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The Heart Project: Nurturing Your Creative Self


  • Daya House Oxford, CT (map)

A Weekend Woodland Escape With Abby & Natalya

August 9-11th

Immerse yourself in the mystical woodlands of Oxford, CT as we gather and connect to embrace the artistic forces in our life and liberate our creativity.

Allow the sweet simplicity of nature to provide you the space to explore the depths of your imagination, opening yourself up to new ideas and sources of inspiration. The Daya House is a beautiful haven, nestled in the forest with plenty of room to root, spread out, and wander. It’s the perfect place to escape NYC madness!

Our intention here is simple: to inspire flowing creativity amidst the support of fellow creatives. 

TOGETHER WE’LL CONNECT, EMBRACE OUR IMAGINATIONS, AND INSPIRE ONE ANOTHER. COME BY, SOAK UP THE SUNSHINE, AND OPEN YOUR HEART!



FRIDAY:

11am: Arrive & unpack

12pm: Check in

1pm: Lunch 

2pm: Opening circle: What is your heart project? (ideation & intention setting ceremony)

3pm: Nature walk, getting oriented to your home for the weekend

5pm: Yin & Sound Practice with Natalya

7pm: Dinner

8pm: Bonfire & Kirtan to chant in nature’s creative forces

10pm: Rest & Rejuvenate

SATURDAY:

7:30am: 1 hour Yoga Asana Practice with Abby

8:30am: 15 minutes of meditation with Natalya + 15 minutes of independent journaling

9am: Breakfast

10am: Silent Nature Walk & Wandering for inspiration 

11am: Creative Exercise with Abby

1pm: Lunch 

2pm: Free Expression – independent time to create & heal (offering art supplies, instruments, cupping & sound healing)

5pm: Free Movement & Yin with Natalya

7pm: Dinner

8:30pm: BonFire - creative sharing & jam/kirtan

SUNDAY:

7:30am: 1 hour Yoga Asana Practice with Abby

8:30am: 15 minutes of meditation with Natalya + 15 minutes of independent journaling

9am: Breakfast

10am: Closing Circle: Cacao ceremony and Sound Bath for Integration

1pm: Lunch 

2pm: Free Expression session 2 OR Optional Excursion: local hiking trip to deepen your connection to mother earth’s creative energy 

4pm: Loving goodbyes <3 

Location: Oxford, CT

Our retreat home is about a 2 hour drive from Brooklyn! Alternatively, you can take Metro North from Grand Central to the Derby-Shelton station. Pickup from station can be arranged.

Natalya Malarczuk

Natalya is a yogi & artist inspired by softness & vulnerability in her practices. Her work often centers around the shadow self, exploring femininity, mental health, and rediscovering joy. Her creativity is guided by her personal experience and connection with the world, navigating the balance between joy and pain -- essential qualities to creating a beautiful life.

She is deeply inspired by the profound healing abilities that yoga has on the body and mind. These practices have shifted her perspective on how she experiences life and all that gets entangled within it. She has a very gentle and soft approach to teaching. In her classes, she emphasizes joy, healing, exploration, and compassion. 

She received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification with Rainbow Body Yoga, 200-hour Meditation Teacher Training with Three Jewels, and her Yin training with Daya Yoga. She currently creates through visual art & music but has a background in theatre & poetry during her time at SUNY New Paltz.

She is grateful to be continuously learning from her teachers and students. 

IG: @yoginibeani



Abby Rhodes

Abby is a holistic artist interested in individual and community healing through visual art and mindfulness practices. Her paintings and prints explore the concept of embodiment through figurative abstraction. With this concept in mind she uses the creative process to mediate the introspective awareness and physical experience of being a body. 

After 6 years as a freelance painter and muralist in Brooklyn NY, Abby started her healing journey, becoming a yoga instructor while expanding her artistic practice into the wellness sphere with creations such as custom printed yoga mats and journals. 

Abby received her BFA in Drawing from Pratt Institute and her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification with Dou Yoga in Brooklyn. Her mission is to bring creative communities together to heal and inspire one another. 

IG: @abbyrhodesart



Pricing

Early Bird Special: $475 (ends July 20th)

Full Price: $525


Accomodations

Beds available in main house, garden house, tiny garden house, and glamping tent

If you’d like to bring your own tent and camp, you are welcome to do that for a reduced price!