A six-day residential retreat, exploring playful creative expression for emotional well-being, held in a caring community in the lap of nature. An invitation to pause and connect with yourself in gentle and joyful ways; and sow seeds of self-compassion, harmony, and wholeness.
Overview
Program Type: Residential Retreat
Dates: 6th-11th July, 2026
Language: English
Facilitators: Kanika Singh & Dharmalaya team
Come walk with me where soft winds blow, where laughter lingers, calm and slow.
We’ll swap old stories, grin with ease, and find the joy in moments free.
A playful heart is never seized.
Let’s skip the rush, let’s chase the light. Sing to the stars on quiet nights.
A game of cards, a joke well spun.
A dance when no one’s there to judge,
for play is not just for the young.”
Mike Sansone
Key features of the program
Do you remember what it felt like to imagine and create freely as a child? Scribbling with colours, finding characters in clouds, making houses with mud and sticks, playing with imaginary friends, enacting favourite story characters, singing aloud and dancing like no one’s watching……..?
When was the last time you tried hands at something new for pure joy, without the fear of being judged or making mistakes?
What would it be like to reconnect with this innate creativity and express freely, without limitations and pressure?
Creative play is how children naturally engage with their environment, learn about the world, and express themselves. However, most of us get disconnected with this gift as we grow up and get caught up in the ways of the world. Yet, even as adults, leaning into child-like wonder, spontaneity, and imagination can help us navigate life’s twists and turns with relative ease.
This space is intended as a ‘playground + creative sanctuary + inner learning lab’, inviting you to reconnect with playful creative expression as a catalyst for cultivating presence, body-mind connection, relaxation, and emotional resilience. The beauty is that there is no right or wrong way to play, and this is what makes it freeing and nourishing.
Program approach
Held in the lap of nature, the program will offer a non-judgemental space to support creative expression. This looks like a relaxed environment, where you are free to experiment and explore with ease, without needing to be ‘right’ or ‘good’ at anything. A space where unique ways of expression are welcomed and held with compassion.
The program weaves together different guided practices to encourage playful creative expression, including
visual arts (intuitive painting, clay sculpture, collage, art with natural materials, etc).
gentle movement
storytelling through embodiment, object theatre and puppet-making
non-competitive games
Through this journey, you can expect one or more of the following interconnected outcomes:
explore your inner world in gentle and joyful ways
allow space for uninhibited creativity and authentic expression
nurture a compassionate and harmonious relationship with different parts of yourself
soften the inner barriers of self-doubt, self-judgement, and perfectionism
approach everyday life with openness, possibility, flexibility, and surrender
reimagine notions of mistakes, failures, and ‘falling behind’
Who is this programme for?
Creative play can be helpful to anyone and everyone in different ways!
You might especially find this of value if you:
are on a journey to understanding yourself deeply
wish to rekindle your creativity
want to express yourself with no limitations
feel stuck and limited due to an inner critical voice
are experiencing burnout, and/or lack of inspiration
feel like you don’t ‘fit in’
long for a new direction or clarity in your journey
value meaningful connections with like-hearted people
A loving note:This space does not require prior skills or experience with arts. Our focus would be to explore creative processes as tools to understand ourselves better, rather than performance or aesthetics. We will let our imagination wander freely without the pressure of ‘getting it right’.
What kind of experience to expect?
Full-time immersive experience: Since this is an immersive residential programme, the intention is to be completely present with the experience. While there will be some time for rest, reading, journaling, and personal reflection, there won’t be time for pursuing other activities unrelated to the programme.
Supportive routine: A daily rhythm of creative practices, spending time in nature, personal reflection, sharing circles, and rest.
Natural simplicity: Rustic accommodations in natural earthen buildings, held in a serene forest setting.
Yogic lifestyle: Simple ashram-style lifestyle for holistic well-being, centered around mind-body-spirit harmony. Everyone contributes to the running of the place, including cleaning, washing dishes, etc.
Nourishing food: We serve healthy, all-natural, balanced meals that are 100% plant-based (vegan), using local and organic ingredients as much as possible and from our own organic gardens when available.
Digital detox: To support the immersive experience, we highly suggest not engaging with mobile phones and internet during the program, so that it is easier to be fully present with our own experience, with nature, and with one another.
Campus life and the experience of living in community
Many past participants share that one of the most meaningful aspects of a residential retreat at Dharmalaya is the experience of living, learning, and growing in community. There is something powerful about sharing space with others who are also exploring similar journeys.
We intentionally cultivate a culture of kindness, cooperation, and mutual respect. Rather than competition or comparison, we invite collaboration, care, and curiosity. Living alongside others in this kind of environment can be deeply nourishing and, at times, gently challenging in ways that support growth.
This kind of inner and relational work invites openness and willingness. If you feel called to grow not only personally but also in how you show up in community, this retreat may resonate deeply with you.
Dates and times
Start and end dates
The retreat will begin at 10 am on 6 July, and conclude by 6 pm on 11 July 2026.
We advise that you arrive at the campus between 9 to 9.30 am on Day 1. We will provide detailed timings and travel guidance after confirming your registration.
