Seed Retreat

ABOUT

Seed Retreat is a community that creates experiences to deepen our connection to ourselves, nature, and the world. Through the practices of running, mindfulness, and sports psychology, we explore our relationship to movement and what it means to be fully alive.

Our Mission

To deepen and inspire your relationship to your mind, body, and movement.

Retreat Modalities

  • Running

    We run with a spirit of curiosity and connection to ourselves, our community, and nature. All paces, experiences levels, and running interests are celebrated and welcomed.

  • Sports Psychology

    We engage in group coaching on our relationship to movement and ourselves. We learn tools from Sports Psychology to deepen our capacity for presence, performance, and growth.

  • Mindfulness

    We integrate the mindfulness practices of yoga and meditation. We practice Restorative yoga to promote recovery, Vinyasa yoga to access strength and flow, and meditation to befriend ourselves.

Who We Serve

Seed Retreat serves women ages 18 and up. We welcome and intend to provide a safe environment for all women, regardless of background, race, sexual orientation, sex assigned at birth, body size, ethnicity, education, financial means, religion, and political perspective.

Meet the Team

Photo by Greg Fisher

Erica Landerson

CO-DIRECTOR

A co-founder of Seed Retreat and a lover of nature and movement, Erica Landerson can be found trail running, hiking, and biking in her home in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. She enjoys exploring (and dunking in) mountain streams and alpine lakes with her German husband and two homeschooled boys. As co-owner of a women's adventure travel company, AdventureWomen, Erica loves to connect with curious and adventurous people. Through her travels to nearly a quarter of the countries in the world, she has made a first ascent of a mountain in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan and summited Mt. Kilimanjaro three times. She believes in an open mind, authentic connections, and is committed to her continuous internal growth and unfolding.

Photo by Matt Shapiro

Julia Hanlon

CO-DIRECTOR & MINDFULNESS TEACHER

Julia Hanlon is a co-founder of Seed Retreat, psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and endurance athlete. Julia holds a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Transpersonal Counseling from Naropa University and is a Licensed Associate Counselor. Julia has been teaching yoga since 2010, holds a 500 E-RYT certification, and has had the privilege of teaching yoga and mindfulness in studios and retreat centers around the world. Julia is passionate about storytelling and is the creator of the Running On Om podcast and co-director and co-producer of the award-winning documentary film, Bekoji 100. 

Co-founding the Seed Retreat is the culmination of Julia’s three passions: running, psychology, and mindfulness. Julia currently lives in Flagstaff, AZ, where she sees therapy clients at Beyond the Pines, teaches yoga one-on-one to clients locally and virtually, and can be found exploring the local trails alongside her dog Bodhi. Julia is beyond excited to share the beauty of Northern Arizona with participants at the Seed Retreat.

 
Photo by Nick Isabella

Emily Saul

SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY COACH

Emily Saul is a Sport Psychology Coach and founder of E Saul Movement, holds a Master’s degree in Sport Psychology, and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She has a deep desire to help people integrate their athlete-selves and human-selves, to find and unleash the potential inside of them.  She deeply enjoys her private practice working with athletes from a wide variety of sports, including a strong breadth of runners. She led the November Project in Boston for eight years, a free fitness movement, where she motivated and challenged athletes of all ability levels and walks of life to engage in and get the most out of fitness while harnessing the power of community. She was a Division I collegiate rower, coached Strength & Conditioning at Harvard for seven years, and is an avid marathon runner on road and trail. Her TEDxBoston talk teaches about the power of developing a practice by sharing lessons from her own 10+ years of daily pushups.  She also spent a decade as a facilitator and educator on the relationship between trauma and play in children's lives, at the Life is Good Playmakers, a non-profit organization based in Boston. She has a unique perspective on the essential role that movement plays in human well-being, and offers an important voice to the conversation about how we use movement to foster growth and connection, and to establish new norms of living meaningful lives.

Amanda Drendel

SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING DIRECTOR

Amanda Drendel is a full-time marketer, freelance photographer, and trail running enthusiast based in Flagstaff. She is originally from the Chicago suburbs and ran at a Division III school while earning her degree in International Business and Marketing with a minor in Spanish. In both her photography and personal interactions, Amanda seeks connection and authenticity. She loves getting to know new people and prefers capturing candid moments over those that are precisely posed.

Retreat Core Values

  • Self Authorship

    We value self-leadership, embodying agency, and new ways of connecting to ourselves that empower us to write (perhaps re-write), and create our story.

  • Curiosity

    Inhabiting a beginner’s mind and childlike spirit, we aim to investigate, grow and expand our connection to movement. By moving our bodies and examining ourselves, we aspire to reignite a sense of awe and wonder.

  • Interconnection

    We believe that while our unending potential emerges from within and from knowing ourselves, it truly flourishes through our connections with others. Through mindful communication, connection to nature, and engaging as a community, we aim to cultivate our sense of interconnectedness.

  • Joy

    We believe that we are meant to move. We believe that movement is an adult's playtime: delightfully freeing and nourishing for mind and soul. We relish the connections promoted by spontaneity, play, laughter, and authenticity.