5 Element Yoga Retreat in the mountains of southern Spain
November 2016
A group of people from the US and Europe came together in the mountainous region of Andalucia in Southern Spain, in coordination with our Spanish hosts at Lucia Yoga Retreats, for a week long retreat which included hatha and vinyasa yoga, massage, learning about the 5 Elements/Pancha Mahabhuta, designing Yantras, an eco-hike in which we picked fresh pine nuts and visits to local villages along with a tour of an old olive oil factory. Simply fantastico and 'increible'!
Photos can be found here on the Vahana Facebook page.
Earth Day Yoga Retreat at the Yoga Farm in Lansing, NY
Earth Day, April, 2016
As part of the Yoga for the Earth project , we spent a day at the Yoga Farm (just outside of Ithaca, NY) to honor the Earth on Earth Day and consider our role in nature. We practiced yoga poses that connected our awareness to the natural world and the concept of renewable energy. We took a silent, walking meditation in the forest and sat and meditated to the sounds of the local waterfalls. We also spent some considering the current environmental challenges facing the Earth, our role in working towards climate change solutions and how a yoga practice can facilitate and support any actions we take. We also ate some very delicious, locally sourced food for lunch!
Core Principles of Vahana Eco-Tours & Yoga Retreats include:
We view sustainability as a multi-pronged approach incorporating environmental protection, social and economic justice as well as personal well-being and infuse our trips with various aspects of these concepts. Some tours may focus more on personal health, while others may focus more on time spent in nature or others on, for example, education around renewable energy or organic farm systems. Each tour is carefully designed to support these ideals and in coordination with locally aligned partners.
- Tours operated according to the principles of Sustainable Travel (for more information about this concept please visit: http://sustainabletravel.org/)
- Accommodations in eco-lodges, eco-villages, glamp sites, campgrounds, yoga retreat centers or other carefully chosen lodging which have a focus on sustainability
- Delicious and healthy cuisine that nurtures the body and spirit as well as the land
- A yoga component – sometimes as the primary focus of the retreat, at other times as a corollary to the main intention which may focus more on sustainable food systems, for example
- Time in nature
- Visits to sites that have cultural, social, or environmental significance
- Visits to projects, organization or businesses which are focused on an aspect of sustainability
- Reflection about our personal roles in the context of a sustainable world and ideally an inspiration for further action
- Cross-cultural interaction and learning - whether it be with retreat participants and organizers, and/or host communities and partners
- A possible service learning or volunteer component
- A possible percentage of proceeds going to fund note-worthy and relevant sustainability project