Casa Om, Potomac, West Virginia, Monday April 7 - Thursday, April 10, 2025
** I have lowered the cost as we are in uncertain times and I feel many people need this retreat. Payment plans can be arranged.
REACH OUT, AS THERE ARE ONLY 7 SPACES LEFT.
What’s Inlcuded:
3 days and 3 nights in beautiful rooms with courtyeard or river views
Fresh linens and towels
Morning meditations overlooking the Potomac River
Evening fire pit rituals
All meals, snacks, coffee, tea and fresh juice. Ovo-lactoterian. Vegan options can be arranged
Silent hike along the widning trails
Access to the Yoga studio
Hot tub avaialbe
Writing sessions, sharing and creativity exercises
Mindful movement sessions
Free time to integrate the experience, relax and re-treat
One-on-one session with Susan for writing advice during or after the workshop
Ayurvedic wellness advice for balancing with the seasons
Massage and Cold Plunge can be arranged for an additional fee
Our first retreat here in May 2024 was just gorgeous, delightful, amazing! We will once again place ourselves high above the majestic Potomac River at the India-inspired retreat house, Casa Om. Meticulously designed with traditional hand-crafted furnishings from India, Casa Om is close to both Baltimore and Washington D.C., in Martinsburg, West Virginia, on over 60 acres with stunning views and wilderness. Surrounded by nature, hiking trails, caves, and all sorts of places to explore, spark your imagination, and find your muse, I’ve found the perfect spot for us to settle in, pull out the pen and notebook, and feel the magic of free writing.
Drawing upon the principles of Ayurveda, we will take the best qualities of your unique dosha (a dosha quiz will be sent to you before the retreat) to guide you in an Embodied Writing Practice to detox, clarify, remove blockages, and engage you to your core, bringing forth your innate creativity for healing your mind and body. The Practice includes writing to prompts, using remedies like essential oils, body oils, mindful movement, guided meditation, and breathwork to ignite your inner pharmacy, open the channels, and allow the prana to flow. No writing experience is necessary. You will be gently guided into each practice, including deep listening to yourself and others.
The experiential workshop will renew your imagination and inspiration, allowing you to take the practices used in the workshop home with you. Designed specifically for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas, a food list to support you will be provided along with writing prompts and instructions, Ayurvedic rules, tools, and remedies to use every season.
Our mid-week retreat is limited to 10 people to ensure quality time to write, share feedback, and explore the inner and outer worlds we will dive into. No writing experience is necessary. The retreat is open to all – whether you haven't written in a notebook since grade school, or you are a published novelist! The method that we use is designed to encourage and support you right where you are.
So why should you come?
Because even if you don’t know it, or don’t believe it, you have a story to tell. And others need to hear it. No matter what stage of life you are in, you have had unique experiences and writing allows you to discover your voice, your expressions, and your story-telling abilities. That story – your story – has been trying to be told and now is the time to honor that. Trauma, joy, grief, elation, pain, once it is down on the page, the healing and understanding can begin. And the thrill of hearing yourself reading your own words aloud is indescribable!
Being in the company of others who want to understand themselves and the world through the written word is a way of creating community, which we so desperately need right now. Come to this retreat to see that you are not alone, your journeys and adventures overlap with others. You are the hero of your own story, and you might be the hero in someone else's.
Come for some quiet time. Contemplation. Reflection. Stillness. Be in nature, Be alone and with others. Do this for you.
Details:
Write & Roam Casa Om is a 3-night and 4-day retreat. Check-in is at 3 pm on Monday, April 7. Check out at noon on Thursday, April 10. The address is 681 Carlyle Rd, Martinsburg, WV 25404. Casa Om is about an hour from D.C. and 1.5 hours from Baltimore. If you are flying in, you can fly to BWI, Dulles or Reagan National and rent a car.
Meals are all included, gourmet vegetarian (vegan available), including a light breakfast, lunch and dinner. Coffee, tea, and beverages are also provided.
Please note there is no smoking, no drugs, no alcohol, no meat, no fish, and no pets.
A swimming pool and hot tub are included in the price. Ice baths and massages are available for an additional fee.
Payment plans can be arranged! Please ask.
