Peace Valley
Peace Valley
WELCOME.
Breathe.
Look across the valley sculpted by the meandering Boulder River. The moment you step onto this land, you'll know you are in the presence of the sacred. Swallows dive and sail overhead, recently returned from their winter homes.
Rising beneath your feet, the foothills of the Elkhorn Mountains blanket the volcanic heart of the Earth. Heated waters rise, filled with healing minerals gathered in their journey to the surface.
Here is a place to rest, and to be held. To explore, and to discover. To receive, and to renew.
In this hillside sanctuary, your retreat unfolds...
We all have our cracks and crumblings, testaments to the small and large challenges we have borne in the course of our lives.
What if you could take the time to show up fully to these breaches? To sing over these bones? To recognize them not as flaws, but as the designs created as we walk our own unfolding path?
How might your experience of yourself pivot if you viewed the scars of the past as beautiful designs? As the telling of your sacred story? If you allowed these “failings" to adorn your heart as it expands into the wonder of you in this moment?
Can you imagine the power of opening into vulnerability within a supportive community of compassionate, wise women, each one meeting your courage with her own valiant heart?
Where might you find yourself at the end of a weekend of letting your light shine – both without and within?
We are Yamama! and have we got a retreat for you! Through the synergy of sisterhood that is Yamama! and our joy in offering transformative experiences, we will be your fellow journeyers and guides through a passage of self discovery that moves beyond thinking and talking into an alchemical blend of ritual, shamanic journey, movement, drum, song, and soulful crafting.
At the end of our time together, after immersing wholly into the weekend, you will be ready to step into the world in a new way – rested, renewed, and grounded in your Whole True Self.
Kintsugi – blessing the “lovely bones"
“There's a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." – Leonard Cohen
The beautiful and practical Japanese art form of kintsugi – in which broken pottery is repaired with a lacquer mixed with powdered gold – provides both a metaphoric and literal scaffolding for our journey together. Its philosophy treats breakage and repair as a natural part of history rather than as mistakes or scars to hide, embracing imperfections and highlighting them as unique and valuable. The cracks in our hearts – whether hairline or greater fractures – are, after all, “how the light gets in."
So whether you've recently suffered a significant loss, or if you are simply astute enough to recognize that there is no “perfect" in this living and that losses large and small are written into the contract, you are welcome here. Bring your imperfections, your disappointments, your setbacks, your moments when you missed the mark – bring them and bless them. Bring them and honor them. Bring them and discover the gifts they offer in their own dark beauty. Together, with our voices, our bodies, our creative spirits, we will explore not only with compassion, but also with curiosity, playfulness, and spiritual vigor – so that we can be like the newest spring buds, rousing ourselves after the long winter, to crack the seed case and rise toward the growing light.
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift."
– Mary Oliver, The Uses of Sorrow
THIS SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO MISS
Explore ~ Rest ~ Renew
Boulder Hot Springs Hotel
an historic setting for rewriting our personal histories
Boulder Hot Springs Hotel
an historic setting for rewriting our personal histories
For millennia, indigenous peoples have been coming to these pure, flowing hot water springs for rest and healing. Legend tells that these disparate tribes called this area “Peace Valley." They agreed to lay down their weapons when they visited here, believing that the land and the waters were for everyone to share and could not be owned.
The first of the buildings on this site was constructed in 1863 by a prospector, James E. Riley. Riley built a saloon and bathhouse catering to local miners and ranchers.
After several renovations by other owners over the years, in 1990, the property was purchased by Anne Wilson Schaef, author and leader in the addiction recovery field. Schaef made the property the headquarters for “Living in Process," her unique approach to treating trauma and addictions. She continued to write and participate with her “Living in Process" network until her death on January 19, 2020, at the age of 85. Through Schaef's work, the hot springs, hotel, and associated lands have continued to be a source of sacred healing and spiritual renewal .
