Join Nancy Slonim Aronie for her extraordinarily popular workshop, “Jump-Start Your Memoir; Write It From The Heart.”

Nancy Slonim Aronie is the author of Writing from the Heart: Tapping the Power of your Inner Voice and Memoir as Medicine: The Healing Power of Writing Your Messy, Imperfect, Unruly (but Gorgeously Yours) Life Story. She has been a commentator for National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and was a visiting writer at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Nancy wrote a monthly column in McCall’s magazine and was the recipient of the Eye of The Beholder Artist in Residence Award at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. She was recognized for excellence in teaching with Robert Coles at Harvard University. She is the founder of The Chilmark Writing Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard and teaches her Jump-Start Your Memoir; Write It From The Heart program at Esalen, Kripalu, Omega Institute, and Blue Spirit in Costa Rica. Her column, "From The Heart" appears biweekly in The Martha’s Vineyard Times.

If you find yourself asking big questions, like “what is my purpose?” or “why do I feel stuck?” or “how do I find contentment?”, this retreat is for you. Whether you know or it or not, yoga practice is rooted in the ultimate quest for independence. Ancient yogis—meditators—sought freedom from the suffering nature of their minds by practicing yoga, studying foundational texts, and embracing the simplicity of monastic life. But short of running away to a mountain cave and meditating for eternity, we feel like freedom from our own ruminating minds is beyond our reach amidst our modern, complicated lives.

Independence Day in the United States offers us an opportunity to explore freedom during Maine’s high summer beauty. Over the course of the holiday weekend, we will study concepts from those same foundational texts that the ancient yogis studied. We will explore freedom in many forms—freedom of body, mind, agency, opinion, finances, and more. As we explore these themes, we will discuss a central question: How do I design a life that feels like me? While we do, we will delight in the simple pleasures of summer in Maine. Cold plunges in the local swimming hole at our back door. Hiking up to the Maine Huts and Trails lodges. Storytelling and s’mores by the fire. Craft brew tastings (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options). Local fireworks, of course.

Celebrate the bounty of the summer solstice and Swedish Midsommar in Maine! Join Santosha at Hillholm Estate for a Nordic weekend to celebrate the solstice and set intentions for the summer to come. The weekend includes hiking, cooking classes in Swedish staples, a late-night party with a traditional crayfish boil, classes in making aquavit and herbal digestives, making fresh flower crowns, a polar plunge to celebrate life, and sauna sessions.

In the noise of today’s busy world, we increasingly understand the critical value of quietude. Step away from the business of daily life and enter serene retreat to gather inward and reflect. Over the course of this five-day retreat, you will find silent companionship with other practitioners. Especially if you are new to silent contemplative experiences, this retreat offers a soft entry into the practice of silence. With daily movement and meditation practices, readings, journaling, and connection to nature outside Hillholm Estate, Santosha presents an array of ways to know yourself better.

Join Santosha at Hillholm Estate for our popular complimentary Signature Yoga Teacher Retreat. If you are a registered yoga teacher seeking space to host your own retreat, we offer a complimentary two-night yoga retreat, including full room and board. Your only expenses during retreat will be any beverages that you purchase at the bar in the Great Room and any Healing Arts treatments you elect. We aim to give you a clear vision of what your students’ retreat at Hillholm Estate will feel like.

Join Santosha at Hillholm Estate for a mindful Mother’s Day in the mountains. Give your mama (or yourself!) the gift of retreat this spring. Open to mothers and their adult children, as well as mothers simply looking to treat themselves for the weekend. No prior experience with yoga necessary.

The weekend features wine (and mocktail!) tastings with chocolate and cheese pairings; an indulgent celebration featuring our chef’s tasting menu; restorative nighttime yoga nidra; and various yoga practices and discussion groups dedicated to exploring divine motherhood.

