Upcoming

Retreat

Writing from Your Body: Come home to your self, find your voice

A Writing on the Verge x Laura Khoudari retreat

Friday October 2, 2026 - Sunday October 4, 2026 
South Hadley, MA

This fall, deepen your writing practice, connect with your body, share space with other creative people, and immerse yourself in peak New England leaf-season at this new retreat! Group activities, interactive writing sessions, and gentle movement prompts will re/awaken your creativity. The beautiful setting and local food provide the perfect escape from everyday life – and it’s only a weekend, so even the busier among us should be able to find the time. 

We believe that when you come home to your body, you find your voice. So often, we live our lives as if we’re brains in jars. We end up writing that way, too. How can we write fictional characters who feel like they have actual lives off the page? How can we remember more deeply and more clearly when writing memoir? And what happens to our creative work when we connect with our physical bodies, when we tend to our bodies and consider them as part of our creative practice? 

About Your Retreat Leaders

Laura Khoudari and Amy Shearn, are both writers who have found ourselves asking all these questions. Laura’s background as a trauma-informed personal trainer and coach informs her writing—from her book Lifting Heavy Things which has been recognized by The New York Times and NPR and her personal essays on food and sexuality. Amy is the author of 5 novels, and has taught writing for nearly 20 years, including a beloved course called Writing for Women on the Verge. We’re both queer women in midlife, whose work explores hunger, desires, and life upheavals of all kinds. 

We are so excited to be collaborating on this retreat, which we envision as a co-created safe and inspiring time for writers looking to get to know themselves better and bring a more physical awareness to their work.

What’s Included:

  • a Friday night cocktail/mocktail hour and welcome activity

  • an optional Saturday morning yoga class at a nearby Studio

  • two Saturday generative writing sessions during which we will practice bringing the body into our writing through gentle movement and the senses along with writing prompts

  • Saturday lunch

  • Residency time Saturday evening to free-write in community

  • a Sunday morning journaling and sharing session

  • Sunday morning cider donuts, coffee, and tea

Location:

It takes place in a private home in beautiful South Hadley, Massachusetts, in the famed Pioneer Valley.  Ample street parking is available and it is walking distance to the Village Commons which boasts restaurants, shopping, and a yoga studio as well as the famously gorgeous Mount Holyoke College campus.

This Retreat is For:

This retreat is for writers of all genres and levels, and for the writing-curious. We will be doing some simple movement you can do seated at your desk to connect more deeply with our bodies, and the writing will be in the form of generative exercises that can apply to a journaling practice as well as works of fiction or nonfiction. There will also be some time to freewrite together in community. If you’re interested in creative expression and you have a physical body, this is for you! 

Sign up for the retreat mailing list for early access to registration!

October 2 - October 5

Writing from Your Body Retreat Fee: $750

Please note that the retreat fee does not include lodging or transportation. We can provide a listing of local hotels, and there are many charming airbnbs in the area!

Sign up for the retreat mailing list for early access to registration

Retreat Mailing List

Hire Laura to lead a workshop for you

Offerings

WORKSHOP

Writing as a Pathway to Self Care, Personal Discovery and Healing: A Narrative Healing Workshop: Featuring Laura Khoudari & Lisa Weinert

Unlock the healing power of writing. In this immersive two part workshop Narrative Healing author and founder Lisa Weinert, and trauma-informed coach and author Laura Khoudari, will guide you through the healing power of storytelling with a mindbody approach to writing. 

This two-part, trauma-sensitive workshop, offers gentle embodied movement and mindfulness practices, along with writing prompts to wake up the stories we’re holding in our bodies so we can process them, release their meaning, and utilize their true impact. The result is finding your authentic voice in everything you do and say. 

This program can be tailored to audiences big and small. Ideal for: 

  • Workplace Wellness Programs

  • Wellness Retreats

  • Health and Wellness Centers

  • Conference

PRESENTATION

Book Talks: Lifting Heavy Things Fireside Chat with Laura

Did you read Lifting Heavy Things, and now you want to share its lessons with your community or organization? Would you like to engage in a lively conversation with me and ask me questions tailored to your community’s needs? Using a fireside chat format, book talks are an excellent way to do just that. 

These events allow you to explore the themes in Lifting Heavy Things in a way that aligns with the people that make up your community. You are the expert in you after all! 

This program is designed for audiences as small as 20 or as big of the audience that your venue can hold. Ideal for:

  • Workplace Wellness Programs

  • Wellness Retreats

  • Health and Wellness Centers

  • Fitness Studios

  • Continuing Education Programs for Wellness Professionals

ONLINE DIRECTORY

Movement@Home

I no longer offer my own personal training services. I remain committed to community care, which means supporting clients, people looking for support, and other fitness professionals. I encourage you to refer to Movement@Home for my crowdsourced directory of trauma-informed and HAES-aligned movement practitioners offering remote at-home services.

BESPOKE EVENTS

Custom Workshop With Laura

In addition to my programs above, I can also create custom offerings for your event and audience. Whether it's combining elements of Mindful Movement, Writing About Trauma, and/or a Book Talk or working with you to design a custom trauma-informed wellness event, I'd love to partner with you.

