A Winston-Salem yoga studio and a holistic health coach-in-training are teaming up to help their community heal through a weeklong virtual retreat at the end of this month.

Kris Neville, 20, is a yoga instructor, a holistic health coach-in-training, and the youngest son of John Neville, who died in December 2019 after being under the supervision of five former Forsyth County Detention Center officers and one nurse.

After learning of his fathers avoidable death, as characterized by District Attorney Jim ONeill, Neville and the rest of his family were left to pick up the pieces and silently struggle with grief. He said for the past three weeks, the #OccupyWSNC movement in Bailey Park demanding transparency and policy change from his fathers death has made him feel empowered, and it has inspired him to help others heal through the tools that helped him.

It really does suck, but I refuse to let that bring me down and tear me back from my own successonce I start to believe the reality that my fathers death is a reason for me to be depressed, sad, and have regrets, and have fears about anything that might happen in my life, it will immediately turn off any future of prosperity for me, he said. I refuse to be a failureI will be successful, I will fight for justice and make a change alongside the change I am trying to make in the health and wellness community.

Neville and Chlo Craver, 29, owner of Lotus Yoga Academy, are the hosts for the Shift Virtual Wellness Retreat, taking place from Aug. 23-30.

Ive had to switch everything for Lotus Yoga to an online platform because we are still closed, as we are technically a gym, Craver said. I think now we have a pretty good system fluidity in how to offer virtual things, so its been seamless.

Craver started doing yoga about 10-12 years ago because she felt disconnected from her body, which was causing her to struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually. About a year and a half ago, she opened Lotus originally as a yoga teacher-training program, but it eventually blossomed into a yoga studio. Neville started attending Lotus regularly in August 2019, and he got his yoga instructor certification this past February. He described yoga as something that was life-changing for him.

It is the decision that probably helped to heal so much of me, Neville said. My yoga teacher training healed so many parts of me just through January through March, because during that time, I was silently dealing with the death of my father. I was able to really reconcile and learn how to cope.

Neville is studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to be a holistic health consultant, and he said he would be fully certified by September. Once he is certified, hell officially launch his business, Wellness Rising Health, which through the use of plant medicine, yoga, mantra, and meditation, would help connect people to the earth and to each other.

Both Craver and Neville have used yoga to help heal their trauma, and the two became good friends after Neville started practicing at Lotus. With Cravers knowledge of yoga and meditation coupled with Nevilles knowledge of holistic medicine and nutrition, the Shift Virtual Wellness Retreat blends their expertise into a program composed of daily hour-long video content with follow-up Zoom call sessions each evening for attendees to reflect, share and ask questions.

The theme of the whole week is Shift, Craver said. Shift means, to us, the process of slowing down, of healing, integrating, focusing and transforming.

Coming out of summer, it is a time of intense heat and growth, and going into the fall its time to prepare for harvesting the intentions, manifestations and reaping what you sowed at the end of the season, Neville said. I think we can help prepare people to shift into a new mindset to understand the value of their words, manifestations and thoughts to create the reality they want.

Craver and Neville have curated yoga practices, meditations, and oils that correspond to each topic over the course of five days. That weekend, they will tie in what was learned the past week, and attendees will make a commitment to themselves based on what they experienced.

You cant rely on anyone to do your inner work for you or to do your healing for you, but it helps to have a little nudge, especially from people who have experienced it and done it for themselves, Craver said. We are giving people the tools to take back their own health and take back their own power, especially in a time that feels so disempowering.

Additionally, 20% of the proceeds from the Shift Virtual Wellness Retreat will go directly to support the Triad Abolition Project, the organization spearheading the #OccupyWSNC movement.

Neville said donating to the Triad Abolition Project is special to him because he believes in practicing civil disobedience to make meaningful change. Anything we can do to help these people get back out there on the street and create that scene of uncomfortability for the people who need to make the change, I will do what I can for that, he said. Once these policy changes are made, it wont be the end of the workit will be the next step to an even better community in Winston-Salem.

To get people curious about the virtual retreat, Craver and Neville are hosting two donation-based yoga and essential oil classes on the Lotus Yoga Academy patio, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. These classes are 45-minutes of slow-flow yoga accompanied by some of the essential oils used during the retreat, followed by a 20-minute discussion led by Neville on how the oils work.

Craver said no experience with yoga or essential oils is necessary to attend the retreat, and the only requirement is a willingness to learn.

The price for the entire retreat is $100, with $20 going directly to the Triad Abolition Project. Those who wish to attend need to register by Aug. 19 to receive the introduction package. In an effort to be more inclusive, Craver and Neville are seeking sponsors to help people in economic hardship to participate, and they hope to have at least 10 scholarship spots. Craver said those who sign up for the retreat would also get access to Lotuss patio classes.

I feel, weirdly with everything going on, this fire to make a change, Neville said. Ive done this work internally and its time to do it externallyto make people uncomfortable, and help other people heal.

Original post:

'Shift' into healing through yoga and holistic medicine - Yes! Weekly