Happy & Free

Yoga and Nature Retreat

Welcome to The Happy & Free Retreat!

A nature-immersed gathering of connection, adventure and growth.

Your getaway is located at Northern Edge Algonquin, an incredible luxury eco-resort snuggled up beside Algonquin Park, Ontario. With no cell service or distractions, this retreat offers a rare sense of ease.

The Experience

This is a retreat like no other because it’s completely off-grid, allowing for a true digital detox (how great is that!) and you can give yourself permission to be fully immersed in your experience.

You'll have a variety of classes with Mandy designed to nurture the seeds of intuition, improve upon your thoughts, judgments, and actions, and bring a sense of lightness back to the body.

Alongside your personal renewal, you’ll go on adventures like a starlit canoe experience, enjoy a sauna or a swim! When it’s time for our locally sourced meals you’ll be met by Gregor who will explain every dish with incredible passion and dedication, you’ll feel the love in bite (It was a highlight for guests last year!). You can sleep with the fresh forest air and sweet songbirds in a glamping cabin or cozy wood cabin situated close to the lake. Get ready for the best sleep of your life!

Let this retreat offer a space for you to restore your emotional and physical well-being, spark the joy of laughter with new friends, and find moments of personal truth.

Oh and eat amazing food too!

July 9th - 12th, 2026

Where You’ll Rest

Your nights are designed for deep sleep and quiet comfort.

Northern Edge offers a range of cabin options, each with its own relationship to the surrounding forest and lake. Eco-glamping canvas cabins place you close to the sounds of nature like owls, crickets, and the night air, while the newly built log cabins offer additional warmth or AC and cozy comforts.

Whichever style you choose, each space is simple, peaceful, and thoughtfully prepared to support and nurture a reset.

To explore the different cabin styles, visit @northernedgealgonquin on Instagram and view the Eco Tour, or refer to the retreat information booklet.

Being Guided - Your Classes

You’ll be supported through thoughtfully held practices that invite presence, rest, and clarity without pressure to perform or arrive anywhere specific.

There is room to meet yourself where you are.

Practices unfold with care, shaped by the moment and the energy of the group. You’ll find the classes (hatha, gentle flow and restorative yoga) beautifully themed towards inward reflection and sequenced for deep rest and energy renewal. Meditative and Breathwork practices provide the walkway to re-engage more deeply with life.

Beginners to intermediates will equally find what they need here. Silence will be welcomed regularly within the practices.

The Experience of Togetherness

Connection here doesn’t come from ice-breakers or forced sharing; it emerges naturally over shared meals, quiet conversations, laughter, and time spent adventuring together.
Time for journaling by the lake.
Time for movement.
Time for doing very little at all.

Workshops with Mandy will lift and expand the soul. A trained outdoor professional from Northern Edge will guide your outdoor experiences. Special Guest, Matt Bolta (The Bright Side Yoga & Pilates Waterloo), will teach alongside Mandy for Energizing Yoga in the morning and Restorative Yoga in the afternoon or evening.

You’re free to participate as much or as little as feels right.

Let Go of the Daily Grind, Connect to Yourself,

and Renew Your Energy and Joy.

What People Are Saying

“ It was enlightening, peaceful, entertaining, and filled with moments of awe.  Not to mention the food was fantastic!  I so enjoyed the connection I felt and the new friends I made.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but I found the whole experience uplifting. (especially after all the covid shutdowns)  It filled a much-needed gap in my life and gave me a new way of seeing things and an understanding plus acceptance of my past. (ongoing work in progress ) I loved the wheel we did - for me, it was an apology both to myself and others.

I am so looking forward to another retreat with you this year. "
Cheers, Wendy E Layne

July 9th - 12th, 2026

Northern Edge Algonquin, Ontario

NOTE: This retreat has a maximum capacity of 20 people, and sold out in just 4 days the last time it ran! We had so much fun, and I can’t wait to welcome you home for The Happy & Free Retreat this coming summer.

For more details on cost, activities, and inclusions, please download the retreat booklet or email me with any questions.

What People Are Saying

“First and foremost was the immediate impact of restricting the use of electronic devices. I appreciated the opportunity to detox from the phone and internet, and it gave me hope to know that I can do with less of that and be fine.

…I got to learn through guided tours and by interacting with the vast natural environment through physical activities and experiences. I love food and was delighted to be nurtured by delicious chef-prepared meals.  Learning about the local origins of the ingredients helped me to feel more connected with what I was eating. I get a warm feeling when I recall witnessing people from different walks of life journeying together to do important inner work.

Together we participated in guided meditation, talks and workshops straight from Mandy’s heart. These sessions led to many ah-ha moments and moments of gentle awakening. These sessions were paired with supportive yoga (asana) practices expertly sequenced by Mandy. My key takeaways…include the feeling of peace in knowing that the invitation into wholeness is for everyone and that if you immerse yourself in a nurturing supportive environment you can find a deep meaningful reconnection to your true self.”           ~Adrien Ma