A retreat for the curious, the explorers, the weirdos, the changemakers
Adam Bee
Kai Cheng Thom
Yvonne Druyeh Dodd
October 11-16, 2022
Easton Mountain Retreat Center
Greenwich, NY, on Mohican land (map)
All bodies, identities, and orientations are welcome
The Power/Pleasure Retreat is an opportunity for you to transform your relationship to pleasure and power.
It is a space for you to imagine what you truly desire and how you want to change your world.
It is a retreat where you will get to question and contemplate what you want to create for yourself and how to move beyond the obstacles that have kept you from receiving it.
It is a chance for you to show up fully in your erotic body and all of the multitudes of its expression. From its pleasure, pain, suffering, and joy to its movement, stillness, arousal, and bliss - it is all invited and it is all welcome.
This is an experiential touch-based retreat that will shine a light on your relationships with yourself, your friends, your work, your money, your shadows, and your erotic body.
You will be held in a space that prioritizes the physical, emotional, and energetic safety of those who are traditionally marginalized and intentionally exploited.
You will be guided into your body’s desires and given tools to navigate the challenges that inevitably arise when you begin to walk a path of pleasure.
You will be asked to confront your relationship to power - both in where you have an abundance and a lack - and how it impacts what you ask for and receive.
At this retreat, you will get to practice creating the life you want to live.
You will embody what it feels like to change your world through your desires.
Here are some videos to tell you more about what you can expect
The Leadership Team
Adam Bee (they)
Lead Facilitator
New York City
Adam is a guide, space holder, facilitator, and coach for your change, transformation, and transcendence. They work in the body, through touch, and with deep explorations in how power impacts what we give and receive.
Kai Cheng Thom (she)
Lead Facilitator
Toronto
Kai Cheng is a writer, performer, cultural worker, and speaker. Her magic is in creating spaces that provide the opportunity for human change and transformation. She brings a lifetime of wisdom & experience and comes to this work grounded in her identity as an East Asian trans woman. Kai Cheng brings experience as a sexological bodywork teacher, conflict resolution consultant, transformative justice facilitator, and clinical social worker.
Yvonne Druyeh Dodd (she)
Facilitator
Atlanta
Yvonne works as a consultant and guide for leaders, activists, and entrepreneurs from an embodied and spiritual lens to access deeper clarity, confidence, and innate wisdom. She is a master at holding groups and individuals and knows how to create spaces that invite inclusivity and accountability. Yvonne is a mother, an entrepreneur, a wife, and a seeker filled with curiosity about how to make her life better, easier, and more peaceful.
What’s going to happen
This is an emergent process and we will create space for things as they arise. No matter how much time we spend fine-tuning an agenda, it changes (a lot!). But we can tell you a few things…
We will start with agreements, container setting, a discussion around power dynamics that are present in the group, and an acknowledgment of the land.
We will end with each person getting to design, create, and direct their own erotic ritual with other participants. This is for you and you get to ask for and receive what you want. You get to choose how you honor and acknowledge the massive transformation that will be possible at this retreat.
Between the beginning and end we will be leading embodied experiments, intimacy practices, and moments for reflection & integration. This is an emergent process and we do not know exactly what will arise, but we will listen to and honor the safety and desires of the group. Each day will build upon the last and we will guide you to deeper and deeper parts of your body and soul.
Each day will include…
two facilitated sessions that last 2-3 hours each where you will get to experiment with pleasure in your physical, emotional, and energetic bodies
an hour with your small group
meditation and yoga
an affinity group for BIPOC identified folks
time for rest, integration, journaling, meditation, hiking, hot tubs, and saunas
three meals served by the chefs at Easton Mountain (all meals will include vegan options)
What is unique about this retreat?
One of my favorite spots on the land at Easton Mountain
It is not enough to be in consent. It is not enough to just ask for what we want.
We must also consider the power dynamics present in our own bodies and relationships and how they are impacting our ability to ask for what we want and say no to what we don’t want.
At the Power/Pleasure Retreat you will have a space to consider some of the deeper questions that are present for you in your desires.
You will get to be with other folks who are asking similar questions.
You will be guided by a team who can hold you at your edge, celebrate your transformations, and help you get back up when you fall.
We won’t be teaching you sexual techniques or secret moves to enhance sensation. Instead, you will be guided into experiments where you get to take responsibility for your own pleasure.
You will learn to make choices for yourself and know what it feels like to ask for more and receive even more than you ever imagined.
This is for you if...
You are curious about exploring the depths of desire and wisdom in your body in community with others
You want to understand how to consent to both the pleasure and pain in your life
You want to go deeper into your vulnerability and emotional body but haven’t felt safe enough to do that
You are curious about power dynamics such as race, gender, money, age, prettiness, experience, education, etc. and how they are impacting your relationships to people and pleasure
You want more clarity around pleasure, desire, and how power dynamics are showing up to make it easier or harder for your to ask for what you want and say no to what you don’t want
You desire a deeper connection to your erotic body
You are ready to take responsibility and make different choices to change what’s not working for you
This might not be for you if...
