Self-paced virtual day retreat on
30 December 2022
✨ yoga, movement, somatics, embodiment, creativity, self care, music, mindfulness, ritual. ✨
Based on my Winter 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 December.
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.
What’s included:
An online programme of self-paced and live interactive practices to welcome the season, including:
🌺 2 x LIVE yoga + movement practices with Dionne via Zoom (90 minutes each, available for replay after the events)
🌱LIVE interactive nature walkabout (immersive sound exploration)
📹 Pre-recorded yoga + movement video practices with Dionne
🎶 Playlists
📝 Journaling prompts + LIVE freewrite event for members of the Patreon community
✨ Meditation practices
🌈 Multimedia online zine (tools, resources, inspiration, creative activities, recipes + pleasure explorations)
💜 Access to a private community space on Facebook
+ more!
What can I expect?
🌸 Energetically balanced yoga classes themed for the spring season
🌎 Community connection with good people from different parts of the world
🌱 Accessible embodiment tools and resources to inspire and accompany you through the spring season (and beyond!)
🦋 Creative practices to explore at your own pace in the comfort of your own home, but in a community of likeminded people
🌻 Private community space to interact, ask questions, share insights and vibes
🍴 Recipe ideas to inspire your home retreat (and beyond)
🎨 Space to choose your own adventure with flexible and optional practices and activities
📱 Join from any timezone, in your own time, at your own pace
🌳 An immersive adventure in nature (whether you’re inside at home or outside)
🎶 Music + sonic goodies!
A soft-soft-space to land
In the beforetimes (you know, when i was hosting in person events…) the winter yoga + creativity retreat was a BIG favourite of mine. I know, the summer is magical and so on, but there’s something a bit underdoggy about the winter appeal for many (and you know i’m rooting for the underdogs!)
The potency of the season is symbolic and my ever-evolving relationship with winter is something i hold sacred and dear (i recently shared some words about that over here_ link to substack) It’s a time of year deeply close to my heart. And to be honest, often when i’m most in need of some tender nourishment, replenishment and softness. So that’s enough for me to go ahead and offer this to you, as someone who might resonate with this too.
I’ve been long toying with sharing some workshops and another virtual retreat in the in-between days of Jule, you know, the often vague days, the ones with dim light, hazyness, sometimes frayed edges, a regular uttering of “what day is it again?”
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!
Book now! 🎟
Rhythm of the Days
10:00 - 10:30 Morning bathroom/elsewhere disco (collaborative playlist will be shared)
10:30 - 12:00 🌸 LIVE practice with Dionne (replay available)
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:::
🎨 Carlotta Notaro
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
A preview 👀
…here’s a preview of the multimedia online zine!
…and here’s a podcast on Self care + wellness for Spring
to wet your whistle!
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!
Book now! 🎟
About your host! 🌈
Hi! I’m Dionne, a human being, spacemaker and creative explorer.
My work centres on creativity, being well and doing you. I’ve been creating and holding space sharing holistic, interactive and immersive experiences in real life and online for decades in my life as a yoga, somatic movement and meditation teacher, installation artist, creative coach, writer, dj and curator.
I believe in the freedom we experience from being wholeheartedly ourselves. I believe in possibility. I believe in new ways of being and equally honouring our connection to what has come before. I believe in non-linear paths. I believe in healing. Learning and unlearning. The power of the process. Pleasure activism. Embodiment. Animals and plants. Accessible self care as community care. More on my ‘why’ here.
You can get to know me through my podcast perhaps?
Or my blog.
Or my radio show, FEELINGS.
What they say 💿
“Dionne’s approach to self care is gentle, encouraging and inspiring. The creative activities, music and prompts in the programme are inspiring without the pressure of needing to do-do-do, and i love the option of choosing your own adventure.”
“I found Take Care of You: Autumn so helpful, it helped me to commit to a new practice, writing morning pages, and stick to it against all the odds!”
- Poppy
“Dionne has a unique gift for holding space for you and where you are in your journey. Her warm, caring, thoughtful, and gentle ways will support you through whatever you are going through.”
- Safia
“I love Dionne’s yoga style, and the fact that there are no strict rules, nothing is “wrong”, you just do what feels right for you. An investment for body and soul!”
- Grethe
“Week 2 is FABULOUSSSSS!!! the yummy prompts. wise guidance. massive amounts of knowledge and expansion. it is literally divine…”
“Being part of Take Care of you: Autumn has been so wonderful. It has helped me to create beautiful self-care rituals, commit to my morning pages and to a more sustainable practice of movement and meditation”
- Gloria
“Dionne is amazing! She helps put everything in perspective and helps bring out the best in yourself in a way that is uplifting and accessible.”
