Skeleton holding a heart-shaped sign that says 'Death to Pones' with bones and skulls around it.

Men’s Intensives

Next Intensive:

October 15th-18th, 2026

Cle Elum, WA

Registration Open

These are not retreats.

These are not conferences.

They are immersive, embodied training environments designed to disrupt old patterns and accelerate transformation.

Two people hugging each other warmly indoors, both wearing hats and hugging tightly.

Breath to Bones Intensives are four-day, fully immersive recovery experiences for Christian men who are ready to go deeper than weekly meetings can take them. These are not passive, left-brain, lecture-based format. These are intentionally designed to be intensely experiential, strategically uncomfortable, and community-driven where you practice the tools in real time with other men.

Over approximately 20 hours of structured therapeutic training, we move beyond surface habits and go after the underlying wiring, the nervous system patterns, attachment injuries, arousal templates, avoidance strategies, and relational blind spots that keep men stuck. This is embodied learning. You do not just understand the material. You live it, practice it, and integrate it in community.

For more than twenty years, Chris has observed one consistent truth: men heal fastest through connection and experiencing change in their bodies. Intensives compress months of work into a single weekend by combining structure, brotherhood, neuroscience-informed tools, and deep experiential practice.

Rear view of a multi-story wooden house with large windows, a balcony, and a patio decorated with outdoor furniture, surrounded by trees with yellow and green leaves and fallen leaves on the ground.
Bedroom with wooden walls and ceiling, a king-sized bed with plaid bedding, a sliding glass door with curtains, a small outdoor balcony, a flat-screen TV on a black stand, a chair with a pillow, and a painting on the wall.
Indoor space with a hot tub next to an outdoor wooded area, wicker chairs, a patio set, and a barbecue grill.
Interior of a living room with a beige carpet, wooden vaulted ceiling, bunk beds on the left, a fireplace in the center, a gray sofa, a poker table with chairs, a TV on the right, and windows with curtains showing trees outside.
Campfire burning on rocky ground near a river surrounded by dense green trees in a forest.

The Rhythm of the Weekend

Breath to Bones Intensives are intentionally structured. Every element of the schedule is designed to move you deeper into awareness, connection, courage, and embodied practice.

Immersive Therapeutic Sessions

Across the weekend you will participate in approximately 20 hours of guided, experiential process. These are not lectures. They are structured, interactive sessions where you practice tools in real time, work through internal blocks, and build new relational capacity in brotherhood.

Daily Worship and Spiritual Integration

Each morning we gather for corporate worship, grounding our work in Scripture, surrender, and dependence on God. Sunday morning concludes with an Ebenezer stone reflection and group sharing, marking what God has done and what you are taking home.

30/30 Devotional Rhythm

We open and close each day with optional structured devotional space we call 30/30:

  • Morning 30: guided meditation, IFS parts check in, prayer, and devotional reflection

  • Evening 30: intentional wind down, reflection, gratitude, and surrender

This rhythm builds the muscle of daily spiritual leadership rather than emotional reactivity.

Optional Physical Activation

Mornings include optional exercise, stretching, outdoor runs, and occasionally cold plunge experiences. We train the body and nervous system, not just the mind. Physical activation reinforces emotional regulation and resilience.

Interior of a room with a pool table, a bar counter with red stools, a kitchen area, and wood-paneled ceiling and walls. There are windows and various decorations.
Garage or recreation room with ping pong table, seating area with brown leather chairs and sofa, kitchen area with wooden cabinets, bar counter with chairs, and windows showing greenery outside.
Indoor basketball court with wooden flooring, white walls, ceiling lights, and a basketball hoop on the far wall.
A spacious living room with wooden cathedral ceiling and beige carpet. Contains a black leather sofa, a pool table, a flat-screen TV showing a red car and signage, gaming chairs by bunk beds, a wood-burning stove, and large windows showing green trees outside.

Structured Free Time and Brotherhood

Strategic free time is built into the schedule to integrate what you are learning and connect organically with other men. The property includes:

  • Pool table

  • Ping pong

  • Air hockey

  • Foosball

  • Arcade games

  • Hot tub

  • Outdoor space for conversation and reflection

  • Evening bonfires for connection and storytelling

Work, rest, and play are intentionally redeemed and practiced in real time.

Fully Catered Environment

All meals and snacks are prepared by two private chefs. The food is high quality, nutrient dense, and excellent. Dietary accommodations are provided.

Private rooms and shared room options are available.

  • “I have done therapy. I have read the books. I have listened to the podcasts. Nothing prepared me for what happened in this intensive. As Chris says, this was not information, it was transformation. I did more real work in four days than I had done in years on my own. The structure, the brotherhood, the honesty, and the presence of God in that room changed me. I came in managing behavior. I left understanding my story.”

    Intensive Participant - Easton, WA - October 2024

  • “The Arousal Template work was the missing link for me. I had spent years trying to stop behaviors without ever understanding what was driving them. This intensive helped me connect the dots between my childhood wounds, the way my nervous system seeks stimulation, and the patterns I kept repeating. For the first time, my behavior made sense. I wasn’t just managing urges anymore, I was understanding the engine underneath them. That clarity changed everything. I left with tools, language, and a level of self awareness that I had never experienced before.”

    Intensive Participant - Easton, WA - April 2024

  • “I came to the intensive thinking my wife and I needed better communication skills. What we actually needed was the ability to stay present with each other when things felt intense. The cold plunge with the other men at the intensive showed me exactly how fast my nervous system wants to escape discomfort. Practicing breathing through that activation with the support of the other guys changed something in me. But the moment that marked my wife and I most was sitting in silent eye contact for two minutes while real emotions came up. I had never in my life done something like that without quickly trying to fix, defend, or escape. But after practicing that exercise like 6 times, I learned to just sit with my wife in intense feelings. I learned how to breathe through that discomfort and really begin to experience what true intimacy feels like. This wasn’t marriage advice. It was retraining of how we show up with each other. I feel like we came home with a different nervous system and a different kind of connection.”

    COUPLES ONLY Intensive Male Participant - Vista, CA - November 2025

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