Participation Agreement & Liability Waiver

This Agreement and Who It Covers

This Retreat Participation Agreement and Liability Waiver (this “Agreement”) is between you (“Participant” or “you”) and Embodied Wisdom Institute LLC (“EWI,” “we,” or “us”). It applies to your registration for, presence at, and participation in the Harvesting Stillness & Vitality Retreat, held October 29-31, 2026 at The Welcoming Place in Akron, Pennsylvania (the “retreat”).

Released Parties means EWI and its owners, members, officers, employees, facilitators, guest facilitators, presenters, staff, contractors, agents, volunteers, and sponsors, together with The Welcoming Place and any other venue partner, lodging partner, or property owner used for the retreat.

Registration is voluntary and is conditioned on your acceptance of this Agreement.

The Retreat, and What It Is Not

The retreat is a three-day, two-night residential gathering offering educational, contemplative, and experiential wellness programming. Activities include, but are not limited to:

• welcome, reflection, and closing circles, one of which is held by candlelight with open flame, and which may include optional hand-holding among participants
• sound meditation and vibrational sound, which may include instruments placed on or near your body with your permission
• Qigong and other gentle to moderate movement, taught by verbal instruction
• an herbalism workshop covering herbs traditionally associated with calm, rest, and sleep, which may include handling, smelling, and optional tasting of preparations such as teas and infusions
• gentle yoga, including floor-based practice and guided relaxation, taught by verbal instruction, part of which may be held outdoors depending on weather
• a lantern walk at dusk on the venue grounds, in low light and on uneven ground, involving open flame
• unstructured afternoon time, with an open studio available for journaling, drawing, and rest
• shared meals, tea, and refreshments prepared and served in a communal kitchen and dining space
• discovery bags and raffle items containing products made by third parties
• overnight lodging, communal living, and unstructured rest on the property

This is education, not treatment

We do not provide psychotherapy, counseling, mental health treatment, medical care, nutritional counseling, diagnosis, or crisis services at the retreat, and attending does not create a therapist-client or provider-patient relationship. Any professional license or clinical credential a facilitator holds in another setting is not being exercised here, and no facilitator is providing licensed clinical services at this retreat.

References to trauma-informed practice describe an educational approach built on choice, pacing, and consent. They do not describe therapy or clinical treatment. The retreat is offered solely by EWI and is not offered by or on behalf of any counseling, therapy, or healthcare practice.

Nothing offered at the retreat substitutes for professional medical or mental health care, and no specific outcome or result is promised.

Voluntary Participation

Everything offered at the retreat is an invitation. You may modify, pause, sit out, or decline any activity at any time, for any reason, without explaining yourself. Facilitators may offer suggestions; the decision about whether and how to take part is always yours.

You are responsible for monitoring your own physical and emotional well-being, respecting your own limits, telling a facilitator if you feel unsafe or unable to continue, and seeking medical or mental health care outside the retreat when you need it.

Health, Accommodations, and Emergencies

Participation is at your own risk. You warrant that you are medically, physically, and emotionally able to participate in the activities described in Section 2, that you have consulted your own healthcare provider about your participation if your condition warrants it, and that you are not relying on EWI or any facilitator to evaluate your fitness to take part. We do not provide medical services, do not diagnose or treat, and do not assess whether any activity is appropriate for you.

Registration asks about allergies and sensory sensitivities. We do not collect medication or health-condition information. Please email contact@embodiedwisdominstitute.com before the retreat about anything that could pose a risk to you or to someone else.

Accommodations

Participants with disabilities and health conditions are welcome, and telling us about an access need is never a condition of attending. Request a reasonable accommodation any time at contact@embodiedwisdominstitute.com. We will work with you in good faith to find accommodations that support your participation, and will make reasonable modifications where doing so does not fundamentally change the nature of the retreat. Requests about thirty days ahead give us the most room to arrange support, and later requests are still welcome.

Medical responsibility and emergencies

• There are no medical or emergency personnel on site.
• You are responsible for carrying your own health insurance and for all of your own medical and related transportation costs.
• You are responsible for bringing, storing, and self-administering your own medication, including rescue medication such as epinephrine or an inhaler.
• Please do not attend while experiencing symptoms of a contagious illness.
• If you are unable to act for yourself, you authorize EWI staff or venue representatives to make reasonable efforts to contact emergency services and to provide information reasonably necessary to obtain emergency assistance. Any medical care is provided solely by independent emergency or healthcare professionals, and you are responsible for the resulting medical and transportation costs. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any third-party medical or emergency provider.

