Feel More Like Yourself
Do Something Different. Dance like never before + Mindful Movement reimagined as Mudra. Slow down, Feel more like yourself, Just Be.
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Dance. / [Body]
DJ Glitter Kitty lays the beats. You play. For once, dance isn’t about how you look but how you feel. No pressure, no judgment. Movement and stillness are all welcome. Do you want to dance, jump, sing along, or lie down on the floor as the bass reverberates? Follow your instinct. Dance like no one is watching . . everyone else will be doing the same.
Go on your own journey and return to yourself. Play within your body and in space.
Dancing in this way regulates the nervous system and brings great relaxation. You arise as your own statement in each present moment.
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Mudra Space Awareness. / [Mind]
Mudra is a mindful embodied practice consisting of a set of exercises created by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist Master.
These mindful movement practices range from intense to playful. These are powerful and treasured practices that are held and offered very carefully and precisely.
Through physical activity, we cultivate presence, mindfulness, and awareness. By engaging fully, we slow down so that we can just be.
We will do Intensification exercises, the “price of admission” to being fully present. From there, we will explore our experiences, environments, and interconnections through sensory perception play.
Tai and Alison have both been authorized as Mudra teachers, and will be presenting the Mudra exercises as passed down by their teachers.
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Connection: IFS Parts Language + Mudra Speak. / [Speech]
Internal Family Systems (“IFS”) is a powerful therapeutic modality that offers parts language and a conceptual framework that allows for deep and genuine connection. We will offer the language as a tool for communicating who and how we are at a given time.
Mudra Speak uses language to share experience and realization that result from the ineffable experience of Mudra Space Awareness activities. We learn to share that which arises in the moment and may seem beyond language.
We will utilize both IFS Parts Language and Mudra Speak to share our experiences, hear others, and build connection.
A bit more detail . .
Coming from the lineages DJed club dance and Mudra Space Awareness (a Tibetan Buddhist embodied movement practice), and Internal Family Systems parts language, Alison and Tai have created a retreat container for participants to seek deeper wisdom and insight within themselves. Through embodied experience of the present moment, structured experiential conversations, and connection with other participants, attendees will have a chance to explore embodiment through dance, dissolve hesitation and play with experience through Mudra, and connect with self and other.
This Retreat is designed to take participants deeper into themselves so that they can “be” with authenticity, confidence, creativity, and open-heartedness. The retreat will take place over a weekend in which participants will have several opportunities to dance to a live DJ, exploring their physical experience in a safe and mindfully held container.
These dances will alternate with the mindful movement activities of Mudra Space Awareness practices, which will include traditional Intensification practices mixed with sensory and movement exercises.
We will emphasize connection and deep conversation using both Mudra Speak and the IFS framework and language to connect deeply with the parts of each person that need witnessing and integration. This will create an environment where participants can move between embodied mindful dance/movement/activity and connection in order to deepen and reset.
The retreat will take place at the beautiful Guest House Retreat Center in Chester CT, which offers three fresh-cooked nutritious meals per day and nicely decorated rooms with en-suite bathrooms in their old New England farmhouse setting. The Guest House is able to accommodate dietary restrictions. Please specify when registering.
We envision this being a small group experience where everyone has space and ability to relax and get to know one another. Let’s create a village.
We welcome participants of all physical abilities. Participants will have their own agency to determine the right level of movement, stillness, and activity for their bodies and experiences. That said, we do note that there are components of the program that involve periods of dance/embodied movement. Mudra Intensifications are known to be, well, intense. We have been guiding and teaching these for a number of years, and will carefully set the container to give each participant the agency to play with their mind’s own limits.
Sample Retreat Schedule:
Friday 3/6/26
3:00 pm arrival*
6:00 pm dinner
7:30 welcome and short evening session
*Please arrive when it is convenient for you. Friday night is an opportunity to get settled. If you have any questions about arrival or coming later, no problem please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Saturday 3/7/26
8:00 am breakfast
9:30 am morning session
12:30-2:00 pm lunch break * food served from 12:30-1:30pm
2:00 afternoon session
6:00-7:30 pm dinner break *food served from 6:00-7:00pm
7:30 night session
9:00 relax, connect with others, use the sauna, or go to bed
Sunday 3/8/26
8:00 am breakfast
9:30 am morning session
12:30-1:00 pm lunch break
1:00 pm afternoon session and wrap up
3:00 pm departure
*no dinner will be served on Sunday
Retreat Hosts:
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Alison Pepper, LCSW
Alison has been studying and practicing meditation and Buddhism for over a decade. She has studied Dharma Art and Mudra Space Awareness for the past 12 years. Alison mixes her passions for art, embodied healing, creativity and meditation in her New York therapy office. When Alison isn’t in the shrine room or therapy office, you will find her playing with her cat or outside with her friends. Alison and Tai enjoy discussing both meditation and therapy ideas, and have been dreaming of creating these retreats for years.
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Tai Pimputkar, LCSW / DJ Glitter Kitty
Tai has been practicing Buddhist Meditation and learning Mudra Space Awareness teachings for over a decade, and has spent years training with Alison as a Mudra Space Awareness teacher. She has her own psychotherapy private practice, Whole Psychotherapy, in Norwalk CT. Her primary therapeutic modality is Internal Family Systems, which she has also been studying for over a decade. For the past year, Tai has also been immersed in a DJ training course, PHDJ. By day, Tai works in the finance profession and lives in CT with her cats.
Quotes From Past Retreat Attendees:
The Guest House Retreat Center
Chester, Connecticut
Join us for a Winter Reset at the beautiful restored Connecticut Farmhouse, The Guest House Retreat Center. The center will house us with three warm home-cooked meals per day, a private space for our retreat, ample nooks and crannies for relaxation and connection, and a beautiful natural setting. It is an easy drive from I-95 with plenty of parking on site.
Dietary Restrictions: The retreat center is fully able to accommodate dietary restrictions, and there will be a space for you to specify any dietary needs when you sign up for the retreat.
Transportation: The Guest House is not far from the train line. If you need a ride from the train line, please contact the organizers. We can try to arrange a ride for you, or you can take a ride share from the train station. The Shoreline East train line stops at nearby stations, and connects to the Metro North rail in New Haven. There is no need to use Amtrak if coming from NYC, as those trains are much more expensive and less frequent.
Still have questions? Visit our Frequently Asked (Retreat) Questions.
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Upcoming Dance and Mudra retreats at The Guest House:
March 6-8, 2026
Oct 9-11, 2026 (registration not open yet)