grew out of a shared desire to create something we felt was missing.
We are really excited to share this retreat with you all. Each of us brings a different perspective, a different area of expertise, and our own experience of navigating life and midlife. We felt this would blend together perfectly, and thought, let’s create something. So we did! The intention is for these pieces to support one another rather than feel like three separate workshops. And we want to do it here, in our beautiful hometown of Whistler, with time to step outside, breathe some fresh mountain air and enjoy being together in this amazing place.
Why we brought this weekend together
Three perspectives. One weekend.
Understand your nervous system. Feel it in your body. Come back home to yourself.
Hi, I’m Shannon! I am the founder of The Collective Alchemy. I am a self-connection coach and somatic practitioner including breathwork and yoga nidra as well as a Trauma of Money Coach. I love bringing people together. Community, connection and creating spaces where people can be seen, heard and really open up is very near and dear to my heart. As I enter midlife (which I think my heart just skipped a little beat writing that), I myself have become curious about what lies ahead. And of course, to make sense of what might already be happening. I want to create a weekend that welcomes people to arrive just as they are, whatever phase they are in. And leaves you feeling a little more expansive than when you walked in the door. I knew Tara would be the perfect person to share more about perimenopause and menopause and Christina to get our bodies moving.
I love helping you find your way back home to yourself, this is something I value greatly and has been a pillar of The Collective Alchemy since the very beginning. Why, because it is where my journey began, (and continues as life throws more curve balls). And perimenopause is no exception.
For the weekend I will bring nervous-system education together with breathwork and other somatic practices including yoga nidra, to help you understand not just what is happening in your nervous system, but how you can begin to notice it happening in real time and what the heck to do with that.
Through breath, body-based practices, reflection and guided experience, you'll have an opportunity to move some of the weekend's learning out of your head and into your body. Knowing about regulation is one thing. Feeling what regulation and nourishment actually feels like in your own body is another.
I can’t wait to share this weekend with you!
Shannon Frame
Understand what is happening.
Hi, I’m Tara! I am a menopause educator, health coach and Registered Massage Therapist who helps women make sense of the physical, cognitive and emotional changes of midlife. Blending neuroscience, movement and lived experience, I create spaces where women can get curious about what’s changing, and what they might need next. This work is very personal.
For most of my life, anxiety and significant mental-health struggles felt like something other people dealt with.
I had difficult seasons and I had strategies. I also had years of yoga, movement and mindfulness training.
Then perimenopause arrived.
Anxiety started creeping in. A stressful period in my personal life contributed to situational depression and eventually to what I now refers to as my “Girl, Interrupted moment.”
It threw me.
And it made me think about the women I see in my work every day.
Women who are reaching the end of their rope with careers, relationships, caregiving, expectations, changing bodies and the enormous mental load of midlife.
Women who keep being told to reduce their stress without anyone really helping them understand why everything can feel so different now.
I will cover Neuroendocrine 101, the connection between hormones, the brain and the stress response, the Three Ps, hormone therapy, lifestyle supports, and the gaps created when women’s health has been viewed through what is sometimes called “bikini medicine.” We will also look at symptom patterns and why understanding your own experience matters.
I am really excited to share everything I have learned and help you feel armed with education and science that makes you feel more confident to move through this phase of life.
Tara Findlay
Yoga, movement + reconnection
Hi, I'm Christina! I'm a yoga teacher with 25 years of experience teaching locally in Whistler and internationally, and the founder of Free Flow Yoga. I love incorporating creative freedom of movement with alignment principles from a variety of yoga lineages. At The Pause Between I want to guide you through supportive yoga practices designed to create space for movement, reflection and integration, because I get it, and know first hand what this phase of life is like. I blend breathwork, functional movement and a mix of flowing and restful postures to help you build awareness, explore how you move and deepen your connection with yourself. My teaching is grounded in intention, community and self-study, encouraging curiosity and compassion toward the body, honoring changing needs, and balancing movement with stillness.
For this retreat I want to offer accessible sessions for you as you navigate perimenopause and menopause and invite you to step back from daily demands, listen to your body and give yourself time and attention during this transition, no experience required, no toe-touching necessary (unless that’s what you need!).
I have a fun and welcoming teaching style that will help you move through your body, your physical and emotional issues, your limitations and strengths with ease, laughter, and grace.
I love learning, growing and being in community and I can’t wait to move with you!
Christina Tottle
What the weekend will look like
Friday
7 PM - 9 PM
Arrive + exhale
Meet the women you'll be sharing the weekend with. Settle in. Talk about what brought you here and what you hope to understand, explore or shift. We want to know what will make this weekend meaningful for you!
No pressure to have an intention perfectly figured out.
Saturday
11 AM - 6 PM
Learn + experience
This is the heart of the retreat. Menopause education, neuroscience, nervous system education, movement, breathwork, yoga, conversation and reflection.
We'll move between learning and experiencing so you aren't sitting through a full day of lectures.
