April 23 – 25, 2027
Yoga & Creative Writing Retreat
Yogaville
Satchidananda Ashram,108 Yogaville Way Buckingham, VA 23921
For 30 years, Charles has been leading Creative Writing and Yoga Retreats across Texas and around the world, pioneering an approach that uses yoga and meditation to help writers deepen their craft — an approach featured in Yoga Journal back in December 2003. This spring, join him for a weekend at Yogaville’s Satchidananda Ashram, a peaceful retreat community in the Virginia countryside, for a retreat built on a simple but powerful idea: that yoga and writing, practiced together, can open doors that neither can open alone.
Each day blends Hatha yoga, meditation, and creative writing. Yoga classes energize the body and bring you back into your senses, closing with a deep guided relaxation that settles the mind into a calm, creative state — the perfect condition for writing that flows freely, without editing or self-judgment. Afterward, we gather in small, intimate groups, where anyone who wishes to may read aloud what they’ve written.
The writing sessions are facilitated by Charles using the method developed by Pat Schneider, founder of Amherst Writers & Artists — a practice designed to help you find your truest voice and write from the images, memories, and feelings we all carry inside. We write in response to prompts (which you’re always free to ignore), and we respond to one another’s work only with what moves us, what we remember, what we like — never with critique. It’s a space built on trust, and it consistently surprises people with how much they’re able to write, and how honestly.
No manuscripts, no experience, and no particular skill level are required in either yoga or writing — only a willingness to show up. Participation in every activity is always optional. Come rest, move, and write in one of the most restorative settings you’ll find.
Five Highlights
- Daily Hatha yoga and guided relaxation to quiet the mind and open the senses for writing.
- Writing practice rooted in the acclaimed Amherst Writers & Artists method — no experience needed.
- Small, intimate group readings held in a warm, confidential, judgment-free space.
- Led by Charles, a 35-year retreat veteran whose yoga-and-writing approach was featured in Yoga Journal.
- Set at Yogaville’s Satchidananda Ashram, a serene retreat community in the Virginia countryside.
Who This Weekend Is For
This retreat is for yogis, writers, and anyone curious about both — whether you’ve never rolled out a yoga mat, never written beyond a grocery list, or you’re an experienced practitioner of either craft.
No manuscripts, no yoga background, and no particular skill level are required, only a sincere willingness to show up and write. Every activity — from asana to sharing your writing aloud — is invited, never required.
What People Take Home
- New writing generated fresh over the weekend — often more honest and unfiltered than expected.
- A body and mind more settled, more attuned to sensation, and quieter than when you arrived.
- Practical tools from the Amherst Writers & Artists method for sustaining a safe, generative writing practice long after the retreat ends.
- Renewed confidence in your own voice, on the page and off it.
- New friendships within a small, supportive community of fellow writers and yogis.
Registration will open soon. Email Charles to be added to the Waitlist and receive priority on your registration.
