The Collective Alchemy

10/02/2026

If you really knew what was going on for me? (I’m asking you by the way 😉.

I had this conversation in The Return today: the feeling of being caught between the desire to rest and the desire to be productive.  I feel this.  If you really knew what was going on for me I’d fully admit that I have felt overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted.  I have so many things to do, and yet what I really want is to sleep.  So I slept for 9 hours last night and it felt great.  

I’ve had my parents in town and I’m trying to balance getting work done and spending time with them. This is right before I leave for Calgary to see more family and host an event, then go to Winnipeg to see more family and host another event. After that, I come home for 5 days before leaving for Europe for over 3 weeks to run my retreat in Biarritz, France (1 spot left by the way 😊🇫🇷), and another in London (🇬🇧).

I admit this is all self-inflicted, but it has felt like a lot.  Like I could burst into tears at any moment (which I have). Running against the clock. Not to mention all the other tasks I haven’t completed.  And each time I think about those undone tasks, it adds a bit more stress. 

But what I know and share in my work, especially in The Return, is that this is why flexibility with our nervous system is so important.  We live in a world where a million things fly at us.  One minute we’re up and the next we’re down.  Finding flexibility within states of stress and calm is very important.  And having tools to help ourselves is essential.  Calm is not always the goal, because that isn’t life (all the time).  But having more ease and flexibility to ebb and flow between things, with a quiet knowing of how truly resilient we are, is. So whatever might be going on for you, you’ve got this.

Share below, be honest.  What’s really going on for you?

xo Shannon

The Return, Somatic, Nervous System, Stress Management, Retreats in Biarritz, Overwhelm, Breathwork

09/18/2026

I’ve been dreaming about this since my first time in Biarritz.

I hosted a few workshops, but I knew I would one day host a retreat there. I am bursting with excitement to see it all come together.

This morning I spoke with the chef who is preparing an amazing Basque + Ayurvedic-inspired meal for our last night together, al fresco on our private terrace, while a musician plays us a private concert. I can’t wait. 😍

Biarritz holds a little piece of my story.

The first time I arrived, I wasn’t totally myself. I was finding my way after a break-up, figuring out if I wanted to stay in Whistler, thinking about my next steps for The Collective Alchemy, and navigating mortgage rates and the resulting cortisol spike from my impending variable rate increase. IYKYK. 😂

And somehow, through it all, Biarritz gave me exactly what I needed, and more.

I surfed. I wandered. I ate cheese and drank w**e while I worked. I watched an absurd number of sunsets. I explored. I breathed. I laughed. I met incredible humans and made lifelong friendships. I invested in The Collective Alchemy and figured out my next steps.

And somewhere in all of that, I started nurturing my way back home to myself.

I’m not saying Biarritz gave me all the answers, but it gave me space to hear myself again.

It has held a very special place in my heart ever since. If you know me well, you know how much I love this place.

And full disclosure: you do NOT need to be going through a break-up, thinking about moving cities or navigating your next work steps to join. 😉

This retreat is about bringing more of who you already are forward, in a truly special place.

It’s part soulful reconnection, part adventure, part cultural immersion and part “let’s see what happens when we give ourselves a little more space.”

We’ll breathe, move, explore, eat, laugh, connect, get curious and make room for whatever wants to emerge when we step away from the usual noise.

I want you to leave feeling more like YOU.

More alive.
More connected.
More spacious.
More curious about what’s possible.

One small group.
One very special place.
And a whole lotta magic.

Reach out if you are curious or want to join! 🇫🇷

xo Shannon

09/16/2026

I would seriously love to know what this little version of me was thinking. Probably something like, “Ohhh, this is fun. I can’t wait to do this on the ocean on a real wave!”

As it turns out, I do LOVE surfing, so perhaps I was secretly calling this into my life right here on this lake.

It’s interesting to think back on what these younger versions of ourselves knew, wanted and loved before we had so many ideas about who we were supposed to be.

Did I already dream of running my own business? Of building a life around work I’m passionate about that gives me freedom to learn, explore, help others, travel and be creative?

Probably not quite yet. But I think I’ve always been a dreamer.