The property is now owned by a limited partnership who carry on Schaef's vision of the hotel and the land it rests on as a refuge for peace, healing, and sacred work. In service to this work, the building and land are alcohol, drug, and tobacco free.
A Nurturing Space for Retreat
A Nurturing Space for Retreat
Boulder Hot Springs hotel offers a combination of comfortable and inviting B&B rooms and suites for guests who want the best that a healing, home-like atmosphere has to offer, as well as guest rooms for more budget-minded visitors. As the hotel is a popular stop for locals and out-of-state visitors alike, we encourage you to contact Boulder to make your room reservations soon. (When you register, please let Boulder know if you would like to share a room with another retreat participant.)
Nourish the Body, Feed the Soul
Nourish the Body, Feed the Soul
The joy of having someone cook you a nourishing meal, prepared intentionally, and shared with friends old and new, is an integral part of a retreat experience. Many of the vegetables and herbs used in your meals are grown in the greenhouses on the hotel property. The greenhouses are heated by the same hot waters that heat the hotel, the outdoor pool, the hot plunges, and the steam room.
Kitchen staff will take into account your food limitations and needs. Be sure to let them know if you have any dietary restrictions when you reserve your room.
I AM SETTING ASIDE TIME FOR MYSELF TODAY
What draws women to a Yamama! retreat?
What past participants are saying:
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“I was looking for a January retreat to get the year started. Your group is just amazing!"
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“My interest in World Drumming and Dancing, and my desire to build community with spiritually-minded women."
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“Knowing Shaun would be a part of the experience."
Your Weekend Invitation
Steps Along the Path
What we have in store for you
What we have in store for you
Our schedule acknowledges that “retreat” is best served when we leave our ordinary lives behind and allow ourselves to step into something … different. We are therefore leaving some blocks of time unspoken for. You may choose to enjoy this time by soaking in Boulder’s luscious hot springs; by experiencing the surrounding landscapes; by scheduling a massage; by connecting with your fellow soul-travelers; or simply in rest.
AND, our invitation is to enter a sacred journey through the realms of discovery, reflection, and expression. Each woman in the circle will travel through experiences that inform and build upon one another, bringing us all to somewhere new by the end of our time together. Therefore, we ask that you please plan on participating in all scheduled sessions.
You'll arrive Friday afternoon to discover your place in the circle. Together we'll build an altar to support both individual and shared intentions for the weekend. With song and ceremony, we'll create a community which will support, witness, and celebrate our passage through the course of the weekend. And through shamanic journeying, you'll enter into relationship with spirit guides who offer love and support for the way forward.
Friday evening, we begin our kintsugi process with literally breaking the vessel that represents the intimate and surprising territory of our “failures” – when things fall apart; when our old ways no longer work; when time makes its own decisions about our dear bodies. Held in the container of the circle, with attention and voice, we acknowledge that if we choose to be alive, we must surrender the concept of “perfection.”
Saturday morning, we devote ourselves to discovery and exploration through the lens of embodiment. After deepening our connection to our shamanic spirit helpers, our morning session focuses on dancing our invocation for transformation. Carried by the rhythm of the drums, we will explore movements that have been used for millennia to connect people to higher wisdom, to Creator, and to deep knowing. We will dance to awaken grounding for stability, strength needed to make change, compassion and love that will nourish healing, and creativity to identify resources and to fashion a new perception of ourselves.
Saturday afternoon, after gathering for lunch, we’ll learn a drum rhythm that traditionally supports those in our community who are navigating a rite of passage. As rhythm and tempo pass from our brains into our bodies, we get out of our heads and into a state of embodied power and flow. Eventually, you'll be invited to set down your drum if you like and move what's rising in your body through dance. We become a community of a new tradition, drumming for one another, dancing for one another, upholding and witnessing each other's unfolding into freedom. With our hands and our bodies, we explore the essential principle of kintsugi – the gold that fills the cracks makes the broken places stronger and more beautiful. As we drum and dance and raise power, answers particular to each of us will emerge in response to the question, What is the gold?
