Dr. Laura Thompson offers retreats and workshops at Kripalu that explore creativity as a restorative practice for well-being, self-discovery, and transformation. Blending mindfulness, meditation, yoga, expressive arts, nature connection, and reflective inquiry, her programs invite participants to reconnect with their inner wisdom, navigate life's transitions, and cultivate a more creative and meaningful way of being.

Signature Retreats

Reclaim Your Creativity

It is easy to compare ourselves to others—wishing we were more productive, more creative, more talented, or more successful. Yet each of us enters the world with the same infinite spark of creative potential. Creativity is not a gift reserved for a select few; it is an essential part of being human. When nurtured with curiosity, compassion, and courage, it blossoms into our unique expression and way of moving through the world. When neglected, judged, or silenced, this vital part of ourselves can become diminished.

Join Kripalu faculty member Dr. Laura Thompson for a joyful and liberating journey of reconnecting with your creative spark and discovering where it longs to lead you. Through yoga, meditation, expressive arts, movement, reflection, and community, you will explore:

• The Kripalu approach to compassionate, playful creativity

• The inner critic and the beliefs that may block authentic expression

• Your creative identity through experiential and embodied practices

• The interconnectedness of visual art, writing, movement, and sound as pathways to self-awareness and well-being

• Simple tools and practices to revitalize current, past, or future creative endeavors

• Ways to access, trust, and follow your own creative wisdom

Creativity is a powerful source of healing, resilience, joy, and transformation. Through mindful art-making, meditation, and reflective practices, participants will release self-doubt, awaken imagination, and reconnect with the authentic creative voice that lives within.

2026 Dates: March 3–6 | May 8–10 | August 14–16 | October 23–26

Embracing Life's Changes: Find Your Dharma Through Creativity

Are you standing at a turning point, wondering what comes next? Whether you're navigating burnout, entering retirement, adjusting to an empty nest, or processing grief and life changes, this retreat is designed to help you reconnect with your true self and chart a new course forward.

Join Dr. Laura Thompson at Kripalu for a transformative retreat blending yoga, mindfulness, and expressive art practices like movement, writing, painting, and collaging. Together, we’ll explore meaningful questions about purpose and fulfillment, guided by the four aims of life in Hindu philosophy—Dharma (purpose), Artha (prosperity), Kama (love), and Moksha (liberation).

Through reflective exercises, community discussions, and artistic exploration, you’ll uncover your personal dharma path and gain clarity about the next steps in your journey. Leave with renewed energy, optimism, and a creative vision for embracing life’s possibilities.

2026 Dates: June 19–21 | December 27–29

Kripalu R & R Programs

Throughout the year, Laura also serves on Kripalu's Rest & Renewal (R & R) faculty, offering a variety of experiential workshops that invite participants to slow down, reconnect, and engage creativity as a pathway to presence and well-being.

Awakening Creativity: Remembering Your True Nature

In this 90-minute workshop, reawaken your innate creativity as a pathway to presence and self-discovery. Through simple guided practices—including collaborative drawing, contemplative listening, and intuitive watercolor painting—you’ll explore creativity as a natural expression of your true self. 

Art as Ritual: Letting Go and Finding Peace

Are you ready to release what no longer serves you and invite in more peace, compassion, and ease? In this 90-minute workshop, explore how ancient cultural rituals can deepen self-care and renewal through the integration of yoga, meditation, and art. Begin with Tonglen, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation of “taking and sending,” followed by an artistic interpretation of the Jewish ceremony Tashlich, symbolically casting off obstacles. Conclude with an expressive arts activity and meditation to set your Sankalpa—a heartfelt intention for your ongoing spiritual journey. 

Forest Bathing with Drawing

Step into the healing presence of the natural world and awaken your senses through art and mindfulness. In this 90-minute workshop, experience forest bathing—slow, intentional time in nature that fosters calm, clarity, and connection. Through guided meditation, breath awareness, and simple observational drawing, you’ll learn to truly see and engage with the environment around you, noticing the intricate life, textures, and patterns that sustain and surround us.

Chanting and Collage: An Embodied Practice

In this 90-minute workshop, experience how sound, movement, and touch awaken your creative energy. Through simple chanting, breathwork, and hands-on collage-making, you’ll explore how sensory experiences help release tension, open the heart, and express emotion through color and texture. No art or chanting experience needed—just a willingness to listen, feel, and create from the body’s wisdom.

The Art of Slow

Discover the restorative potential of slowing down in this gentle 90-minute workshop. You are warmly invited to step out of the momentum of daily life and into a space of kindness and curiosity, where you can honor your own pace. Through multi-sensory practices—deep seeing, mindful movement, conscious breathing (pranayama), and intuitive mark-making—you’ll be supported in arriving just as you are.

For upcoming dates, registration information, and program updates, visit Kripalu.