Self-paced virtual day retreats on
27 March & 24 April 2021

✨ yoga, movement, somatics, embodiment, creativity, self care, music, mindfulness, ritual. ✨

Based on my BLOOM spring workshops and similar to our Composers retreats and retreats I’ve led in the UK + Norway over the last 10 years, i’m offering a programme for two self-paced virtual day retreats this spring.

I hope you find these retreats inspiring, restorative and rejuvenating with time for you to explore and deepen both your yoga + creativity practices, whilst getting some fresh inspiration as we synch with the season.

Early bird bonus!

✨a bonus extra for early bird bookings ✨Attendees of BLOOM Day Retreats receive up to 5 free livestream community classes until 17 April 2021. This offer is both valid for single and package BLOOM day retreats.

Welcome to the BLOOM 🌸 virtual day retreats!

I’m excited to share this programme featuring a mix of of self-paced and live interactive practices to welcome the new season!

An explorative journey embracing the spring season with different styles of yoga, movement, meditation, Ayurveda, somatics, embodiment practices, breathwork, sound and creativity.
I really hope this offering is useful and inspires you to cultivate confidence to bloom in your own way!

We welcome spring in the northern hemisphere, and with it, releasing the stagnant, heavy, lethargic elements of winter to make space for new energy, be that physically, mentally, emotionally etc. 

If you're feeling like you could do with a fresh dose of inspiration to *ahem* BLOOM and grow and welcome in the warmer season, this is for you!

These day retreats are designed to be accessible and flexible, cause Zoom fatigue is real (!), so hope that spacing out these days and mixing up the programme with live and self paced tools enables you to choose your own adventure.

You will also have access to the resources for a month after the programme, so there’s no rush to “consume” or “do all the things”. For those of you looking to be in community with other likeminded folks, there’s a private space available too, so hope you’ll enjoy this offering. 

Here's a taste of what to expect!

Rhythm of the Days

10:00 - 10:30 Morning bathroom/elsewhere disco (collaborative playlist will be shared)

Saturday 27 March: Flow

Expect a steady, structured and accessible vinyasa flow asana practice exploring rising from the ground up, working with the elements.

Boost your energy and circulation with a creative, mindful and grounded flow, setting your own rhythm without rushing, forcing or pushing.

Build confidence in your practice, tuning in to what you need, whilst experimenting with ways to shift stagnant energy and tension to take back into the "real" world!

We'll give attention and space to the upper body and particularly the shoulders and chest, (desk-hunchers unite!) hips and spine (stagnancy begone!) playful balance, core attention, some creative transitions and lots of experiments with movement and ease -  plus a lot of good vibes along the way.

This session is a rounded, rejuvenating practice and suitable for all levels. You will be encouraged to choose your own mild and/or spicy seasoning in the practice, taking as many rests as you need and/or experimenting and exploring as you feel.

Create more space, fluidity and expansiveness

🌻 What to expect

• Unhurried vinyasa flow class with creative movement and somatic explorations:::::

• Experiments in mindful movement and stillness:::

• Breathwork::::

• Meditation::::

• Immunity boosting techniques:::::

• Standing and floor work using props (or not - it’s your practice and modifications are always offered as standard, to choose your own adventure!)::::

• Experiments in fluidity, movement and ease:::

• Rejuvenate. Refresh. Recharge:::

• Everything being optional and you being encouraged to develop confidence in your practice::::

Saturday 24 April: Restore

Gentle and restorative, this somatic and restorative session will take the rhythm of our (Take care of you) Yoga + Self Care Workshops.

Designed to support you to release tension and create ease and intended to be a “balm for your bits”, we’ll explore practices to encourage grounding, settling and slowing down.

Exploring the space in between, at a gentle pace, connect with your own rhythm with this inward, subtle, gentle and tender practice. Soothe, nourish and rejuvenate in this movement meditation with a meditative soundtrack.

Time for yourself to recharge and replenish with a sumptuous and sensual exploration discovering the best methods to nurture and support yourself. Addressing how to integrate self care into daily life. More space, refuel and replenish.

This tends to be a deeper and more intuitive self study, combining movement and stillness. I'll be guiding the session but exploration and deep listening (to yourself) is encouraged.

🌸What to expect

• Slow, gentle, tender movement, mostly on the floor:::

• Detail::::

• Stillness:::::

• Fluidity::::

• Self massage::::

• Breathwork::::

• Discovery::::

• Deep rest::::

• Less doing, relax into being::::

• A deep, replenishing reset:::

12:00 - 13:30 ✨ Break to do your thing

13:30 - 14:00 🎨 Creative activity: Tea + LIVE freewrite

Written and audio/podcast guide will be sent to you in your multimedia online zine along with writing prompts + live option available for Patreon members

14:00 - 16:00 ✨ Break to do your thing

16:00 - 16:30 🌱 LIVE interactive nature walkabout (immersive sound exploration)

Join Dionne + guests live from different parts of the world for an interactive walk in nature. Participate (or just enjoy the sonic vibes) from wherever you are, and we’ll connect in nature, together!

