During the peak of Vermont’s Fall foliage season and Indigenous People’s weekend, Kiera Penpeci (She/They) will host women and members of the non-binary community in an immersion of movement, rest, facilitated dialogue, and authentic joy-seeking.
Guests will enjoy dedicated and sacred time to care for themselves as individuals who are committed to actively caring for others as they move through the world.
Caring for Self as an Instrument for Change
This retreat is for those who identify as women or non-binary, who are formal or informal leaders within their families, communities, or workplaces, and consider themselves on a journey toward healing unresolved wounds, and developing healthy mechanisms toward navigating relationships and influencing others.
So much of this journey is about cultivating rest and finding joy in simplicity! Guests will enjoy dedicated and sacred time to care for themselves as individuals who are committed to actively caring for others or care for others simply through their interactions with others as they move through the world. All activities will be staggered to include ample transition time and rest. All activities are optional, so guests may decide to engage in one of the curated daily activities, or simply hang back to catch sight of wildlife and take in the beautiful colors across the valley from the home’s sunny veranda.
All activities will be staggered to include ample transition time and rest. All activities are optional, so guests may decide to engage in one of the curated daily activities, or simply hang back to catch sight of wildlife and take in the beautiful colors across the valley from the home’s sunny veranda.
What to Expect
12 guests will spend this 3-day weekend enjoying and exploring:
Nourishing local and organic vegetarian meals during regular meal times during your stay
1-2 daily yoga practices for all levels ranging in style, and intended to deepen one’s practice (props provided by Willow)
Professionally facilitated workshops by a trained and experienced space-holder, designed to enrich participant's self-care tools and ultimately benefit their personal relationships (details coming soon!)
Nostalgic evening campfire gatherings
Individual portraits with Fall foliage landscape as backdrop
Suggested group or solo excursions to enjoy wildlife and leaf peeping across the over 100 acres of private trails Willow abuts
Lasting connections among Greater Boston’s local yoga community members
Investment
$1147 per guest
A 9% state, meals and room tax will be added at checkout.
Payment schedule: (All payments are non-refundable after 7 days)
Pay in full
Payment plan:
A 25% reservation deposit due at booking
A 2nd payment of 25% (or 50%) is due after 6 weeks or by July 1, 2024.
A 3rd payment (or 75%) is due after 12 weeks or by September 1, 2024
A final payment at full cost is due after 18 weeks or by October 1st, 2024
The retreat will be led by Kiera Penpeci
Kiera’s approach to instruction emphasizes clarity, practicality, and intends to offer students tools that support their self-healing, and less reliance on costly wellness offerings.
Rooms and Amenities at Willow
All rooms will be set up for double occupancy. Singles who book a spot on their own will be paired in a double occupancy room with one other participant in separate beds. If couples/friends decide to room together, we are happy to accommodate a shared room with an optional larger shared bed. While not preferred, we are also happy to accommodate singles who would like a solo room at cost.
Willow is a comforting and nurturing environment — furnished with a harmonious combination of custom contemporary and vintage furniture, rugs, artwork and crafts. We are outfitted with all the comforts of a typical guest house — linens, blowdryers, individually controlled heating and air conditioning. Our mattresses, pillows and furniture are exceptionally comfortable. Our soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions are organic. We support local craftspeople by supplying Willow with handmade and high quality goods — everything from lamps to rugs have been made by hand. You will feel very much at home.
The Colonial Revival main house offers open living space on the first floor: a grand foyer with sitting area and library, a spacious and light-filled living room with fireplace, a sunny veranda, a dining room, and a 14-person yoga studio painted in soft colors of the willow tree. The studio is fully outfitted with yoga mats, cushions, straps, blocks and blankets.
Want to stay longer? Extend your retreat experience!
Willow encourages retreat participants who wish to stay in the area longer to book rooms or book the treehouse on nights before and after the retreat at sharply reduced rates. Extended bookings include a hearty continental breakfast.
