Registration for our 2026 Annual Retreat is NOW OPEN! For more info, head to our calendar!
This year our group will be heading to the West Coast for a weekend in La Honda, CA and staying at the YMCA Camp Jones Gulch!
YMCA Camp Jones Gulch
Address: 11000 Pescadero Creek Rd, La Honda, CA 94020
Telephone: (650) 747-1200
To view more photos and learn more about the accommodations, go here.
The closest major airport to the camp is the San Francisco International Airport which is about 45 minutes from the camp.
The medical center closest to the camp is Redwood City Medical Center – Kaiser Permanente.
Of course! In fact, we encourage it! You can enter your information and find potential traveling buddies in this travel document.
Yep! We will ensure that you will have access to a refrigerator for your meds!
The menu will be available closer to the event! We will send it out to you directly via email so you have ample time to plan to fill in the gaps, if need be!
In your registration we will collect information about your dietary needs, which we will try to accommodate as best as we can. If there are food items or snacks that you would like to bring to eat, please do! Again, we will send the menu out ahead of time, if we can. If you have any others questions, please contact us.
Sorry, this event is only for those with a confirmed IBD diagnosis and/or an ostomy (for any reason). But, if you need a caregiver accommodation – please get in touch with us!
For this event, your $300 registration fee covers – meals, lodging, and activities.
*You will also be responsible for travel to and from the event.
If you are officially registered to attend the 2026 Retreat Weekend, you will be sent liability forms to fill out prior to the event.
*These forms must be completed before attending!
Clothing
Personal Items
Bedding & Towels
3PM: Attendee Check-in
5PM: Dinner
7:30PM: Opening and Ice Breakers
8PM: Meditation with Bari
7AM: Yoga with Bari
8AM: Breakfast
10AM-11:30AM: Reflection as Fuel for Resilience w/ GI Psychs
12PM: Lunch
1-3PM: Rest/Activites/Free Time
4-6PM: Drum Circle w/ Jeni and Eva from DRUMMM
6PM: Dinner
7PM: Mask Making & Movie Night!
7AM: Yoga with Bari
8AM: Breakfast
10AM: Nutrition & the Gut Session
11AM: Intimacy, Grief & Reconnection to the Body
12PM: Lunch
1-1:45PM: Breakout Sessions
2-2:45PM: Breakout Sessions
3-5PM: Rest/Free Time/Get Ready for Masquerade Ball
7-10PM: Masquerade Ball!
7AM: Yoga with Bari
8AM: Breakfast
10AM: Closing and Departures
Bari Gratton is a yoga therapist, educator, and experiential facilitator who brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work with the Girls With Guts community. Living with Crohn’s disease and having navigated a temporary ostomy, Bari understands firsthand the physical and emotional layers of IBD. Her personal healing journey led her to shift from a high-stress career in global brand and experiential marketing into the fields of yoga, meditation, and yoga therapy, where she now focuses on whole-person wellness and sustainable self-care practices.
Bari has served as a counselor and yoga facilitator at Camp Oasis, creating imaginative, age-appropriate classes that blend movement, breathwork, storytelling, and therapeutic mindfulness tools for youth living with IBD. Her approach emphasizes that self-work can be challenging, yet we each carry the capacity to meet our experiences with wisdom, adaptability, and compassion—including the realities of ostomies, flares, and recovery.
In addition to her clinical and community work, Bari is a researcher and practitioner of embodied philosophy, with academic focus on the Divine Feminine and the use of mythic and goddess-centered contemplative practices as therapeutic modalities. Her sessions integrate gentle movement, meditation, and symbolic reflection to support resilience, body acceptance, and inner nourishment—meeting participants exactly where they are while inviting them to reconnect with their inherent strength.
This drum circle is intended to offer a grounding, connective experience designed to support whole-person healing – mind, body, and spirit.
Through guided rhythm, participants are invited to reconnect with their bodies in a gentle, accessible way. For many in this community, relationships with the body can be complex due to chronic illness, medical trauma, and ongoing symptoms. This session creates space to shift that relationship – away from frustration or disconnection, and toward presence, trust, and self-compassion.
Rooted in DRUMMM’s approach of using rhythm as a universal language, the experience emphasizes connection, inclusivity, and shared energy. Together, participants will explore a collective “heartbeat,” fostering a sense of belonging without the need for words or prior experience.
The session is designed to be:
Jeni Swerdlow, MA-ATR, is the founder and Chief Rhythm Activator of DRUMMM Rhythmic Events. She’s a seasoned facilitator with over 25 years of experience using rhythm to build connection, resilience, and joy. A Registered Art Therapist and REMO-endorsed Drum Circle Facilitator, Jeni blends wellness, creativity, and community in engaging, accessible experiences for all levels—no musical background needed. She has worked with organizations like Google, Meta, and Stanford Medicine, as well as schools and organizations nationwide. For Girls with Guts, Jeni brings a supportive, uplifting approach that invites participants to reconnect with themselves and each other through the power of rhythm. Learn more at www.DRUMMM.com.
Eva Orbuch is a passionate justice seeker, coach, consultant, and musician. She frequently drums and sings for cultural and prayer spaces. She loves to support and coach people in finding their authentic activism, designing rituals for moments of life transition, and she acts as a “Drum Doula,” supporting people to build their relationship with drumming, power, and leadership.
