4 Week Yoga & Pottery Retreat in India
8 Strangers, 4 Weeks, Our Family Home & Memories for a Lifetime.
It’s no surprise that our 4 Week Pottery Retreat is one of our most loved programs.
When people are travelling all the way from Australia, the UK, Europe, or the USA, one week often feels a little too short. Two weeks is wonderful, but four weeks is usually where people settle in, find their rhythm, and really make the most of everything the retreat has to offer.
If someone asks me how long they should stay at Aura, my answer is usually quite simple. One week is enough to discover pottery. Two weeks is enough to build confidence. Four weeks give you enough time to make the studio feel like your own. Eight weeks? You’re basically a part of the farm by now.
Vina, Arlene, Sue and Melinda from the UK enjoying their studio time.
The first couple of weeks are spent learning techniques, understanding clay, and becoming comfortable with both hand-building and wheel throwing. By the third week, something interesting starts to happen. Guests stop focusing so much on learning pottery and start focusing on what they actually want to create.
Ideas have had time to develop. Skills have had time to catch up. And there is enough room to experiment, make mistakes, and try again.
The 4 Week Retreat covers everything included in our shorter retreats, while introducing more advanced techniques such as trimming, larger forms, more consistent wheel throwing, complex surface decoration, glazing, and developing your own projects. If you’re already an intermediate potter, it gives you a chance to deepen your skills.
Some guests make dinner sets, others make lamps, sculptural pieces, garden ceramics, wash basins, or spend four weeks exploring and playing with clay.
There is no rush, and that is perhaps the biggest luxury of all.
One of our guests, Radhika, shows us her incense holder!
Life outside the studio becomes equally important during a longer stay.
Mornings begin with yoga, followed by breakfast together. The days are structured around pottery, but there is always time for a swim, a nap, a walk around the farm, a massage, or simply sitting with a book in a hammock. I never forget to mention our fortnightly drinks & dinners!
By the second or third week, people have favourite spots around the property, favourite mugs for their morning coffee, and usually a favourite dog too.
Our latest ‘Friday Night Drinks & Dinner’ with our Guests (turned Family!)
What starts as a pottery retreat often ends up feeling more like a temporary home.
If you’ve been thinking about spending meaningful time with clay while also giving yourself a month to slow down, rest, and focus on something creative, our 4 Week Pottery Retreat might be exactly what you’re looking for. Write to us for more information 🙂