Portugal has become one of the most popular yoga hotspots in recent years with a huge variety of yoga, wellness and meditation retreats on offer. One of the best places to head for a relaxing wellness retreat are undoubtedly the sun soaked beaches of the Algarve in Southern Portugal. Sunshine filled days, beautiful beaches and stunning natural scenery are just some of the reasons to join a yoga and meditation retreat in the Algarve, but the benefits of taking a retreat holiday – a break from our busy lives and taking time out to reconnect with yourself and nature go much deeper than simply relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous weather and landscapes.
The benefits of yoga and breathwork are well documented; practicing yoga helps improve physical and mental flexibility, relieves stress, tension and pain, improves breathing, boosts the immune system, circulation and awareness in your body.
A regular yoga practice also builds strength and balances weight. Yoga in the form of meditation and silence also helps to calm the mind and bring inner peace and radiance, that’s why joining a yoga and meditation retreat, or even better a silent retreat, can be a life changing and transformational experience that can make you feel more energetic, alive, calm and focused.
Yoga and Meditation Retreats in the Algarve
There’s quite a variety of yoga and meditation retreats in the Algarve and in the whole of Portugal – many also include surfing which complements the practices. But while there are many Algarve yoga retreats, silent retreats are not so common, but are arguably much more powerful and transformative.
Ocean and Yoga Retreats have been running popular Algarve yoga retreats near Aljezur for 10 years and the founder, Jana and her team, have created a brand new, unique, cutting-edge concept for a new way of silent retreats in Portugal located in the beautiful mountains of Monchique.
A New, Unique, Silent Yoga, Meditation and Somatic Movement Retreat in Monchique, Algarve
A somatic meditation retreat is truly a silence and meditation retreat for the times that we live in. We are so easily stuck in our heads and this is a silent retreat which connects you to nature, your body and joy for life.
Jana combines the art of silence and meditation with somatic movement arts, music and yoga. The retreat includes, but is not limited to, 4 days of silence to refrain from exterior input and constant flow of information, and to connect with nature and your body.
The new thing is: you don’t have to sit in meditation for hours and suffer from sleeping legs or hurting backs, and deal with your active mind and recurring thoughts for days and days until it finally calms down (which is how people who have tried Vipassana meditation retreats often describe their experience).
With this new silent somatic meditation retreat you are being guided into joyful morning meditations, followed by a somatic movement and yoga practice with live, relaxing music: a super easy-to-relax-into space of surrender, getting straight away into your body, moving your joints and muscles to Jana’s sweet guidance (practice is appropriate for all levels) and feel your body relax into the sounds created live by some of Portugal’s most up and coming musicians and medicine music artists.
Imagine, a yoga class with healing sounds which makes you forget about your thoughts, worries and plans. A yoga class that brings all your presence into the here and now, makes you smile, laugh, release physical and emotional tension and leaves you glowing radiantly.
Start your days on this unique Algarve silent retreat with a morning meditation session and breakfast before the 2 hour session of yoga, somatics and sound. After lunch (enjoyed together but in silence) you will have the afternoon free to be with yourself, contemplate, journal, go for beautiful walks and hikes in the mountains of Monchique.
The silent part of the retreat lasts for 4 days, during which you will also receive individual support in the form of one personal somatic body work session with Jana directly, or a family constellation therapy session with an experienced psychologist to support you in working with and transforming topics coming up during the silent retreat.
After 4 days of silence, you will regain the power of your words with a traditional sweat lodge ritual to purify, share your insights and pray for your good intentions or maybe even new life decisions that you have found.
Then it’s time to begin another whole new aspect of this unique yoga and meditation retreat in the Algarve – breaking free into high vibrations!
You will have another full day together enjoying life on top of the mountains as the retreat continues with an ecstatic dance session to experience the fullness of life.
In the afternoon, there is a voice opening workshop, exploring the power of voice and aligning intention with action. And from there onwards, the celebration of life just won’t stop… the evening turns into nights with a special celebration dinner and a kirtan concert under the stars.
As the food is just as important as the practices, you’ll be eating plant based-food created by Olga Sadowski that will help you to feel lighter and full of power in your body, relax your mind and activate your energy and life flow.
This yoga, meditation and silent retreat in Monchique is one of the most unique and transformational Algarve yoga retreats that aims to prepare you for this demanding life to speak and act in integrity, with love and help you create harmony in your relationships in your family, with friends and your work environment.
About Jana Toepfer
The retreat has been loving created by Jana, who has been teaching yoga retreats in the Algarve for 10 years and is one of the senior yoga teachers in Portugal. Her background in Anusara Yoga brings in healthy alignment principles into the practice and allows you to safely practice with injuries.
You will find her yoga classes to be way more fluid and explorative than your regular yoga class. You will breathe, shake and dance and laugh and understand the yoga practice on a deeper level. You will surrender and drop into deep states of relaxation.
Jana also implements her studies in Body Mind Centering, Contemporary Dance and Feldenkrais into her sessions to create a good relationship with your body and mind. Because being in a good relationship with yourself allows you to be in a good relationship with the world. Jana is also a Transformative Bodywork practitioner and offers these personal sessions during her retreats.
Ocean and Yoga Retreats in Aljezur, Algarve
If you are looking for a more active and adventurous (and also more entry-level) retreat, Jana and team are also offering their Classic Ocean & Yoga retreats close to the stunning beaches of South West Portugal, Algarve.
Rated as some of the best Algarve yoga retreats, Ocean and Yoga retreats also include ocean adventures like surfing, floating, diving and learning about the vastness of the ocean.
As well as being able to get into a daily yoga and meditation practice, you’ll also get to reconnect with nature on a beautiful organic farm in Alfambras, close to Aljezur, where you will but also learn about permaculture, eating plant based-food and learning how to make conscious choices about your nutrition, yoga and somatic movement.
The retreats also include sound journeys under the stars on the beautiful yoga deck, sunset beach picnics, and personal guidance. You can also book additional surfing lessons and massages to enhance your retreat.
In essence, Ocean and Yoga Retreats are for people who give a damn! People who care about the world we live in and who choose to leave a better place for our children. This work includes personal transformation work as much as aligning our intentions into practical action, and all of this with a lot of joy. When you join a retreat, Jana will support you in feeling more alive and getting your energy back to enable you to move your dreams and projects forward and feel more connected to the world around you.
Whether you choose a silent retreat in Monchique or an Ocean and Yoga retreat in Aljezur, taking a yoga and meditation retreat in the Algarve can be a transformative experience and so much more than just a holiday.
This post was written in collaboration with Ocean and Yoga Retreats. For more information about their yoga retreats in the Algarve, dates, prices and bookings check out their website at www.oceanandyoga.com
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