Location
  • United States of America
Length
2 - 4 weeks
Program Tags
Arts College Credit Yoga Retreats
Need-based funding, 529 Plan eligibility, BIPOC funding
Health & Safety

Program Details

Activities
Boating Canoeing Yoga
Timeframe
Spring
Housing
Cabin
Primary Language
English
Age Min.
18
Age Max
23

Pricing

Starting Price
3850
Price Details
Cost includes everything: tuition, room & board, fees, gear, books, journals & marshmallows. Travel to/from Maine NOT included. We can pick up at Portland airport or Brunswick train/bus stop.
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Equipment Meals Park Fees
What's Not Included
Transportation
Sep 06, 2023
Dec 31, 2023
0 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Step away from the buzzing and blooming confusions of everyday life and hunker down on a 60-acre homestead peninsula in the coastal woodlands of Maine. You’ll be surrounded by a crew of fellow students who like you are setting aside time to focus on questions of the good life. You’ll be part of an intentional community of learners who are trying to gain perspective on what really matters in historic times like these. Come immerse yourself in nature, cultivate mindfulness, expand your creative capacities & explore the connections between the good life & the food life. Along the way you’ll complete 2 college courses for up to 6 credits with award-winning professor who embody the spirit of experiential education.

Courses include: "The Good Life Course" and either "The Food Life Course" OR "The Creative Life Course".

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

At Seguinland Institute, we are intentional about creating positive and respectful educational opportunities within a growth-oriented environment. As a student, you can expect an inclusive learning environment that is free from discrimination or favoritism. You are entitled to freedom from physical or verbal harassment of any shape or form. We agree with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's idea of "the danger of the single story." We thus create a multi-perspective, multi-narrative approach to all discussions.

LGBTQIA+ Support

At Seguinland Institute, we are intentional about creating positive and respectful educational opportunities within a growth-oriented environment. As a student, you can expect an inclusive learning environment that is free from discrimination or favoritism. You are entitled to freedom from physical or verbal harassment of any shape or form. We agree with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's idea of "the danger of the single story." We thus create a multi-perspective, multi-narrative approach to all discussions.

Program Highlights

  • Nature Immersion: connect to nature as a source of grounding, insights and contemplation.
  • Cultivate Mindfulness Skilsl: knit back together your attention span, calm and focus the mind.
  • The Good Life Course: asking the big questions of life, discovering ideas to live by.
  • The Creative Life Course: experimenting with a range of artistic practices, expanding your capacity for creative thought and action.
  • The Food Life Course: exploring the interconnection between food and the good life, getting our hands dirty in the garden.

Program Reviews

4.90 Rating
based on 10 reviews
  • 5 rating 90%
  • 4 rating 10%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 4.9
  • Support 4.6
  • Fun 4.8
  • Value 5
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 8 of 10 reviews
Default avatar
Alia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Live 'The Good Life' on the Coast of Maine with a Splash of Thoreau

Seguinland was an incredible and immersive program that challenged me to be my best self. We began our mornings with meditation and yoga, followed by thoughtful discussions about our readings from the previous night. We would spend our time up in the treehouse while getting lost in conversation for hours. Everyone was able to bring their unique perspective and analysis to the circle. I elected to do The Food Life track which took advantage of our beautiful location by doing activities such as lobstering, oystering, foraging, farming, and more. We interacted with the local community and learned about what it means to live a Good Life--- or if it even exists at all. I think about my time up there every day and yearn to have an experience like that again where I can disconnect from the outside world and give 100% of myself to what is important.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Everyone was asked to bring a family recipe to cook for the group one night. I got to experience different cuisines and dishes both from different regions of the states and different countries! We were able to learn about each other's culture and background through a culinary adventure!
Pros
  • Take a deep breath
  • Build a tight-knit group
  • Once in a lifetime experience
Cons
  • I'm never on my phone anymore (which isn't really a con)
24 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Mahak
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A Place Where You Will Belong

Being at Seguinland has undoubtedly been the most immersive and intense experience of any kind for me. The staff and instructors are truly awe-inspiring, providing unwavering support throughout the journey. I grew so much there looking back, and post-program relationships are the best I have seen anywhere so far. Expect to be consistently challenged, leading to substantial growth in all domains, personally speaking, looking back on it now. If given the opportunity, I would highly recommend taking part in this program. Moreover, there is a highly commendable consideration for financial aid, especially beneficial for individuals hailing from BIPOC low-income backgrounds who might quite frankly not be able to have such an experience underwise.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Grass and Weeds lol
21 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Carli
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An extremely unique, lifechanging experience

