Wellbeing retreat in the Great Bear Rainforest
A sample itinerary
This is your chance to get truly off grid, using a private yacht to go where there’s no roads or infrastructure – only you, the world’s largest temperate rainforest and its world-wonder wildlife.
It’s the perfect destination to disconnect with forest breathwork sessions and SUP yoga, while connecting with your environment. Think tracking all-white spirit bears with First Nations guides, listening to whale songs with leading researchers and freediving with playful seals.
These are all experiences we’ve pioneered, running numerous yacht trips to the region over the years. Below, we’ve put together a sample of what your wellness retreat might look like here, charting its adrenaline peaks and relaxing pauses – with BPMs given just as a guide. Remember, everything can – and will – be tailored to you.
All media taken on Cookson Adventures trips
A sample itinerary
Forest breathwork
With a leading practitioner
Surrounded by towering cedars and the sounds of nature, a controlled breathwork session can place you in a slightly altered state, as your guide leads you on mental and physical exercises.
Sample BPM: 50
Wildlife watching
Natural awe
Alongside the likes of whale researchers and local conservationists, search for everything from humpbacks and orcas to grizzles and eagles. Sightings can spike both heart rates and emotions.
Sample BPM: 70
Serene SUPing
Through mazing fjords
The region’s twisting waterways are a giant adventure playground, with paddling improving your fitness and mental focus as you disconnect with home and connect with your surroundings – waterfalls and wildlife.
Sample BPM: 120
Hot springs
Geothermal relaxation
Rest up in natural warm waters as you enjoy the sights and sounds of the rainforest, as well as the therapeutic benefits. Think beneficial minerals, improved circulation and some post-SUP recovery.
Sample BPM: 90
Freediving
With seals
Putting your breathwork into practice, slow your heart rate to freedive deeper and longer, coming face-to-face with playful and curious seals in the kelp forests. It’s a truly life-affirming experience.
Sample BPM: 50
Whale song
Meditative immersion
Tracking whales with a marine biologist through underwater hydrophones, their soothing songs and incredible breaches are a truly connecting, awe-inspiring experience – whether listening or watching.
Sample BPM: 70
Rainforest hiking
Connecting with nature
On hidden trails through the lush, moss-covered rainforest, explore ancient ecosystems to arrive at breath-taking vistas in the company of an expert naturalist guide. Keep your eyes out for wildlife.
Sample BPM: 120
Forest bathing
Escape in the quiet
With its mist-shrouded trees and stalking wildlife, this is perhaps the ultimate destination for shinrin yoku, or forest bathing. It’s the chance to disconnect and connect with yourself and your surroundings
Sample BPM: 50
Spirit bear tracking
With a first nation guide
Accompanied by a spirit bear keeper, you’ll not only witness the awe-inducing natural phenomenon of this pure-white subspecies, but learn its cultural significance. Its sanctity is sure to leave a lasting impression.
Sample BPM: 120
Yoga in nature
Full-body awareness
Under the guidance of expert instructors, flow through somatic movement and yoga sequences enveloped by the crisp sea air, mists and sounds of the Great Bear Rainforest – a truly immersive experience.
Sample BPM: 75
Forest breathwork
With a leading practitioner
Learning controlled breathing techniques while immersed in the clean forest air can help promote mental and physical health, amplified by the oxygen-rich atmosphere with a varied mix of inhalations and exhalations having a physiognomic impact.
A breathwork journey
Alongside the variations in breath, you’ll be prompted on a mental journey of discovery.
Reduces stress
Breathing exercises increase oxygen intake, which can help calm the mind. Conscious breathing can boost self-awareness, help you feel more present in the moment, and ease anxiety and stress.
Improved lung function
As a type of breathing exercise, the slow, intentional breathing of pranayama may help strengthen your lungs by improving the strength of the muscles used to inhale and exhale.
Regulates stress response
Discover the benefits of deep breathing. Simple techniques can help you relax, reduce anxiety and improve heart health.
Reduced heart rate
This breathing technique offers benefits to your body including reducing blood pressure and heart rate, leading to increased relaxation.
Wildlife watching
Natural awe
These awe-inspiring experiences are enhanced by mindfulness practices that help you stay present, fostering a deep sense of wonder and gratitude.
Emotional well-being
Unforgettable close encounters with wildlife can promote a deep sense of emotional well-being.
Stress reduction
Spending time relaxing in a serene natural environment lowers cortisol levels and releases endorphins, fostering a sense of calm.
Mental clarity
Spotting wildlife improves focus, attention and mindfulness as you tune into the surroundings and remain fully present while you observe the wildlife’s natural behaviour.
Gratitude
Spotting wild animals fosters a sense of connection to the natural world.
Serene SUPing
Through mazing fjords
The benefits of SUPing are both physical and mental.
Being in the moment
Paddling forces you to be present, as you search for wildlife and immerse yourself in the region’s natural beauty.
Improved cardiovascular fitness
Paddling is an excellent aerobic exercise that strengthens the heart, improves circulation, and enhances cardiovascular health.
Reduced stress
Being on the water has a calming effect, reducing cortisol levels and promoting relaxation, while physical activity releases endorphins, improving mood.