Saturday evening, after a lovely afternoon break and communal dinner, we drop deeply into the alchemical and literal process of kintsugi repair. We gather and assess the resources we’ve discovered; we allow the sacred container of the community we’ve created to support us; and with our own hands and hearts, we honor the new possibilities created through the imperfections.
Sunday morning we awaken to a new vision. Broken shards now gleam. New possibilities reveal themselves. What once was broken is now whole, in a whole new way. As we enter into ceremony, we take a final shamanic journey to learn to bless these new possibilities, these new places within us that are knitting together stronger than before. And as we bless ourselves through dance and music, we bless one another … and as we bless one another, we bless ourselves.
Aaaahhhh...yes
Aaaahhhh...yes
It's called retreat for a reason. It's hard to move through the landscapes our psyches yearn for when we're busily attending to the responsibilities of our daily lives. That's why we've created a schedule that offers a balance of meaningful engagement and time for yourself ... time with yourself. We encourage you to consider your own goals for this retreat, and even more importantly, to check in with your intuition regarding how you'd like to receive the invitations that these open times in the schedule extend to you. For example ...
A hike on your own in the surrounding hills might offer you deep connection to the wisdom of the Earth and Her cycles of release, repair, and renewal.
Soaking in the hot plunge or swimming under the open sky might help you remember your own watery, flowing nature – the sacredness of your tears, your blood, your heartbeat, your cells – even the wide range of emotions that also flow and shift like water.
Time spent under the hands of a gifted masseuse invites you to practice the sacred art of receiving – an art that so many of us women indeed need support in practicing. (Please note that you need to schedule and pay for your massage through Boulder Hot Springs.)
Retreating into your cozy room, a quiet nest in which to relax and allow your True Self to unfold, offers opportunities for reflection, journaling, integration, and simple rest.
In our time together, you will...
In our time together, you will...
~ join in creating a sacred circle to hold us all through the weekend.
~ connect with spirit helpers to guide you through your journey.
~ witness, honor, and allow the “breaks" within you.
~ ritually manifest those breaks.
~ dance your prayers for transformation.
~ drum the energy for the transition.
~ ritually reform the cracks into strength and beauty.
~ honor the transfiguration.
What do women experience in a Yamama! retreat?
What past participants are saying:
Flip this card for the answer
“The whole day was amazing. It felt so thoughtful, intentional, and purposeful without feeling rigid and agenda-driven. Lots of openness and laughter coupled with deep ritual and presence."
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“The activities were integrated together so well. I loved how movement and music took center stage. As much as I enjoy discussion and journaling, I think the focus on the non-verbal helped keep me present and connected with the group."
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“I liked all of the guided, interactive parts. So inviting and encouraging. Varying types of engagements from the spiritual to the physical."
THIS TRANSFORMATION IS A GIFT TO MYSELF
When you leave, you will take with you...
When you leave, you will take with you...
~ a more rested body, relaxed mind, and renewed spirit.
~ new and deepened connections with other powerful, courageous women.
~ a fresh perspective on your humanity, your perfect imperfections, your belonging.
~ a physical sigil representing your transformation that may be placed on your altar.
~ new ways to move your body.
~ new rhythms to shift your energy.
~ new songs to raise your spirits.
~ recognition of the courage you embody each day by stepping into your humanity.
THIS IS YAMAMA!
THIS IS YAMAMA!
“The women of Yamama! offer their audience a unique combination of skill, spirit, and beauty. Each individual is a practiced and learned instrumentalist, true lover of music, and believer in the power of what the beat can create. Yamama! takes their listeners on a journey through various cultures and countries, presenting a dynamic mix of percussion and song. What a treat to be on the receiving end of one of their performances!"
-Edis Kittrell, Musician
"Yamama! is nothing short of captivating. From the first strike of the djembe to their final note, this all-woman world rhythm ensemble has mesmerized and delighted our audiences at Big Sky Town Center events for years. High energy, engaging, and infectious, they are one of the most unique acts you'll find in Southwest Montana."
