Light Dark Foundations
Level 2 Workshop
– POWER –
Stand in Your Power, Open Your Heart
October 16th-18th
Retreat-Style in Lakeport, California
All-inclusive (details below)
Price:
Early registration (by September 1st): $1295
Regular price (after September 1st): $1395
Power and Powerlessness
There are moments in life when power seems to slip through our fingers – whether it results from conditioning, past trauma, unmet needs, or places we’ve sworn off our own power out of fear we won’t hold it well. Those moments can leave a heavy imprint, shaping an inner belief that we lack power, or maybe even that we’re unworthy of it.
But what if power never really left – just hid behind layers of fear, disconnection, or shame? What if, beneath those layers, there is a fierce, alive power waiting for you to reconnect with it?
Through a willingness to look, through finding pleasure in embracing those parts of you that feel either powerless or power hungry, through embodied play with power dynamics that go far beyond what’s accessible in day-to-day interactions, you can reconnect with the power you never lost. And when you feel that power flowing fully through you again, new possibilities start to open.
This workshop offers a reintroduction to the power that’s already alive within you. A chance to feel it in your bones and reclaim your capacity to make a difference – to influence in ways that matter, to create what you’re here to create, and to meet your life with intention, agency, and choice. And as always in Light Dark work, a way to center your power in love, so you can trust that when your power emerges it is aligned and in service to your heart.
This is Level 2
In Light Dark Foundations Level 1, you explored the shadows, learned to connect with your Darketypes™, and began touching the edges of power. Level 2 invites you deeper into intentional BDSM scene play, where you’ll actively engage with power dynamics and embody the energies of dominance and submission so you can feel the full landscape of power in your body.
It can be tempting to blame the Darketypes (both within us and in the world around us) for the ways we lose our power. But in this workshop, we’ll meet them with embodied, relational presence and discover that they are actually gateways into a deeper power than we realized was possible. From there, you’ll learn to feel the difference between grasping for control and standing in conscious, compassionate power. With this grounded clarity, your Darketypes begin to reorganize, opening new possibilities for connection, play, and aliveness in every part of your life.
If you want to step into your full capacity – to stay playful and grounded in conflict, resilient in the face of fear, and centered when intensity rises – this workshop is for you. The world is calling for people who can stand in their power and hold that power with love. If you feel the pull to bring your power fully forward in service of what you care about, we’d love to have you with us.
This workshop is a good fit for you if:
You have taken at least 1 of the following workshops: Light Dark Foundations Level 1, Advanced Dark Play, or Embracing the Darkness (for Advanced Dark Play/Embracing the Darkness students, please see this note in FAQ section)
You’re excited to explore BDSM and power exchange as a pathway to self-understanding and transformation
You want to shift from unconscious control or fear to conscious embodiment and choice
You feel a longing to embody your truth in relationships, in leadership, in everyday life with clarity, presence, and grounded strength
Please note: this workshop is application-only and requires that you’ve taken one of the workshops listed above
What you will experience in the workshop:
Explore transformational BDSM on psychological, energetic, and physical levels
Dive deep into powerful, edgy “Dominance and Submission” scenes held in a strong and dynamic container
Go further in your explorations of Darketypes™ as you weave them into your BDSM play
Move past places of fear and shame to tap into a deeper sense of purpose for how you show up in your life as a leader with agency
Connect with and step into both your dominant side and your submissive side
Discover what it feels like to stand fully in your power while staying rooted in your heart, and to follow your desire while still staying connected to others
Experiment with surrender and discover the profound power that comes with realizing that we don't always need to be in control
“If you truly want to create impact in this world then I consider this workshop a requirement rather than a luxury.”
About your guides:
This course is taught by our powerful lead facilitators Tani Thole and Leslie Rogers. They are the founders of the Light Dark Institute, where they have spent over a decade guiding people into the places most teachings fear to go – the edges of power, desire, and deep self-truth. Their work is not about fixing or improving – it is about meeting what has been exiled, feared, or hidden and discovering the profound intelligence within it.
Tani and Leslie’s approach is experiential, embodied, and unapologetically real. They bring decades of practice in shadow integration, transformational play, and somatic exploration, holding an unwavering belief in both the beauty of the human heart and the raw, untapped wisdom of the dark.
