You could be here (South Africa).
Hello yogis! It’s winter up where I am, and I am taking it easy and quiet, eating mindfully, moving my body, going to bed early. It feels like a much-needed break for my body and my mind.
But I’m also looking forward to getting back to life. And that means retreats — first in Costa Rica and Kenya, both of which are sold out, followed by Greece in May and then Tuscany and South Africa in the fall. The Greece retreat, which is on the gorgeous, bohemian, and not-touristy island of Folegandros, was sold out but just had one room open up, so do let me know if you want to snag it.
I’ve also opened up sign-ups for the writing + yoga retreat in Tuscany, which I host with my friend and yoga teacher Emily Shapiro. It’s held on a truly special woman-owned organic farm in Tuscany’s Maremma region. We practice yoga and hold our writing workshops in an old farmhouse, and bring in the most amazing chefs who are cooking with ingredients that are almost all from nearby farms. There are bikes you can ride to the beach — and yes, it’s Tuscany but there’s a beach — plus wine tasting, cheese tasting, dinners out in a fairytale seaside medieval stone town, and on and on. Full information is here.
It feels odd to be planning for the fall when it’s not even spring, but I am looking at my 2023 calendar and wow it’s going to go fast.
Also coming this fall is Photography + Writing + Yoga in South Africa, with me and National Geographic photographer Nichole Sobecki. We had planned this retreat for the spring, but got a lot of feedback that folks needed more time to plan such a big adventure, so here it is: Storytelling + Yoga in South Africa, October 13-22, 2023. We’re keeping this one quite small so that participants can all have plenty of one-on-one time for edits and feedback from Nichole and I. We’ll go from Cape Town to Winelands to a private safari camp, stopping along the way at a cheetah sanctuary and a penguin colony and maybe for a horseback ride through the hills if people are interested, and soaking up all of the goodness South Africa has to offer: Fascinating and inspiring history, phenomenal culture, life-changing food, stunning landscapes, and of course all of the wild animals of your safari dreams. SA is one of my favorite countries on earth (I’ll be there this April, so apologies in advance for the flurry of photos if you follow me on Instagram), and I can’t wait to bring a group to some of my most-loved places.
You can find information about all of these retreats here; please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions — you can just hit reply on this email. I’ll also add that everything on these retreats is optional, so if you want to skip the yoga or skip the writing classes, it’s really a Choose Your Own Adventure situation. And no, it’s not all uber-fit 20-year-olds (although uber-fit 20-year-olds are certainly welcome), and most people who come are not professional writers.
I hope you have a beautiful rest of your January, wherever in the world you are.
xx Jill
p.s. I’m thinking about how to expand this newsletter to better meet reader needs. I’m considering, for example, the occasional live Yin or Vinyasa yoga class, as well as reflection prompts. Does any of that appeal? Other than retreat info, is there anything else you’re craving from this space? Feedback always welcome.
Hi Jill, thank you for requesting we discuss this platform. Access to watching you teach online would be a gift, even if one time a month and even if it required extra to the subscription.