Join Santosha at Hillholm Estate for a joyful weekend of connection with LGBTQIA+ yogis and allies! We fundamentally believe that deliberately creating queer yoga spaces is critical to building inclusive yoga communities around the world. Our weekend together focuses on finding authenticity in our personal yoga practices; exploring the philosophical roots of yoga and applying those principles to our radical lovingkindness practices; and freeing the body and mind to move in intentional, meaningful ways. Prepare for cold plunges, fireside chats, and comfort in community. This weekend is led by JennyBess Chaim (she/her), founder of Santosha at Hillholm Estate, and an advocate for the right to bodily autonomy of intersex people like her.

Rosh Chodesh coincides with the New Moon each month and provides an opportunity for Jewish womxn to practice cessation of work, self-care, and reflection about the month to come. An ancient ritual reclaimed by modern Jewish womxn, Rosh Chodesh is an opportunity to care for ourselves. Join Santosha to celebrate Rosh Chodesh: non-Jews welcome, of course, and no prior experience with Rosh Chodesh ritual is required. Festive Shabbat dinner of Jewish comfort food on Friday evening. New moon group reiki and sound bath. Dharma discussions regarding the intersection of yoga philosophy and Jewish wisdom traditions. Cold plunge (weather permitting) in mikveh ritual. Deep connection with likeminded womxn.

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats: $350/pp/night for solo travelers, $550/night for two folks traveling together. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

Join Santosha at Hillholm Estate for a jammy weekend of connection to celebrate the Spring equinox! The equinox provides a poignant moment in time to slow down, reconnect with our intentionality to live meaningful lives, and explore ancient teachings that guide us.

Together we will set intentions for the season of abundance to come with various rituals—both indoor and outdoor—and yoga asana practices dedicated to renewal and growth. Our weekend activities include varied modalities of artistic expression—including making mosaic mandalas, crystal bowl sound healing, and yoga nidra—and food renewal exploration, including lessons on Ayurvedic dietary cleansing.

Join Santosha for a weekend of connection and joy with your better half. Cocktail (and mocktail!)-making class with our bar captain. Chef's farm-to-table tasting menu. Skiing, then sauna and jacuzzi dips. Yoga philosophy talks about the nature of love. Cozying up by the fire. Puppy snuggles.

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats: $350/pp/night for solo travelers, $550/night for two folks traveling together. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

Gals, it's time to celebrate yourselves! Join likeminded womxn for a long weekend of cultivating love for ourselves. Learn about the goddesses of yoga mythology as you practice self-inquiry and find the myriad goddesses within yourself. A champagne (and mocktail!) tasting, an Ayurveda workshop and sound healing, and a dressy decadent cocktail party will round out the weekend of ritual. Join us!

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats: $350/pp/night for solo travelers, $550/night for two folks traveling together. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

Thanks to Fire on the Mountain 2024, Sugarloaf Mountain's three-day Grateful Dead festival, Santosha is proud to offer a weekend for your inner trippy hippie! Join us for a weekend of Dead-inspired flows and dharma talks. Then head up to the mountain each day to ski your tush off and listen to all the Dead cover bands playing all weekend.

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats: $350/pp/night for solo travelers, $550/night for two folks traveling together. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

The new year offers us a meaningful opportunity to set intentions for the year to come. Who do I want to be in 2024? What can I shed from 2023? What will I cultivate within me in the new year? Events will include: a New Year’s Eve festive cocktail party; nourishing outdoor walks; rejuvenating rolls in the snow; and more to wake up our souls! Skiers, pack your boots: it's winter in the mountains!

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

Winter may feel like a dark time, but when we turn to Nordic traditions, we find joyful light in the dark. This weekend, we explore themes related to honoring both our light and shadow sides by cultivating inner warmth. The weekend will include a wine tasting experience with our sommelier; a traditional candlelit Swedish winter feast; a close reading of Katherine May’s “Wintering”; and intention-setting for learning “to winter” together. Bring your fuzzy slippers: prepare for a weekend of quiet joy.

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

Join Santosha for a joyful long weekend of delicious wining and dining as we contemplate the (true) spirit of the season. This weekend features a mindful wine tasting course with our sommelier Friday evening; an elegant farm-to-table wine pairing dinner in partnership with Devenish Wines on Saturday evening; and various activities in intention setting and somatic grounding practices with joyful live music and Shanti Kirtan!

