Welcome to The Happy & Free Retreat!
A nature-immersed gathering of connection, adventure and growth.
A nature-immersed gathering of connection, adventure, and genuine rest, held at a lakeside eco-sanctuary. No cell service and no agenda but your own deep rest.
The Experience
Some part of you already knows you need this.
This isn't a retreat designed to fix or improve you. It's designed for you get out of your way. It creates the conditions for clarity, ease, and an inner sense of contentment.
The Happy & Free Retreat takes place completely off-grid at Northern Edge Algonquin, a lakeside eco-sanctuary three hours north of Toronto, where the only notifications are birdsong and the smell of breakfast.
Each day unfolds with morning yoga on the dock, guided meditations, and thoughtfully designed workshops with Mandy, to naturally return to clarity, lightness, and a familiar sense of yourself. Afternoons open into adventure like a starlit canoe paddle, forest bathing hike, sauna, lake swims, or simply doing nothing by the water for the first time in years.
Meals are an experience of their own (5-star level food). Chef Greg sources locally and introduces every dish with the kind of passion that makes you feel the love before the first bite. Past guests called it the highlight of the retreat.
Nights are spent in a stunning cabin (with full amenities) or cozy glamping cabin steps from the lake. Expect the best sleep of your life, a total reset.
You'll leave lighter. Clearer. More yourself.
This retreat sold out in 4 days last time. Only a few spots remain.
July 9th - 12th, 2026
Let Go of the Daily Grind, Connect to Yourself,
and Renew Your Energy and Joy.
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 arriving anywhere specific.
There is room to meet yourself where you are.
Practices unfold with care, shaped by the moment and the group's energy. You’ll find the classes (hatha, gentle flow, and restorative yoga) beautifully themed towards inward reflection and sequenced for deep rest and renewal. Meditative and breathwork practices provide the walkway to re-engage more deeply with life.
Beginners to intermediates equally find what they need here. Silence will be welcomed regularly within the practices.
The Experience of Community
Connection emerges naturally over shared meals, quiet conversations, laughter, and time spent adventuring together.
Journaling by the lake.
Paddleboard, canoe, swim, or sauna.
Bonfires and quiet conversations.
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, 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.
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
Your Teachers
Mandy Elizabeth | Lead Facilitator & Owner, ME Yoga
Mandy is an internationally respected yoga and meditation teacher with 15+ years on the path. Known for her grounded presence and emotionally intelligent guidance, she creates spaces where people feel genuinely safe.
Her teaching weaves traditional yogic wisdom with nervous system science, helping people return to clarity and ease without pressure to "transform." Whether leading retreats in Canada or immersive trainings in Bali, Mandy's sessions are warm, steady, and quietly life-changing.
This retreat sold out in 4 days the last time she ran it.
Matt Bolta | Guest Teacher & Owner, The Bright Side Yoga & Pilates, Waterloo
Matt brings over 8 years of coaching, fitness, and yoga experience to every room and has a natural gift for building spaces where people feel genuinely safe, seen, and encouraged.
The owner of The Bright Side Yoga & Pilates in Uptown Waterloo and a Waterloo Region Record Readers' Choice Gold Winner 2025, Matt has built a devoted community around a simple belief: yoga and movement are for absolutely everyone, regardless of experience or ability.
At Happy & Free, Matt will assist in the asana classes.
July 9th - 12th, 2026
Northern Edge Algonquin, Ontario
All-inclusive from $1,428/person
→ meals, cabin, yoga, adventures, and all the things hotels forget.
Get $200 Off until May 12th | Register Today
The discount is automatically applied
For more details on cost, activities, and inclusions, please download the retreat booklet or email me with any questions. *Tax not included