Throughout my gap year, I took part in multiple programs and can safely say this one is incredible. The staff is some of the kindest, most supportive people I have ever met. They are what make a program like this one flourish. I truly learned so much about myself and what it means to live the good life in the short three weeks I spent in Maine. The community that is created is like no other because everyone on the trip is open-minded and eager to ask questions, learn, and grow. I could not recommend this trip more to anyone.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Really just fully submit yourself to the process. Much of it will most likely be completely foreign to you, but if you just let yourself sit in the occasional discomfort, you will come out the other side better for it.
Pros
  • amazing staff
  • new experiences
  • oppportunities of expand your palette, specialities, and friendships
21 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Luz
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Seguinland was such a formative experience

Seguinland is a place and a way of being I will carry forever. This place and its people and staff allowed me to be seen and supported. I felt a deep sense of gratitude to be connected with this land and to enjoy the conversations I had with like-minded individuals. Those seeking meaning and balance from a hustle culture and technology world. It was a life-changing experience. The program's community and genuine friendship aspect was incredibly beneficial and healing. This program set the groundwork for a new way of experiencing life, learning, and contemplation. I am so grateful that a place like this exists and recommend anyone who needs a reset who needs real community and/or some time to heal in nature to go to Seguinland!!! Be ready to cook together, clean together, walk together, learn together, create together, and experience new things together. One of my favorite experiences throughout the program was cooking together in the cookhouse and trying everyone's different dishes; this place set the groundwork for community. There was nothing like starting the morning with a daily yoga/mindfulness practice, it was a grounding experience that helped everyday start on a great note. The staff are so caring and incredibly great listeners. Our one-on-one check-ins were helpful and a great way to ensure you got everything out of the program. The program's location also makes the program so much stronger, you really get to connect with nature and feel immersed.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
We had a day of solitude where we had to go and spend time alone with no entertainment outside the majority of the day. It was nerve-racking to be alone with my thoughts and unable to do anything. Still, it ended up being an incredibly gratifying experience that has allowed me to not only feel more comfortable in solitude and stillness but also enjoy it.
Pros
  • Great staff and incredibly accommodating to your needs
  • incredibly location
  • yummy soul healing food
Cons
  • not as a diverse program as I would like but there are definitely steps to make it more diverse
  • somethings or actiivites were left as suprises and I wish we had more information to be able to plan better
18 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Amelia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A one of a kind experience with amazing people!

This was an incredible experience for me. The people were so kind, genuine, and fun! The food provided has healthy and SO GOOD! The trips we took were incredibly fun, and everything we did bonded us closer to our cohorts. Nobody was pressured into doing anything that made them uncomfortable, but there was plenty of room for growth and risk taking for those interested. Couldn't recommend this experience more. The Seguinland Family and all the students I met have had such a positive impact on my life. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything, and I am even going back for the Wintering term! If you're like me and want to get out of your comfort zone and meet people, enjoy Maine, and learn from some incredible people, I highly recommend the May Term.

What was your funniest moment?
There were so many, it's hard to choose, but watching my fellow students plunge into freezing cold water was pretty hilarious! We also played Telestrations one night and we were all cracking up like crazy.
Pros
  • Good people
  • Adventure
  • Lasting impact
Cons
  • Cold weather even in summer
  • Bugs in the woods haha
  • Some drama
22 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Nola
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

fun program!

very fun program in a beautiful town in coastal maine, provided a wonderful supplement to the end of my final year of high school! i really enjoyed the scenic location and the opportunities to become involved in the community during my time there. the housing is very nice, as is the food, students are involved in preparing the food and are encouraged to bring a family recipe to share, leading to a wonderfully diverse menu over the course of the program! tons of amazing people, both in the staff and the students of my cohort, truly an amazing experience!

18 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Elie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Life changing even at the third time

This was my third time going to a Seguinland program. They do a good job at changing the atmosphere of the program on all levels to match the season. We did vibrant, deep, and joyous activities to celebrate and dive deeper into the season. I completed many creative projects which were enriching and healing. I got to better know the staff and their families as well as do new things despite of being my third time. In many ways, the experience of the third program was just as if not more life changing than the others. It was a very unique program and the connections and memories I’ve made with both students and staff are invaluable.

Pros
  • Tight community with a desire to create a positive space
  • Unique activities and projects that one has likely never done anywhere else
  • Very creative and extremely naturally positive atmosphere
Cons
  • If there’s drama of any kind, the community is so close that it affects everyone.
  • The length of the program limits getting to know each other
26 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ellie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best month EVER

Every senior in my high school needed to partake in an internship to graduate. After 13 stressful years of intense and rigorous education, I needed a moment to ground myself. That's exactly what Seguin helped me do. From the first moment at the airport, I was surrounded by this wonderful feeling of love and community. The friendships I made there and everything I learned Seguin has changed me and guided me into becoming the best version of myself. Seguin is a place that lives outside the modern pressures of space and time. Im forever grateful for that experience.

Pros
  • Motivational and supportive staff
  • Excellent food
  • Warm community
Cons
  • There is no way someone would be able to come back home and accurately describe the BEAUTY of the community and the environment. Love everything about Seguin.
33 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers