August 28th– September 4th 2018
Description of Yoga Workshop
This guided retreat focuses on unlocking creativity through bodily movement.
We’ll combine restorative yoga and movement workshops, with guided meditation and writing workshops designed to stimulate your creative practice, whether your goal is to further a project-in-progress or simply to be in better touch with the creative part of who you are.
Writers and yogis of all levels are welcome.
The movement classes will be a combination of energizing dance/movement to resolve blockages and a soft restorative yoga class to make you feel grounded and relaxed.
Writing workshops involve creative prompts to engage with our immediate surroundings: the Black Mountains and the village of Labastide-Esbarbairenque.
Writers with projects underway may sign up for a private feedback and editing session with Amanda.
Some things to know about the Retreat
La Muse is located in a small village in the Black Mountains of the Languedoc in southern France.
The nearest big city is Carcassonne, about 35 minutes’ drive. The village is very small — only 76 inhabitants —and there are no shops. While it’s a peaceful place, away from the buzz of the big city, it’s important to bring what you will need for the duration of your stay.
Please see the retreat FAQ for further details.
What’s Included in the Yoga Workshop
- 7 nights lodgings at La Muse (for more on rooms, click here)
- Day-long excursion to neighboring winery
- Pick up and drop off from Carcassonne, France
- Yoga and Creative Writing Workshops (an hour and a half each)
- Organic Welcome Dinner the first night
- Crêpe “brunch” on Friday for the book break
Optional Workshop
- Professional editing session with Amanda (up to 50 pages of manuscript reading and private hour-long consultation) 50 Euros.
- Massage (with a practitioner connected to La Muse)
Note: there will be a stop on the way up the mountain at an organic grocery store and regular supermarket so that you can buy groceries for your stay.
Schedule (with permissions to make changes in the program along the way)
Day 1 (Aug 28th)
- Arrival and Practicalities
- Welcome Dinner
Day 2 (Aug 29th)
- Movement Workshop
- Lunch (self-catering)/Break
- Writing Workshop
- Dinner
Day 3 (Aug 30th)
- Writing Workshop
- Lunch/Break
- Movement Workshop
- Dinner
Day 4 (Aug 31st):
- Crêpe Brunch and Book Swap
- Tour of a Winery for Tasting
- Dinner
Day 5 (Sep 1st):
- Restorative yoga
- Lunch/Break
- Writing Workshop
- Dinner out in neighboring village
Day 6 (Sep 2nd)
- Writing workshop
- Lunch/Break
- Movement workshop
- Dinner
- Guided Meditation (optional)
Day 7 (Sep 3rd)
- Restorative yoga
- Lunch (self-catering)/Break
- Writing workshop & Literary Reading on the library terrace
- Dinner
Day 8 (Sep 4th)
- Saying goodbye/departure
Yoga and Creativity Workshop Instructors
Eva Sofie Touborg has worked with dance, movement and people since she was young. As a primary school teacher in Copenhagen, she has studied rhythm, music and movement for children. She has also studied psychology and development and trained as an instructor in restorative yoga.
I am interested in the relationship between body and the psyche. Particularly the connection between bodywork and the mind inspires me to work creatively with dance and movement. I have been working with adults – and especially children – for the past 10 years, and I only wish to pass on to others the transformative processes I have experienced and enjoyed.
Amanda Dennis is a graduate of The Iowa Writers’ Workshop (MFA) and the University of California, Berkeley (PhD). She is a lecturer in Creative Writing and Comparative Literature at the American University of Paris, and her writing can be found in The Los Angeles Review of Books and The Journal of Modernist Literature, among other places. She is completing her first novel, an existential detective story set in Paris and Thailand. You can read more about her relationship to literature (and to creativity) here.
Retreat Practicalities and Pricing
The guided retreat rate is 340 Euros, which is added to the price of your room at La Muse. Because the rooms are so different, total retreat rates range from 735 to 1,135 Euros.
At the time you make your reservation, please choose your room directly from the website (please note that only some of the rooms are en suite). We regret that we cannot refund cancellations.