Beyond the Noise
Yoga + Writing Retreat in the Hudson Valley
Four days of yoga + guided writing in an intentionally intimate group. You’ll return to what’s true for you and leave with real momentum on the page and in your life.
August 27-30, 2026
Only 2 spots left (all private rooms). When they’re gone, registration closes. Interested? Get the details.
Embark on a Journey to Nourish Your Soul
Peel away from the demands of day-to-day life and chart your own unique path forward in the Catskill Mountains. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to pause and reconnect with yourself and your creative purpose.
Dates: Aug 27–30, 2026
Where: Spruceton Inn, West Kill, NY
Group size: Only 7 guests (intimate by design)
Rooms: All private rooms
Includes: Lodging + all meals + daily yoga + daily writing sessions
Investment: $3,000
Join us where the stars shine bright for a restorative experience that will pay you back in droves.
You'll Leave With
A practice of purposeful movement that cultivates centered attention, inner steadiness, and forward momentum you’ll carry off the mat.
Writing tools and resources that will help you keep going when the work gets challenging, along with access to a community that cares.
A nervous system “downshift” you can return to whenever you need it, offering real relaxation, better sleep, and stress relief that holds steady when life gets busy.
A reframing of the efforts you’ve made up to this time that will free you creatively and boost your words on the page, giving you direction and momentum to continue.
A solid mindfulness practice that will bring you the clarity to respond with intention and chart your own unconventional path forward.
The seeds of a writing practice that you can truly commit to and grow as you go.
What’s Included
Daily vinyasa flow yoga
Daily writing in community
Options for restorative yoga and/or guided meditation
Opportunities for individual and group feedback on your work
Hiking, swimming, and time in nature
Support for taking yourself to the next stage of your project, your mindset, or both
Accommodations for three nights and four days
All meals
And much more
Your Own Quiet Space to Land
Each guest has a private room, so you can enjoy true downtime for rest, reflection, and writing. Rooms are rustic with a Swedish-minimal feel and thoughtful comforts for retreat life.
Queen bed
Private bathroom with tub/shower combo
Kitchenette essentials (varies by room), including mini fridge, dishes/glassware/silverware. Some rooms include stovetop + sink + pots/pans. All rooms have natural bath products.
Pour-over coffee setup
Heat + AC
Complimentary WiFi (not particularly fast—perfect for getting offline)
Accessible option available
What People Are Saying
What is it?
Join 500-hour certified yoga teacher Elizabeth Voetsch and award-winning author Jen Doll for a three-night, four-day yoga and writing retreat at the Spruceton Inn in West Kill, New York. Through our program of yoga, writing, and mindfulness, we’ll help you tune in to your inner knowing, nourish your creative forces, and chart your own unique path forward on the mat and on the page.
Join us if you...
Are craving the chance to be around like-minded people in a beautiful natural space and create.
Want some time away from it all to reflect and plan your next creative move.
Feel that your yoga and/or writing practice has slipped in keeping up with daily life or the news of the day, and you want to recommit.
Want greater clarity about yourself and your projects.
Are feeling stalled or are just trying to get started, in writing or yoga or both.
Are curious about any of this and want to be inspired.
If you’re even considering it, share your information — openings are rare in a group this small.
Investment
$3,000
Included in the cost: Accommodations, all meals and beverages, daily yoga classes and workshops, daily writing workshops, tailored writing support for your particular situation, guided meditation, and outdoor recreational opportunities like hikes and swimming.
What’s NOT included: Staff tips, alcohol (available for purchase at the Inn), additional food purchases at the Inn, any other personal expenses, any meals outside the Inn, travel expenses, line-editing or developmental editing work on manuscripts or works in progress (this may be arranged after the retreat, for a fee).
Full and final non-refundable payment of $3,000 is due after July 1, 2026.
Meet Your Hosts
Elizabeth Voetsch
Yoga TeacherElizabeth Voetsch is a 500-hour certified yoga teacher who has been teaching yoga, mindfulness, and somatic awareness for 20 years. Before yoga, she spent 16 years as a classical ballet dancer. During that time, she realized she’d lost connection to herself and her body. Yoga became the path back, helping her rebuild trust from the inside out and learn to listen within. The importance of respecting one’s body and intuition was borne of personal experience. On retreat, Elizabeth holds steady space and offers support so students may connect with their inner teacher and make the best decisions for themselves. Her focus is on helping students find balance — mentally, physically, emotionally — rather than striving for an external ideal. Elizabeth’s goal is to empower people to honor what their inner voice is telling them so that they can find their own path forward.
