“Within every woman, there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing.”
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With The Wolves
Inside every woman is a wild self who is the vital spark of our embodied wisdom, creativity, intuition & connection to nature. All too often, however, rigid social structures mean we’re acculturated to put aside our wild selves in order be the ‘perfect’ mother, partner, worker etc. So, it’s no wonder many of us feel tired, burnt out, angry, numb, stuck or all of these at once.
This retreat in the heart of the West Yorkshire moors – famous for inspiring the wildness of the Brontë sisters – will be a chance to press pause on the busyness of life and re-wild yourself through the complimentary practices of yoga and journaling led by experienced facilitators and friends Donna Southwell and Dr Rachel Newsome.
Connect to your body with yoga
We’ll start each day by moving out of our heads and into our bodies with yoga. Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced practitioner, this weekend will give you the opportunity to take your practice that little bit deeper, reconnect to yourself and see where this takes you. The rhythm of the Ashtanga practice will hold us and allow us to work towards releasing any tension and what we are unconsciously hold in our bodies through both the asanas (physical postures) and focussed breathing. The practice will focus on building strength through providing an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves while also teaching us to soften and connect to our emotions. The inner and outer sense of spaciousness created through the yoga practice will in turn help support us as we shift from yoga into journaling.
Tune into your intuition with journaling
An extensive body of research grounded in cognitive neuroscience shows how journaling can be a powerful way to process and integrate our inner and outer experience. Journaling sessions will take place after brunch and again in the afternoon over tea and cake. In these sessions, Rachel will guide you through a series of journaling prompts designed to encourage self-discovery and foster connection with the authentic voice of your inner wild, self. No previous journaling experience is necessary and there will be no need to worry about grammar and spelling. Although there’ll be a chance to discuss what came up for you in the writing, there won’t be any pressure to read anything out.
Spend time in nature
Each afternoon we’ll head out into the woods to explore – with an option to
have a cold-water dip for the brave.
Restore and re-set
We’ll finish each afternoon with some breath work and deeply restful yoga
nidra.
Nourish yourself with delicious food
Kirstie will be catering. providing us with delicious vegetarian and vegan
meals. There will also be plenty of cake.
About Lumb Bank
We will be staying in the stunning, newly restored Lumb Bank - a writers’ centre and formerly the home of Ted Hughes. This is situated up above the Colden Valley with beautiful gardens and stunning views. The yoga room has a lovely wooden floor and underfloor heating. All the rooms have their own writing desks and many have views down the valley. There are also a number of single rooms available for those that need their own space. There is a beautiful library with a log burner for the evenings.
About Rachel
I’m a writer and creative guide with a Jungian arts-based PhD in creative writing. I’ve been practicing yoga with Donna for over ten years and journaling for over twenty. Both play a big part in how I stay attuned to the embodied wisdom of my wild self. I love sharing my experience with others and run a programme of courses and workshops grounded in Jungian psychology and cognitive neuroscience aimed at inspiring the creative self in everyone. I’m a member of Lapidus International, a Seeds Talks expert speaker and serve on the Editorial Team of the London Arts-Based Research Centre. I’m co-Editor of the forthcoming Routledge book The Creative Psyche and write about my travels between worlds on Substack.
www.rachelnewsome.co.uk
Instagram: @rachelelizabethnewsome
Substack: drrachelnewsome.substack.com
Find out more here https://rachelnewsome.co.uk/