Individual rooms are $135-185/night for up to two people. A discount of 15% applies to bookings of 3 or more nights.
We offer a seven-night single occupancy rate of $685 in selected rooms, subject to availability.
Meals at Willow
Meals are provided throughout the retreat, including dinner on arrival day, 3 meals each full day, and brunch on departure day.
Our menu is Indian, Tex-Mex and American-inspired vegetarian dishes with balanced proteins, fats and carbs. Our meals are healthy, filling, and made of local organic and natural ingredients. Please let us know at registration if you prefer vegan or gluten-free options. Please let us know if you have any food allergies. We cannot accommodate last minute requests during the retreat.
Coffee is served with breakfast at no charge. Tea is available all day at no charge.
Espresso, cappuccino, and fresh-pressed juices are available for purchase throughout the retreat. A menu of options will be posted in the dining room. Charges will be added to your account and billed at the end of the retreat.
A Retreat in the Green Mountains of Vermont
Now is your chance to join retreat leader Kiera, Willow’s owner-operators Ravi and Tom, and other spirit journeyers on a three-night retreat in pastoral Vermont.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did you choose Willow Vermont?
A friend and fellow queer also hosted a yoga retreat at Willow and informed me of their positive feedback, and acknowledgement of its queer-owned status. In fact, Tom (he/him) and Ravi (he/him), the owners, and some additional staff will also be on site and part of the retreat experience. Because of our two-fold affinity, Willow seemed like a safe-space to encourage women and non-binary to stay and truly “retreat”, and a wonderful business to support.
Why just women and non-binary?
The magic of felt experience! It’s the experience of looking at someone and without saying anything, deeply understanding their struggle because you’ve been through it. It’s feeling safe to be authentic without the gaze of well-meaning and curious onlookers or “saviors”. It’s an automatic increase of baseline trust, and then connecting without the reminders about your negative lived experiences within your shared identity
Who is considered a woman?
This retreat does not engage in TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) thinking. We welcome all who consider themselves intrinsically aligned with and living the values of inclusionary feminism.
Do I need to be an experienced yoga practitioner?
Kiera’s approach to instruction considers the range of experiences in the room. Modifications will be offered to accommodate various abilities, including use of props, skillful cueing, and opt-in hands-on assists and/or personalized suggestions. Additionally, all practices during the weekend are optional and you will be given a schedule with details about the level of physical or mental effort to expect.
This retreat will be a great opportunity to become familiar with the practice.
What’s the big deal about ‘Caring for Self as an Instrument for Change?
While it’s a privilege to be able to spend time in self-improvement, as leaders and individuals who care about others, it’s crucial to reflect inwardly and tend to our disruptive patterns so we stay humble, honest, and adaptable. If we face the hidden or suppressed parts of ourselves, we are more likely to leave the spaces we hold better than when we entered them, and leave a positive, values-aligned influence in even the difficult interactions we have with others.
What makes the facilitators qualified to hold space for personal development?
Kiera facilitator is not a licensed therapist, and true Shadow Work should always be done with a professional. Instead, she will use the knowledge gained from their certifications, academic work, and personal experiences to facilitate personal reflections, somatic experiences, and discussions that might lead to new insights that encourage guests to move into a deeper exploration with a professional.
Facilitators of personal development should never be assumed to be perfect themselves. The most effective facilitators see introspection and a life-long work and ongoing work
What’s not included?
Transportation, though there will be intention around creating opportunities to carpool, free to the person in need of a lift.
How are you striving to keep this retreat financially accessible?
The Mindful Maven retreat was visioned with quality and value in mind, and that is reflected in the price. To keep the costs as low as possible:
I’ve chosen a retreat location in New England to reduce the need for expensive transportation. Guests who are driving and volunteer to use their vehicle to carpool others will receive $100 off the cost of the retreat.
I’ve chosen to host this retreat during a holiday weekend in hopes that some attendees who would have otherwise had to use one PTO day would not have to spend it.
I’ve also chosen to default all rooms to double-occupancy so that there are more lower-priced accommodations than typical of a yoga retreat.