Enhanced upper body strength
SUP engages muscles throughout the upper body, increasing strength and endurance in the arms, shoulders, chest and back.
Increased joint mobility & low-impact exercise
Paddling helps support flexibility without placing excessive strain on the joints and muscles, making kayaking an accessible way to stay active.
Hot springs
Geothermal relaxation
Relax in a natural hot spring nestled in the rainforest, surrounded by lush greenery and soothing nature.
Soothes aches & pains
A hot soak helps alleviate muscle tension and soothes joint pain, reducing discomfort.
Improved cardiovascular health
Spending time in a hot spring increases heart rate and improves circulation, mimicking cardiovascular exercise and improving circulation.
Natural relaxation
The warmth of a hot spring enhances relaxation, while the serene natural surroundings amplify the experience.
Enhanced skin health
The warm, mineral-rich waters help clear out impurities and promote better blood flow to the skin, resulting in a healthy and radiant complexion.
Disconnection
Spending time away from your devices can help to reduce stress and boost mental clarity, as you focus on your surroundings and being in the moment.
Freediving
With seals
Relaxation and mindfulness are key to lowering your resting heart rate, maximising your time beneath the waves, and with the local wildlife.
Environmental connection
Being in the company of these playful mammals provides plenty of entertainment, deepening your connection with the natural world.
Mindfulness
Similar to yoga, paying close attention to your body – including your heart rate – can help you be present in the moment.
Strengthen your lungs
Diaphragmatic or “belly breathing” is the most efficient way of oxygenating your body, with regular practice increasing your lung volume and elasticity, as well as strengthening your core.
Fitness & flexibility
The more flexible and fit your body is, the better it can move through water, thus reducing your oxygen requirements so you can freedive for longer.
Helps to achieve better focus & concentration
Beneath the surface, there are few distractions, allowing you to concentrate on limiting unnecessary movement and maintaining oxygen levels.
Whale song
Meditative immersion
Go behind the scenes on one of the region’s groundbreaking wildlife projects – this activity invites you to connect deeply with the rhythms of the ocean.
Promotes deep relaxation
By engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, the soothing frequencies of whale song draw you into a state of deep relaxation.
Enhances emotional well-being
The feelings manifested by listening to whale song include wonder, serenity and a sense of awe, stemming from an audible connection with nature.
Reduced stress
By combining tranquil marine environments with calming acoustic sounds, the whale song resonates throughout our bodies, inducing a reduction in stress levels
Boosts creativity
The unique and rhythmic sounds of the whales can inspire your imagination, as the sense of being in the moment creates a thought space where creativity can flourish.
Rainforest hiking
Connecting with nature
There are multiple health benefits associated with getting out into nature, and hiking is one of the most accessible ways to do it.
Disconnection
Spending time away from your devices and disconnected from the modern world can help to reduce stress, as you focus on your surroundings and being present.
Improved cardiovascular health
Hiking elevates heart rate and boosts circulation, enhancing endurance and reducing the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Enhanced mental clarity
Immersion in natural settings lowers cortisol levels, reduces mental fatigue, and fosters a sense of clarity and calm.
Increased physical endurance
Hiking engages multiple muscle groups, particularly in the lower body and core, improving strength, balance, and stamina.
Forest bathing
Escape in the quiet
Relax into a meditative state, breathe in the earthy forest air and immerse yourself in a nature-amplified experience that can enhance overall well-being.
Reduced stress levels
Forest bathing has been shown to lower stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, leading to a decrease in feelings of anxiety.
Improved mood
Thanks to the calming effects of spending time in nature, people who practice forest bathing tend to have a more positive outlook on life, feel more energised, and have fewer negative thoughts.
Increases creativity
Studies have shown that spending time in nature can improve focus and cognitive function. Forest bathing can also help increase creativity by providing a peaceful setting free from distractions.
Spirit bear tracking
With a first nation guide
This beautiful and memorable experience fosters a profound connection to both wildlife and the Indigenous culture of the Great Bear Rainforest – sure to get the heart racing.
Promotes mindfulness
Such a privileged and rare opportunity enables you to fully immerse yourself in the bears’ behaviours, narrated by your expert guide.
Enhanced emotional well-being
Enriched by ancient Indigenous knowledge, this communion with nature weaves together meaningful wildlife encounters and cultural storytelling.
Reduced stress
Spending time in the tranquil, unspoiled natural world is a balm for the soul. Tapping into our primal need to spend time in nature can help regulate stress and boost mental health.
Improved focus & presence
Observing the bears and listening to your guide’s knowledgeable insights into their behaviour improves focus and mindfulness as you watch the bears in their natural habitat.
Yoga in nature
Full-body awareness
Both yoga and somatic movement encourage you to connect to your emotions and how you’re feeling physically, benefitting both the body and mind in profound ways.
Engages the diaphragm
By engaging and activating the diaphragm, you’ll improve your respiratory health and reduce tension held in the body.
Improved flexibility
Regular yoga practice stretches and lengthens muscles, enhancing flexibility and range of motion, and reducing stiffness in joints.
Strength
Yoga strengthens your core and stabilising muscles, improving overall physical well-being.
Enhances relaxation
The combination of mindful breathing techniques and specific movements, all within a serene location, reduce stress levels and leave you feeling gloriously relaxed.
