REGINA — For the first time in its history, Mosaic Stadium will become a place not for football, concerts or competition, but for stillness.
On June 28, hundreds of people are expected to spread yoga mats across the same field where the Saskatchewan Roughriders play, gathering for what organizers call the largest Ultimate Healing Experience (UHE) ever held in Regina.
The event marks the third anniversary of the UHE, a wellness initiative created by Regina residents Amanda Ruschiensky and Sacha Wolfson that combines yoga, breathwork, sound healing and energy work into a single immersive experience.
Ruschiensky is a multi-certified Regina wellness practitioner and school educator holding a Bachelor of Education alongside master-level certifications in Reiki and Karuna Ki. Backed by nearly two decades of teaching experience, she integrates sound healing, meditation, breathwork, and a 200 E-RYT yoga credential to lead local classes and community workshops.
Wolfson is a certified yoga instructor who completed his 200-hour yoga teacher training, Yin Yoga teacher training, and advanced Ashtanga and Sivananda-inspired training in Peru. He is also certified in Steel Mace Flow and Indian Clubs instruction, with additional training in mindfulness and breathwork coaching.
Since launching in 2023, the pair have built a growing community around monthly events focused on mindfulness, stress reduction and personal well-being. This year's stadium edition is by far their most ambitious undertaking.
"We've been building a community for the Ultimate Healing Experience over the past few years," Ruschiensky said.
"We found that it's time to celebrate everyone who has come over the years, but also spread healing, connection and community even farther within Regina through these practices."
For two hours, participants will move through a guided yoga session, a breathwork experience and a large-scale surround sound bath featuring multiple facilitators, crystal singing bowls, gongs, drums, chimes and other instruments positioned throughout the field.
The event will also include an opening acknowledgement and song from Sundance Robson, a Regina-based Indigenous speaker, executive coach, and sacred sound facilitator.
Organizers say the goal is to create a welcoming space where people can disconnect from daily pressures and reconnect with themselves and others.
"There is something powerful that happens when we do this work together," Ruschiensky said.
The event arrives at a time when Canadians are increasingly seeking ways to manage stress and support mental wellness.
Research continues to show that practices such as yoga and controlled breathing can help reduce stress, improve mood, support sleep quality and promote overall well-being. Yoga has been linked to improved flexibility, strength, balance and emotional resilience, while breathwork has been shown to activate the body's relaxation response and help regulate the nervous system.
Sound baths, which use instruments such as crystal bowls and gongs to create immersive sound environments, have also gained popularity in recent years. While researchers note more study is needed, several studies have found participants often report reductions in stress, tension and anxiety following sessions.
For Wolfson, those benefits are not simply theoretical. Before becoming a breathwork facilitator, yoga instructor and wellness coach, he spent years struggling with addiction, depression and mental health challenges.
"I started to change my life when I found yoga and breathwork and a lot of these practices," he said. "I've been able to shift to a place where I get to do this full time, helping people and sharing the things that helped me.
"It's made a complete transformation in my life."
Ruschiensky tells a similar story.
An elementary school educator for nearly two decades, she said her introduction to yoga, meditation and breathwork in her early thirties changed the way she approached stress, anxiety and personal well-being.
"These practices have brought awareness into my life," she said. "They've changed my life completely.
"To be able to help others feel the same and have that in their life, it's so fulfilling to see because it brings so much purpose to my life."
The pair say one reason the Ultimate Healing Experience continues to attract participants is that it introduces several wellness practices in a single environment.
Many people may feel comfortable attending a community event but hesitate to sign up for a dedicated yoga class, breathwork workshop or sound healing session on their own.
"I think it's great to give people the opportunity to experience a little bit of each modality in a really immersive but inviting environment," Wolfson said.
"It's an easy way to introduce people to these things that maybe they wouldn't have just gone to on their own."
The stadium event will also bring together 12 facilitators and wellness practitioners from Regina and surrounding communities, many of whom have collaborated with the Ultimate Healing Experience over the past three years.
Ruschiensky says that community connection is one of the most important aspects of the event.
"Sometimes that's the hardest part, initially making that connection and knowing who to reach out to for support," she said. "This experience helps people make those connections."
Organizers hope the event will become an annual tradition in Regina, creating a large-scale gathering focused not on entertainment or competition, but on wellness and community.
And while filling Mosaic Stadium's field would certainly be a milestone, both founders say the bigger goal is creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond the stadium walls.
"We're really looking forward to connecting with everyone and spreading healing within our community," Ruschiensky said.
"Whether people are at the event or not, it will spread out into the community through that intention and that energy.
"We know these practices have changed our lives for the better and continue to help us every day," she expressed.
"We just want to spread that as far and as wide as we can."