Ideal for:

  • Wellness Retreats

  • Writing Retreats

  • Professional Support Organizations

  • Workplace Wellness Programs

  • Health & Wellness Centers

  • Writing Groups

Testimonials

  • "Laura helped students understand how coaching can be adapted to account for trauma, embodiment, and the lived experiences people carry with them into training. She made meaningful connections between physical practice and questions of spirituality, helping students think about exercise as something that can shape how we understand ourselves and move through the world with grace. The way she engaged students’ questions and connected her work across exercise science, trauma, and personal history made the session meaningful and practical. We highly recommend her!"

    Laanna Carrasco, Instructor, Harvard Extension School

  • "Laura's trauma work in using strength training as an embodied movement practice is a much needed conversation on college campuses. I was so excited to invite Laura to share her knowledge to our students, faculty and staff members. Laura was able to provide easy movement-based exercises that students can practice in the comfort of their own spaces as well as opening the idea that the campus gym can be a supportive space for all bodies. Thank you, Laura, for introducing embodied movement within an inclusive and trauma informed lens. Your work is truly an essential component in wellness."

    - Ju Hong, Director of Be Well, Mount Holyoke College

  • “Laura artfully connects with and inspires the audience through her knowledgeable, engaging delivery and reassuring presence."

    – Brooke Rosenbauer, Senior Manager, Corporate Social Resonsibility, at Guardian Life

  • "With expertise and compassion, Laura guided our group of animal welfare and veterinary professionals through a series of powerful reflections and writing exercises. Laura brings a unique blend of knowledge, humor, and humanity to her trauma-informed writing workshop and the experience was very well received by everyone who attended. I highly recommend Laura's services!"

    - Jessica Dolce, The Compassion in Balance Program

  • “Delightful, raw, original -- Laura is a powerhouse speaker with a message that will help heal the world.”

    – Kate Eckman, Senior Vice President, Verb Technology

  • "I was privileged to get to work with Laura to craft a discussion at the Care4You conference for helping professionals about boundaries, trauma, and her empowering journey into powerlifting. She was warm, authentic, and utterly professional at every step along the way. She’s a captivating speaker and lovely person. I hope we get to work together again soon!"

    – Sarah Stewart, Owner and Lead Trainer, Open Minds

  • “In the middle of the pandemic, I asked Laura to facilitate Lifting Heavy Things to my online trauma-informed movement group. From the moment Laura started her presentation I knew her voice would be heard. She has a very natural way to incorporate her education, experience and vision for mindful movement that inspires you to move from within. Laura’s presentation was such a treat that comforted me when everything around was unknown. She is an inspiration!” -Riikka Wilson, Owner, Riivve Body

    -Riikka Wilson, Owner, Riivve Body

  • "“Thank you. You seem so authentic and approachable- your genuineness in this conversation and difficult (and highly relatable!) story was inspiring.”

    -Anonymous, Attendee, Book Talk for Bergen’s Promise

Prior Offerings

PRESENTATIONS & SPEAKING

Pilates People’s Exhale 2024 Retreat

Embodied Journal Program

New Jersey Integrated Mental Health Conference 2023

Mindful Movement: The Most Empowering, Transformative, and Self Compassionate Approach to Moving More and Feeling Better Even if You Hate the Gym

Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma 27th Annual San Diego Summit
Mindful Movement: The Most Empowering, Transformative, and Self Compassionate Approach to Moving More and Feeling Better Even if You Hate the Gym

Somatic Experiencing International
Lifting Heavy Things: Using Strength Training To Support Trauma Healing - A Three Part Webinar

La Clinica De La Raza
Embodied and Resilient: Shifting Your Relationship to Exercise and Movement Through Practice, Resources, Relationships, and Strengths

Social Justice Body Movement Summit
Trauma-Informed Strength Training

TEND Academy Annual CARE4YOU Conference
How Do We Talk About Trauma? A Discussion on Boundaries

Williamsburg Strengthworks’ Queer Culture & Fitness Panel Discussion
Panelist

Science of Touch
Masterclass Guest

The Breathe Network
Making The Body a Safe Space: A Somatic Approach to Establishing a Sense of Safety in Your Own Body

Goodwill Excel School
Lifting Heavy Things: A Workshop

BOOK TALKS

Harvard University Extension School, Cambridge, MA

Imperial College Healthcare — National Healthcare Service Trust, London, England

Bergen’s Promise, Hackensack, NJ

Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Reebok Women’s Network, Boston MA

Stefanie Michelle Binge Eating Recovery, Online

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Compassionate Badassery Labs
Writing About Trauma

Narrative Healing
Writing About Trauma with Lisa Weinert

MOVEMENT WORKSHOPS

The Breathe Network
Making The Body A Safe Space

Being In Body
Intro to Embodied Strength Training

Riive Body
Workshop on Movement and Stress

National Cathedral School
Intro to Embodied Strength