SUMMER RETREAT
Embodied Dharma
AN IMMERSION INTO THE SUBTLE
DYNAMICS OF BODY AND MIND
with Paul Wooden &
Samantha Coker-Godson
Jan, 24 - 26, 2026
FORM, FEELING & FREEDOM
Cultivating coherence in a fragmented world
Talbot, Victoria
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We invite you to join us for an experiential journey through the rich terrain of pranayama, meditation, embodied movement, restorative asana and a shared inquiry into Embodied Dharma.
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This retreat will be physically gentle but internally rich as we embark of an intimate, soul nourishing exploration of the form, feeling and freedom of embodied living.
This intimate process of embodiment is a curious thing.
In simple terms it means inhabiting the living field of the body.
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To enter this dynamic field and explore its uncharted terrain requires patience, and a deeply attuned kind of listening.
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For the body to open to our invitations and invite us in, we must approach the boundaries of our experience with an attitude of complete openness, free from agendas or expectations. We must meet our experience exactly as it is, and wait for the body to soften, to yield, and to extend its sacred invitation.
Such presence is the most powerful and transformative quality we can bring to any relationship.
This kind of encounter is nourishing and fulfilling in its own right and has the potential to awaken something essential within us.
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Embodiment is not a state we achieve and then it’s done.
It is, fundamentally, a relational intimacy, unfolding moment to moment, with the living contours of life.
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January 24 - 26, 2026
in
Talbot, Victoria
cost is $150 base (to cover costs)
and
Dana or Donation
(for the teachers)
DAILY PROGRAMME. SATURDAY 24th
9:30am: - Arrive, setting the scene
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10:00am - 1:00pm:
Meditation, gentle asana, pranayama,
Lunch (simple vegetarian meal provided)
3.00pm - 6:30pm:
Restorative postures, Meditation, Dharma exploration
You can expect this retreat to be physically gentle but internally rich as we embark of an
intimate and soul nourishing exploration together.
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DAILY PROGRAMME. SUNDAY 25th
6:45am - 9,00am:
Silent meditation, gentle asana, pranayama
Breakfast (provided)
10:30am - 1:00pm:
Silent meditation, restorative postures, silent mediation, embodiment explorations, silent mediation
Lunch (simple vegetarian meal provided)
3.00pm - 5:30pm
Time in Local Nature (location weather dependant)
Dinner (light soup provided)
7:00pm. Evening program
DAILY PROGRAMME. MONDAY 26th
​6:45am - 9am:
Silent meditation, embodied movement, pranayama
Breakfast (provided)
10:00am - 1:00pm:
Silent meditation, integration/partner work, silent mediation, open exploration.
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Closing
Teachers: Paul Wooden and Samantha Coker-Godson
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Venue: Talbot Town Hall (15 Ballarat St, Talbot) and The Farm (85 Baker Rd, Amherst (near the corner of Baker and Collings Rd)
Meals: Simple vegetarian meals will be provided
Accommodation: Camping at the Farm, or offsite accommodation (self arranged).
About Paul Wooden
Booking & Cancellation Policy
Paul has been practicing and studying yoga and meditation for 40 years and teaching for 35 years.
He draws from his experience in many different styles and traditions and, through a practical understanding of their underlying unifying principles, weaves together a cohesive and integrated approach to yoga.
Paul is a unique voice in the world of yoga. He has a way of bringing the sometimes abstract teaching of yoga into ordinary language making them accessible and workable in our lives.
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For Paul, yoga is first and foremost a relational process, with technique being a way to serve a deepening and more intimate relationship with ongoing moment to moment reality of our lives.
Working with Paul is an invitation to the deeper dimensions of practice. His particular way of working opens us to the sensitivity and receptivity necessary for the subtler inner practices. He has been running retreats for over 2 decades and finds them fertile ground for real transformation.
He continues to study the inexhaustible richness of the wisdom traditions and complements these studies with a more contemporary understanding of the human condition, including developmental psychology, integral theory and trauma work (somatic experiencing) which seeks to help uncover and release the binding patterns of trauma in the body.
About Samantha
Samantha, the founder of Dharma Circle is currently a bit of a nomad, taking every opportunity to explore new ways and setting to share the teachings and make available the path of awakening.
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Samantha supports the sangha (community of practitioners) to rest in and give nourishment to, a deep sense of connection, openness and ground that is not bound to a physical location - the vastness of awakened heart and mind is the ever present spring well of the Dharma.