Their work has been featured in The Atlantic and Carolyn Elliott’s Existential Kink. They teach not only to transform individuals, but to help birth a world where light and dark, self and other, human and nature are no longer held apart.
Ready to Dive In?
This is a journey for those who feel called to lean into the edges of their inherent power, try on different expressions of power through dominance and submission, and connect with their own power in fresh and surprising ways.
“Amazing workshop. Rocked my ‘old’ sense of self. LOVE feeling the power that got unbound this past weekend...it feels like something profound has shifted in me.”
Join our upcoming retreat in Northern California
When: October 16th-18th, 2026
We begin at 3pm on Friday and end around 7pm on Sunday
Where: Sky Temple Ranch, Lakeport, CA
(Approximately 2.5 hours north of the Bay Area)
This stay-on-premises experience includes high-quality catered meals, a swimming pool, and a hot tub, in a beautiful natural setting. Most accommodations are camping, with limited indoor beds available. Please read the “Frequently Asked Questions” section on this page for more details.
Price:
Early registration (by September 1st): $1295
Regular price (after September 1st): $1395
(Price is all-inclusive—covering instruction, staying on premises, and all meals.)
There are a limited number of work-trade positions available, which offer discounted tickets for those in need. Reach out to coordinator@lightdarkinstitute.com to inquire.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes you can! We also want to make sure you know that many of the exercises in this workshop will be ones you’ve already done; however, we take more time to focus specifically on themes around power. And it’s worth noting that every time you do a scene, it reveals new levels of insights and reaches further within, illuminating more unexplored spaces inside. If you haven’t been to a Light Dark workshop in a while, this would be a powerful way to dive back in.
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This workshop is longer than Level 1 and this round is an inclusive overnight retreat style, with high-quality catered meals, a swimming pool, and a hot tub, in a beautiful natural setting. As long as you bring your own camping gear (tent, etc.), everything is included in the price.
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There are a few indoor beds in a shared space that will be available at no extra charge on a first-come-first served basis. Sky Temple Ranch also has some upgraded camping accommodations you can rent for an additional fee, including glamping tents and vintage camping trailers. You are welcome to inquire about this if your application is approved.
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At this workshop, like at all Light Dark Institute workshops, we have a no-genital-contact policy, and everyone keeps their underwear (bottoms) on. This means that no one will be having intercourse or physically stimulating genitals. However, we do very much invite and work with erotic energy in this workshop, and there is often nudity, physical touch and other expressions of sexuality. There is a higher level of edginess and eroticism invited in this workshop than in Foundations Level 1. That being said, consent is always a keystone of our work, and if you have any personal boundaries you want to bring in beyond the boundaries we hold for the workshop as a whole, you are always welcome to do so.
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No, because Level 1 lays the foundations for our unique approach and practices - the Light Dark Institute’s specific ways of working with these concepts. Level 1 involves getting to know and working with the Darketypes™, which is an essential component for doing our work. However, if you’re a facilitator/space-holder with extensive shadow work or BDSM experience already and you’re looking for a faster-paced/deeper-dive introduction to our work, you may want to consider applying to our Advanced Dark Play workshop series instead.
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Generally, we recommend starting with Foundations Level 1 even if you’ve already studied the Darketypes in depth. But in certain circumstances, we may make exceptions for people who have a lot of experience with embodiment and/or somatic work, have solid tools for working with their own trauma, and are comfortable exploring in an erotic environment. If you feel like this might be you, you can apply here.
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No. Because this workshop goes deep, it is important that all participants be there the whole time. The first night is particularly important for setting context and establishing the container.
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The registration fee is fully refundable (minus a $65 processing fee) up to 4 weeks from the the start of the workshop.
Within 2-4 weeks of the workshop start date, the registration fee is 50% refundable.
Within 2 weeks or less of the workshop start date, the registration fee is not refundable. -
Yes, this retreat-style workshop includes high-quality catered meals.
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You will be emailed the address and other logistical info soon after registering.
“While not for the faint of heart, this work is transformational at the deepest level. When you’re ready to release shame and step fully into your power, get yourself to an experience with the Light Dark Institute. Highly recommended.”
The world is ready for people who are fully connected to their authentic power and motivated by love and compassion.
Deepen your journey of transformational shadow work. Keep your heart online, stand in the raw force of your power, and see how your world changes.