I’ve taken responsibility for payment card transaction fees.
Further, there is no additional markup to the cost of the retreat beyond the cost of labor and accommodations.
Will there be alcohol?
This is a dry event so alcohol will not be served or accepted within the retreat setting.
What about plant medicine?
Plant medicine in smokeless form is accepted in moderation and with mindful use within the presence of other attendees.
What should I bring?
Clothes you feel comfortable wearing for rigorous and restorative practices
Clothes to sleep in shared rooms
Warm socks or slippers (this is a shoeless household)
Snuggie, throw blanket, onesie, or footie pajamas ;)
A good book, art supplies, headphones, etc. for lounging time
Hiking shoes and warm clothes
Headlamp or flashlight
Can you say more about cancellation and refunds?
A lot of time, energy, planning and money go into bringing these experiences to life way before you arrive. This cancellation policy is a reflection of us honoring and respecting our mutual commitment to creating this experience. When you make a payment, your funds are already being dispersed to support our venue costs, retreat facilitators, and eventually, food and beverage costs, and gratuity for all staff on-site. There are also the intangible’s to consider, like mindful intention around the choices made to provide this experience. Thanks for your effort to understand and respect this policy and only book once certain you can attend.
Booking is fully refundable or any reason within 7 days of booking. Otherwise, payments are non-refundable or not applicable to future retreats.
Bear finding shade in Willow’s back yard
Meet Willow’s Cats
Willow is home to two gentle and sweet cats, Bear and Scratch. They love our guests and they absolutely adore being petted. But we ask that guests not pick them up. Too much of that and they will become stressed little souls.
We do our best to keep cats out of the guest rooms so that people with allergies can comfortably stay with us. Please help with this by discouraging the cats from entering or napping in your room.
Traveling to Willow
Willow is located in the beautiful and quintessential village of South Newfane (population 300), a satellite of Newfane (population 1,700). We are located 20 minutes northwest of Brattleboro, 20 minutes northeast of Wilmington, and 20 minutes east of Dover and Mount Snow.
By car:
From Brattleboro, take Route 30 north about 9 miles. Go left on Depot Road where the West River and Rock River meet; travel 2 miles on Depot Road until you cross a small bridge over the Rock River; go left on Dover Road through the village of Williamsville; after passing through Williamsville you will cross a covered bridge. Willow is exactly 1.2 miles on your left. If you come to a stop sign you have gone 300 feet past our driveway.
From Wilmington, take Route 100 north toward West Dover about 3.5 miles. A half mile past the River Valley Market, take a right on East Dover Road; travel 1 mile. Take a right on Dover Hill Road; travel 8 miles on Dover Hill Road and E Dover Road (they are continuous) until you reach a 3-way stop sign in the village of South Newfane. Willow is 300 feet past the stop sign on your right.
By train: the daily Amtrak Vermonter stops in Brattleboro as it travels from Washington DC to Montreal and back. You can pick it up in New York, Hartford, Springfield to the south or in Montpelier to the north. Taxis are available in Brattleboro or Willow’s owners will pick you up in Brattleboro on the Vermonter’s arrival at 5pm (note this is after check in time).
By plane: Travelers may find Hartford (BDL—64.4 miles, 90 minutes) and Boston (BOS—85.7 miles, 2 hours 20 minutes) to be most convenient. Other nearby airports to check are Rutland VT (RUT, 55 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes), Manchester NH (MHT—85 miles, 2 hours), Albany NY (ALB—73 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes), and Worcester MA (ORH, 81 miles, 1 hour 50 minutes).
A note on driving: We are located in rural Vermont! You may have spotty cell service in areas throughout our area. Be sure to set your GPS before leaving from home. Set it by typing our business name “Willow Vermont Retreat” into your search bar. Please don’t use our address, as most GPS engines get rural addresses wrong. But don’t worry one bit, just remember this: following our guidance will land you safely with us; following Google to our address will lead you 4 miles off target.