-Erik Morrison, Events & Social Media Manager,
Big Sky Town Center
Why choose a Yamama! experience?
What past participants are saying:
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“You women ROCK!!! Thank you for sharing yourselves and your gifts with us."
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“The four of you thought of everything to make sure all of our basic needs were met, as well as encouraging us to move beyond our comfort zones and past the ‘I can't do that' ceiling! THANK YOU!!!!!"
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“I loved the variety and combination of activities and the breaks between. Singing together with the big drum is a lovely closing ceremony."
I SAY YES TO A SACRED WEEKEND IN A CIRCLE OF WISE WOMEN
This weekend offers each of us the rare opportunity to move through a healing and transformational rite of passage in a circle of soulful women. Each of the beats of our time together builds upon the last, as we move not only through moments of quiet introspection, but also through the embodied practices of creating music, moving our bodies, and working with this alchemical art form. And all along the way, guided shamanic journeys offer us signposts, the supportive presence of our spirit helpers, and a voice of compassion and wisdom that is always available to us.
What is not included with my registration?
What is not included with my registration?
- Lodging at Boulder Hot Springs. When you pay for your room, this will give you access to the hot springs, sauna, cold plunge, and outdoor pool.
- Prepared meals at Boulder Hot Springs (two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners) must be ordered when securing your room at Boulder Hot Springs. You will pay for these at check-in along with your room fees.
- Transportation to the venue.
- Massage services.
What is included with my registration fee?
What is included with my registration fee?
- Weekend ritual; from your arrival Friday afternoon until your departure Sunday afternoon, you will be held in ritual space and spiritual community.
- All materials needed to create a powerful physical symbol of your internal transformation.
- Multiple guided shamanic journeys to connect with your special guide(s) for this extended ritual.
- Guided drum circle ritual.
- All drums and instruments for the drumming ritual (you may also bring your own drum or rattle, if you have one).
- Guided World Dance circle.
- Words to all chants and songs used in ritual.
YES! I AM READY TO SHINE
This retreat is for you if...
This retreat is for you if...
~ YOU ARE READY TO CHALLENGE OLD BELIEFS ABOUT BEAUTY AND IMPERFECTION.
~ YOU ARE OPEN TO VIEWING TIMES OF WEAKNESS, LOSS, OR PAIN IN A NEW WAY.
~ YOU ARE EAGER TO MEET WITH OTHER WOMEN WHO ARE SOULFUL AND COURAGEOUS.
~ YOU ARE WILLING TO GIVE YOURSELF TIME AND CARE.
~ YOU ARE HUNGRY FOR TIME SPENT IN POWERFUL RITUAL SPACE.
~ YOU ARE CURIOUS ABOUT CONNECTING WITH SPIRIT HELPERS.
~ YOU ARE PRIMED TO MOVE INTO EMBODYING SPIRITUAL EXPANSION.
~ YOU ARE EXCITED TO DRUM AND DANCE IN A SACRED CIRCLE.
This retreat may not be for you if...
This retreat may not be for you if...
~ YOU ARE IN A CRISIS, AS IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE WEEKEND'S ACTIVITIES MAY INCREASE DISTRESS. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM TO DETERMINE IF THIS EXPERIENCE IS FOR YOU.
~ YOU BECOME SIGNIFICANTLY OVERSTIMULATED BY DRUMMING OR MOVEMENT.
~ YOUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS PROHIBIT EXPLORATION OF OTHER SPIRITUAL PRACTICES.
Meet your Yamama! Retreat Leaders
Hover over a picture to learn more.