I had 5 businesses by the time I reached high school. I’ve always loved my freedom. I’ve always been curious. I’ve been called “curious Shannon” for as long as I can remember. And I’ve always had an adventurous side, not to mention a rebellious side that doesn’t like to be put in a box. Am I a bit of a black sheep? Probably.

But…I think there’s something to that.

As we get older, some of these parts of ourselves can get pushed down. The curiosity. The play. The willingness to follow something simply because it feels good or interesting.

And the protector parts can get louder. They start running the show. Fear. People pleasing. Perfectionism. Fear of failure. Avoidance. Procrastination.

I don’t think we need to get rid of those parts. They’ve been trying to keep us safe.

We can learn to have compassion for them while creating space for the parts of us that want to explore, create, play, receive and grow.

This is a big part of what we explore in The Return.

Coming back to what was already there. Back to the parts of ourselves underneath all the noise, conditioning and expectations. Back to that little girl living her best life on a surfboard on a lake.

So this is your reminder:

Follow your curiosity.
Pay attention to what brings you joy.
Stay open to possibility.

You never know where it might lead you.

And maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe, there’s more of who you really are waiting for you in those younger versions of yourself. Now go on! Get curious!

xo Shannon

09/07/2026

It’s been a hot minute, Whistler 🤍

I’m so excited to be back and hosting a workshop on Thursday, September 10 | 7–8:30pm | Fairmont Chateau Whistler.

What becomes possible when we scribble outside the lines?

Life wasn’t meant to be lived inside the box. We’re meant to create a life from our own blueprint, not someone else’s. But when we’re stuck in the box, it can feel constricting, frustrating, and disconnected. We may feel like we’re going through the motions, second-guessing ourselves, dimming our desires, or living according to expectations that don’t truly feel like our own.

For me, breathwork has been such a great tool for doing exactly that. It helped me quiet the noise, reconnect with my body and intuition, and ultimately find the courage to move through difficult relationships, leave the corporate world, start my own business, and create a life that feels like me.

I want this workshop to be an invitation to explore what you really want to create, and what might be keeping you stuck. There’s a really juicy space in between there that we need to cross to get outside the lines.

We’ll use breathwork to quiet the chatter, meet fear with compassion, create safety in the nervous system, and make space for the things that really light us up! Being inside the box when we don’t want to can feel exhausting, constricting, frustrating, lack clarity, joy and presence and overall feel sluggish. Outside the box, aligned, feels magnetic, flowy and expansive!

I think sometimes we don’t need another answer; we actually already have it. We just need enough space to hear the one already inside us, underneath the noise.

Come scribble outside the lines with me.

Whistler Breathwork, Whistler Workshop, Somatic Whistler, Breathwork, Nervous System Support, Whistler Events,

08/25/2026

It’s very hard for me not to be entangled in the work I do.  I live and breathe it and it was birthed from my own journey of reconnecting with myself (which is of course, an ongoing journey of consciously choosing me - and I don’t mean that selfishly; I just mean in a way that empowers me to listen to my needs, honor who I am, what I believe to be possible and what I want to create in this life.)  

I have a hard time even classifying what I do as work because I feel like it is so much more.  I truly believe I was put on this earth to do this work.  That’s how right and good it feels in my body!  

I’ve run a 6 week program for years and in June I changed and upgraded this program to 3 months.  It’s called The Return.  A huge part of my work is about stepping into your most expansive self, and I expanded greatly last year (holy dina), so it only made sense to level up what I offer to the world. 

The expansion for me wasn’t necessarily about becoming someone totally new, in fact, it felt like I returned even more to who I have always been, my returned self as I call it. And this has been a core value and mission of my work since the very beginning.  I like to think of it as creating your life from your blue print and not someone else’s. Choosing from your returned self and not your conditioned self.

I am so excited about The Return.  I learned so much from running my first cohort and working 1:1 with people and I can’t wait to apply this to my next cohort, which starts on September 10 and other 1:1 clients.  

If any of this resonates and you are ready to level up, come home to yourself, find flexibility in all seasons of life, expand your capacity to receive, and create a life that feels like home in your body please send me a DM and we can set up a free call to see what’s possible!  