Whether from your own walk / garden / gazing out of the window from home, we have 30 minutes* of programming broadcast from outside where you’re taken into nature + can join Dionne live (details of how you can easily connect and interact on this nature walkabout will be sent in your multimedia online zine 3 days ahead of the retreat. Will require access to internet, and for best results, headphones)

*depending on where we are in the world and how we go, there’s space to slightly extend this time and connect for longer if you dig the adventure🌱

17:30 - 18:00  📹 yoga + movement restorative practice

📹 Choose your own adventure video offerings

18:00 - 20:00 ✨  Break

🥭 recipes available from your multimedia online zine

20:00 - 21:00 🕯 Ritual!

🌙 Reading / writing / dance / soak in da tub / (ideas + offerings available in your pack)

21:00 - 21:30 🌿 Unwind with meditation before bed

🎧 Yoga Nidra audio for your convenience, to stream or download 

Intention: Syncing with the seasons

These day retreats will honour the change of seasons, exploring how we can support ourselves so we are in sync with nature and thus ourselves.

Awakening after the darker, colder, sluggish more introverted winter months, we explore the transition towards spring, opening up to welcome more light, warmth, vibrancy, expansive movement and possibility!

How can we get our body, minds, breath and energy back into balance with the natural rhythms of the new season?

This is something we will explore in various ways during these day retreats using the following themes:

Noticing: respectfully and sustainably honouring the transition, where we are at, from the ground upwards. Rooting down to rise up and bloom - just like the flowers! 🌺

Nourishment: after winter depletion we move towards a lighter season, exploring ways to refresh, reinspire, rejuvenate and reinvigorate ourselves. 💦

Connection: with the season, ourselves, our practice, creativity and uniqueness. We will also connect to nature sonically, with a live interactive nature walkabout! 🌱

🌸Visual inspo: the Serpentine Dance, the individual perfection and beauty of flora and the potent potential of the new season, these day retreats are about celebrating your practice, exploring new methods and tools to shift stagnant energy, physically and mentally, and create the conditions to open and expand. To BLOOM 🌸

These day retreats are also inspired by the sonic explorations working with our recent art installation Haugtussa, a forest - ForRest - , where I created a space to land to use as you feel. Solitude. Community. Connection to yourself and to others.⁣ A space to listen. To absorb the surroundings. your inner and outer worlds.⁣ A place to explore sensual awareness. To be in your body. Nature. Which is the same thing, right? Somatic experiencing. Without expectation to do anything but be.⁣ A space to retreat in.⁣

→ Find all links to listen to I Feel For You podcast episode 57 ‘Everything is Connected’ here, where I talk about working on the art installation; plants playing music, creative exploration, writing, movement, syncing with nature, spacemaking, taking up space, feelings, being, community, inclusivity and much much more!

Q & A 

Q: Who is this for?

A: This is for anyone who wants to create some space for themselves at this time. For anyone looking for inspiration, restoration and rejuvenation, time to explore and deepen your practices, both yoga and creativity, whilst synching with the season. Kind of like pressing a rest button to pause and notice where you're at, and hopefully find some room to remember who you are, so you can move through the season with more resources, and hopefully, feeling more spacious and connected.

Q: A whole day? Bit indulgent isn’t it? 

A: Well, i hope so! lol. But really, my feeling has always been that retreats aren't accessible for so many of us. So i hope this offering opens up some possibilities so more people can feel welcome. There are live elements but there's no pressure to be there live, you can watch the replays in your own time. There's a suggested programme along with resources and ideas for you to adapt, implement or leave. You get to choose your own adventure and remember that you have agency and choices, always.

The Facebook group is available for community connection. It's not a space where i throw stuff at you. You can meet other folks on the journey there, share if you feel like it, ask questions, etc.

Share and connect with others. Take deeper dive in a private community space. Space to ask questions and share your journey. Practical tips, resources and inspiration. A brilliant and down to earth community of accountability buddies and support. 

Q: When does this programme start and finish?

A: These day retreats run 27 March and 24 April 2021 and you will be sent an email with a multimedia online zine which contains all the tools you need to join the live events, as well as a road map of resources and offerings for you to dive into, in your own time, be it before the day retreat or afterwards at your own pace. Replays of live offerings will also be available here. This multimedia online zine will be emailed to you three days before each retreat.

Life happens, so there’s no punishments if you don’t get through all the resources - hey, this is supposed to be a retreat - time for you to restore and replenish! So choose your own adventure depending on your needs and focus this season. 

Although these retreats focus on the spring season, there are ever-green tools available, so you might find it helpful to return to the content at a later date.

Q: Why now? 

A: Initially, BLOOM was supposed to be held at Griegakademiet in Bergen, Norway in 2020. We cancelled this event early March upon deciding we wanted to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our attendees and since then, as i’m sure we all recognise, the events of the past year have meant things have evolved quite dramatically.