Rooms and Costs:
DUE TO THE PRECARIOUS SITUATION WE ARE IN IN THE U.S., I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR JOBS AND INCOME. FOR THAT REASON I HAVE REDUCED THE COST OF THE ROOMS BY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME BUT CAN’T AFFORD IT AT THIS TIME LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN WORK OUT A PLAN.
A nonrefundable $500 deposit will hold your place. If you need to cancel and we find another person to take your place, I will refund the deposit. If you cancel less then 3 weeks before the retreat, I will not be able to refund you. If you are coming alone and would like to be paired with a roommate let me know I will try to make that happen. If a roommate cannot be found, you will be responsible for the single room rate.
Payments can be made to: Venmo: susan-weis-bohlen (last four of mobile are 2096); PayPal to susanweisbohlen@gmail.com using the send friends money option; Zelle: 4109792096; Checks: Breathe Books, 20 Clarks Lane, Reisterstown, Md 21136
Read through the room offerings and email me with your choice. First come, first served. susan@susanweisbohlen.com, or text me at 410-979-2096.
Reduced prices are reflected in the choices of your rooms:
Rooms # 1 & 2 (main level) and 9 & 10 (lower level):
These rooms have 2 twin beds each, and a private bathroom. Perfect for 2 friends sharing. Rooms 9 and 10 on the lower-level open to a deck.
Cost: $1199 as single; $1099 shared, each;
Room #3 BOOKED
Features a king-size bed, a sleep sofa, a private bathroom, and a lovely view of the Potomac. Main level.
Cost: $1299 as single; $1099 each if sharing
Room # 4
Features a queen bed, private bathroom, and a view of the courtyard and forest. Second floor.
Cost: $1199 as single; $999 each if sharing
Room #5 BOOKED
Features a king-size bed, river view, a couch that can also be used as a bed, and a private bathroom. Second floor.
Cost: $1299 as single; $1099 each if sharing
Room #6:
Features a Queen bed with a private bath and a courtyard view. Second level.
Cost: $1199 as single; $999 each if sharing
Room #7
Features a King bed and private bath and a beautiful river view. Second level.
Cost: Cost: $1299 as single; $1199 each if sharing
Room # 8 BOOKED
Features a king-size bed, a couch that can also be used as a bed, a private bathroom, and a private balcony. This room can take 4 additional people at the shared rate. Second level.
Cost: Cost: $1499 as single; $1399 each if sharing
Testimonials:
“What a glorious week! I’ve just returned from Casa Om Potomac after a few days of a writing retreat led by Susan Weis-Bohlen. It was a fun, inspiring, and a safe space to be creative. I made new friends and they are all goddess warriors. We laughed, cried, and danced. Share your story. Open your heart. You will find magic!” Alex H.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to connect with so many creative, special women at the Casa Om workshop. Your facilitation was excellent. Casa om was beautiful, the food was excellent, and just unwinding along the beautiful Potomac river with the birds and the groundhogs and other beautiful nature sounds and beautiful grounds was a real healing for me. The opportunity to share and write about our experiences past, present and future dreams was also a healing for me. I hope to attend future seminars and experiences with you and maybe even a trip to a beautiful place that you and Larry explore with others. I highly recommend your workshops to creative people who want to explore their inner lives, creative writing skills, and express in dialogue their thoughts, experiences and wisdom, as well as, humor and laughter. As an observant Jew I enjoyed the mid week schedule as well.”
Shoshana S.
“I. LOVE. SUSAN'S. WRITING. CLASS and the Gateless method. This class allowed me to discover my writer. If you've ever had an inkling to write, then this is where you can discover your voice. It's encouraging and supportive, inviting your writer to come out and explore. Susan provides a safe environment to express yourself whether it's a list of words, phrases, or sentences.” MR
“My Write-and-Roam trip to Iceland under Susan's enthusiastic leadership was just what the doctor ordered! Great generative prompts, helpful crafts tips, wonderful writing and feedback, amazing sights, and delicious meals in simple but elegant lodging amongst a group of warm, open, intuitive women (and one man). Our Icelandic guide Heida was terrific too. Highly recommend.” DR
“My favorite parts of the trip were having regular writing practice to look forward to, and the restaurants were enjoyable. The trip was well led and planned and well explained, and what was planned was clear. There was enough flexibility and light-heartedness to make it easy and fun. The writing time really helped to break the ice and to get acquainted with each other.” CM