Samhain Journey | An Evening of Breath, Meditation, Nidra, Sound & Reiki

An immersive
two-hour evening, moving from breath to yoga Nidra to journey to a
Reiki-infused deep sound bath, into rest as the year turns toward
winter.

However you come to this, tired, tender, or curious, let the door
close on the week behind you. You don’t need to have done anything
like this before, only to arrive as you are and let yourself be
guided down into the dark and gently back. You’ll be held the whole
way. This is a tended evening, a cocoon of deep rest and quiet
listening to what the year is ready to have you set down.

As the veil thins and the light draws low, we gather to meet
Samhain, the old Celtic new year, together. This is an evening of
journey and introspection, held in the amber glow of winter. You’ll
be invited to let the year’s harvest fall and to settle a single
intention into the velvet earth, into winter’s rest, where seeds
lie waiting until spring.

Long before the costumes, sweets, and parties, there was an older
tradition. Come and feel the ancient energy of this night.

You’ll be welcomed with a cup of tea, blue lotus or a gentle
relaxation blend, and time to arrive before we move as one breath
into the night. Optional teas are available.

This evening includes:

Breath and Somatics: we’ll begin by gently settling the body
and breath, easing you out of the day.
Oracle and Intention: draw a card and journal, sensing what
you are ready to set down and the one thing you wish to carry
through the winter.
Grounding Meditation, Yoga Nidra and Journey: lie back and be
guided down into deep rest, and into a journey through the thinning
veil. You won’t travel alone. In the quiet, a guiding presence may
come to be with you, an ally for this night, as you set down what
the year has asked of you and carry one intention into the winter
ahead. Then you’ll be gently returned.
Sound Bath with Reiki Infusion: surrender and rest into
crystal bowls, ocean drum, and gong as the veil thins. Reiki is
offered by invitation only, and you’ll be guided to open silently
if you wish to receive.
Witnessing and Closing Blessing: speak your intention aloud to
be held in the circle, and seal the evening with gratitude and
collective tone.

An evening to soften, listen, and settle your mind, body, and
spirit.

Hosting this evening are Daniela Vanasco and Kookie
Gill.

Daniela Vanasco is a Reiki Master, certified coach, and
facilitator whose work is rooted in yoga nidra, depth psychology,
and a long relationship with shamanic practice, both trained in its
foundations and shaped by more than twenty years alongside shamanic
teachers. This evening she leads the nidra and a guided journey
drawn from both yoga and shamanic traditions, and infuses Reiki
through the room during the sound bath and while you rest.

Kookie Gill teaches from the heart, with a gift for guiding the
nervous system back into balance. An Indian yoga teacher raised
within the living tradition of yoga (paramparā), with heritage from
Kenya and Northern India, she weaves yoga, somatics, qigong,
breath, and sound into practices that honour the body’s own wisdom
and its innate capacity to heal. Inclusive, compassionate, and
warm, she offers sustainable practices for immune and emotional
wellbeing, and a felt sense of safety, belonging, and wholeness.
Kookie is a faculty member on The Shala School of Yoga’s 300-hour
programme.

Bring: journal and pen, water bottle, layered clothing, eye
pillow, and any small object (a crystal, a stone, or something that
connects you to those who came before) that feels supportive.

Trust in what your body is feeling, your heart hearing, your
spirit receiving.

Please note:

On the welcome tea
: we offer blue lotus or a gentle relaxation blend, with other
optional teas available. Blue lotus is a gentle Egyptian water
lily, used since antiquity in ritual for calm and a soft, dreamlike
ease. We serve it as a light cup, a short steep rather than the
long ceremonial brew, so the effect is subtle and relaxing rather
than strong. It is completely optional, and the relaxation blend is
always there instead. If you would like the blue lotus, please skip
it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you are driving
straight home (it can be gently sedating), if you take sedative,
antidepressant, or antipsychotic medication, or if you are allergic
to water lily.

On the sound bath
: sound is deeply restful for most people, but please let us
know before booking or on arrival if any of the following apply, as
they are known contraindications.

Metal implants or a pacemaker, or a serious heart condition,
as sound can resonate metal and affect pacemaker rhythm.

Pregnancy under three months, as the first trimester is a
tender and unsettled time.

Tinnitus, Ménière’s, epilepsy, or any condition that is
sound-sensitive or can be triggered by sound.

A serious mental health condition. If you are holding
something fragile just now, do check in with us beforehand so we
can hold you well.