Galen Eldridge
I am a founding member of Yamama!, which has been practicing together for nearly 18 years. I add my own flavor to our group: quiet; consistent; detail-, schedule-, and agenda-oriented; notetaker; and (almost) always up for drumming on djembe or dun duns, dancing, or playing other instruments. I love that we have been together so long that playing and performing is fun for us and enjoyable for listeners, even if it is never perfect! When not making music or working my day job, I also love my 15-year practice of being an aerial dancer (mostly on aerial silks), moving through cool shapes and sequences while I challenge and improve my strength and flexibility. I am grateful to be able to share our music and provide a space for women to connect with themselves and each other through drumming, dancing, art, and ritual.
Stormi Oshun
I am a percussionist, a teacher, a dreamer, an optimist, and an absolute evangelist for the beauty and magic that happens when people make music together, show up to each other, and “play" together! I have been teaching hand drumming and bucket drumming since 1999, when I formed and led the Giant Ass Drum Corps of Spokane, Washington. (In case you're wondering, it's about the size of the band, not the booty.) After leading the ensemble for 11 years, I co-founded Chicks with Sticks, Bozeman's premiere all-women bucket band. These days, I bring drumming and community music-making experiences to settings as diverse as middle schools, senior living facilities, festivals, civil rights protests, and my very own living room. Sometimes I think I'm a kid who never came in from recess - lucky me!
Shaun Phoenix
I'm a founding member of Yamama! and I've drummed for decades in both disciplined and ecstatic forms. I love the power, joy, and intuitive process that blossoms when collaborating with my musical sisters. I've been a ceremonialist and shamanic healing practitioner for my entire adult life - weddings, funerals, baby blessings, house clearings - you name it, I've probably done it! - as well as a wide variety of women's sacred circles. Apparently, my life's mission statement is to support women in discovering, tapping into, and blessing their own being and their connection to that unname-able universal force that is the Sacred Feminine. Basically, I thrive in my work when I support women in being who they came here to be, and living life from the inside out - and I love my job! I also love piña coladas, walks on the beach, and getting caught in the rain - but only when it's warm out.
Ginny Watts
I think I'm a founding member of Yamama! but I'd have to ask Galen just to be sure. I've been dancing all my life, and teaching and performing professionally for over 40 years. I have also studied music for most of my life. I drum, dance, and sing in Yamama! Our band is a sisterhood and our music creates dynamic positive change in our world with every rehearsal, performance, retreat, and class. I retired from being a psychotherapist after 30 years of service and I am now a spiritual catalyst, supporting seekers and manifestors as they find their unique spiritual path in this lifetime. Yamama! is part and parcel of my spiritual practice because, honestly, there's no finer way to transmute energy than through music and dance!
What gifts do you take home from a Yamama! retreat?
What past participants are saying:
Flip this card for the answer
“It was really a magical event led by a unique blend of priestesses. What could be controlled was handled so well. The whole event was thoughtfully planned and very well organized, from the opening to closing ceremonies. I felt like I was positioned within sacred circle. What couldn't be planned – the chemistry between women, the weather,
etc. – also ended up adding to the magic as well. Being surrounded by trees in a light-filled space in such cold weather made the experience feel even more radiant."
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“Connecting with like-minded women in a safe space."
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“Thank you so much for this wonderful event. I left feeling refreshed, renewed, and supported by generations of women."
TIME TO TRANSFORM
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
YES, if you are ready to see yourself in a new way, to embrace your whole self, and to tap into the power of ritual, song, dance, and drumming surrounded by a sacred circle of dynamic women! If that's the case, this journey has been designed specifically for YOU!
We encourage you to register early, as we offer a discount through January 15, 2026. You can also request to share a room with another woman who is attending the retreat, and a shared room is less expensive than a single occupancy. Camping is also an option, with RV and tent space available. Given Montana weather in March, please remember there may be snow on the ground and the nights can still be very cold, which makes driving and staying warm outside a potential challenge. (Ask Boulder Hot Springs about rates for camping and their day-use fees for use of the hot springs, showers, etc.)
You may also want to let your friends and family know that, if they aren't sure what to get you for your birthday, Christmas, graduation, etc., this retreat is on your wish list. AND, as you’re sitting with your yearning to jump in and say yes, consider the gifts this retreat is offering you – the gifts of meaningful time with yourself; time with like-minded, open-hearted women; time in discovery, growth, expansion, inner peace-making...
