The Nature of Yoga

4-Days with Samantha Francis

July 05 - 09, 2026

just 12 spots available

As a young girl, Samantha Francis often gazed across the water from the shores of Pictou Landing First Nation and wondered about that island sitting in the middle of the Strait. Her ancestors called it Akukomijk “herring abundance place”, but she always knew it as Pictou Island and promised herself to go there someday. This summer she is keeping that promise and you can join her for four days of yoga, beach combing, and learning to feel grounded in nature, as she brings the Nature of Yoga to life.

True to her heritage, Samantha will begin each day with a traditional Mi’kmaw smudging ceremony, burning sacred medicines like sage or sweetgrass, to cleanse everyone’s mind, body, and space, and rid them of negativity. Her yoga lessons will each focus on one of the seven Chakras with the eighth class culminating in a powerful Baptise Power Flow. Each class will end with a session of guided journaling.

Samantha will be available throughout the week for private Yogassage sessions which should be booked in advance and are claimable in most insurance plans.

Your Nature of Yoga retreat includes:

• 4 nights in a wooden tent with bedding included

• 8 yoga lessons

• 8 catered meals (2 per day)

• Guided journaling

• 4-day bike rental

• Transportation from the ferry

Double Occupancy $595
Single Occupancy $795

HST must be added to these prices.

Sample menu:

Samantha Francis grew up in the nearby coastal community of Pictou Landing First Nation where she still lives with her teenage daughter, their two cats, and an outnumbered dog. While in high school and a teenager herself, Samantha somehow discovered yoga as she sought relief from back pain. When she realized that it not only relieved her pain, but brought her a sense of zen, she was hooked. She continued her yoga practice and in 2017, ready for a new direction, she headed to Halifax where she graduated from the Canadian College of Massage & Hydrotherapy. She began her new career as a massage therapist in New Glasgow but when she needed to feel grounded she always returned to her mat. In 2020, realizing the natural connection between her two loves, she completed her 200 hour Baptiste Power Flow teacher training which she complimented with her Yin and Yogassage certifications. In 2022, ready for more challenge, Samantha returned to her roots and opened her own massage therapy practice in Pictou Landing and keeping her passions in mind began offering yoga classes in a small studio in her driveway. If everything works out she hopes to have a full yoga studio built in Pictou Landing. We wish her the best