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- March 2009: Living Yoga Retreat in Rishikesh (Laxman Juhla), India. Details coming.
The Art of Healthy Living:
Spring Yoga & Detox Retreat in Bali
postponed until 2009
April 12-18, 2008
With Sara Avant Stover and Rebecca Andrist
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Eat well, rest well, deepen your yoga practice, and rejuvenate under the expert guidance of Sara and Rebecca in Bali, aptly nicknamed “The Island of the Gods.” Join us for this unique, all-inclusive 7 day/6 night residential retreat at the idyllic Desa Seni Resort, recently
voted by conde nast traveler as one of the best new resorts in the
world.
This is your time to renew, delve deeper into Yoga, cleanse your body and mind, and learn important self-care tools that you can take home with you to stay healthy, bright and inspired year-round. Spring, the time in the yearly cycle associated with rebirth, is an auspicious time for cleansing. While the word “detox” often conjures up notions of deprivation and discomfort, this does not have to be the case. Cleansing can be done gently and gradually. Throughout the retreat we will eat meals that are light, fresh, easy to digest, rejuvenating, nourishing—and, most importantly, delicious. In addition, you will
learn how to make these meals yourself, empowering you with the skills
that you need to better care for yourself when you return home.
Each morning, enjoy yoga with Sara in Desa Seni’s beautiful, outdoor yoga pavilion. We will gently tone and strengthen our bodies while also looking into the regions of our bodies that feel stuck, congested and tense. By striking a delicate balance between active and resting postures, this yoga will leave you feeling vibrantly relaxed. Drawing upon Anusara Yoga, Yin Yoga, breathing practices, and Buddhist awareness and heart meditations, we will unravel patterns of body/mind holdings to reveal deep spaciousness, renewal and passion for Life.
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In the afternoons, join Rebecca for informative and hands-on Art of Eating classes, "In the kitchen" classes and discussions. Topics will include proper food combining, a Daily Cleansing Diet, basics o Conscious Eating, Setting up a Healthy Kitchen and Raw Foods.
Throughout your stay you will receive personal attention from Sara and Rebecca to support your unique process of unfolding.
By the end of these seven days you will leave feeling lighter, more vibrant in tune with yourself and the world around you.
about the venue:
Desa Seni, as a cultural village, offers individual antique houses with beautiful terraces, sitting areas and private modern bathrooms. The interior of each unique house has been individually re-furbished to provide all the necessary luxury and comfort, while the exteriors have retained the integrity of traditional Balinese rural village life. The traditional rice field setting and the authenticity of the cultural village, with all the modern amenities and services, ensures a truly unique and memorable experience.
While at Desa Seni you may enjoy their saltwater lap pool, yoga practice in their open air studio, relaxing at the spa, or taking part in a wide range of diverse activities during your free time-- wandering off through the rice fields to the beach, horseback riding, golfing, or temple touring. Desa Seni will be able to arrange and accommodate all your leisure activities.
Guest Room Amenities include:
21” flat screen TV
Satellite TV
Stereo and DVD player
Electronic Personal safe
IDD Telephones
Luxury Bathroom Products
Complimentary drinking water
Room service
Complimentary daily fruit basket
Complimentary daily offering plate
about the instructors:
Sara Avant Stover is an Anusara Inspired yoga teacher™ and RYT 500 and teaches at venues in the United States, Asia and Europe. Her primary inspirations include leading teachers of the Anusara tradition, Richard Freeman (Ashtanga-Vinyasa), Sarah Powers (Yin/Yang Yoga), Sofia Diaz (Women's Yoga), Gary Kraftsow (Viniyoga), Buddhist insight meditation and The Wise Earth School of Ayurveda. Her teachings celebrate presence, self-acceptance and kindness. Also a freelance writer, Sara is a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga magazines. She lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Rebecca Andirst is a qualified nutritional advisor as well as a certified yoga teacher and massage therapist. She has worked in healing centers in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, India, Europe and the U.S, including serving for four years as core faculty at the Dharma Healing Center, a fasting center on Koh Samui, Thailand. Rebecca now leads detoxification programs around the world. Visit www.jivahealing.com
investment:
$1,200 USD (twin share)
Early Bird Discount $1,000 (for registration
before January 10)
$1,450 USD (single)
Early Bird Discount $1,250 (for registration
before January 10)
This includes: 6 nights/7 days accommodation; 3 gourmet vegetarian meals daily; fresh fruits in the afternoons; 2.5-hours daily yoga/pranayama/meditation sessions with Sara; 2-hours daily Art of Eating classes with Rebecca; evening guided Nidra/ meditation sessions with Rebecca; 1 hour foot reflexology treatment and 1 hour full body massage at Desa Seni’s Wellness Center; unlimited purified water, fresh fruits, herbal teas, daily morning paper and offering plate; round-trip airport transfer.
