Dive deep into the rhythms of your own voice on the shores of the pacific with an award-winning writer to guide you at one of the world’s top 25 wellness centers. The equinox is a time of struggle between light and dark. We must write ourselves into that struggle, embracing both light and dark on the page and seeking balance in the art as well as in our bodies and breath. We will lean over the edge of doubt, where new things come from, and crack open a space for the unexpected. We will be challenged and inspired … and laugh – a lot! – while becoming vessels for creativity and breaking new creative ground. Inquire soon, as space is limited. For all levels and genres, including beginners.
Elephant Rock writing retreats are highly unique. People tell us year after year that no matter how many writing workshops or retreats they’ve attended, Elephant Rock is different. We build creatively intense spaces that are also deeply nurturing. This helps to open and challenge every writer at every level to go further into the work, see new angles, discover sharper facets. Our intentional workshops lead you toward unfolding and connecting, discovering and uncovering. We use precise writing exercises to guide us to the page in ways we never imagined. Language comes alive again, grows more elastic and expands with possibility. We welcome writers of all levels and all genres. And we take your work as seriously as we take our own. Many writers find this work life-changing. Read what some have said here.
This retreat is held at the gorgeous, secluded Present Moment in Ixtapa, Mexico. Present Moment, nestled right on the edge of the Pacific, is one of the world’s top 25 wellness centers. This exclusive oceanfront boutique hotel and yoga retreat is situated on a quiet, serene beach in Troncones, thirty minutes up the coast from Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, Mexico. This center offers a breathtaking setting with wellness classes, yoga by the sea, meditation, qigong, dance classes, spa treatments, as well as local adventures such as sunset horseback riding, eco tours, waterfall hiking, kayaking, surf-yoga excursions, surf lessons, and exploring the village.
During our retreat, morning and afternoon writing workshops free up your thinking about words and loosen the binds on your creative process in unexpected ways. Your inner critic will fall away as you surrender to your innate ability to imagine the unknown.
With the ocean at equinox as our backdrop, we will explore themes of water, rhythm, rebirth, and balance in our writing and in the yoga/meditation. We will make full use of our environment to infuse our writing with what can only be found where we are.Writing workshops will include innovative writing exercises that engage powerful aspects of writing craft, including the senses, imagery, dialogue, and sound, among others. For writers with specific goals and projects, fireside chats will provide a space to talk shop and seek advice on specific projects as well as universal challenges of the writing life. Finally, select multi-sensory immersion activities and artistic work will echo and amplify the themes of the writing sessions. Writing workshops will include time for both new writing and revision, and, in the evening, a chance to share and discuss work in progress. Writers will also have the option to receive feedback from Jeannine on up to 7 double-spaced manuscript pages before or after the retreat.
You will end the week with new work in hand, substantial revisioning of a work in progress, or both. You can also expect to come away with many new inroads to your creative practice as well as an array of new craft tools and insights to apply to your work after the retreat is over. Our creative work will be supported by daily yoga and meditation structured specifically to foster and support creative synergy. As you connect your body, mind, and senses through movement and stillness, you release tension and cultivate insight and balance. Ultimately, you hear your own fierce, original voice again, and find exciting new portals through which you can bring that voice to the page.
Your Adventure Includes
- Transportation to and from the airport in ZIH to Present Moment Retreat Center
- 7 nights of lodging in a beautiful private or shared beach side bungalow with its own private bathroom
- Daily guided writing workshops
- Daily Yoga & Meditation Classes
- All Yoga Mats & Props
- 7 Gourmet Breakfast, Lunches, & Dinners. Definitely included is our celebratory closing dinner on our last night—you might want to bring something “ beach fancy” to wear, whatever that means to you!
- Individualized written feedback from an award-winning writer/teacher
- Writing presentations
- Evening entertainment (music, dance, etc.)
- Special session for candlelight yoga and intention setting
*NOT INCLUDED
Transportation to Ixtapa. Trip insurance (recommended, please see cancellation policy)
Alcohol (it is available but not included; if you choose to enjoy, please do so responsibly and not during scheduled programming). Incidental fees, damages, or optional excursions or spa services.
Pricing
Early bird pricing before July 15 only $2950!
Tuition includes 7-nights in a shared double bungalow, 7 gourmet breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, ground transportation to/from Ixtapa airport, daily writing workshops, daily yoga and meditation classes, evening entertainment, readings, and more.
If you attend with two friends or want to share with two people, inquire about a triple bungalow for extra savings! Single occupancy bungalows are extremely limited, and available at an extra cost on a first-come first-serve basis. Inquire early!
Deposit of $1500 holds your spot; full tuition is due by October 15. Payment by check, money order, Zelle, Venmo, Square, or PayPal. Space is limited. Register early!