This gentle, supportive session explores how grief lives in the body and how it can impact intimacy, connection, and self-trust.
Through guided reflection and somatic awareness, participants are invited to reconnect with their bodies, honor loss without judgment, and begin rebuilding pathways to tenderness, presence, and embodied connection – starting from within. 
Dr. Rose Schlaff helps therapists and health professionals achieve life-changing results for their clients – in and out of the bedroom.
As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, sexologist, and faculty mentor with nearly a decade of experience, Dr. Rose Schlaff specializes in neuroscience-based, trauma-informed approaches to sexual wellness. Her work integrates pelvic physical therapy, somatic practices, subconscious change work through hypnosis, functional neurology, and holistic health strategies, including circadian biology and nervous system regulation.
Through courses, mentorship, and speaking engagements, Dr. Rose Schlaff equips healthcare professionals with evidence-based tools to support libido, reduce pelvic pain, and foster deeper emotional and physical connection. Her work places a particular focus on women and LGBTQIA+ clients, populations that have historically been overlooked within traditional healthcare models.
This session takes a whole-person approach to nutrition and gut health, blending education with lived experience. We’ll explore how nourishment supports gut health, how nutritional needs can vary from person to person, and how to build sustainable, supportive routines.
We will also focus on an emerging and important topic in IBD care: muscle health in women with IBD. We’ll discuss how sarcopenia can develop in IBD and the role of nutrition – particularly fiber and protein – in supporting muscle mass and strength. Practical, real-world strategies will be included to help translate these concepts into daily life.
Dr. Neha Shah is a Registered Dietitian specializing in GI and IBD for over 20 years. Currently, she is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco specializing in GI, IBD, and short bowel syndrome. Neha also runs her own IBD nutrition private practice, Neha Shah Nutrition LLC, aiming to provide specialized care to the community. Within her practice, she offers a subspecialty in South Asian GI and IBD.
Beyond clinical care, Neha has authored nearly 30 manuscripts on GI and IBD nutrition topics. She actively participates in several professional committees, including serving on the National Scientific Advisory Committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and the Educational Affairs Committee with the American College of Gastroenterology. Additionally, Neha is the co-Nutrition Editor for the Journal of Practical Gastroenterology. Neha is committed to continuing her involvement in patient care and GI initiatives to advance nutrition care and improve patient outcomes.
In this interactive panel discussion, we will explore the connection between our emotional well-being and gut health, and how living with IBD and/or ostomies can shape the way we experience stress, relationships, identity, and resilience.
Together, we will discuss how emotions can show up physically in the body, how our nervous system responds during challenging moments, and ways we can build supportive tools for navigating those experiences with greater self-awareness and compassion. We will also take time to reflect on the strengths we’ve developed through our journeys and how we can continue carrying those strengths forward into our daily lives, relationships, and future.
Kalin Clark, Psy.D., ABPP, (she/her) is board certified in Clinical Health Psychology, a licensed psychologist, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Clark currently provides evidence-based brain-gut psychotherapies to adult patients with chronic gastrointestinal conditions and related emotional distress. She is particularly interested in working with patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Clark co-created the prehabilitation program at OHSU to support patients with IBD pursuing colorectal surgery, including ostomy surgery. Dr. Clark serves on the Patient Education Committee of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation National Scientific Advisory Committee. She also has presented at various MyIBD Learning events in the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Katsuri Banerjee is a licensed clinical health psychologist specializing in digestive diseases. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology (health emphasis) from the University of Kansas and completed her clinical internship at the University of Chicago Medicine, focusing on gastroenterology/hepatology, pain management, oncology, and complex medical conditions. She then completed a clinical health psychology fellowship at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, with advanced training in gastroenterology and oncology and experience in medical trainee communication skills training.
She uses an integrated approach to support coping and management of gastrointestinal conditions within a social determinants of health framework. Her interests include culturally informed brief behavioral interventions, medical education, and trauma-informed, multidisciplinary care.
Yes! Your lodging, meals, and all activities are covered.
All attendees will also receive an event t-shirt and swag bag full of lots of other goodies.
At every retreat we have small sessions where you get to talk to a group about a specific topic. The topics will vary, but may include:
Elizabeth Kestel – events@girlswithguts.org
Alicia Aiello – president@girlswithguts.org
Don’t worry. We have a policy for this!
Unfortunately, due to the deposit we have to put down, we can only offer refunds up to a certain period.
If you have to cancel up to 60 days prior to the weekend you can receive a full refund.
If you have to cancel between 60 and 30 days prior to weekend you can receive a 50% refund.
Unfortunately, due to our deposits and costs no refunds will be given after 30 days prior to the weekend.
If you need to cancel after the 30-day mark, please contact us at info@girlswithguts.org and we will provide you with a donation receipt for the full amount of your registration fee.
Sorry, no exceptions!
Due to ongoing construction at the retreat site and one of the buildings we are using for several activities for the weekend, we are not be able to provide a fully wheelchair-accessible experience for this years retreat.
However, we are actively exploring accommodations and will share updates as they become available if anything changes.
We apologize for the inconvenience!
