July 22 – 27, 2024
Yoga and Meditation in Portugal
El retiro se llevará a cabo en inglés, pero se ofrecerá traducción al español a quién lo necesite.
The retreat will be carried out in English. We could add translation into Spanish, if needed.
Summer season is a special time of the year.
A longed-for moment to take a break, immerse ourselves in nature, breathe and reconnect with the full confidence and joy that life can bring us.
In this retreat, we offer six days near to the sea, close to the beautiful beaches of Carrapateira, enjoying the calm, the beauty of a gentle yoga practice, time outdoors, healthy eating and heart connection with a special group of people of different nationalities.
We will share the practice we love, a gentle yoga practice that brings you back to yourself, to relax and manage what you are experiencing with equanimity.
All levels are welcome. We will take care of everyone with attention, encouraging the practice to adapt to your moment and your body to respond with lightness and gratitude.
We will immerse ourselves deeply in the practice of meditation and guided relaxation, without effort, understanding that the mind is a powerful instrument that can be at our service when we direct our attention to places of stillness.
We will also have time for ourselves, to rest, walk on the beach, watch the sea, the sunsets, the birds and the stars and absorb the magic of this wonderful place.
THE TEACHERS
Laura Méndez – Lakshmi & Paloma Dorado.
Laura Méndez–Lakshmi
Laura is a yoga teacher, traveler and continuous yoga student.
She has been teaching yoga in classes, workshops and retreats since 2011 and has been practicing it for more than 18 years.
Before becoming a full time travelling yoga teacher, she worked as an interpreter in Brussels for the European Commission. Yoga helped her balance a stressful job and slowly took more and more space in her life.
Her first training in Hatha yoga, led her to continue deepening and training in Yin yoga, myofascial liberation, Ayurvedic yoga and more, spending long periods of time in India practicing with her teachers.
Her personal practice has evolved from a demanding Ashtanga practice to a gentler Hatha yoga practice.
In her classes you will enjoy a mixture of different styles, with special attention to conscious breathing.
Accessible classes, with modifications for all levels, from the practice of ahimsa (do not harm) and the complete acceptance of each student.
As a certified coach and NLP teacher, she also guides people on their own journey towards self-awareness and personal growth.
Her main motivation, helping busy and stressed people find a way to deeply relax through the effective and powerful techniques of yoga, has led her to conduct retreats in different places in Asia and Europe, offering her students a way to connect with its center and with nature.
Paloma Dorado.
Paloma started to pratice meditation 20 years ago, guided by a deep wish of understanding human nature.
Passionate about the relationship between science and spirituality, she studied Physical Sciences, and later, worked for the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), located in Geneva.
At the same time, she trained as a therapist in several energy therapies and energy healing, such as Metamorphic Technique, Reiki, and Mystic Therapy.
After her first meditation retreats, at the age of 22, she found her Spiritual Master, whose guidance and teaching continues to be very present in her day to day life.
She collaborates with the meditation instructor Javier de Salas, as an assistant in retreats and workshops in Spain, United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong and Bali, including the Asia Yoga Conference and the Om Yoga Show festival, in London.
In search of a conscious approach to yoga, she immersed in Nayana Yoga School’s training, enjoying of extending the time in each pose, gently and meditatively.
She deepened her yoga education with a yin yoga teacher training. She approached the study of Vedanta, in the Sama Yoga School, training as a yoga teacher in this authentic, soft and deep style, which combines classic Hatha yoga asanas with postures of Chi Kung and mantras.
She currently directs Shama Retreats, a company dedicated to organizing yoga and meditation retreats in nature, together with national and international teachers.
Share these beautiful days of yoga and nature days with us.
THE PLACE
We will stay in Monte Velho, a spacious and secluded retreat center in Carrapateira, in the region of Aljezur, South Portugal.
A family run, self-sustaining retreat and holistic centre with a strong passion for reconnecting its visitors with nature.
Located where south-western Europe sinks into the Atlantic, the region is enriched by the strength of its’ nature, with multiple paths some ending between dunes of fine sand by the ocean, while others on the cliffs by sunset.
The center sits in a stunning elevated, nestled between mountain and sea with a panoramic vista over the ocean.
It has a fully equipped beautifully designed 170 m2 yoga shala, with underfloor heating and a spa, with sauna, turkish bath and several massage options.
All rooms have confortable beds, private bathrooms and cozy heating.
The food is first class, delicious, ecological, local and seasonal, cooked by specialized chefs in vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
Two of the most amazing and long beaches of the region, Praia Amado and Praia Borderia, are are in less than 8 minutes by car from the retreat center.
A unique space to practice, reflect, connect, nourish and rest.
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How to get there?
- July 22: Taxis will be leaving Faro airport at 14.00
- July 27: Taxis will be leaving the venue to Faro airport at 12.15
Prices varies from 20 € to 40 € per person/per way, depending on the number of people per taxi.
You can reserve your place in a group taxi from the airport, until one week before the retreat.
THE PROGRAM
Each day includes:
• Yoga for everyone: asana practice to revitalize, strengthen and empower your body. A more dynamic morning practice will be combined with yin type classes, where we will learn to feel and meditate in the postures.
• Meditation and pranayama workshops.
• Conscious breathing to bring clarity to your mind. Some practices will take place outdoors.
• Guided and silent meditations.
• Yoga Nidra.
• Guided relaxation and energy healing.
• Connection with nature: excursions to natural spaces to enjoy and to charge ourselves with the energy of the elements.
