Amphibious Creatures: Water Land Overnight Retreat with John & Merrick (April 6-7)

Join John & Merrick at the Inner Sanctum from Saturday, April 6 – Sunday, April 7 for a dive back into our amphibian being. Together we’ll explore movement on land & immersed in an outdoor warm water pool surrounded by the beautiful mountains, overlooking the pacific ocean.

We’re curious about this state of transition from water to land and land to water. What comes from moving together in water and how does that inform our movement on land and vice versa? Together we’ll explore this spaciously and over the course of the weekend through guidance, jamming, play, and all the in-between time together. Merrick will bring in Contact Improvisation & Body-Mind Centering, while John will bring in Aquatic Dance, informed by Aquahara.

All are very welcome, from seasoned movers on land/water to first-timers.

More Details & Logistics: 

• Location: Inner Sanctum near Thomas Fogarty Winery on Skyline in the hills of Woodside (about 1 hour from Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz). A gorgeous oasis overlooking the mountains and the pacific ocean, huge 98 degree warm water pool, and lots of cozy indoor spaces
• Arrival: Saturday, April 6th at 11am
• Departure: Sunday, April 7th at 4pm
• Meals: Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast included. We ask that you bring a light lunch for Saturday, and any snacks or specific dietary needs you may have during your stay. We have plenty of storage to store food in the space. When you fill out the registration form, please notify us of any sensitivities, or allergens we should know about.
• Sleeping Accommodations: options to camp outside on the land or sleep inside the main house. There are a variety of collective spaces to sleep, most equipped with queen beds.
• Prices: Sliding scale $150-300. The sliding scale is in place to aim to make this accessible to everyone regardless of financial circumstance. If you’re feeling financially abundant, please consider contributing higher on the scale to support the Inner Sanctum, the facilitators, and those in need on the lower end of the scale <3

About John

John Delaplaine is passionate about creating sacred spaces for awareness-expanding experiences, while always holding trust, safety, attunement and consent as paramount. He has been dedicated to exploring somatic and ceremonial healing modalities— especially within the vital context of human connection—for well over 20 years, and chooses the element of water as his primary container to work, heal and play in. As a trauma-informed guide, the care and commitment he brings to guiding and supporting others into and through their own unique, healing journeys shines through every offering he brings forth, whether in one on one individual sessions, consciousness raising festivals such as SoulPlay, or in regular community events throughout Northern California, Hawaii and beyond.

About Merrick

Merrick Jacob is a lover of movement, continuously in awe of the body and its potential for unique expression, creativity, & authentic connection. Influenced by her practices of figure skating, acroyoga, hand-balancing, and contact improvisation, she guides playful movement experiences as an opportunity for deep listening, exploration, and co-creation. She is a certified acroyoga instructor with AcroRevolution & AcroYoga Montréal. Merrick studied a variety of somatic movement therapy modalities with Dynamic Embodiment & The Moving On Center: School of Participatory Arts & Somatic Research, focusing on BodyMind Centering & Laban Movement Analysis. For more contact improvisation with Merrick, she hosts every 2nd & 4th Wednesday evening at The Center SF. Say hi to her here: https://merrickjacob.com/