The Well:
A Somatic Healing Community
A portal into vibrant connection with yourself and a community of other powerful people.
A place to reconnect to who we are outside of the responsibilities of life, expand and make space for the grief and joy of living.
ABOUT THE WELL
The Well began in January of 2022 when founders, Jenny Wade, Jen Oato Bennett and Julie Davidson came together to create a unique, in person offering for mothers in Seattle that we couldn't find anywhere else. We combined both our personal experience as mothers and our professional expertise in somatics, therapeutic facilitation, yoga and dance healing to create the potent combination of body and soul work that helped participants connect to their individual life force.
This special space eventually expanded from exclusively a mother's offering into a place for any woman or non-binary person who pours their life force into others to recharge-- artists, healthcare workers, caregivers and leaders. We found community in a circle of vulnerable, raw and alive humans, who seek bravely to express, connect and refuel.
As facilitators we guide participants into embodiment through somatic practices, yoga, dance, singing/sounding, art expression and authentic relating exercises. We have found a magical recipe and have watched in awe at our participants come alive in this space.
Over the past three years The Well has taken shape in the forms of weekly 8 week series, themed workshops, and both winter and spring retreats.
Email us at thewellsomatichealing@gmail.com to get on our mailing list and learn about future offerings!
REGISTRATION OPEN
We acknowledge that we are teaching on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish Tribe. We are grateful for the deep wisdom and magic of this land and the first people who cultivated this sacred place.
The Well aims to be an anti-racist, inclusive space for all bodies. In this space, we acknowledge each member's individual experience unique to their identity and memberships to particular groups. We expect all participants to be respectful and kind toward each other at all times. We encourage any interested participants, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals, to reach out for a discussion with one of our leaders about what a supportive and safe environment looks like for your healing.
IMPORTANT DETAILS
THE WELL FACILITATION TEAM
FAR RIGHT: Jen Oato Bennett (she/her), RYT, Intermediate level SEP, is a yoga and dance teacher, and a Somatic Experiencing Practioner-in-training. Her style of yoga is rooted in dance and believes moving our bodies in community provides a uniquely important medium for healing. Jen is passionate about bringing a mixture of playful and intuitive movement to The Well. Additionally, Jen brings 5 years of training in diversity and equity work to The Well. Jen is a mixed-race, cis-gender, queer woman, and a mom to a son and two fur-babies. She loves travel, finding a body of water to dip her toes into, long conversations by a fire with friends, and a good chocolate chip cookie.
FAR LEFT: Jenny Wade (she/her), MA, LMHC + RYT, is a psychotherapist and yoga teacher who specializes in trauma recovery and body image healing. She believes that expression through movement, sound, and visual arts are a superhighway to freedom. Her mission is to teach the world that your body is not an object to critique, but a part of yourself to accept and connect to deeply. Jenny is a white, cis-gender, queer woman. When she's not working she can be found cooking and sharing delicious meals, appreciating good stories both written and spoken, practicing yoga, and enjoying family time with her sweet and hilarious husband, son, and kitty. As of Fall 2024 Jenny is on maternity leave.
MIDDLE: Julie Jean Davidson (she/her), MA, LMHC, SEP is a somatic psychotherapist based in Seattle (un-ceded Duwamish Territory). She brings ten years of experience working with individuals, couples and groups—helping people heal trauma, recover their innate sense of goodness, and reclaim connection to their body, sexuality, and identity. Her work centers around connecting to self and community through somatic, nervous system, and trauma-informed modalities. Julie loves caring for folks in the sacred perinatal period, and knows the value of support during this time as she has three young children of her own. She is as a white, cis, queer woman who loves cooking, taking risks, and eating around a table with soulful people.
PAST EVENTS AT THE WELL
Sensual Embodiment Retreat at
Doe Bay Resort
May 1-5th, 2024
Connect to sensuality and aliveness in your RIGHT NOW BODY at Doe Bay Resort!
You are a powerful woman who is ready to …
Ignite your creative spark!
Expand your connection to the goodness of your body!
Connect deeply with other powerful women!
For five days we will center eroticism, creativity, embodiment, and pleasure.
Julie Jean Davidson, Jenny Wade and I cultivate a powerful space for you to enjoy your body, exactly as it is right now. Through somatic experiencing practices, soulful and accessible yoga + dance, therapeutic inquiry, pelvic floor energetics, somatic foundations, and creative expression, you will leave renewed and inspired.
This will be unlike any retreat you've experienced before, featuring delicious meals prepared by Julie, the gorgeous surroundings of Orcas Island, thoughtful group processing, and connection.
Our time together will deepen self-love, increase vitality, and provide a source for enduring confidence.
Sample Itinerary:
morning breathwork/cold plunge/hot tub
breakfast
opening circle + movement
creative exploration
lunch
self-guided time // nature walk
dinner
evening somatic healing circle
Cost: $1200
Space is limited to 15 participants!
Once we’ve received your application, we’ll contact you to submit your $600 deposit via PayPal to reserve your spot!
*Alumni are not required to fill out an intake form, you may go directly to reserving your spot with a PayPal deposit!
Your payment includes:
2 meals a day (breakfast + dinner)
daily yoga, dance and guided somatic practices
soul care curriculum
one individual check in with Julie, Jen, or Jenny
2 private nights for our group at the sauna/spa
ACCOMMODATION + FOOD
Retreat price does not include accommodation. You can book lodging directly through Doe Bay, or else where on the island. We will provide 8 meals - dinner our first day, breakfast and dinner the next three days, and breakfast on our last day. Lunches will be the responsibility of the attendee.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Due to all the backend work we do to prepare, we are unable to offer refunds. However, should you need to cancel for some reason, you are welcome to gift your spot to someone else or transfer your deposit to a future event with The Well!
Seasonal Groups
In our studio space we explore dance and yoga movement, interpersonal and group connection, creative expression, and somatic experiencing exercises. Jen Oato Bennett, Jenny Wade and I hold the framework for this space to be both challenging and containing. The teaching rotates between thoughtful combinations of each teacher’s strength—at least two teachers are present at each night.
The 8 week Foundation Series is a rare hybrid of "group" and "class." Our series aims to develop and strengthen somatic awareness, increase connection to ones self as a wholistic being, and build group coherence.
You do not need prior dance, yoga or somatic experience to join.
A good fit for this group is someone willing to step into courageous space with curiosity, a person who feels ready (or willing to try!) to be witnessed in their healing journey, and someone willing to have it all not "look perfect" in the process.
Thursdays (with a one week break Feb 22)
7pm-9pm
Soma Yoga and Dance in Ballard
Limited to 9 participants
“I feel so empowered in my practice of being vulnerable in a nurturing and loving space. I feel stronger and softer inside."
-Miriam, The Well 2022