- Kirby
Q + A
Q: When does this programme start and finish?
A: This 4-part programme starts the day you purchase it (your first self care package is emailed to you within 24 hours of your purchase) and as the four modules are sent weekly, it can be explored at your own pace.
Life happens, so there’s no punishments if you don’t get through all the resources within each week. Suggestion is to explore the choose your own adventure road map that comes with each week and has a clear, succinct offering for you, depending on your needs and focus this season. It’s accessible as it curates “one thing” according to whether you’re looking to REST, ACTIVATE or PROCESS. Read more about it above.
Although this programme focusses on the autumn season, there are certainly ever-green tools in this programme, so you might find it helpful to return to content at a later date.
Q: Will the audio and video content expire?
A: No, you will have access to all content as long as Take Care of You: Autumn is online! The audiobook is also available to download.
Q: Hey, i’m a bit new to the yoga stuff, is it going to be all weird pretzel shapes and bossy 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!
You will receive classes of varying lengths i have recorded for you (to do in your own time…or don’t!)
It’s an offering in my typical style (read and see more on that here). You can play the video then lay down and have a snooze if that’s your vibe that day. Or join in at points.
Or adapt the practice (i offer heaps of alternatives always, so it’s inclusive and adjustable. You always get to choose your own seasoning).
Also, worth mentioning that the yoga + movement part is just one tool that we explore to take care of ourselves during the autumn season.
Q: Meditation…? Aaaaagh!
A: I hear that. that was actually me for about 11 years or so. 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.
Q: How much time do i need to dedicate to this?
A: That’s completely up to you but minimum, one minute a week (i know!).
I made this self-paced course for busy people as a way to help balance the often hectic season. This programme is set up so you get a self care package delivered to your inbox each week that you can dip into or keep as a resource to use at a later date.
I purposefully created the audiobook version of this programme so you could access the content in a more flexible way - and you can choose to make your way through that chronologically or dip into the chapters that speak to you.
The yoga and movement videos vary in lengths as you can see above, the shortest is 3 minutes, the longest 37, and you also have access to many more free videos in my library which i curate for you to sync with the theme of the week. So you can use the videos as much or as little as you like.
The meditations are up to 10 minutes long each. Again, use as desired.
The creative activities can also be adaptable depending how much time you have in the week to dedicate to it. I would recommend you taking 30 minutes to an hour if possible. More if you have space for it, less if you don’t!
You also have prompts and check-ins which might be ideas you ponder as you go about your week. Or, as i like to recommend, you can write them out.
The programme is delivered so you can build onto your self care each week, as much or as little as you like. If you really dig something, you can continue it throughout the journey, or drop it and pick up something else that i’m offering.
…Um, not sure i really answered that well but truth is, the more you put in, the more you get out of it, and vice versa.
But also, the key to ALLLL of this, is that this is a supportive and encouraging space for you to get more acquainted with how you show up and take care of yourself.
So if you have a busy week or weeks, learning how to work with that rather than against it (and punish yourself) is going to be your work for the month!
Choose your own adventure and use it as a support rather than a chore.
If you want to chat to me about it, feel welcome to ask me Qs here!
Q: If i join the community group, do i have to introduce myself to strangers and do that awks thing where i tell them about myself?
A: Well, there’s space to do that but personally i kind of cringe in a ball of shy when i have to respond to that “tell us about yourself"?” and never know what to say! So, don’t fear, i have some suggestions for those of you like me which will hopefully make things much more easeful. And fun! …Did i mention fun? That’s the point. Cause if anything’s going to be torturous, there’s simply no point doing it right?
Also, the group is one that is intimate and private plus the people in it are good people who hold space for people to come as they are. So, feel free to show up with bells on, make a video with special effects with a karaoke cover, choreographed and costumed dance interpretation of Daft Punk’s Around The World if that’s your vibe that day (just me?), or dip in and dip out as time permits, sharing if you like, or simply communicating a mood by emoji/gif/song. Completely up to you! No pressure.
You also have the option to skip the whole community group part!
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 thing “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 that i hope will support you to deepen your own relationship with your creativity.
Whether you are “well seasoned” or “very new” to this. It doesn’t matter. It’s all good. Perfect and unique as you are.
So, should this speak to you, a heads up that
enrolment is open and you can begin when you're ready baybee!
No, you don't have to complete it by a certain time.
Yes, you get access to week 1 content within
24 hours of signing up.
I'm (Pointer Sisters) excited to welcome you, so it resonates,
i hope you'll join me.
Book now! 🎟