Join retreat host Sophie Lyons (she/her) for a 5 day, 4 night LGBTQIA2S+ Affinity Yoga retreat at Willow Vermont Retreat. This retreat is an offering to folks who wish to deepen their yoga practice and spend intentional time immersed in Queer community. Wake up to morning yoga, enjoy delicious food, and spend the day engaged with optional activities such as; hiking, swimming, meditation, journaling, and workshops to explore our relationship to Queerness and time to unplug in the Vermont outdoors.
A sanctuary for our community
Coming Home to Yourself is open to all who identify anywhere within the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum. Starting in the afternoon on Thursday July 17th and running till the morning of Monday July 21st, this retreat will be a brave space for folks to connect more deeply to their Queer identity and utilize the practice of yoga to come home to themselves. During this retreat, we will engage together in asana, meditation, and a wide breadth of yogic practices to explore what Queerness means to us.
This retreat is open to 12 participants who identify as a part of the Queer community.
Fee: Each spot is $1,386.92, inclusive of all taxes and fees. Each participant will be paired in a double occupancy room with one other participant. You may book a room together with a friend; just indicate at booking that you wish to room together. The fee includes:
Accommodations
Welcome dinner, three meals each full day, and brunch on departure day
2 yoga classes each day; yoga mats, cushions, clocks, straps and blankets are supplied by Willow
Other workshops and excursions are offered each day
A space to connect with community, make friends, and create memories to last a lifetime!
Payment schedule. All payments are non-refundable.
A $325 deposit is due at booking.
A second payment of $325 is due Friday, May 16, 2025.
A final payment of $736.92 is due Thursday, July 3, 2024
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 $150-375/night for up to two people. A discount of 15% automatically applies to bookings of 3 or more nights.
We offer affordable week-long rates in selected rooms, subject to availability.
Seven nights, single occupancy: $685
Seven nights, double occupancy: $885
The retreat will be led by Sophie Lyons
Rooms and Amenities at Willow
Willow is a comforting and nurturing environment — furnished with a harmonious combination of custom contemporary and vintage furniture, rugs, artwork and crafts.
We provide comfortable overnight accommodations in double occupancy rooms. All rooms have dedicated ensuite or hall baths. 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.
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.
Come home to yourself in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont
Now is your chance to join retreat leaders Sophie and Willow’s owner-operators Ravi and Tom., and other spirit journeyers on a four-night retreat in bucolic Vermont.
The Schedule
The official retreat schedule runs from Thursday July 17 through Monday July 21, 2025.
Thursday
3-4pm Arrival
4-5:30pm Opening practice & intention setting for the weekend
6-7pm Dinner
8-9pm Evening Meditation & Restorative Practice
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Friday
8:30 -945am Morning Practice
10-11am Breakfast
12pm- 1pm Inner Child & Joy Workshop
1:30-2:15pm Lunch
3-6pm Free Time: explore VT, journal, walk in nature, sit outside, etc
6:30-7:30p Dinner
8-9pm Evening Restorative
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Saturday
8:30-9:45am Morning Practice
10-11am Breakfast
12-1pm Queer Resilience Workshop
1:30-2:15pm Lunch
2:30p-6pm Option for Snow Making Pond Trip or Free Time
7-8pm Dinner
8:30-9:30p Yoga Nidra
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Sunday
8:30-9:45am Morning Practice
10-11am Breakfast
12-1pm Free Time
1:30-2:15pm Lunch
3-4:30pm Truth and Authenticity workshop
5-6 Free Time
6:30-7:30pm Dinner
8p-9p Campfire
9:30pm Quiet Hours till morning
Monday
9am-10:30am Morning Practice and Closing Community Time
10-10:30am Pack up and strip beds
11-12pm Brunch & closing out rooms before heading home
What to bring
Water bottle
Clothes that you feel comfortable in to practice yoga
Swimsuits or not - Rock River swimming is clothing-optional
Artist supplies, journal or other hobbies for free-time segments
Slippers or house shoes. Willow is a shoe free household.
Hiking shoes and clothes
Headlamp or flashlight
Meet our cats
Willow is home to two sweet and friendly 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.