Optional group dinner in Whistler in the evening. The cost is not included, and we ask that you confirm attendance in advance.
Sunday
11 AM - 2:30 PM
Integrate + take it home
We'll bring everything together and explore what you've learned about your own patterns, how to recognize when you're heading toward overwhelm, and what helps you find your way back.
The focus is on what feels realistic, useful and supportive when you're back in everyday life.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a day retreat. You'll return to your own accommodation each evening, and we'll meet at the same venue each day. The exact location in Whistler will be shared after registration.
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Accommodation
Travel to and from Whistler
Friday and Saturday dinners
Saturday and Sunday lunches
Drinks
Travel insurance
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Three days of retreat programming
Perimenopause and menopause education
Nervous system education
Breathwork practices, including one longer session
Yoga and movement
Yoga nidra
Snacks
Reflection and journaling
Practical tools and a symptom checklist to take home
Who is this for?
You might be in the thick of it...
Your periods may be changing.
Your sleep may be changing.
Your anxiety may be new.
Your brain may feel unfamiliar.
You might not quite feel at home in your body anymore.
You may be questioning parts of your life you never questioned before.
Or you might be wondering what's coming...
You're curious about perimenopause.
You want to understand your body before you're deep in it.
You want to know what to watch for and how to support yourself.
Either way, you don't have to wait until things feel hard to start understanding your body and what it needs.
You don't need to...
Have perimenopause figured out.
Know exactly what's happening.
Have done breathwork before.
Be good at yoga.
Arrive calm or have your life sorted out.
You just need to be curious.
Join us in Whistler, BC
Take yourself somewhere beautiful.
Whether Whistler is home or you're coming here for the weekend, a change of pace can be a welcome opportunity to step out of your usual routine.
Spend some time in the mountains, get outside, and give yourself room to breathe.
We'll come together for a weekend of learning, connection, movement and reflection, with space to understand what's happening in your brain and body and reconnect with yourself and other women navigating this phase of life.
When we surround ourselves in the presence and awareness of other women, we are given the opportunity to really feel. To support our realness and see each other, in all the unpolished ways we get to be in this world. Perimenopause and menopause are a transition, a rite of passage, a becoming. We get to honour this, listen, share, crack open if need be, feel the feels, root into ourselves and our changing needs, be there for each other and walk through it all armed with more knowledge and a powerful, regulated set of tools, knowing we are surrounded by a community of other women going through the ebbs of flow of this new way forward.
Investment
Three days of programming, including:
Perimenopause and menopause education
Neuroscience and nervous system education
Breathwork and somatic practices
Yoga and yoga nidra
Reflection, journaling and honest conversation
Practical tools to take home
Comprehensive perimenopause and menopause symptom checklist
Snacks during the retreat
Early bird: $444 CAD + GST
Until December 15, 2026
Regular: $525 CAD + GST
Accommodation, travel and meals are not included.
Prefer to pay by e-transfer? Email Shannon at shannon@thecollectivealchemy.com.
Limited to 20 women
Ready to join us? Have a few questions?
FAQS
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The venue is in Whistler, with the exact location shared after registration.
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Yes, this is a day retreat. You'll return to your own accommodation each evening, and accommodation, travel and meals are not included.
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You can participate at your own pace. You don't have to share anything personal or take part in every activity. We'll encourage you to listen to your body and choose what feels right for you.
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No experience is necessary. The yoga, breathwork and somatic practices will be accessible to beginners, and you're welcome to participate at your own pace. You never have to share anything personal or take part in an activity that doesn't feel right for you.
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We'll explore a range of breathwork practices, from shorter techniques you can use in everyday life to a longer, guided three-part breathing practice. You can participate at your own pace, and you're welcome to reach out to Shannon if you have questions or concerns.
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Christina will lead accessible yoga practices that blend movement, breath and rest. Expect a mix of flowing and restorative postures, with options to adapt to your body and energy levels. No yoga experience is needed.
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We will reach out with a full list after registration but things like a yoga mat, journal, water bottle or travel mug, comfortable clothing, and any cushions or supports you would like for sitting are all welcome.
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Absolutely. Many people come to retreats on their own. This is an opportunity to meet other women, connect and share the experience together.
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All retreat registrations are final and non-refundable. If you're no longer able to attend, you're welcome to transfer your spot to someone else. Please let us know in advance and share the name and contact information of the person taking your place so we can update our registration details.
Thank you for understanding and for respecting the time, planning and preparation that goes into creating this experience.
If for any reason we need to cancel or reschedule the retreat you will have the option for a full refund or choose to join us at the rescheduled time. -
You can register and pay by credit card through the website.
If you'd prefer to pay by e-transfer, email Shannon at shannon@thecollectivealchemy.com.
The early-bird investment is $444 CAD + GST ($466.20 total) until December 15, 2026) After that, the regular investment is $525 CAD + GST ($551.25 total).