Movement Supported by Science
Knowledge Built on Anatomy
Courses Rooted in Respect for the Human Form
Gather. Rest. Celebrate.
Imagine stepping away from the busyness of everyday life and into a space where rest and play coexist. Over three nights, you’ll be nourished with movement, creativity, nature, and community. You may arrive carrying the weight of daily life, but you’ll leave feeling lighter, renewed, and deeply connected, with a heart that remembers joy and a spirit that feels restored.
What’s a Restival? It’s part retreat, part festival. A retreat offers restoration, a chance to slow down, reflect, and be held. A festival brings play, celebration, and connection. At The Common Thread Restival, we weave the two together into a healing experience for women of all ages and stages.
Why "The Common Thread"? Because no matter our age, background, or story, women share something powerful that ties us together: courage, grace, resilience, and a desire for authentic connection. This gathering is about weaving those qualities into a tapestry of belonging, where every woman feels seen, supported, and celebrated.
What’s Included
-All workshops, yoga, art projects, and group experiences
-Delicious, nourishing meals
-Cozy accommodations surrounded by nature
-Connection with women in every season of life
Not Included
-Individual treatments
-Private readings
-Shopping purchases
Meet Your Hosts
Trista Davis
Founder Above Average Wellness
Trista is a somatic guide, yoga educator, and lifelong student of the body’s wisdom. As the founder of Above Average Wellness, she has created a community known for inclusivity, compassion, and accessibility. Trista specializes in holding space for transformational events, women’s circles, and personal development programs that empower people to reconnect with themselves in meaningful ways. Through her work, she weaves together somatic practices, yoga, mindfulness, and creative ritual to help participants release what no longer serves them and step into greater clarity, resilience, and joy.
Gillian Soder
Founder Body Labs Movement Education
Gillian is a movement educator and the founder of Body Labs. With nearly two decades of experience in yoga, anatomy, and functional movement, she has developed an innovative approach that blends science and embodiment. Gillian is passionate about creating learning experiences that empower women to understand and trust their bodies. Her work is both practical and transformative, offering tools that help people move with greater strength, ease, and confidence in their everyday lives.
Jennilee Barazzuol
Founder Welcome Om Studio
Jennilee is a breathwork, meditation, and energy practitioner and the founder of Welcome Om Studio. She is dedicated to guiding women into deeper self-understanding through trauma-informed practices that support healing and authentic connection. With training in yoga, meditation, somatic therapy, breathwork, and energy practices, Jennilee creates spaces where women can release old patterns, reclaim their voices, and experience the freedom of being fully themselves.
Together, Trista, Gillian, and Jennilee are weaving their unique gifts into a single, powerful experience. The common thread between them is a devotion to creating a space where women can rest deeply, play freely, and feel truly connected.
Why Join Us?
The Common Thread Restival is more than an event, it is an immersion into what women crave most: rest, play, and authentic connection. You’ll experience the balance of being cared for while also being invited to express yourself fully. You’ll leave not only renewed, but also reminded of the strength and beauty that comes from gathering with women who share the same common thread.
Important Details
By registering, you understand that all Restival fees are non-refundable for any reason. Registrations may be transferred to another participant with permission from Above Average Wellness, but refunds are not possible.
Payment plans are set for double occupancy. If you register for another option, your plan will be adjusted manually:
Camping: The final $77 payment will be removed.
Single Occupancy: One additional $148 payment will be added, due 30 days after what would have been your final scheduled payment.
Retreat Facility is located 60 minutes north of Edmonton.
Come as you are. Leave feeling rested, renewed, and woven into something greater
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Exhale...
Imagine yourself in a place where rainforest and ocean surround you with beauty, where sloths, monkeys, and vibrant macaws are your neighbors, and where time slows just enough for your inner world to breathe. You are released from responsibilities, roles and expectations, and when your eyes pop open in the morning, the way that you feel when you exhale... its different. With Trista Davis and Gillian Soder, you’re invited on an experience unlike any other, a week of growth, rest, connection, and delight among kindred souls.
You will not just relax. You will reset. By the end of the week your breath is longer, your body is softer, your mind is clearer, and your choices feel simpler. Exhale becomes a way of being that you can bring home.
What You Get
-7 nights at Vida Asana or partner hotel 100m away
-Airport transfers with the group, or 120 USD if arriving separately
-All meals, except lunch out during a tour
-Guided day trip to Manuel Antonio National Park
-One massage or Reiki session
-A complete curated program: yoga, movement, sound healing, women’s circles, personal development workshops
- An epic swag bag
-Filtered water on site
The Experience
Mornings open with breath, movement, and the kind of quiet that does its work without you forcing a thing. Afternoons invite adventure or deep rest.
Hammocks, the pool, the beach, and excursion or a bike ride through coastal air.
Evenings gather us for circles, practices, and conversation that lands. You will laugh. You may cry. You will feel held.
Your Sanctuary at Vida Asana
Tucked between lush rainforest and the Pacific shore, Vida Asana is a sanctuary dedicated to simplicity, nature, and soulful community. You’ll find open-air jungle yoga shalas, hammock gardens, a pool with sun decks, and lounge areas surrounded by mature jungle and a river.
Rooms are thoughtfully designed with air conditioning, fans, private bathrooms, and everything you need for comfort while keeping the focus on connection and renewal. The property is close enough for a short bike ride or walk to the beach, and bicycles are offered on site.
Vida Asana’s kitchen philosophy is “garden-to-table”: fresh, largely organic meals with dietary accommodations thoughtfully prepared. Meals are crafted to nourish body and spirit, giving you the energy to fully enjoy your retreat.
Ready to Exhale?
You’ll be guided by two seasoned facilitators who blend somatic practices, nervous system regulation, movement, meditation, and transformational group work, held within a design that balances structure with freedom so you can choose rest or adventure without guilt, in a place that does not distract you from yourself, it returns you to yourself.
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Breathe out the noise. Exhale is a week that loosens your shoulders, steadies your nervous system, and brings you back to the part of you that already knows what you need. Rainforest to your left, ocean to your right, and time finally on your side. You arrive carrying a lot. You leave carrying only what matters.
Things You Need to Know
1. $3395 is the super earlybird rate for single occupancy, it will go up to $3595 December 31, 2025 and up to $3795 May 1, 2026, double occupancy will also rise accordingly. The payment plan will be the same whether you choose double or single, your payments will be adjusted manually by Trista in the Momence system.
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2. Flights will be into the San Jose Airport in Costa Rica. Please do not book flights without coordinating with the group unless you plan to pay your own transportation of $120 USD per direction.
Additional things you may wish to budget for: Tipping staff at the retreat center, transportation providers and guides. Shopping Special snacks between meals or at the beach Additional Excursions such as the rainmaker hike ($85US) or the Sweat lodge ($85US). There is also learn to surf and other opportunities. Additional Spa Treatments