The Return, Expansion, Somatic Wellness, Returned Self, Freedom, Nervous System Support, Protector Parts, Anxiety, Fear, Choose Me, Somatic Coach

08/12/2026

Now that you might know this intel, how does it make you feel? We’re you surprised? Did you feel that contraction feeling start to set in? I have a million questions, because this stuff is sooo good.

I would LOVE to know in the comments below what came up!
This is truly the gold when it comes to creating space for our desires to flourish. Remember, with expansion there can be fear and discomfort and that’s ok. 🚀

And if you need support on seeing these parts of yourself and what to do next please reach out! I’d love to chat or have you join my 3 month guided experience The Return. We just finished session 7 of my current group cohort and it was 🔥. It’s amaaaazing to see what happens when we start recognizing these parts of ourself and find harmony with them rather than as our saboteur.

05/12/2026

The life you want requires a nervous system that feels safe enough to receive it -

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how many of us are trying to create a life that feels good… from a body and nervous system that have been stuck in survival mode for years.  I have a lot of compassion for this, we live in an unprecedented time and we are simply trying to keep up, but it c...

05/12/2026

Summer Solstice Retreat: From Hustle to Harmony - a wellness retreat in nature

Rest deeply. Receive fully. Return to you.

What if the thing you need most… isn’t another vacation, another strategy, or another thing to push through?

What if you simply need space to exhale?

This June, we’re flying deep into the wilderness of British Columbia - to a remote alpine lake only accessible by float plane - for 4.5 days of complete nervous system restoration, nature immersion, healing breathwork, movement, stillness, connection, and deep remembering.

No traffic.
No constant notifications.
No pressure to perform.
No constant rushing, planning, answering, giving, or holding everything together for everyone else.

Just mountains, silence, fresh air, star-filled skies, nourishing food, meaningful connection, and the opportunity to finally hear yourself again.

This is not a retreat where you leave exhausted from trying to “optimize” yourself.

This is a retreat about softening.
👉🏼 Receiving.
👉🏼 Resting deeply.
👉🏼 Coming back home to yourself.

Imagine waking up in a cozy cabin overlooking your private lake…

💫Beginning your day with breathwork and meditation instead of emails and urgency.

💫 Hiking through untouched wilderness.

💫 Canoeing crystal-clear water.
💫 Sharing heartfelt conversations around the fire.

💫 Releasing the tension, pressure, overstimulation, and emotional weight your body has been quietly carrying for far too long.

💫 Letting go of old narratives that are holding you back and keeping you stuck

💫 Summer Solstice Ceremony to where you'll mark a new beginning, one rooted in presence, peace, and purpose.

By the time you leave, you won’t just feel “relaxed.”

You’ll leave feeling:

☀️ Like your nervous system can finally breathe again instead of constantly being “on.”
☀️ Less mentally cluttered and overwhelmed by life, decisions, notifications, and endless to-do lists.
☀️ More connected to your body, intuition, and what you actually need - not just what everyone else needs from you.
☀️ Rested in a way sleep alone doesn’t fix.
☀️ More present, softer, calmer, and emotionally regulated.
☀️ Like you’ve remembered parts of yourself that got buried beneath responsibility, stress, and survival mode.
☀️ Inspired to create a life that actually feels good to live - not just one that looks good from the outside.
☀️ Held by nature, community, and by yourself again.

And maybe the most beautiful part?

You’ll realize the peace you’ve been searching for was never outside of you in the first place. It's always been right there within you.

✨ FROM HUSTLE TO HARMONY
📍 Nuk Tessli Wilderness Lodge, BC
🗓 June 18–22, 2026

If your body is whispering “I need this” - listen.

Learn more: https://www.thecollectivealchemy.com/nuk-tessli-wilderness-lodge-retreat2026

If you have questions or are ready to join us please reach out to Shannon at The Collective Alchemy.
Email: [email protected]

Summer Solstice Retreat: From Hustle to HarmonyRest deeply. Receive fully. Return to you.NUK TESSLI WILDERNESS LODGE – BRITISH COLUMBIA - CANADA June 18-22, 2026 If you’re craving more ease, clarity, and energy in your life, this retreat is your chance to reset. Step out of your daily demands an...

04/15/2026

You can only get here by float plane… -

Just the sound of a lake gently moving against the shore…(your own private lake). Birds in the distance… And mountains rising all around you.