In person. In nature. Together. It’s what I love best. Tactile. Shared physical experience. Individual awakening held in and fed by the communal. For the self. For the collective. We are social animals who heal in connection, relationally. What does it mean to retreat? We take pause from the rhythms of daily life to create the conditions for deeper insight and growth. It’s an ancient practice and we need it more than ever in our modern world.
The next upcoming retreat is...
"The laughter. The silly sensation feelings of what it is to be here. It’s magical. Molly’s retreats feel like you are in a swirl... but in a very safe and subversive, rebellious and tingly kind of way." – Jess Miller
“I felt instantly connected to every person here which feels magical. Being on retreat with Molly feels warm and safe. Absolutely safe. Which is a gift. I don’t think that’s something every facilitator can create. It feels natural and unforced for her. I can be exactly who I am here. This experience has radically changed my life. I have made friends who feel like soul mates. I feel like I’m falling in love with people.”
– Naomi Gottlieb-Miller
“Molly is incredibly intentional. She’s telling a story as she facilitates. I love the natural pacing she brings to the entire experience. The community and authenticity and safety she’s created has been deeply impactful. It’s mystical, almost like we’ve lost track of time and space. It’s hard to put into words!" – Britta Shiels
THIS NEW YEAR
at Whispertree (2.5 hours north of San Fransisco)
As 2025 begins, what deep longing within you is ready to bloom? Truly! I know there's something in there. Perhaps it has been hidden for much of your life. Maybe the timing or circumstances haven’t been right. We all know it’s often safer (for good reason) to tuck away those nudges. These days, though, you might be feeling it awaken. It wants to make itself known, to part the mist and move from unrealized to vital and existing, from unseen to seen. SEEN by you and even by others. What stories about yourself are ready to transform into something new? How does your mammal body want to show up more fully aligned? This process can feel edgy. Familiarity, after all, is easier, a sure bet, a boat in a still and quiet river. But emergence doesn’t have to be an unsustainable catharsis or lead to sudden life upending decisions. Let’s titrate. Let’s do it side by side. Let’s invite ourselves into this new and magnetic becoming—together, with lots of communal support.
This era is asking all of us to "become" rather rapidly.
Doing so alone is no longer viable. Group-work and being in person is the time-tested way of weaving our future together. It makes sense physiologically, socially and on the most magical human level. At this immersive and intimate retreat, we will engage with the power of relationality, the roles we play, the gifts of comfort and discomfort in togetherness, witnessing and being witnessed, our personal-to-us innate wildness, the shared wisdom of the circle and an abiding trust in whatever is unfolding.
January always brings a collective worldwide energy of possibility that trickles down to individuals. In northern California, it is a deep winter full of green and enveloping mist. The landscape and weather will give us plenty of opportunity to experience the unseen become seen and then unseen and then seen again. Cozy. Holding. Mysterious. Very hydrating. Full of potential. We have a soulful caterer who will provide locally-sourced, organic meals. That means DELICIOUS and made for us by a chef who will drive up from San Fransisco and stay on site. We will be solo at Whispertree, a stunning location where the land holds the resonance of many intentional gatherings of change-makers. It is not a large retreat center with multiple separate groups happening at the same time. Those places are great in different ways, but this is NOT that. It will be very intimate. Just our crew. On the land. Exploring. Being. Lots of room for expression and late night starry walks and early morning yodeling. Just kidding. Actually.... not kidding.
Guarantee: This retreat will be way more than a cool thing you did once. I make sure of that.
What Will We Do?
We use my Story Mammal framework to take a deep dive into stretching and celebrating the possibility within you. Your vitality! Your unique aliveness. How are the story you’ve told yourself about yourself and your nervous system deeply intertwined? Why does it matter? Oh, it matters so much! That knowing can be a sustained game-changer—the kind where your people ask, “What are you doing because something is different about you?” You can loosen it all and find a new fluidity that feels like renewed life-blood. The retreat will be profound and playful practice. We give our attention to pace, ultradian rhythms, speaking out loud the language of sensation, asking for boundary or closeness, reaping and sowing, separating from social media to some self-chosen degree, invoking titration and tasting edges, being serious and silly together. Our senses will be centered. You can expect ample times outdoors, exploration, night walks, movement, making and a heart-centered, kick-ass dynamic group of people. Lots of writing, working with personal and collective mythology, embodiment exercises, dyads/triads and full group processing in a holding container of discernment, respect, care and awareness of the larger holding force beyond us.
I will invite each of us (me included) to track how we take care of our mammal selves in a group setting like this? Being physically together is imperative for discovering our growing edges. What patterns arise? What are you negotiating in real time? Where do you disassociate, over-ride, under-share or over-share, track too much or too little? All held in a curious and compassionate spirit of adventure.
Our Daily Rhythm
For arrival and departure: Our first session begins the first evening January 17th so please plan to arrive between 4-5pm that afternoon. Our last session ends midday on the last day January 21st.
This is a 4-night retreat: 3 full days + 2 half days.
Our morning session is two ultradian rhythms of deep work.
We then have a hours-long break for lunch, exploration, rest, and connection.
We gather back for a playful, often-outdoors session in the afternoon.
We break and then gather for a shared dinner (other meals will be shared or come-and-go) followed by a short, winding-down-for-sleep integration.
*Plenty of workshop time. Plenty of rest and solo time.