Transportation to/from Bali, visas and additional spa treatments and services are not included.
Schedule for Days 1:
| 2pm-5pm |
Registration |
| 6 pm |
Dinner |
| 7:30 pm |
Opening Session |
Schedule for Days 2, 3, 5:
| 7:30 am |
Breakfast |
| 9 am-11:30 am |
Yoga with Sara |
| 12:00 pm |
Lunch |
| 12 pm-3:30 pm |
Free time for going to the beach, short excursions in the area, spa treatments on your own. |
| 3:30-5:30 pm |
Art of Eating class with Rebecca |
| 6 pm |
Dinner |
| 8 pm |
Guided Yoga Nidra/Meditation |
Schedule for Day 4:
Guests will have this afternoon free, and the Art of Eating/meditation class will be from 7:30-9:30 with Rebecca.
Schedule for Day 7:
| 8 am |
Breakfast |
| 9:30-11 am |
Yoga |
| 11 am-12 pm |
Closing Session |
| 12 pm |
Lunch |
Travel Information:
International flights come into Denpasar and tourists of most nationalities may get a 30-day visa upon arrival for $25 USD. Some countries offer a longer stay if your visa is purchased before leaving, while other nationalities require a visa to be obtained before arrival. Please make your own inquiries about the visa requirements applicable to your nationality. Prices may vary if visas need to be arranged outside of Bali.
Please check your passport expiry date. You must have six months validity remaining on your passport from the date of your return from Bali.
Please inform us of your flight details so that we can arrange your complimentary airport pick-up/drop-off.
Registration:
- Please fill out registration form
 and return it by e-mail to info@fourmermaids.com
- Submit a $400 USD nonrefundable deposit.
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women's yoga and meditation retreat
january 17-27, 2009 . chiang mai (mae rim), thailand
with sara avant stover & ouyporn kournkaew
Step out of your roles as mother, wife, sister, daughter, partner and/or business woman and replenish your spirit. Over the course of these ten days you will deepen your relationship to your yoga and meditation practice—and, most importantly, to yourself.
By immersing ourselves in yoga, meditation, community, silence and nature we will awaken the innate intelligence of the body, quiet the mind and arrive at home in our hearts — where insight, clear intuition and compassion live in abundance. You will leave feeling full, refreshed and ready to permeate your daily life with your blessings.
All levels are warmly welcome.
About the Retreat
We will greet each day in silence (which will begin at sunset each evening and last until after breakfast). Ouyporn will lead the morning and evening meditations in the Buddhist tradition, inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh and others. She will also lead sunset walks each evening.
Sara will lead yoga classes in the mornings and afternoons. Morning sessions will be dynamic, in the Anusara Yoga® tradition, and targeted to aligning the outer body with your heart’s deepest longings. This will simultaneously strengthen and soften you, giving you the courage to live a life as a more authentic YOU.
In the afternoons we will engage in a variety of practices together—from Yin Yoga, to Yoga Nidra, to group sharings and other practices and rituals to celebrate the sacred feminine. We will also watch a film or two, and on the final evening we will enjoy a celebration together.
All yoga sessions will be held in the earthen guesthouse where all of the retreat participants will stay. Meditation sessions and dharma talks will be in an earthen, mud temple.
During breaks there will be time to rest, bicycle or walk through the village, get a thai massage on the premesis from local village women, browse IWP’s inspiring library, nap, write in your journal, or simply stare at the sky while listening to the sounds of nature.
This is an exceptional opportunity to get grounded, back to the basics and reconnected with the elements, within and without.
Remarks from Past Participants
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Yoginis from 2007 Retreat |
“Sara, thank you so much! Besides Madonna, you are now my role model! You are by far the best yoga teacher I’ve ever met and a beautiful, shining, inspiring spirit. I feel all women for the first time in my life. I feel deep love for life and for myself. I feel a responsibility towards life being and expressing that I am a woman, in all possible ways.”
Claire van der Poel, filmmaker, Amsterdam
“Overall, the women’s yoga retreat was an enriching experience at every level. The yoga and meditation were nourishment for the soul. Thank you, Sara for your excellent teachings and for showing me the goddess within.”
Elise Ramsey, student; Australia
“Sara, your approach to yoga is inspiring, beautiful, serene and safe. Thank you. A week of being surrounded by love, supportive women in a safe haven, gave me an opportunity to step inside myself and honor myself for who I am with total self-acceptance, compassion and an open heart.”
Mel Campbell, Yoga Teacher; Chiang Mai, Thailand
“This course is a potent opportunity for healing and an opening to love.”
Mali Jarvis, Massage Therapist; Ashland, Oregon, USA.