Meanwhile, Santosha provides all the programming you know and love from our Holistic Retreats every day, so you have plenty of options outside the program—four daily meals, three daily yoga classes, two daily meditations, our nightly dharma talk, and more. Spend the days in reflection, then wrap up the day with a good soak in the jacuzzi, a steam in our brand new cedar barrel sauna, and a hot toddy by the fire.

$ - The value of this Specialty Retreat is the same as the value of our Holistic Retreats. Learn more about value here. Lift passes, equipment rental, ski lessons, and food/beverage purchased outside Santosha are not included.

Join Nancy Slonim Aronie for her extraordinarily popular workshop, “Jump-Start Your Memoir; Write It From The Heart.”

Nancy Slonim Aronie is the author of Writing from the Heart: Tapping the Power of your Inner Voice and Memoir as Medicine: The Healing Power of Writing Your Messy, Imperfect, Unruly (but Gorgeously Yours) Life Story. She has been a commentator for National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and was a visiting writer at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Nancy wrote a monthly column in McCall’s magazine and was the recipient of the Eye of The Beholder Artist in Residence Award at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. She was recognized for excellence in teaching for all three years she taught with Robert Coles at Harvard University. She is the founder of The Chilmark Writing Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard and teaches her Jump-Start Your Memoir; Write It From The Heart program at Esalen, Kripalu, Omega Institute, and Blue Spirit in Costa Rica. Her column, "From The Heart" appears biweekly in The Martha’s Vineyard Times.

Join award-winning poet and memoirist Brian Turner for three days of writing and camaraderie in the beautiful Western Mountains of Maine.

Whether you ever attended summer camp as a kid or really wish you had, this long weekend is for you! Adults-only summer camp + yoga retreat. Swimming in the local swimming hole at our back door. Hiking to the Maine Huts and Trails lodges. Mountain biking. Water skiing. Arts and crafts: tie-dyeing, anyone? Maine lobster bake. Storytelling and s’mores by the fire. Craft brew tastings and cocktail (and mocktail) making classes. Board game tournament. Dance parties. Summer crush not included. :)

Celebrate the bounty of the summer solstice and Swedish Midsommar in Maine! Join Santosha on the Carrabassett for a Nordic weekend to celebrate the solstice and set intentions for the summer to come. The weekend includes berry foraging, hiking, cooking classes in Swedish staples, a late-night party with a traditional crayfish boil, classes in making aquavit and herbal digestives, making fresh flower crowns, a polar plunge to celebrate life, and sauna sessions.

In collaboration with From The Fishouse, the Hillholm Writing Residency supports emerging writers by providing nurturing time and space to dedicate to their craft. For a two-week period, a cohort of writers enters retreat at Hillholm Estate to work intensively and connect with like-minded artists.

Residency applications are due April 28, 2023 for this cohort. Consistent with the enduring Fishouse philosophy to support emerging writers, Hillholm prioritizes awards to applicants with two or fewer published books of writing, at any stage in their careers. Unlike prior offerings from the Fishouse, Hillholm accepts writers of any written medium, not just poetry.

See details for application process.

Join Santosha for a mini-retreat to celebrate mothers this Mother’s Day weekend! And not to worry: we’ve scheduled the retreat from Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 because we know you’ll want to be home with the rest of the family on Sunday. Give your mama (or yourself!) the gift of retreat this spring.

Open to mothers and their adult children, as well as mothers simply looking to treat themselves for the weekend. No prior experience with yoga necessary.

The weekend features wine (and mocktail) and cheese tastings; an indulgent five-course chef’s tasting menu; a guided woods walk; and yoga practices dedicated to divine motherhood. With gently guided exercises, we will explore common themes of our lived experience as mothers and children, bringing us deeper into community and togetherness.