Daily schedule: What will the flow of the days be like?
Although the day-to-day schedule will vary a bit, the broad schedule would look like:
6:00 Wake
6:30 Morning practice (personal time to engage in self-guided practices like nature walks, yoga, meditation, journalling, reading, etc.)
8:00 BREAKFAST
9:30 Morning session
12:30 LUNCH
14:30 Afternoon session
18:00 DINNER
19:00 Quiet time for journaling, reading and personal meditation
21:30 Lights out
The rhythm of the day is designed to balance depth with rest, community with solitude, and inner reflection with shared dialogue.
Programme fee
Dharmalaya Institute is a not-for-profit charitable and educational organisation, and as such seeks to make its programmes accessible everyone. Recognizing that our participants come from diverse backgrounds, we are providing a sliding scale with three tiers, to make it possible for each participant to give according to their means.
Total contribution for this 6-day retreat (inclusive of shared accommodation, three healthy meals daily, tea, and art materials), at each of the three tiers are as follows:
Standard rate
(For most participants)
Rs 21,000 total
For transparency: This standard rate is essentially a break-even rate, just enough to cover the Institute’s total average monthly costs in providing this service-learning opportunity.
Subsidized rate
(For low-income participants who can’t afford the standard rate)
Rs 14,000 total
For transparency: This subsidized rate is approximately 33% below our break-even rate, which means it is not enough to cover the Institute’s costs in providing the programme, though that shortfall might be covered by participants who choose to pay the ‘Supporter rate’ to the right.
Supporter rate
(For those who can afford to support the subsidized rate)
Rs 28,000 total
For transparency: This supporter rate is approximately 33% above the break-even rate, and 100% of that surplus will be used to support lower-income applicants to participate at the subsidized rate. We thank you sincerely for your generosity in choosing this rate if you can.
We do not want cost to be a barrier to anyone’s participation, so if you have exceptional financial hardship and cannot afford the lowest subsidised rate, you can contact us to let us know your situation and your needs and we’ll be happy to discuss options for scholarships (subject to limited availability, with priority to participants from marginalised communities).
A limited number of private rooms are available at an additional cost. If you would like to opt for one, kindly mention your preference in the application form.
In addition to the base fee, there will be an opportunity to offer dana (an optional, voluntary offering of support), as per tradition, to Dharmalaya Institute.
RECOMMENDED EXTENSION: STAY ON AFTER THE PROGRAM ENDS TO DEEPEN YOUR LEARNING
For those who wish to gain additional experience, there may be an opportunity to stay on after the programme ends (subject to available space and acceptance of application), with a discounted rate for long-term volunteers.
About your facilitator
Kanika Singh
Kanika is an artist and an Expressive Arts Therapy practitioner. Bringing together visual arts, movement, theatre, and nature connection, she facilitates collective spaces where people can anchor into presence, calm, play, and joy; and improve their emotional well-being through authentic expression.
She also works with non-profits and marginalized communities, offering expressive arts workshops as a tool for social change. She was awarded the Arts as a Catalyst fellowship in 2024 for her work with rural communities in Himachal Pradesh.
A note from the facilitator- What inspires this offering?
“As a little kid I was very enthusiastically creative, but like many others, lost touch with arts as I grew up. I reconnected with painting in my late-twenties, and since then have been learning and exploring diverse forms of expression including nature-based paints and dyes, movement, singing, theatre, and puppet-making.
Creative expression has been a powerful mirror to my inner world, as well as a compass guiding my path. Experimenting, playing, and making free-flowing art have given me the strength to show up imperfectly, be compassionate and forgiving to myself, and lean into my uniqueness. This has had ripple effects in several aspects of life, motivating me to take intentional actions aligned to my well-being and purpose. More recently, it has also inspired me to reimagine life as a creative playground, with each day as a blank canvas full of fresh possibilities.
From this heartfelt space, I invite you to collectively experience the magic of creative play.”
Application process
The application process is designed to help identify applicants who are well-aligned with the intentions of the program.
A Note for Applicants:
Before completing this form, we invite you to spend some time exploring the Dharmalaya website and reading the program details thoroughly, in order to understand our values, culture, and guidelines.
STEP 1 — APPLY: Submit the application form below and wait for our reply. We may email you for follow-up questions if necessary. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, so we suggest not waiting until the last minute to register.
STEP 2 — VIDEO CALL: If your application is shortlisted, we would schedule a time for a video call with the retreat facilitator. This is a space to clarify any questions you might have, and we’ll have a chance to get to know you, in order to design a supportive experience for you.
STEP 3 — ACCEPTANCE & DEPOSIT: If you are selected for the program after your video interview, then we will send you more detailed information about how to prepare for your time at Dharmalaya Institute. You will then have one week from the date of acceptance to make your non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot.
To ensure an intimate, engaging, and meaningful experience for everyone, we keep the group size small and intentionally limited.
Reach out:
If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to email at creativeflightbykanika@gmail.com or send a message on Instagram @kanika.creativeflight
We look forward to connecting with you!