Physical Contact and Consent

Sessions are taught through verbal instruction. Facilitators do not provide hands-on adjustments, physical assistance, bodywork, or manual therapy, and no service requiring professional licensure, such as massage, chiropractic, or physical therapy, is offered at the retreat.

Physical contact happens in only two situations, and only with your permission each time: a sound instrument may be placed on or near your body during sound sessions, and participants may choose to hold hands during circle gatherings.

You may decline any contact, at any time, for any reason or no reason, and you may withdraw permission mid-session even after agreeing earlier. Declining will not affect your ability to take part in any session. Please tell a facilitator about any injury or area that should not be touched, and speak up right away if any contact is uncomfortable.

Food, Herbs, and Third-Party Products

Meals are prepared and served in a shared kitchen. We and our venue and catering partners cannot guarantee that any meal, ingredient, or surface is free of allergens, and cross-contact is possible. You are responsible for disclosing allergies and dietary needs in advance, reviewing ingredients, and deciding what to eat. Participants with severe allergies are encouraged to bring their own food and to carry their own rescue medication.

Herbs and botanicals

The retreat includes an herbalism workshop covering herbs traditionally associated with calm, rest, and sleep, and may involve handling, smelling, or optionally tasting preparations such as teas and infusions. This content is educational only. Statements about herbs and botanicals have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Herbs of this kind can cause drowsiness or sedation, and can interact with sedatives, sleep aids, antihistamines, antidepressants, alcohol, and other medications. Some are not appropriate during pregnancy or nursing, or with certain health conditions. Ask the presenter what a preparation contains before you taste it, and do not drive or do anything requiring alertness if you feel drowsy afterward.

Tasting anything is entirely optional and at your own risk. You are responsible for consulting your own healthcare provider first, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a health condition. No facilitator or presenter is giving medical, nutritional, or pharmacological advice.

Products from third parties

You may receive discovery bags, raffle items, or samples. These products are made, formulated, packaged, and tested by third parties, not by EWI. We make no representation or warranty of any kind about them, express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and we make no health or efficacy claim about any of them. Review labels and warnings before use, and use or consume them at your own risk.

Lodging and Personal Property

Each guesthouse also has shared common areas. We do not screen or match roommates and cannot guarantee compatibility or a quiet night, so we are not responsible for disruptions related to snoring, schedules, or personal habits. Earplugs, a sleep mask, or similar comfort items are a good idea. Room assignments are made at our discretion, and requests to room with a specific participant are honored when possible.

You are solely responsible for your belongings. Neither EWI nor any venue, lodging, catering, or transportation partner is responsible for loss of or damage to your property. You may be financially responsible for damage you cause to retreat property or facilities.

Conduct, Substances, and Removal

Please treat facilitators, staff, and other participants with respect, honor the stated boundaries and consent of every other participant, follow safety guidance from staff, and comply with venue policies and applicable law. Candles, lanterns, and other open flame are used only as part of facilitated sessions and under staff direction.

Alcohol is not permitted anywhere on the retreat premises, including lodging areas and outdoor spaces. Illegal drugs and non-prescribed controlled substances are prohibited. You are expected to arrive and participate sober.

We may remove any participant whose behavior is disruptive, unsafe, disrespectful, or harmful to others, or who appears impaired. Participants who are asked to leave receive no refund, fees are not prorated, and they are responsible for arranging and paying for their own transportation and lodging.

Privacy, Recording, and Photography

Participants often share personal experiences during group sessions. Please hold in confidence anything personal shared by another participant, facilitator, or presenter, and do not repeat it without permission. We encourage this, and we cannot guarantee it or take responsibility for what others disclose.

You may not photograph, film, record, or livestream any session, facilitator, presenter, or participant without the express prior consent of EWI and of every person whose voice or image would be captured. Violating this is grounds for removal without refund, and any legal consequence is yours alone. Recording an oral communication without the consent of everyone involved may also be a criminal offense in Pennsylvania under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5701 et seq.

Photography by EWI

We will take photographs and video, and may take audio recordings, that include your likeness or voice, and we own the rights in what we create. You consent to our use of your name, image, likeness, and voice, and grant us an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable license to edit, reproduce, publish, and distribute those materials for promotional, educational, or marketing purposes in any medium now known or later developed. You waive any right to review or approve the finished materials and any right to compensation.

