Write Yourself Home
An eight-month embodied writing program
Two in-person retreats & bimonthly online meetings
October 2026 - May 2027
Text messages, laundry piles, news headlines. With so much pulling at our attention, no wonder we’re overwhelmed and distracted. Phoning it in.
But maybe there’s a different way.
After decades of working with hundreds of participants, I’ve seen how the simple practice of embodied writing creates profound transformations.
When our bodies guide our creativity, we inhabit ourselves differently. Reclaim our time and attention, reconnect to knowing and health. Even reignite joy.
This creative devotion yields treasure: We come home to ourselves
Join us for Write Yourself Home, an immersive, eight-month program in embodied writing from October of 2026 through May of 2027.
Eight months to dedicate ourselves to the process. To explore deeply. To let things marinate. To reclaim the body as a site for knowing and writing.
Curricula that enrich the heart, change habit, and reimagine what’s possible. Ongoing support for creative discovery and bodied listening.
Our small community of fellow embodied writers will move through this gentle sequence:
We’ll begin our time with an in-person weekend retreat at beautiful Walkover Farm on the rocky coast of Freeport, Maine. We’ll enjoy expansive days of moving, playing, resting, eating well, and writing and sharing.
Over the next seasons, we’ll meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month for a 2.5 hour online workshop, deepening into rich explorations of somatic writing.
In May, we’ll conclude our program with a weekend retreat at Walkover Farm, including a celebration of our time together, a shared booklet with chosen work, and a certificate of completion.
Throughout the course, we’ll bring playfulness, curiosity, and deep creativity to our explorations. Our approach will be expansive, taking inspiration from poets, writers, musicians, children, the natural world, body sites, seasons, fascia, bones, and the numinous. We’ll let our breath and body guide our writing, making space for intuition, mystery, and creative impulse.
No previous experience needed, just curiosity and willingness!
The retreat space: Walkover Farm in Freeport, Maine
October 23rd - 25th, 2026
May 21st- 23rd, 2027
Our time together will be bookended by two in-person retreats at beautiful Walkover Farm, a coastal oasis in Freeport, Maine.
These retreats are a time to commune, move, stretch, be in nature and by the sea, receive nourishment, rest, make art, and of course, write and share.
We’ll gather Friday evening for dinner and opening, gather all day Saturday, and close with breakfast and writing on Sunday morning.
Retreats include all meals and the meeting space. While lodging is not included, participants in need of lodging will receive a list of options nearby.
“Johanna creates spaces in which people are genuinely welcomed to step into their embodied wholeness in ways that actually work for them and their bodies — not as they are told they should be, but as they actually are. She brings such wisdom, levity, and compassion to everything she creates.”
The course is for those who:
Want to deepen their creative practice and their relationship to writing
Want to step more fully into their lives and bodies
Appreciate spacious witness and collective support
Are interested in inhabiting their creativity with more self-trust and ease
Want to commit more fully to their own writing, embodiment, and inner rhythms
Please note: If you’re looking for critique, rigid discipline over devotion, group therapy, pressure to create, optimization, non-human writing, or a tendency towards product over process - this likely isn’t a match!
The course supports you to:
Strengthen your voice & writing in a community of care
Develop creativity and embodied writing practices
Deepen into creative pursuits and projects
Become more familiar with your own rhythms & resources
Connect to your own creativity, intuition, & even joy
Learn body-specific exercises to unwind your own stuck places
Imbue your writing practice with ease and authenticity
Hone a few written pieces for a shared printed collection to be distributed at program’s conclusion
View from the writer’s shed on Casco Bay.
Write Yourself Home Deep Study Includes:
Two weekend-long in-person retreats in Freeport, Maine: We’ll bookend our time together with gatherings October 23rd-25th, 2026 and May 21st -23rd, 2027.
Twice monthly online embodied writing workshops: The first and third Tuesday of each month, from 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST we’ll meet online for in depth exercises and evocative writing prompts along with (optional) sharing and longer-project support in the context of a small, supportive group.
Gentle, guided movement and breath exercises from a bodyworker with deep experience in anatomy, myofascial technique, and somatic approaches to the nervous system
Rich catalogue of poetry, music, body techniques, and other resources to keep you inspired and support your own explorations
A supportive & kind community of fellow writers, movers, and creative folks
An informal bound collection of works; a record of our collective creations, musing, and discovery.
Certificate of completion as a record of your devoted time, energy, and attention to creative embodied process and writing
Facilitator
Photo: Molly Haley
I’m Johanna
a biodynamic craniosacral therapist, a teacher, a writer, an audio producer, and someone who knows autoimmune disease and the benefits of creative practice. I facilitate spaces where we can listen to what our bodies are actually saying in order to inhabit ourselves more fully. I believe in abundant permission, reverence, and the vitality of creativity. Read more.