Cancellation and refund policy
Elephant Rock is a small, family-run writing program and we regret that due to the fixed costs we incur when booking retreats, refunds are available only if Elephant Rock cancels the retreat—which has never happened. In cases of true hardship cancellation, we might be able to apply a portion of your tuition to a future Elephant Rock offering. We highly recommend travel insurance.
Register
Deposit of $1500 holds your spot; full tuition is due by October 15. Payment by check, money order, Zelle, Venmo, Square, or PayPal. Space is limited. Register early!
For further questions, please email elephantrockretreats@gmail.com or call
612-801-2566
Your Leaders
Jeannine
Jeannine is an award-winning writer of memoir, essay, creative nonfiction, and narrative journalism. She is the author of several nonfiction books as well as a children’s picture book, and her writing has appeared widely in literary journals and magazines and been supported by Millay Colony for the Arts, Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, and Tin House, and recognized in many contests including those sponsored by The Iowa Review, Bellingham Review, Masters Review, Narrative, Chattahoochee Review, Fairy Tale Review, Orison, December, Cutthroat, Tiferet, New South Review, and others. Jeannine has been writing, editing, and teaching for more than twenty years and is a writing mentor and instructor with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and the Association of Writers & Writing Programs. She also mentors students at the University of Minnesota, where she works as a writer and editor. Jeannine earned her MFA in Fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and recently completed her first novel. She is the founder of Elephant Rock. You can read her full bio here.
Zoe
Zoe has a bachelor’s degree in Traditional Eastern Arts with a focus in Yoga Studies from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she also completed her 1,000-hour Yoga Teacher Certification. She focuses on the contemplative study of yoga, with a teaching style rooted in the cultural and historical context of the tradition while remaining relevant to today’s lived experiences. Yoga is more than asana (yogic postures). It is the cultivation of connection between mind, body, and spirit. Yoga has been a powerful healing force in Zoe’s life and she is excited to share it. Many of us spend very little time in an embodied state. Zoe knows personally how difficult true embodiment can be. Personal experience has led her to teach in ways sensitive to traumas that might arise during embodiment practices including physical yoga, intentional breath work, guided meditation, and non-denominational chanting. Zoe invites you to come as you are and move into all aspects of your being.
Your Home
Our charming, chic hotel and yoga retreat is located on a quiet, serene beach in Playa Troncones, thirty minutes up the coast from Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Our beautifully designed accommodations and loving staff will please even the most discerning guests.
Present Moment Retreat is a powerfully transformative environment providing experiential training in the cultural arts. Surrounded by the magnificence of earth’s natural beauty, people from around the world come here to grow towards wholeness in their lives. We are dedicated to fostering deep awareness and appreciation of life through the compassionate treatment of all beings, and promoting wisdom and peace in celebration of the human spirit.
Your Boutique Bungalow
Present Moment is the perfect antidote to the chaos of everyday life. Authenticity was imperative in the construction of every inch of this resort. Thus, all bungalows have an indigenous palapa thatched roof, hand-crafted in the Mexican tradition, and are furnished with a pillow top queen-sized bed, luxurious 400 count cotton bedding and a canopy of white linen.
With 5 deluxe bungalows and 3 family bungalows, somewhat blurring the lines between the indoors and out, with its amazing vantage points to the sea, gardens and pool, your accommodation will be the perfect place to rest yourself after a full day of yoga and surf at Present Moment. Just a 30 second walk the beach, let the sounds of the ocean lure you to sleep each night.
With 3 air conditioned suites, for those seeking a little more similarity to the comforts of home. Centrally located, you will be just steps away from the beach, amazing yoga classes, massage, and fine dining. If you enjoy strolling the shore at sunrise, these stunning bungalows will have you on your way in no time. Hand-crafted and beautifully appointed, a true home away from home.
About Troncones & Getting Here
At the heart of charming Troncones Beach, nestled between the lush mountains of the Sierra Madre and the sparkling Mexican Riviera, Present Moment Retreat combines the ambience of nature’s grandeur with personally challenging mind-body work, set in harmony on beautifully-landscaped tropical grounds.
Troncones Beach is a small, recently-developed community situated on some 3 miles of pristine Pacific beach – a strand of white sand punctuated by occasional rock outcroppings often harboring tidepools teeming with fascinating saltwater life. The charming village is home to a small school, a public library (donated by generous local residents for education of the village’s children), a church, several dry goods outlets and a few other small provisioning services for essential items. All of these are couched within a traditional and tropical Mexican ambience.
You can fly into Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, the airport is located only 20 miles north and an easy 45-minute drive. The international airport is serviced by a number of International airlines including Alaska Airlines, Continental, American, America West, Frontier Airlines, Mexicana and Aeromexico. Troncones Beach is highly connected, yet still a world apart. Its proximity to Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo affords you a full choice of shopping conveniences and recreational possibilities, all just a short distance from your world-class yoga retreat and resort. We can assist you with booking all flights and airport transportation.