Frequently Asked Questions

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No, Khandro Cabin is not affiliated with any particular religion or spiritual practice. 

If you have a meditation practice that you use, you are welcome and encouraged to use it during your retreat. If you prefer not to be guided during morning meditation sessions so that you can use your own practice, we will simply share the space together as we each meditate silently.

Coaching sessions are based on the perspective that you have boundless compassion and wisdom already inside of you. The coach plays the role of helping you navigate your way through your own thoughts, body sensations, and emotions to discover whatever answers or insight you are looking for.

You can read more about IFS and my approach to coaching at shinefreely.com.

Not yet! Until I complete proper training, yoga sessions will be guided by video with a qualified instructor, while I participate by your side and provide any needed support. 

This is the only portion of the retreat which involves a screen, and this factor is taken into consideration in the current pricing, which will increase upon my completion of training.

When you arrive, we will look at the schedule for the week along with the weather forecast. Together we will decide if we want to make any adjustments to the schedule based on the weather. If weather prevents the nature excursions from happening at all, I will offer other options for local indoor places to visit that may be of interest to you, or you may choose to exercise in my home gym. Due to the weather factor, there are no guarantees that the nature excursions will be possible.

I encourage you to be clear with yourself around your own physical boundaries, and please communicate them to me so I can provide supportive conditions. If requested, we can plan for gentle nature walks instead of hiking or kayaking. I do not push people to do things they do not want to do.

For a non-emergency need, the closest medical clinic and pharmacy are 10 minutes away in La Farge, with limited hours and services.

For an emergency, the closest 24-hour emergency room and pharmacy are 30 minutes away in Viroqua.

In most rural settings, the hospital may take a while to get to and it may not have all of the services you need. If you have a health condition which could require emergency medical care, I do not recommend participating in this retreat.

Wi-Fi is available in the cabin. Cell phone service is unreliable, but most cell phones can be set up with wi-fi calling. If your phone is not able to use wi-fi calling and you need to make a call, a land line phone is available in my home for emergency use.

All meals are gluten-free and are mostly made up of organic vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains (quinoa and brown rice), and either tofu or animal proteins (yogurt, cheese, chicken, beef, pork, eggs). When making a reservation, you have the option to list up to 4 ingredients to be omitted for allergies or intolerances. Vegetarians can list "meat" as 1 ingredient; vegans can list "animal products" as one ingredient. 

If your diet is more restrictive than that, it's possible I will not be able to accommodate it. Feel free to reach out by email and we can discuss your specific situation. 

While I fully respect whatever diet you choose for yourself, I choose not to prepare meals for keto, paleo, or carnivore diets for my own practical reasons.

Yes. Just know that the retreat cabin does not have a refrigerator or kitchen, and there are no discounts for choosing alternative food options.

Participants may opt for 2 alcoholic beverages (beer or seltzer) served with dinner each evening.

For various reasons, including both the intention to support a focused retreat and my own personal boundaries, I ask that you please do not bring additional alcohol.

The only person who will come within 100 feet of your retreat cabin is me, the retreat host. My personal residence is about 100 feet away, and there may be men (or women or children) present in and around my home. However, none of these people will enter your retreat cabin or the surrounding space.

Of course.

Let me know what you need -- I have baby stuff.

(P.S. All the same rules for dogs apply here too. 🤣)

Yes! One dog is allowed to join you under these conditions:

(1) Your dog is not aggressive and does not have a history of biting or snapping at people. (I have a young daughter and for that reason do not allow aggressive dogs on my property.)

(2) You know how to keep your dog from going into the road or onto other people's property. (This is mostly for your dog's safety!)

(3) You are responsible to pay for any damage your dog causes to the cabin or property during your stay. 

(4) Most importantly: You are 100% responsible for your dog at ALL times. (Don't ask me to watch it or take care of it -- I won't. 🙂)

Khandro Cabin is located a few miles outside of La Farge, Wisconsin. The street address and driving directions are provided upon booking.