My book, Write Yourself Home, is a creative guide to living well in the body you have through gentle movement and embodied writing practices. More about the book.
Course Themes / Building Home
Each month we’ll be guided by themes to deepen our exploration through somatic writing. We’ll also leave room for fluidity in our structure, following the group’s evolution and interests. Themes are designed to add depth and inquiry to our explorations - the writing itself may flow in any direction!
October: Rooting, Visioning
Online: October 6th & 20th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
Retreat: October 23-25th at Walkover Farm in Freeport, Maine
Exploring resource, visioning the work, fika, play, salon, ocean time. Building somatic tools for language, embodiment, and attention. Fascial play.
January: Imagination / Dreams / Future Seeding
Online: January 5th & 19th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
As the year turns, we consider the possible, call in the periphery, the fantastical. Let our imaginations roam. Limbs, fascia, the interstitium.
December: Stillness
Online: December 1st & 15th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
In the darkest time of year, considering spaces of stillness, both internal and external. Caves, hearths, forests, lungs, pauses. Lymph, sinuses, atria.
February: Pulse / Timing
Online: February 2nd & 16th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
Inner time / earth time / seasonal time. What are the pulses underneath? Where might listening lead us? Playing with rhythm. Cycles. Heartbeats.
November: Matter
Online: November 3rd & 17th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
The matter trifecta: you are matter / you do matter / you are held in the great mater. Playing with the concrete, the bendable, structural, ephemeral. Bones, trees, stone.
March: Emergence
Online: March 2nd & 16th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
Mud season: nascent possibilities, formations. Home as emergent, creative, shapeable. Seeds, tendrils, new beginnings. Exploring tissue, range, stretch.
April: Flow, habit, ritual, sanctum
Online: April 6th & 20th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
Dignifying and fortifying creative practice. Shaking off winter. Devoted care. Deep permission. Circulation.
May: Adornment, beauty, crowning
Online: May 4th & 18th, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST
Retreat: May 21st - 23rd at Walkover Farm in Freeport, Maine.
Celebration, emergence, tuning, sharing. Whole body.
Tuition & logistics
Write Yourself Home is an eight month immersive program in embodied writing including two in-person retreats and bi-monthly meetings via Zoom on the first and second Tuesday of each month.
Schedule
In person retreats in Freeport, Maine begin Friday at 5 p.m. EST, meet all day Saturday, and wrap by 11 a.m. EST on Sunday
October 23rd - 25th, 2026
May 21st - 23rd, 2027
Bimonthly Zoom workshops meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month from 6 p.m. EST - 8:30 p.m. EST (and always include a break mid workshop)
In 2026: Oct. 6th, Oct. 20th, Nov. 3rd, Nov. 17th, Dec. 1st, Dec. 15th
In 2027: Jan. 5th, Jan. 19th, Feb. 2nd, Feb. 16th, May 2nd, May 16th
Commitment
Because we’re creating a container of trust and support, the program is for those who can fully commit to the series, including retreats. While we understand that life happens, please make sure your calendar is clear to join us throughout.
Tuition
Tuition for Write Yourself Home is offered on a sliding scale of $3600-$4500. This includes all materials, monthly workshops, retreats, retreat space, retreat food, and our collective printed booklet. Please note that retreat lodging is not included; participants in need of lodging will receive a wide-ranging list of local options.
Payment in full is preferred, payment plans are available. 10% deposit to register.
Group Size
Write Yourself Home is limited to a small group of 10-12 participants.
Application / Match making.
Because of the intimacy of the groups, we want to make sure it’s a right fit for you. The application below is designed to make sure the program is a match (if you’ve read this far down the page, it likely is!)
Please fill out the form below; I’ll follow up with a quick email or conversation and we’ll move on to next steps.
Questions & Answers
How challenging are the physical activities? Is the retreat space accessible?
Our movement exercises are designed to be gentle and adaptable. While our retreat space is a single floor, there are a few stairs to ascend into the space, and the bathroom is down a set of stairs on the ground level.
Are payment plans available?
Absolutely. After a 10% deposit you’re welcome to pay in 6 monthly installments.
Are meetings recorded?
Nope! Online workshops are live experiences. Please check your calendar to make sure you can join for most (hopefully, all!) meetings. If you need to miss a workshop, I’m happy to share the sequence and materials afterwards.
Should I bring my computer?
We’ll leave our computers and iPads at home. Because we’re moving with the body, we’ll use old fashioned, tactile pen and paper. If you need accommodations for writing, please be in touch.
What if I don’t identify as a writer?
Identifying as a writer is no prerequisite! If writing is an interesting or occasional outlet, if you like to play with words, or are simply open to trying - that’s perfect.
Do I need to have a creative project in mind?
Not at all. We’ll use generative prompts to inspire the writing and creativity each time.
I have another question - where can I find the answer?
Please be in touch directly via the contact page.