Jen Doll
Jen Doll is the award-winning author of three books: The memoir Save the Date: The Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest and two young adult novels, That’s Debatable and Unclaimed Baggage. Throughout her multi-decade career, she’s contributed essays, reviews, reported pieces, and more to publications including the Atlantic, the New York Times, New York, GQ, Marie Claire, and the Village Voice. Also an editor, Jen brings an enormous wealth of knowledge to the practices of writing, revising, getting unstuck, and renewing one’s focus on creative meaning. She is also full of wise insights on the business of publishing itself. A former artist resident at the Spruceton Inn and an active member of several different writers’ groups and communities, she’s thrilled to be hosting a retreat here for the first time. Jen is currently working on a novel, this one for adults.
AuthorSample Itinerary
Thursday
4 PM Arrive, settle in
5 PM Meet and greet
5:30 PM Dinner
7 PM Restorative yoga
8 PM Group night write
Friday
7 AM Group early write
8 AM Breakfast
9 AM Vinyasa flow yoga
10:30 AM Free time
12 PM Lunch
2 PM Group hike
3:30 PM Group writing
5:30 PM Dinner
7 PM Guided meditation
7:30 PM Group night write
Saturday
7 AM Group early write
8 AM Breakfast
9 AM Vinyasa flow yoga
10:30 AM Free time
12 PM Lunch
2 PM Swim and sun
3:30 PM Group writing
5:30 PM Dinner
7 PM Yoga Nidra
7:30 PM Group night write
Sunday
7 AM Group early write
8 AM Breakfast
9 AM Vinyasa flow yoga
10 AM Closing ceremony
12 PM Say goodbye
The objective of this retreat is not just to find a moment of peace — it’s to cultivate conviction in your own truth, to help you walk your own path and tell your own story. When you gain access to your inner voice, your inner knowing, your life changes from the inside out.
Frequently Asked Questions
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All yoga classes are mixed level. We’ll begin each day with an energizing Vinyasa Flow class, and then there will be optional Restorative and Yin Yoga classes offered, in addition to Yoga Nidra, and guided meditation.
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Nope! All levels are welcome. However, you may get more from the retreat if you have some foundational knowledge in both areas, or at least a strong desire to practice.
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We will write together throughout the day, in timed stints. Just showing up and doing the work together can change things immeasurably. If you need prompts, they will be provided — wherever you are in your work, we will meet you. We will also discuss our various challenges and solutions for sustaining our creativity in challenging times. There will be an opportunity to share work, but no requirement to do so.
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Comfortable, easy clothes for writing, yoga, and hiking. Your yoga mat. A swimsuit and possibly a beach towel. We recommend a sweatshirt or two in case nights get chilly, and you may want bug spray. Whatever you write on/with: Notebook, laptop, both? Any writing implements or other things you find useful for your writing practice.
Note: We will supply yoga props like blocks, bolsters, and straps.
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Though all meals will be supplied, you are welcome to bring any snacks and drinks you wish to have on hand for yourself. Each room has a mini-fridge and a supply of dishes and silverware, salt, pepper, and olive oil, plus its own pour-over coffee setup. Each room also has a private bath with all-natural bath products.
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The best way to get here is to drive.
If you’re renting a car and coming from NYC, we alternatively recommend hopping Metro North to Poughkeepsie and renting a car there. It’s cheaper, and you don’t have to deal with city traffic!
Still determined to get here via public transport? Your best bet is to take an Adirondack Trailways bus to Phoenicia or Kingston (about $40 from NYC) then arrange for a local taxi like Dawn2Dusk to pick you up. Just know that because this is such a rural area, companies will often charge upwards of $80 a ride, even if it's just 15 minutes. -
There is complimentary wifi, but it may be slow. That’s OK, this is your chance to get offline!
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All payments are final. If you must cancel, you must notify us in writing by June 1, 2026, to be eligible for a refund of payments made beyond the deposit. Refunds are only issued if we are able to fill your vacated spot from our waitlist. After June 1, 2026, all payments are strictly non-refundable. We highly recommend purchasing Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) travel insurance to protect your investment.