Some places worth exploring within a 30-minute drive include:

NATURE:

• Kickapoo River: 125-mile river that meanders in every direction.  Because the glaciers that missed the Driftless Area did not change its natural course, the Kickapoo River Valley is one of the oldest river systems in the world. 
• Kickapoo Valley Reserve: 8,600-acre nature reserve that offers a variety of recreation: fishing and hunting; horseback riding and hiking trails; cross-country skiing and snowshoeing; canoeing and camping.  
• Wildcat Mountain State Park: 3,643-acre state park which offers 25 miles of hiking, horseback riding, and cross-country ski trails, plus well-equipped camp sites. Sandstone bluffs topped with limestone, two of which are Wildcat Mountain and Mount Pisgah, provide views over the narrow valley of the Kickapoo River and its tributaries. The Kickapoo Valley Reserve is immediately adjacent and forms a continuous protected area.  

FOOD, DRINKS, AND SHOPS:

• Twisted Raven: a relaxed and spacious bar in La Farge with wonderful bartenders, gluten-free pizza, and a flower and gift shop
• Wild Things: a one-of-a-kind family-owned fur shop in Rockton
• Rockton Bar: rural Wisconsin bar atmosphere at its finest (and next door to the fur shop!) 
• Viroqua: vibrant small town with an excellent food co-op, farm-to-table restaurants, live music, interesting shops, and creative people of all kinds
• Hillsboro Brewing Company: restaurant and brewery with award-winning lineup of 38 craft brews & seltzers, appetizers, specialty burgers, and pizzas (including gluten-free!)
• Trail's End: locally referred to as the Amish Walmart. If you're a builder or someone who likes to make new, creative things out of old, sturdy things, you're going to want to check this place out.
• Amish bakeries and greenhouses

EDUCATION & ENTERTAINMENT:

• Driftless Curiosity: a land-based educational non-profit on a nearby farm that offers unique events connecting people with each other and nature
• Driftless Folk School: an educational community that offers classes for learning various nature-related arts and skills
• Driftless Music Gardens: a natural amphitheater in the hills with excellent summer concerts
• Larryfest: the best bluegrass festival I can imagine, every August in La Farge

Transportation is provided to and from the two nature excursions. Retreat participants will need to arrange their own transportation to and from the retreat cabin, which is outside of La Farge, Wisconsin.

The closest airports include:

La Crosse, WI: 1 hr 10 min drive

(tiny airport with two gates connecting to Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit)

Madison, WI: 1 hr 45 min drive

(mid-sized airport connecting to 15 major U.S. cities)

Milwaukee, WI: 3 hr drive

(large international airport)

Chicago, IL: 3 hr 30 min drive

(large international airport)

Minneapolis, MN: 3 hr 30 min drive

(large international airport)

You may cancel up to 10 days in advance of your scheduled arrival and receive a complete refund. To cancel, contact me by email. 

If you cancel less than 10 days in advance, you will not receive a refund, but you will receive a gift certificate for another 5-day retreat, which you may use for yourself or share with someone else for a retreat in the future.

The Driftless Area includes 24,103 square miles, covering all or part of 57 counties in southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and a small part of northwest Illinois.

The region’s distinctive terrain is due to its having been bypassed by the last continental glacier. The term “driftless” indicates a lack of glacial drift, the deposits of silt, gravel, and rock that retreating glaciers leave behind.

The Driftless Area geography is characterized by its steep, rugged landscape, and by the largest concentration of cold water streams in the world. The absence of glaciers gave the rivers time to cut deeply into the ancient bedrock and create the distinctive landforms. Karst topography is found throughout the area, characterized by shallow limestone bedrock, caves, sinkholes, springs, and cold streams.

Source: https://driftlesswisconsin.com/explore/geography-and-rivers/

Shine Freely is the name of my business, what I want to do in the world, and what I want to support  others to do. Currently, my primary activity is offering IFS coaching sessions. You can learn more about me and my approach to IFS coaching at shinefreely.com.

Email me at vicky@shinefreely.com.