Finally, if it just isn't possible this year, please know that we hope to do more retreats in the future. And, while you're waiting for the next event, we offer opportunities to drum, sing, dance, and do ritual throughout the year. You can check our Events page or contact us through this website or on Facebook.
Perhaps you will discover that you, indeed, are worth the cost of admission.
It can be difficult to carve out time for ourselves. We have many responsibilities, people, and tasks that we commit to and all of them matter to us. We'd like to gently remind you that if you aren't recharging yourself, at some point you can run out of steam. This retreat is a chance to step out of the demands that are always beckoning, to restore your connection to yourself, and to replenish body, mind, and soul. At the end of this weekend experience, you will be ready to return, recharged, to your life with more resources to offer your beloveds and your commitments - and perhaps you will discover insights into how your life can include more time for you.
Boulder Hot Springs is making all the room arrangements. When you call to reserve your room with them, let them know you'd like to share a room with another attendee of this retreat. There are no guarantees that you'll get a room with a roommate, so do register and ask as early as you can.
This journey is for you, and for that reason, we ask that you do not bring any person with you who is not another participant in the retreat. This retreat is a deep inner journey with an invitation for profound spiritual expansion. The more focused and present you can be, the more you will reap the benefits of your choice to join us. When you return home, you will bring all the positive energy and wisdom you have harvested in the retreat to share with those you love.
We ask that you commit to attending every session of the retreat. Your presence in the circle is essential because we have curated a full weekend experience in which one session's activities support and build upon the next. This is an integrated, coherent journey of the soul. We begin on Friday creating a safe energetic circle in which the entire weekend-long ritual will unfold. Your presence and the presence of every other woman births the circle into being and maintains its continuity. Additionally, we have placed several blocks of unstructured time to create a relaxed schedule that supports your needs for down time.
Boulder Hot Springs is able to accommodate many dietary restrictions and food allergies. Please speak with them directly when you make your arrangements for your room and meals.
Boulder Hot Springs is a very old building, and it has had a few renovations over the decades to help create physical accessibility. Our meeting room, hotel rooms, and dining area area all accessible to wheelchairs, walkers, and scooters, but that does mean traveling outdoors to move from the gathering space to the dining area.
The activities that we'll share throughout the weekend are all accessible for women with a variety of abilities and limitations. Our leaders of the drum and the dance sessions are wise and compassionate women who are skillful in welcoming and supporting bodies of all shapes, sizes, and capacities.
Doors to the Boulder Hot Springs ballroom open Friday afternoon at 12:30 pm and close at 1 pm. (You must be in the ballroom by 1 pm on Friday for the start of the retreat.) You are welcome to arrive and check in to your room starting at noon, but your room may not be ready until 3 pm, depending on the previous night's occupancy and Boulder Hot Springs cleaning schedule. (You can also wait to check into your room until after the afternoon session on Friday.) Retreat activities will end after lunch on Sunday. (You can plan on being finished with lunch by 2 pm, but can stay and soak or hike on your own. Note that we have time scheduled for room check-out after breakfast on Sunday.)
We know life's currents sometimes change in the blink of an eye. Here is our cancellation policy, just in case.
- Cancel by January 30 and receive a complete refund minus 9% processing fee.
- Cancel by February 28 and receive a 50% refund.
- No refunds will be given for cancellations after February 28.
The early bird price (registration cost of $333 instead of regular registration cost of $375) is available for women who register through January 15, 2026. To get the discount, use the code BEAUTY42 at checkout.
What if I still have a question?
Contact us directly at yamamabozeman@gmail.com
Join us ... for this weekend of ceremony. This rite of passage. We begin in one place, and we end somewhere quite different. And in the end, we integrate the beauty in the brokenness that is an essential part of our own story ... the journey of Life itself.
MY HEART SAYS YES
