The Topa Institute is a retreat center & land sanctuary set atop a tranquil, awe-inspiring ridge in the Upper Ojai Valley. We host creative workshops, classes, and gatherings facilitated by leading teachers, artists, and culture makers in their fields.
Topa Institute envisions a thriving, peaceful planet filled with creativity, connection, and care. We honor global traditions of perennial wisdom that create peace, healing, art, and learning.
The Institute joins together three deeply interconnected areas of programming: Arts & Culture, Nature Connection, and Holistic Education. Each unit advances our collective mission, engaging timeless practices of community building and deep listening.
For over 45 years, our founding organizations have developed innovative cultural, environmental, and community-building programs and practices, now offered through our three areas of focus.
Arts & Culture
The arts & culture department fosters a creative community hungry to uncover and reveal the alchemy of unsung and underrepresented cultures through a variety of artistic and scholarly pursuits. Through our concerts, performances, and site-specific exhibitions, as well as workshops, classes, and residential opportunities, we offer immersive experiences in arts and culture in a stunning location.
NATURE CONNECTION
The 36-acre land sanctuary located in the Upper Ojai Valley, California — the historical home of Indigenous people devoted to creative practices in art, agriculture, and wisdom. At Topa Institute we honor and continue this work through our land-based offers such as permaculture, nature immersion, and Indigenous wisdom.
HOLISTIC EDUCATION
The holistic education department is our center for our unique combination of social-emotional and environmental education practices. Combining deep listening practices and nature-based activities, our program’s purpose is to forge genuine, trusting relationships between people and nature. Learn more about council trainings, rites of passage programs marking life transitions, and team-building workshops.
Upcoming RetreatS & Events
SEPTEMBER 30, 2023
LGBTQ+ Community Connection
LGBTQ+ Community Connection is a space filled with joy, laughter, and profound connections. Here, we invite you to join us in Council and go beyond surface-level interactions and truly engage with fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community in a warm and welcoming environment —and soak in the awe-inspiring nature that surrounds Topa Institute.
OCTOBER 6-8, 2023
Council 2 Training: Deepening the Practice
Council Training 2 is a powerful opportunity to deepen one’s practice and explore the more complex contours of facilitating council circles. This training is geared toward folks who have been facilitating council and have had direct experience with challenging situations.
OCTOBER 12, 2023
Open Floor Conscious Dance Class
Come move your body, breathe, and be gently guided in a 90-minute conscious dance with Open Floor teacher in training, Chakra Earthsong.
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