Monday, July 22
15.30 Arrival to the retreat venue. Check-in
17.30 Welcome and introduction
18.00 Yoga session.
20.00 Dinner
Tuesday, July 23 – Friday, July 26
08.00 – 09.30 Energizing morning yoga class
09.30 Breakfast
10.30 – 13.30 Discovering South Portugal: excursions/ nature/ beach/ trekking
14.00 Lunch
15.00 Resting. Enjoying the venue
17.00 – 18.15 Meditation workshop
18.30 – 19.45 Yin Yoga
20.00 – 21.00 Dinner
21.15 – 21.45 Yoga Nidra/ Guided Relaxation
Saturday, July 27
08.00 – 09.30 Energizing morning yoga class
10.00 Check-out from the rooms
10.15 Breakfast
11.00 Farewell session
12.00 Departure
(*) The daily schedule can change depending on the weather conditions and the duration of the trips.
Enjoy connecting with your natural state of calm and with nourishing yoga practices.
Package Includes
- All yoga classes, workshops and sessions included in the program, in a beautiful indoor, well equipped yoga shala with ocean views.
- Accommodation in single, double, triple or quadruple rooms with ensuite bathroom and terrace. All double, triple and quadruple rooms have two separate bedrooms connected by a door, each one with a double bed or 2 single beds. Therefore, in double rooms, each person sleeps in a different space (This doesn’t apply to the Forest House).
- Healthy vegetarian food, using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients prepared by an experienced chef specialized in healthy nutrition. 3 meals per day.
- Trips to some of the most pure, tranquil and beautiful natural beaches and trekkings.
On request (at additional cost, on request at arrival):
- Several types of massages.
- Sauna.
- Turkish bath.
Not included:
- Flights tickets and travel insurance.
- Private transport from Faro airport to the retreat center, round trip. (Please check the timetable of the private transport in the program section before booking your flight tickets).
- Transport on the excursions (for the transportation on excursions, would hire a group transport and its cost would be shared among the number of participants who use it. All the excursions are close by to the venue, between 10 and 25 minutues by car)
Total Price per person. All inclusive
Option 1
Quadruple shared room, with one ensuite bathroom and terrace.
1050€
This room has two separated bedrooms, each one with two beds. You’ll be 2 people in each bedroom, all with the same gender.
OPTION 2
Triple shared room, with one ensuite bathroom and terrace.
1180€
The triple room has two separated bedrooms, each one with two beds. The total capacity is four people but you will stay three in total, all with the same gender. Two people will stay in one bedroom and one person in the other bedroom.
OPTION 3
Double shared room, with one ensuite bathroom and terrace.
1300€
The double room has two separated bedrooms, each one with a double bed. You will share the room with one person of the same gender. Each of you will stay in a different bedroom.
OPTION 4
Double room with ensuite bathroom (couples)
1300€
This double room has an ensuite bathroom and a double bed. Only for couples or people that don’t mind sharing the same bed.
OPTION 5
Single room: large double bedroom used as single, with ensuite bathroom and terrace.
1480€
Single room: large double bedroom used as single, with a double bed and private ensuite bathroom. The room will be only for you.
Option 6
Forest House
Independent design house inside the retreat centre with ocean views, built with natural materials. It has 2 bedrooms: one single room and one double room, a living room, a small kitchen, 1 bathroom and a private terrace.
Option 6 - A
Forest House: Double shared room, with shared bathroom.
1300€
Double bedroom with 2 beds, inside the Forest House. You’ll share the bedroom with another person, and the bathroom with the other room of the Forest House.
OPTION 6 - B
Forest House: Single room with shared bathroom.
1480€
Single room inside the Forest House. You’ll be alone in the bedroom, and will share the bathroom with the other double room of the Forest House.
Booking and payment policy:
– To book and secure your place, we request a 300 € deposit.
– You can click on the blue button “Book your place” below, fill in your data and pay the deposit online.
– Don’t forget to use the discount SHAMAEARLYBIRD, to get 100€ discount, before March 1st, 2024 (only for the first 6 bookings). If you are among the first 6 bookings, but don’t use the discount code and it runs out, no more discount codes will be applied.
– Once the payment is made, your place will be reserved (you will receive a confirmation email)
– The balance should be paid before May 15, 2024. If we don’t receive the payment of the balance before that date, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and offer your place to other person.
– If you book your place after May 15, the full payment of the retreat is requested.
– If you come alone and want to stay in a quadruple, triple or double room, you will share with a person of the same gender.
IMPORTANT: We can not guarantee that you will have a roommate (sometimes we are odd or there aren’t people of the same gender who request a shared room).
In the unlikely event that there isn’t any other person of the same gender whom you can share the room with, you can have the room for your own but you will be requested to pay the price of a single room.
Cancelation policy:
– If you cancel at any moment before June 1st, 2024, we will refund the total amount you have paid, except the deposit. The deposit won’t be refunded.
-If your cancellation takes places after June 1st, 2024, your payment won’t be refunded under any circumstances.
– At any moment, you could hand your booking over to some other person (friend, relative, colleague…etc), who would like to join the retreat and stay in the same type of bedroom.
– In the unlikely event that the retreat has to be cancelled, we will refund the full amount paid in a maximum of 7 working days.
– Your personal expenses, such as flight tickets or any other expenses that weren’t paid directly to us, won’t be refunded.
Most travelling insurances cover all your expenses (flight tickets, the payment of the retreat, accommodation costs if you stay before or after the retreat in the area, etc), if you have to cancel your trip. They are inexpensive and they could be a good option to insure your trip.
Any questions? Write us: info@shamaretreats.com
Don't you know if this retreat is for you?
Call us at +34627419996 or write to info@shamaretreats.com and tell us what you are looking for. Communicating and asking all the questions you need, is the best way to check if what we offer fits with what you want or feel like at this moment.