I was reluctant to transfer the concept as it was into an online offering of one really long event, really aware of the Zoom fatigue (!) and also, i wanted to offer something that would enable attendees to set the pace and tone of their experience in their own way. So, there is a live element to each of the day retreats, but it will be recorded and available for replay for up to a month after the event.

This means that these beloved events can now also be accessible for Others around the world, no matter the timezone. So those of you who’ve always wanted to come along to these seasonal workshops have the option at last! 

We take all silver linings at this point of the Pani baybee…

Creating “a day of it” also enables space to explore the focus in various ways. If you’ve been to workshops, events or retreats with me before, you’ll know they tend to be interactive and include creative elements to play with, so i hope this gives even more space for that. You could think of these day retreats as an extension of my Composers Retreats collaboration - click here for a taste of that!) but you get to choose your own adventure with what’s on offer.

Q: Can I buy this as a gift for someone? 

A: Sure! We’re big into paying it forward so just simply make a note of their name, email and any message you’d like to send them in the payment notes and we’ll take care of the rest. 

Q: Will the audio and video content expire?

A: You will have access to all content in your multimedia online zine for at least 30 days after the event, and as long as BLOOM virtual day retreats are online! I plan to keep the facebook community open beyond BLOOM as a space for ongoing practice notes and community connection.

Q: Hey, i’m a bit new to the yoga stuff, is it going to be all weird pretzel shapes and bossyboots powertripping telling me to do things my body doesn’t like?

A: I’m so glad you asked this. cause no, beloved. it sure ain’t!

I will be sharing two energetically balanced classes each day, 1 live 90mins  + an option of a selection of classes i’ve recorded for you to choose your own adventure. Styles will range but in very broad terms, they will be a mix of vinyasa flow and restorative. Day 1’s live event will be a vinyasa flow, day 2 a restorative practice. Read more about them here.

You can also learn more about my approach to yoga here in a podcast i made called “take this personally, my approach to yoga + tips for your journey”  

You can also check out my youtube channel here.

On retreat, you can join the live sessions or play the video then lay down and have a snooze if that’s your vibe that day. Or join in at points if you feel like it. Or adapt the practice (i offer heaps of alternatives always, so it’s as inclusive and adjustable as possible.) 

You always get to choose your own seasoning. I celebrate that.

Also, worth mentioning that the yoga + movement part is just one tool that we explore during the day retreats.

Everything is optional!

Q: Meditation…? Aaaaagh!

A: I hear that. That was actually me for about 10 years or so ago. So i get it. Which is why i wanted to offer a variety of meditation approaches in this programme. Sitting on a pew looking serene and blissed out is not a requirement. 

You’re invited to try these offerings and- who knows - you might even have fun exploring! I KNOW!

Or, just leave it behind. as above. it’s just one of many tools. But i truly hope the yoga nidra will help you create some space for yourself to rest. And i also hope the interactive sonic nature walkabout will be an intriguing way to practice embodiment and meditation. 

Q: Creativity….but i’m not… “creative”!

A: Sure you are! We all are!

We each have inherent capacity to create and most of it has to do with allowing ourselves space to explore that for ourselves, outside of what we think “being creative” looks like. 

Hint: it doesn’t have to be “perfect” (cause it already is, without being too cryptic). We get to tune into ourselves in a different way and express that in whatever we feel. But don’t worry, i won’t leave you hanging. I’m sharing some of my trusted tools via activities that i hope will support you to deepen your own relationship with your creativity (and the season!). Whether you are “well seasoned” or “very new” to this. It doesn’t matter. It’s all good. Perfect and unique as you are. 

Q: I’ve never used Zoom before. What do I need to do?

A: Create an account for yourself on Zoom.us ahead of the first live session. 

You will find a link to join the session in the multimedia online zine mailed to you 3 days before each day retreat.

Please arrive at least 5 minutes before class starts so you can get acquainted and comfortable. I’ll be there so you can ask me any questions privately there in thee chat, or via email ahead of the session.

Recommend using Zoom on a laptop if you have one (easier to see the screen) and tablets also work! Set up your space so you’re in view if possible, and have enough room to lay down on the floor at the end of class.

Q: For the movement sessions, do i need a yoga mat or workout clothes? or anything else for the creative activities?

A: For the yoga + movement: if you have a mat, sure, bring it, but no problem if not. Have a blanket handy for general luxe, but also, for the end of practice “relaxation”, plus any props you enjoy having nearby. That might include a strap/belt/scarf, perhaps a block or book, but you can also show up with nothing but yourself, cause you’re enough.

Sometimes i offer chair yoga moments, but they will be clearly specified.

For the creative activities: these will also be specified in the details of each date. I try to make these as accessible as possible too, with things you might already have in your home. The key to these ideas is to get creative in our approach, as opposed to feeling we need all the “gear” in order to participate. You are enough. Did i say that already? Good. 

So, up for an adventure? I’m excited to welcome you!

If you have any more questions, please get in touch here  HERE!