We will not use your name, image, likeness, or voice in a way that states or implies you personally endorse a product, service, or sponsor without your separate written consent. If you prefer not to be photographed, tell us and we will make reasonable efforts to honor that. In a group setting, complete avoidance cannot be guaranteed.

Materials, Sponsors, and Intellectual Property

Retreat materials, teachings, exercises, written resources, and program content belong to EWI or to the individual facilitator or presenter who created them. You may use them for your own personal learning. They may not be reproduced, recorded, distributed, sold, taught, or used to create derivative works without prior written permission from the rights holder.

The retreat may be supported by sponsors and collaborators, whom we may recognize on our website, on social media, and on site. Sponsorship is not an endorsement in either direction, and inclusion of an item in a discovery bag or raffle is not an endorsement of that product. We are not responsible for the products, services, representations, or conduct of any sponsor, vendor, or third party, and any transaction between you and a sponsor is solely between the two of you.

If you receive free or discounted registration, complimentary goods, payment, or other consideration in exchange for posting a review, testimonial, or endorsement about the retreat, disclose that connection clearly and conspicuously in each post, consistent with the Federal Trade Commission's endorsement guides, 16 C.F.R. Part 255. Nothing here limits your ability to share an honest review.

Payment, Cancellation, and Changes

Registration reserves lodging, meals, staffing, and venue space that we cannot recover once booked. Cancellations by you are handled as follows:

Registration may be transferred to another person with our prior approval. The transferee must complete registration and accept this Agreement before attending. Travel and lodging you arrange outside of registration are your own financial responsibility.

If we change or cancel the retreat

We may modify the schedule, facilitators, activities, or accommodations when necessary. If we cancel the retreat because of insufficient enrollment or circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including severe weather, natural disaster, public health emergency, government or travel restriction, venue closure, or transportation disruption, you will receive a full refund of what you paid us. That refund is your sole and exclusive remedy. We are not responsible for your travel, lodging, or other outside costs, and we are not liable for delays or changes caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Released Parties from claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from your own conduct at the retreat, your violation of this Agreement, your violation of law or venue policy, or damage you cause to a person or property. This does not extend to claims arising from the negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, willful or wanton misconduct, or intentional acts of the Released Parties, and it survives the end of the retreat.

Disputes and Governing Law

If a dispute arises, the parties will first try to resolve it through good faith discussion. If that does not work, they will attempt mediation in Pennsylvania before filing suit, each side bearing its own costs and sharing the mediator's fee equally.

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to conflict of laws principles. Any legal action must be brought in the state or federal courts located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

General Provisions

This Agreement is intended to be as broad and inclusive as Pennsylvania law permits. If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified only as much as needed to make it enforceable, or severed if that is not possible, and everything else stays in full force.

This Agreement is the entire agreement between you and EWI about retreat participation and replaces any prior discussions or representations, whether spoken or written. It binds your estate, personal representatives, successors, and assigns. Headings are for convenience only. Any change or waiver must be in writing and agreed to by both parties, and our failure to insist on strict performance of any provision does not waive it.

You have had adequate opportunity to read this Agreement, ask questions, and seek independent legal advice, and you are entering it voluntarily. You are not relying on any statement, promise, or representation that is not written in this Agreement. Questions may be sent to contact@embodiedwisdominstitute.com any time before you register.

How You Accept, and What You Confirm

During online registration you will check a box confirming that you have read and agree to this Agreement. Checking that box is your electronic signature under the Pennsylvania Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (73 P.S. § 2260.101 et seq.) and the federal E-SIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.), and it has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. You consent to completing this transaction and receiving related records electronically. We keep a record of your acceptance, including date and time, and will send you a copy on request. This Agreement takes effect when you complete registration.

By checking that box, you confirm that you:

• have read and understand this Agreement, including the assumption of risk in Section 4 and the release in Section 5
• understand that participation involves risks that include serious injury, illness, and death
• understand that you are giving up substantial legal rights, including the right to sue the Released Parties for ordinary negligence
• warrant that you are able to participate in the activities described in Section 2, as provided in Section 6
• are 18 or older and legally able to enter this Agreement
• are agreeing freely, without inducement or guarantee of any outcome

If you do not agree to these terms, please do not complete registration. We recommend saving or printing a copy of this page for your records.