Join Santosha for a silent retreat to cultivate inner spaciousness and quietude. Whether you are new to silent retreat or not, this experience promises to be regenerative and rejuvenating for all participants. While some silent retreats are known for their extreme austerity, Santosha’s is a balance of intentional effort and structured programming to engage the mind and provide meaningful experiences for all. This retreat is offered in both 5-day (4-night) and 10-day (9-night) formats. Santosha encourages participants to join up daily yoga classes; multiple guided and self-directed meditations; structured reading and written reflection exercises; forest bathing and outdoor meditation; and a nightly dharma talk.

Join Santosha for a silent retreat to cultivate inner spaciousness and quietude. Whether you are new to silent retreat or not, this experience promises to be regenerative and rejuvenating for all participants. While some silent retreats are known for their extreme austerity, Santosha’s is a balance of intentional effort and structured programming to engage the mind and provide meaningful experiences for all. This retreat is offered in both 5-day (4-night) and 10-day (9-night) formats. Santosha encourages participants to join up daily yoga classes; multiple guided and self-directed meditations; structured reading and written reflection exercises; forest bathing and outdoor meditation; and a nightly dharma talk.

Calling all womentrepreneurs: join Santosha on the Carrabassett for our First Annual Working Women’s Summit!

Guided by JennyBess Chaim, join a long weekend of yoga and connection for women building businesses. The experience of being a female entrepreneur has hallmarks of shared experience that women often do not have the opportunity to share. The fear of leaving the beaten path and cutting a new one; the expectations of performance at home and at work; the social biases against trusting women to make rational, smart decisions —these experiences shape how we run our businesses.

Whether you are an established entrepreneur or you’re considering a major career shift into greater autonomy and self-determination, this retreat is for you. Women gather for a long weekend of structured conversations surrounding work/life balance, expectations, resource management, and courage to find common ground in the entrepreneurship experience. Come for the mentorship; come for the community; come for the ideas.

Join Santosha on the Carrabassett for a long weekend especially for our crafty yogis.

Handiwork and storytelling go hand in hand. As we gather around our projects, we trade stories about life outside the circle. Humans have gathered for millennia around handicrafts, finding comfort in shared labor and communal experience. Join fellow crafty yogis and storytellers for a weekend of creativity and recollection. Through stories, we find common threads that bind us. With gently guided exercises, we will explore common themes of our lived experience and tell spontaneous stories about those moments—bringing us deeper into community and togetherness. No prior experience with yoga is necessary.

Calling all writers: join Santosha on the Carrabassett for our First Annual Winter Writers’ Workshop!

In collaboration with From The Fishouse, join fellow writers for a long weekend of creative writing, workshopping, and comradery. Guided by Matt O’Donnell and Christian Barter, writers will work together to hone their craft. Whether you write professionally or you have a memoir waiting in the wings, this weekend will nourish your drive to write.

Join Santosha on the Carrabassett for a jammy weekend of yoga philosophy to celebrate the Spring equinox!

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali codify certain fundamental teachings about yoga philosophy. The Sutras are ripe for discussion and interpretation in modern circles. The spring equinox provides a poignant moment in time to slow down, reconnect with our intentionality to live meaningful lives, and to explore ancient teachings that guide us. If you have loved our dharma talks in the past, this long weekend is the deep dive you have waited for.

Women who have experienced divorce or similar endings to significant partnerships can attest to the myriad ways divorce strips them of parts of their identities. Whether you are recently separated, in the midst of a divorce, recently divorced, or making your way (even re-partnered) after divorce, the same questions about identity connect us.

Studying the Hindu goddesses and their varied myths and attributes helps you remember parts of your identity that make you whole: maybe even parts of you that have languished for some time. Santosha introduces you to the myths, mantras, and mysteries of the goddesses as you explore and rebuild your own inner life.

Paired with the offerings you know and love from our Holistic Retreats, this long weekend promises to be healing and nourishing for all.

Calling all writers!

Join fellow writers for a long weekend of creative writing, workshopping, and camaraderie. Guided by Matt O’Donnell and Christian Barter, writers will work together to hone their craft. Whether you write professionally or for yourself, this weekend will nourish your drive.

Free your heel, free your mind: Join Santosha on the Carrabassett for a long weekend of telemark skiing and Restorative yoga. Bring mindfulness to your telly turns.