You want to hold on to the belief that pleasure is something people give to you - and not something you experience and take responsibility for
You are looking for quick shortcuts and techniques for better sex
You are not able to be present and/or curious with people and cultures outside of your experience
You do not have experience in erotic spaces that prioritize consent-forward practices (this is not a beginner’s retreat and each participant will be expected to take responsibility for their own pleasure, pain, emotions, unlearnings, and learnings)
This is a big decision, and for some folks there is a lot of clarity in the yes and in the no. For others, it might be more cloudy. That’s okay! Just set up a time for us to talk (see below).
How we are holding the container
The leadership team is committed to bringing consistent awareness to the ways in which systems of oppression get replicated in group spaces like this - from the overall makeup of the group to how space is taken when we are together. Our aim is to create a space in which everyone feels empowered to ask for what they want and say no to what they don’t want.
Every participant will be asked to consent to the rules (https://adambee.com/agreements) and anyone not able to embody those will be asked to leave.
We will use an ouch/oops safe word system and process for instances of unintentional hurt and harm. The leadership team will be responsible for guiding folks through that and helping the group discern between discomfort, harm, violence, and rule breakage.
The leadership team is committed to holding the space in the following ways:
Rules - every participant will be asked to follow the rules set by the leadership team. Part of our job is to hold ourselves and you accountable to these rules. If there is gross negligence or a consistent inability to honor the rules, you will be asked to leave. Click here to see what you can expect (exact wording may change).
Sacred mornings - everyone will be asked to stay in silence until 10 AM as we transition into our waking consciousness
Devices and digital fasting - we encourage everyone to limit device usage, and there will be designated spaces to use phones and computers
Contemplative eating spaces - in addition to our silent mornings, you will have the option to eat in a designated silent area where you will not be disturbed
Time for integration - each day will be spacious enough to give you time to contemplate and integrate
Consent - every participant will be asked to model and demonstrate consent-forward practices. You get to choose whether to say yes or no - and you can always change your mind.
Every participant will be asked to attend a Wheel of Consent or Like a Pro training, read The Art of Receiving & Giving, or watch Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent videos (7 hours) before arriving.Nourishing food - meals will be cooked by Easton staff and volunteers. The menu will be plant-based with meat options for those who want additional animal protein.
Substance free - everyone will be asked to not consume any substances that may impact their ability to offer authentic consent. This includes marijuana, poppers, psychedelics, etc.
Consensual play space - there will be designated spaces for physical intimacy as long as the group demonstrates an ability for group care and to honor the rules.
Lodging, Space, and Land
Each participant will share a room with one other person. Each room has a private bath and there are additional public restrooms/showers throughout.
Easton Mountain sits on 200+ acres of private land. While there you can take advantage of the beautiful nature that surrounds the retreat center and enjoy all of the amenities that it offers.
In addition to being a retreat center, it also functions as a community for its full-time and part-time residents.
Easton Mountain sits on the stolen land of the Mohican people in what is colonially known as Greenwich, NY. The Mohican people were forcibly removed from this land, and today their community resides in Wisconsin, known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We acknowledge that any path of pleasure must be founded in agreements of consent and we are committed to honoring principles of consent, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism in our work.
2% of all proceeds will be sent to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community to acknowledge the land on which we will be staying.
Registration & costs
October 11-16, 2022
Easton Mountain Retreat Center, NY
Pricing is based on a sliding scale. There are two different sliding scales as an acknowledgment that these spaces have historically been dominated by white-bodied, non-disabled, cis folks. When traditionally marginalized groups enter these spaces, they will inevitably have to do more emotional, energetic, and physical labor just to be present, and I encourage all participants to consider that when paying.
Also, in an effort to create a space that feels safer and in consent, and to push up against a dominant culture that is based in white-body supremacy, we are being intentional about how much space white, cis-, non-disabled bodies take up.
*Body designation and identities: I recognize that there are inherent limitations when asking folks to make designations around their bodies and identities. It is always more complex than the boxes we provide and rarely clear or simple. I ask folks to choose what feels best for you.
If you identify as living in a body that is Black & Indigenous OR a body of culture/person of color OR trans OR disabled
$1600-$2800
If you identify as living in a body that is White, cis-gendered, AND non-disabled
$2200-$2800
Payment plans are available thru Sept 7
10% discount available for folks willing to sleep on a single bed
Work study discounts (40%) are available for a handful of folks
This language regarding body designations is influenced by the work of Resmaa Menakem and Education for Racial Equity. If you are interested in learning more, we recommend visiting their website where they have resources for all bodies & individuals.
Space is limited to 30 people of all identities, expressions, and orientations
The Rules of the Container can be found here (exact wording may change)
Covid-19: While we believe that each person should be able to make decisions about their own body, due to Easton Mountain policy, all participants will be asked to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations. For the safety of the group container, we will be asking folks to be mindful of their behaviors in high- and moderate-risk areas before arriving to the retreat. We will ask all participants to test in-person on day 1 and 3.
Monkeypox: Right now we are not requiring anyone to obtain a vaccine for monkeypox. However, we do ask participants to be mindful with whom you choose to have close physical contact for 3 weeks prior to arrival. While we cannot offer safety to anyone, the steps we take to care for one another and the group as a whole will certainly help folks be more present.