yoga and writing

Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime? Is your creative spirit in need of some TLC? Always wanted to go to Vietnam but don’t like traveling alone?

Renew your love of writing and life next February in stunning world heritage Hoi An in Vietnam for a yoga and writing retreat which will get your year off to an inspiring and uplifting start. HEAVENLY HOI AN 2 – 7 FEBRUARY 2024.

Kerstin lived in Hoi An for years so we’ll have an, almost, local to guide us around. Kerstin is also busily preparing for the release of her first creative work, her memoir Loving My Lying Dying Cheating Husband which Affirm Press is launching in March 2024. WOOHOO! So we’ll have live access to all Kerstin has learnt about writing memoir and the publishing process, as well as my twenty plus years and five publications worth of experience plus over ten years teaching creative writing at UQ! Kerstin is an ex Uni lecturer in literature so you’ll have a wealth of writing experience to tap into.

Yes, there will be informative, practical, inspiring and useful writing workshops, but this is also a retreat to renew YOU as a whole person. This retreat also features YOGA!

I’ve been practising yoga daily for 30 years now, the greatest blessing of my life, and I love sharing the joys of this life-healing practice on retreats. Kerstin is an experienced yogin too, and has spent many months at meditation retreats as part of her own healing journey – hear all about it in her TED TALK. So every morning on retreat with start with gentle yoga in a beautifl open air shala over the river. How magical is that? And most evenings we’ll wind down from all the learning and writing with some guided meditations and pranayama (yogic breathing techniques) specifically designed to help you relax and calm your nervous system.

Writing and yoga, but wait, there’s more and no, it’s not steak knives. How about a Vietnamese cooking class after a tour of a local farm? Or would you prefer a slow boat ride down the river to the heart of the old town for dinner at the local night markets, lit up with preparations for TET (Vietnamese New Year). All the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of an exotic culture, full of smiling faces, in the company of fellow writers and kindred spirits. A tarot reading to help guide you forward and inspire your spirit. Fun and laughter with new friends and even the option to travel on and explore Vietnam further with other retreat guests!

Not only that, we’re staying in gorgeous resort-style accommodation at An Villa and Annica Villa, far from the bustling crowds, right on the river. Beautiful ensuite rooms, manicured tropical gardens, pools, delicious Vietnamese meals prepared especially for us on premises, lots of secret nooks to sit and write and everything is included! You can come along to all the sessions, or if you’d rather you can sleep for days, potter and journal in the over-river shala or hide away in your room and write like a fury!

Sound like the answer to your prayers? It is! I am so excited to be offering these international retreats with my dear friend Kerstin. Our Hoi An adventure is going to be truly heavenly! I so hope you can join us. Prices start at $2550 EARLY BIRD, ALL INCLUSIVE (except flights and transfers) but hurry early bird prices end soon!

For detailed info and to book see HERE.

Places are filling fast, so book your spot now by paying your deposit. I’m super excited about this one. I haven’t been to Vietnam in 30 years and I’ve never been to Hoi An, so come with me for the adventure of a lifetime and a life-changing, heart opening retreat guaranteed to get you writing! Whether you’re an old hand or a newbie, this retreat has something for everyone. ALL THE INFO HERE.

If you have more dash than cash we can work out a payment plan that makes it all possible.

Who’s coming?

Me!!

Lots of love

Edwina xx

I love September, not only does it herald spring here in Australia, it’s also my yoga birthday. YAY! Yes, I’ve just had my 28^th yoga birthday and am entering my 29^th year of daily self-practice. I’ve learnt that the motto of Astanga, my first yoga school, “Do your practice and all is coming” is true. For everything.

I was first introduced to yoga in the 1980s and had already been doing a few postures and practicing mindfulness when I met an Astanga practitioner who gave me a print out of the primary series of postures when I was travelling in Cambodia in 1993. Brian led me through a few sessions of the dynamic and powerful practice and I was instantly hooked. Through yoga I was able to replace negative habits with this good one. Every morning I got up and did the practice, even after Brian travelled on. I didn’t have a mat or a teacher, only that piece of paper with stick figure drawings showing me the way forward.

It wasn’t until after some five years of daily practice, and the birth of my daughter, that I attended a yoga class. My first proper yoga teacher, Ian, was a strict Astangi and we were not allowed to progress beyond the primary series of postures until we had mastered all of them. As a short round woman, I knew this may never happen, so after the birth of my son, I found another teacher Peter, who, although based in the Astanga practice I loved, also included postures from other series and schools of yoga. He also introduced me to pranayama which now, after many years of daily practice, gives me great delight.

Yoga is not for everyone, I know that. But it has been my life’s greatest teacher, my healer, my best friend, my comfort, my challenge and my joy. My yoga mats have caught more than their fair share of tears as the practice unearthed each and every grief and pain I had suppressed and brought to the surface in bouts of unrestrained weeping. My mats have seen me dancing with joy and taught me how to laugh even in the middle of a difficult challenge. In combination with writing, which helped me to express and process the emotions yoga brought to the surface, yoga has healed my life.

Every day I come home to myself on my mat or out in nature. I am not a strict Astangi any more, but I still like a vigorous practice. I’ve learned that yoga is never wrong. You can always practice, though perhaps not doing demanding poses when you are injured or upset. Sometimes all we need to do is breathe, release slowly in gentle seated poses, or lying on our backs. Sometimes all we need to do is to rest in the peace and joy of our own hearts. No religion necessary. Find your own way to the Divine, back home to yourself.

For me, the mat and movement combined with breath has brought me everything. So thank you yoga, for being my path. Thank you to all my teachers, from the very first to the last. I am so grateful for all this practice has brought me and for all it has yet to bring.

Lakshmi, Hindu goddess of abundance, love and success — Lakshmi – who knows maybe one day I’ll float up to heaven between two elephants 🙂

I hope you have a way to come home to yourself every day too. It doesn’t have to be yoga, anything that takes you out of your head and into your body will do, gardening, walking, swimming, cycling, just please UNPLUG when you do so. Let your thoughts roam free and if this idea scares you it means you really need to let them go. Learn to turn your thoughts into your best friend not your critic, enjoy moving your body and finding the joy in your heart.

Wishing you all the greatest of joys and the happiest of hearts.

Lots of love

Edwina xxx