Loving Presence.
The Heart Behind Loving Presence: Yoga & Silence Day Retreat
At the heart of the Wild Sanctuary Full Day Retreat, Loving Presence: Yoga & Silence, is a simple yet profound longing: to be with God as we are, without performance, explanation, or noise.
This retreat is rooted in Psalm 139, a prayer-poem that reminds us we are already known, already seen, already held.
“Lord, you know everything there is to know about me…
You perceive every movement of my heart and soul.” (Psalm 139:1–2)
Psalm 139 does not ask us to strive toward God. It tells us God is already here. Before a word is on our tongue, before we understand our own hearts, God is present. The invitation, then, is not to do more, but to notice.
Silence as God’s First Language
Our world is loud. Voices clamor for our attention. Notifications, opinions, expectations, and worries fill our inner landscape. Even our spiritual lives can become noisy, filled with words about God rather than space with God.
This retreat intentionally creates spacious silence because silence is often described as God’s first language. Before words, there is presence. Before understanding, there is love. In silence, we are freed from having to explain ourselves and are gently returned to the truth that we belong.
Dallas Willard says that practicing silence is the most important spiritual discipline for people today. It is when we quit doing and start being. Being is not to be confused with passivity. To do nothing and try not to make anything happen is a discipline that takes practice. We quit striving, quit producing, quit entertaining and cease to need to be entertained. It is when we step into the acceptance that God knows us. That we cannot talk or manipulate or cajole God into seeing us as we want to be seen. Rather we begin to accept and see ourselves as God sees us.
Yoga as Prayerful Listening
The yoga practice anchoring our day will be gentle, grounding, and deeply prayerful. Each movement becomes a form of listening, a way to inhabit the truth of Psalm 139 not just with our minds, but with our bodies.
As we stretch, rest, and breathe, we explore what it means to be “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We notice where we hold tension, where we resist, and where we soften. In this embodied awareness, we learn to meet ourselves with the same loving presence God offers us.
Being Fully Known, Fully Loved
Psalm 139 assures us that there is nowhere we can go where God is not already present. Not in our joy, not in our exhaustion, not in our questions.
“There is no such thing as darkness with you;
the night to you is as bright as the day.” (Psalm 139:12)
This retreat is a space to bring all of who you are into the light of God’s gentle knowing. There is no fixing required. No spiritual productivity expected. Only a willingness to pause and receive.
Loving Presence: Yoga & Silence is an invitation to return to what is already true: you are held, you are known, and you are loved beyond words.
