Heart of Vitality
An immersive program in transformative well-being, of vitality on a personal, interpersonal, community and ecological level.
Well-being is a process of coming into wholeness: body, mind and spirit.
Health and healing happen when our beings move into balance, letting go of what is weighing us down or holding us back, and nourishing our beings on all of the levels.
Our health and wellbeing are inextricably linked to the health of our communities and the natural world.
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Attuning ourselves to nature and to the high vibrational energy states of loving-kindness and playful joy accelerate our capacity to heal and be expressed.
This special program weaves a supportive and beautiful structure around us as we engage in becoming our most vital, whole, healed selves.
It will be especially supportive for those of us actively inquiring–what is mine to do, who am I to be?--at this extraordinary moment in time.
What would we gain by tuning in to the rhythms of nature and our natural world?
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What might shift if we brought our behaviors and lives into alignment with our highest selves?
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What can we ripple out into our communities, centering wellbeing on loving care and connection within our human family and beyond?
We will come together over four weekends, each attuned to the energies and wisdom of each season.
Each weekend will weave together strands of wisdom gleaned from
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the science of wellbeing,
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the art of healing,
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the practice of attunement to nature and spirit, and
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the embodied experience of being in kind and loving connection with self, others, and the abundant natural world.
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Drawing inspiration from time-honored wisdom, advances in integrative medicine, and nature herself, we will walk our individual and collective paths toward wellbeing.
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We ask that you commit to attending all four of the gatherings.
This program draws upon reverent, supportive connection with the beautiful nature here in and around the Commonweal Garden
The land holds us as we integrate teachings and experiences, including:
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Mind-body practices that create the relaxation response, deepen your connection to the natural world, improve health including immune function and decrease harmful stress.
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Evaluating our mental, emotional and behavioral patterns, where they come from, and how to cultivate healthy, resilient inner worlds.
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Practice with honing intuition, insight and vision in living into our most resilient, vital potential, and how we can each be a stand for this sort of healing at this planetary moment.
Drawing on emerging science and the essence of that which heals, we are building community around well-being, deep nature connection, and ecological consciousness.
Experiential elements ground teachings including:
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The use of food as medicine, with chef demonstrations and nourishing pot-lucks, including seasonal yumminess consciously sourced from the garden and the wild nature around us.
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Practices to support a healthy gut ecology, and the emerging awareness of the soil-food-gut ecological connection
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Practices to prevent or reverse chronic disease processes by limiting inflammation and toxic exposures
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Consideration of the structures of community that either support or challenge our individual and collective wellbeing, and ways to support healing these structures.
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The joyful medicine of movement and music
Heart of Vitality is an immersive program in transformative well-being
The strength of connections in the circle supports the depth of our healing. We ask that you commit to full participation in all four of the weekends.
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Between-session Zoom calls and supportive "buddy" relationships help to sustain the integration of new concepts and behaviors.
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Participants may elect to have a 1:1 integrative medicine consultation with Anna to augment one's healing process, scheduled outside of these weekends.
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Staying on-site is encouraged; camping is included in the registration.
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We have limited accommodations (cots in a shared "bell tent") available for elders or those unable to lay on the ground; let us know at info@naturainstitute.org of you'd like to request this, at the time of registration.
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Join us in co-creating an ecology of wellness and healing, in community with all of life
2025-2026 Dates:
October 11-12, December 13-14, March 28-29, June 6-7
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Tuition for the year-long program (four two-day weekends with between-session support and communication) is as follows:
Full tuition: $1600
Elders, students, AOV alumni: $1200
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We are committed to making this program accessible to anyone who would like to be a part of the circle, and have a (limited) fund to support reduced tuition. Priority given to BIPOC individuals and those who serve in our community's safety net. Please ask for what you need to make participation possible.
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To inquire about any aspect of this program, please reach out to us at info@naturainstitute.org.
An informational Zoom presentation will be offered September 11 from 6-7 pm.
Register with this link here:
Heart of Vitality is facilitated by Anna O'Malley, MD
and is an evolution of a program developed and facilitated by Anna and James Stark.
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It is offered in dedication to healing ourselves so that we may be a stand for a regenerative, joyful life on our beautiful, beloved Earth, in honor of our mentors and teachers and elders, including James.
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James passed on to the ancestral realm in July of 2025. Visit this page to read more about this beautiful being.