“This retreat has been very safe, a container where I can let my voice speak what it wants to speak and be myself. I don’t have that in my daily life. I feel held by a circle of women who are also imperfect and healing and evolving and curious about the next step. They want to break out and make changes and grow. I want to be around these kinds of people. When I am with them, I feel alive!” – Rachel Schmidt
"Being in space and time with Molly feels so big, so potent. 24 hours feels like a lifetime. It feels like medicine. She has helped me understand more about myself than 17 therapists! Her authenticity, warmth and generosity make me feel safe being a human." – Amy Baumgarten
Click below to REGISTER.
Women and gender non-conforming people.
Ages 18 to infinity (all ages come to these retreats, always multi-generational)
My work attracts change-makers, consciousness-raisers, space-creators, educators, artists, seekers, activists, therapists, healing arts practitioners, internal and external terrain adventurers, and the curious.
$2,495
or
Payment plan 5 x $519
*we can also accommodate a more extended payment plan, just ask!
Includes tuition, gorgeous lodging, + organic, locally-sourced meals (*does not include travel costs)
The lodging will all be shared: either in a seriously sweet glamping tent with one other person or in a barn/house with shared rooms, a communal living space + kitchen. Whispertree has many nooks and crannies for solo time as well. If you would like to room with someone in particular, please let us know in the application. You can explore the Whispertree site to get a visual on spaces. If you have any questions, please reach out to retreats@mollycaromay.com
***There are 4-5 solo Queen bed rooms at an additional and very reasonable cost. Details in application.
**One FULL SCHOLARSHIP (minus travel costs) available. Due by fall equinox, Sept 22nd
Please be in your discernment and integrity about whether this description fits you. This scholarship is about access. Are you someone who would likely never dream of attending a retreat because it isn't possible financially, even if you were to plan ahead and budget? Are you a member of a systematically disenfranchised or minoritized/marginalized group?
If you are interested answer the scholarship question in the application. *If you have already received a scholarship for one of Molly's workshops or retreats in the past, we will first prioritize those who haven't.
You can read more about Whispertree here. I am very clear about my ideal environment for a retreat. A circular and/or stunning meeting space when possible. Spectacular nature with wandering and adventuring options right there. Delicious meals included. Everyone staying on site so the in-between, spontaneous, collective moments can work their alchemy. Varied lodging options (from solo to shared to camping) so you can assess preference and budget. Scroll way down for the WHAT, HOW, retreat rhythm, refund policy and testimonials from former retreat attendees. Every retreat has the blueprint of Story Mammal with its own theme and flavor based the landscape/terrain/ground and moment in time. Our bodies dance with and aren't separate from environment so we will attend to that truth. Group size: 20-ish.
Who is your guide?
MOLLY CARO MAY
I grew up moving from country to country and that foundation embedded in me a curiosity about and respect for everyone. I’ve created, taught and facilitated personal story workshops for 14+ years—as space-maker, mineral-adder, listener, weaver, circle tender and playful spark-plug. People tell me I sometimes speak in sounds instead of words. It's true. I'm the author of two books and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, born of a 3-year study of trauma resolution and nervous system resilience. There's more, of course. Blending soma and story is my deep delight! It has given me the most traction in my own life and I've witnessed its lasting power with those in my classes. Retreats are my soul song. I live for being a mammal alongside other mammals, in the flesh, where we can sense-into each other. My everyday life involves "the wild" not as an idea but as a lived experienced in my backyard and based on how I shape my day. The tactile life is for me and, on retreat, we get to GATHER and play. I've hosted retreats in Oregon, New York, Montana and New Mexico (there I am riding a horse on one retreat). I trust in the orchestration beyond me that brings a group together. I'm here for it. I'm here for you, for us, for the shared evolution.
with big heart support from Saadia Khalid
I’m a biracial Pakistani-American educator, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY/Lenapehoking. I am a mother of two daughters who make my world spin, partnered with a tender tender of plants, daughter of a Punjabi immigrant poet and a steadfast Southern-Italian-Brooklynite, the spiritual descendant of an 11th Century Sufi saint, and the middle strand in a braid of sisters. I grew up straddling cultures and continents, always feeling like I existed in the “between places.” What I quickly came to find was that the between places are full of incredible stories. I’ve spent my life and my career tending the seeds of my own stories and creating spaces for others to tell theirs. As an educator for over 16 years, I’ve worked with children, young adults, and adults in many different contexts and capacities, inside and outside of traditional classroom spaces, and always, always in co-creation. I believe that learning can and should be liberatory and that liberation happens in community. I believe in abolition. I am in a committed relationship with hope. I am fiercely tender. I laugh and cry copiously. I love enormously. I live for stories. And I am so honored and elated to co-create these spaces with all of you.
Refund Policy
This is your investment. When we commit, we set some growth in motion. Sit with it now. Is this what you want? Your body will tell you. That isn't just a saying or idea. It's real deal. Are you leaning forward or back?
If you need to cancel for any reason and we can find someone to take your spot, then you will be fully refunded fully minus a $200 processing fee. If we can't find someone to take your spot but YOU can find someone, same as above. If no one fills your spot, there is no refund. This policy includes payment plans. If you have started a payment plan and cancel, without someone replacing your spot, your payments are still due. If the retreat has to be cancelled due to unforeseen pandemic or climate issues, participants' tuition will be credited to future retreat dates.