Roots, Joy, and Defiance
July 18 – 20, 2025
with Peggy Rowe Ward, Kristin Johnstad, and
Marcus Young 楊墨
Join us for a weekend of embodied spiritual practice and connection as we deepen and expand our experience of beloved community. Through mindful breathing, eating, resting, moving, and celebrating joy together, we root ourselves in presence and resilience.
Inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, this retreat invites us to cultivate inner stability and collective strength in the face of uncertainty and turmoil. Thich Nhat Hanh reminded us that during times of conflict, our task is to return to and deepen our spiritual roots.
As we ground ourselves in these roots, we strengthen our nervous systems, expand our capacity for self-regulation, and create conditions for co-regulation and shared visioning. Our individual and collective solidity becomes an act of spiritual defiance — a radical affirmation of life, connection, and joy.
Together, we will explore the four roots of resilience and connection:
- Body — Our physical presence as a refuge.
- Blood — Our lineage, ancestors, and family connections.
- Land — Our relationship to place and the earth.
- Spiritual Ancestors — Our lineage of teachers, wisdom traditions, and guides.
Program Highlights:
- Embodied practices for grounding and inner stability
- Exploration of the Four Roots: Body, Blood, Land, Spiritual Ancestors
- Practices of mindful breathing, movement, eating, and rest
- Celebrating joy and togetherness as spiritual practice
- Tools for nervous system regulation and collective resilience
- Community reflection and connection in the spirit of beloved community
- Inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh
Your Guiding Teachers
Peggy Rowe Ward is the co-founder and director of education at the Lotus Institute. She is a world renowned spiritual teacher ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh, a lifelong educator and the co-author of Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships. For over 40 years, she’s been dedicated to supporting the healing and transformation of all people through leading retreats, university courses, Dharma talks and offering spiritual consultation. Peggy offers a path of deep insight that enables her students to discover and embody their most creative and authentic selves.
Kristin Johnstad is a lay minister in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, as well as a dancer, song carrier, and network weaver. Professionally, she brings over 30 years of experience in collaborating with leaders—across grassroots, organizational, and systemic levels—to develop practical, effective strategies for addressing complex social issues. Kristin’s gifts lie in her “down-to earth” approach to teaching, facilitating and advising.
Marcus Young 楊墨 is an artist who makes behavioral and social forms for everyone to use in daily life. For 15 years, he has led Don’t You Feel It Too?—a participatory public dance and liberation practice. His work traverses the stage, museums, learning communities, mindfulness, tea, and the public realm, expanding the repertoire of human behavior and our ways of gathering. He teaches “Art & Life” at the University of Minnesota and in the Creative Leadership MA program at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design.