“Sara is a great yoga teacher, and excellent at the way she guides us to just shine our beauty and light out into the world. I feel very grateful for the opportunity of being able to touch and experience the feminine face of Life and God through this retreat and will continue to channel it in my own life! Thank you so much Sara and Ouyporn. I will definitely come back to the retreat next year!”
Lydia Tan, Creative Art Therapist; Nong Khai, Thailand
“I fell much more in touch with my body and feel very strong. I learned deeply about acceptance and love in new and profound ways.”
Ginger Norwood, IWP co-director; Mae Rim, Thailand
“Sara is a wonderful yoga teacher who teaches and inspired me to practice with love. She helped me to believe in myself.”
Edwina Morgan, Australia
“I wasn’t sure why I came, but leaving I can only hope more women will attend because by coming I feel enlightened on a brighter path for my well being.”
Claire Edwards, Geologist; Western Australia
“The program is and was outstanding. Sara, you rock! I have been blessed by you and your gifts. Thank you.”
Jill Dorsing, Oregon, USA |
About the Retreat Center
Meditation Temple at IWP
Run by Ouyporn Kournkaew (Thai) and Ginger Norwood (American) and located in a rural village 40 minutes north of Chiang Mai. International Women's Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP) www.womenforpeaceandjustice.org is a spiritual based feminist organizaton working to support grassroots women's groups in South and Southeast Asia. IWP is guided by principles of nonviolence and grounded in the integration of feminism, social action and spirituality for sustainability and transformation at the personal, community and society levels. In close cooperation with local partners in Thailand, Cambodia, India (Ladakh), Tibetans in exile and with people of Burma, IWP organizes and facilitate trainings for social change. IWP's current programs include Buddhist Peacebuilding, Active Nonviolent Resistance, Gender and Diversity for trainers, Leadership for Social Change, Retreats for Activists, and Global South and North Women Allies for Action.
This is a sacred center, built on sacred land that shines as a refuge and a homecoming in the hearts of everyone who visits.
About the Instructors
Sara Avant Stover is an Anusara-Inspired teacher and RYT 500 and teaches at venues in the United States, Asia and Europe. Her primary inspirations include leading teachers of the Anusara tradition, Richard Freeman (Ashtanga-Vinyasa), Sarah Powers (Yin/Yang Yoga), Sofia Diaz (Women's Yoga), Gary Kraftsow (Viniyoga), Buddhist insight meditation and The Wise Earth School of Ayurveda. Her teachings celebrate presence, self-acceptance and kindness. Also a freelance writer, Sara is a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga magazines.
"Sara's classes are amazing. It has been a long time since I've taken classes like hers. Sara, you are probably the only goddess I've known. and called, goddess. Your classes reminded me of the goddess in me."
Vanessa Crow
Yoga Instructor; Pure Yoga, Hong Kong
Ouyporn Khuankaew is director of International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP) is a Buddhist feminist trainer who has been working for peace and justice in South and Southeast Asia since 1995. Aside from leading workshops, Ouyporn also writes and translates on the issues of women and Buddhism. In 2002 Ouyporn founded and currently directs IWP, an international organization that provides training to empower women’s groups in South and Southeast Asian communities to work for peace and justice.
"I loved Ouyporn and her teachings. I find her as inspirational as Pema Chodron!"
Carrie Steele
Yoga Instructor and Bodyworker; Vermont, USA
Payment & Registration
- Tent or Dormintory 19,000 THB
- Double/Triple/Quad 21,000 THB
Accomodation is in a beautiful, newly constructed mud/earthern guesthouse. All housing options have a shared bath with hot water shower (except tent and dormitory). IWP will provide a tent and bedding if you wish to camp, or you may bring your own.
Space is limited so register early! Rooms are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The cost includes all yoga and meditation instruction, accommodation, three daily organic vegetarian meals, transportation to/from Chiang Mai.
To register for this retreat:
- Please fill out registration form and return it by e-mail to info@fourmermaids.com Please state your rooming preference on the registration form. These are available on first-come first-serve basis.
- Submit a $100 USD nonrefundable deposit.
- Your final payment will be due on December 20, 2008. Please contact us for bank account details.
What to Bring:
Nights and mornings can be cool at this time of year. Be sure to bring a sweater and/or fleece, socks, a hat or other warm clothing.
IWP will provide bedding. If you are cold-natured, you may wish to bring along an extra blanket or a sleeping bag. A shawl may be nice to have to wrap around you during morning and evening meditations
Also, bring along your own toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, soap and laundry detergent if you plan to wash your clothes. Bring a torch and some spending money if you wish to have your laundry done, for retail therapy at the IWP shop, or for wonderful Thai massages from local village women.
Please bring your own yoga mat. We will provide other yoga props such as blankets, blocks, and straps. IWP will provide meditation cushions; but if you have your own and would like to bring it, please feel free to do so.
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