Holidays for yoga lovers
Disconnect to reconnect. This is the objective of escapades, escapes, vacations. of any trip. In the age of electronics, liquid watches, notifications and screens, however, an extra effort is needed. For this reason, lovers of physical and introspective practices such as yoga, begin to structure their free time around attractive destinations where they can enjoy the landscape, gastronomy and relax as well as practice yoga in paradisiacal spaces. There have always been people who left in search of this peace, and a few stayed. Beyond the Himalayas and the Blue Mountains, but also in the Pyrenees and on some beach or mountain sheltered from tourists. And some opened spaces for practice.
In a retreat of this type, which can last from a long weekend, to one or two weeks (there are a month or more, since sometimes they include teacher training), the schedules and what is eaten are usually taken care of . There is always yoga, but you can also add Thai massage and even surfing. There is an offer with vegetarian or Ayurvedic cooking workshops and, most of them, structure the plans around hiking or meditative walking. It is also not uncommon to find retreats that teach listening, to value the sound atrophy to which the noise of the city subjects us.
Where are these little paradises? In Spain (and surroundings) there are a few, and except for those that are so secret that they cannot be found, these are some of them:
In Spain:
1 Casa Cuadrau Yoga, Art & Nature, in Vio (Huesca)
It is one of the best known places on the yogi scene in Spain. Located in Vio, in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido natural park, it hosts retreats practically all year round, except in winter. It is an ecological construction that offers yoga, meditation, and hiking retreats, and its diet is vegetarian. Among his next workshops are, the bridge of May, a meditation and hiking retreat with snowshoes, and that same month, a silent retreat, which combines meditation in a horizontal state with yoga and meditative walks. This one starts on May 13, until May 19 and there is one only for women from May 19 to 21. The views are impressive, and the enclave, in the middle of the Pyrenees, could not be a better setting to forget about everything except yourself. The prices of accommodation, food and classes for three or four days are between 300 and 400 euros.
2 Hostal Aigua Clara, in Formentera
A family has run this small accommodation, in front of Migjorn beach, in Formentera, since 1970. In fact, it is the oldest of the hostels on the island. With few rooms, the site fits the whole retreat concept here. There is no piped music, there is no television, and the rooms are oriented towards places where you can only hear either the noise of the sea or the wind brushing the branches of the trees. Yoga retreats are not held all year round (the last one was in October) but they take advantage of the warmer months. However, there are yoga classes throughout the year. The kitchen is one of its strengths. Healthy cooking, lots of juice and Mediterranean cuisine, made with fresh and local products. The price is variable, but it can be around 550 euros for the long weekend with yoga, accommodation and all meals included.
3 The retreat of Kun Kan, in Castellón
The program offered by this hotel, with nine rooms furnished and decorated entirely with natural and ecological materials, is very similar to what is offered in luxury resorts in places like Bali, as far as classes and therapeutic offer are concerned. Its programs not only include yoga classes, but also invite you to do therapeutic, anti-stress fasts, etc., to cleanse or rebalance the body from daily excesses. The offer of its restaurant, as usual in these environments, offers organic, vegan and vegetarian products.
4 Bhakti House, in Granada
It is one of the sites best valued by the users of 'Bookyogaretreats.com', one of the reference portals to find clues about the best retreats around the world. Located near Granada, its users define it as “an idyllic place with fantastic food”. As we mentioned, retreats usually specialize in a specific style of yoga, and this one is Hatha. Surrounded by almond and olive trees, the house offers classes for all levels, although in English. The price, which is usually around 525 euros per week, includes all meals and accommodation, as well as breathing, meditation and, of course, yoga classes.
5 The Garage Blume / La Garriga de Castelladral, in Castelladral (Barcelona)
Social networks are largely to blame for the fact that yoga has gone from being a minority thing to a way of life for many. On Instagram, photos of more or less affordable asanas (postures) multiply, photos that show the evolution of those who practice it, and a lot of philosophy of life. The model Verónica Blume is followed by almost 40,000 people. Her account is like a graphic diary that serves to promote her yoga center, The Garage Blume, which prepares retreats in La Garriga de Castelladral. It is a house with 14 rooms made by local artisans who prepare this type of activity from time to time. The next Blume Yoga connection school retreat is May 17-21. The price, they indicate, is from 475 euros.
6 Jabieras, in Castellón
The places where retreats are held are usually spaces with a magical touch that attract not only yogis but other types of audiences. This is the case of the village of Javier, a sculptor who founded the Jabierans Art Nature and Silence Art Space Association, which is a place for retreats, therapy and art. The house is a farm near the mountains of Castellón with views of the sea and several spaces: a cave, a cabin, a nest, a studio for artists and a workshop room, among others. The cuisine, vegetarian, is made with ingredients from the local garden. The different workshops, organized by whoever rents the spaces, must be consulted through their website.
7 The Heaven of Vera, in Cáceres
There is a shala (this is how the spaces where it is practiced are called) suspended in the middle of a forest of trees that, at this time, are already beginning to wake up. Cielo De la Vera is a small paradise hidden in this region of Cáceres and is neighboring another small jewel, the Buddhist temple of Shorin-Ji. A few meters away, there is the river and the pools where the locals escape to take a dip. They have several shared rooms and some doubles and also offer all meals. They prepare yoga retreats, vegetarian cooking workshops and teach chi kun classes among many other things. Prices are variable, depending on the workshop. The space is like an oasis where time and space almost freeze. In fact, at the entrance, a rubbish bin gives the clue: “Deposit your notion of time here”, they paint, and underneath, a sun made with crayons smiles.
Outside of Spain:
8 Yoga Evolution Retreats, in Oleiros (Portugal)
In this space, 445 kilometers from Madrid, it is located in the Portuguese village of Amieira, relatively close to Plasencia. Its location makes it very attractive for yoga teachers from Spain to cross the border to teach their retreats in this house, with a pool, lush vegetation and near a river, at affordable prices and distance. This center organizes its own Ashtanga and Yin Yoga style retreats, and this summer from August 19 to 25, it hosts a six-day Jivamukti modality, in English or Spanish, organized from Spain (http://www.pilateslab. en/yoga/yoga-vacation/). The price includes accommodation and food; and depending on the type of room it goes from 450 to 700 euros.
9 Tercio di Danciano, in Tuscany (Italy)
The word Tuscany has a unique appeal per se. That is why it becomes a favorite destination for teachers looking for spaces to hold their retreats. And so it is for the Shambala Yoga Urbano school in Madrid, which is preparing one of these in Italy, where yoga classes will be taught in different styles, there will be space for baroque music, for local tourism, gastronomy and, of course, , nature, because the enclave is, as usual in these appointments, paradisiacal. It will be from May 11 to 15 in a small hotel in Terzo di Danziano, the town where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed. The price is 580 euros and includes all classes, meals and accommodation.
10 Yoga & Surf Retreats Vila Mandala, in Morocco
Surfing and yoga have a special bond. The postures on the table, the balance, the strength and the mind working in the present moment, bring them closer as disciplines and unites them as far as retreats are concerned. Surf Maroc offers seven-day retreats in English on the Moroccan coast. Three and a half hours of yoga a day, combined with surf lessons, for both beginners and more experienced surfers. The price, which includes accommodation and meals, in addition to classes, depends on the type of room and services that are contracted, but it is around 400 euros.
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