"Give yourself permission to be kind to yourself"
Are you researching your yoga retreat for this year? Maybe it’s your first retreat and you’re not sure what to expect?
In 2021 we ran two of our ‘Palms Exclusive Retreats’ with resident yoga teachers Jane & Sue. Here’s a summary of those fabulous weeks!
Our yogi guests were from the UK, Ireland, France, Belguim and Germany and had different levels of yoga experience from complete beginner to a seasoned yogi. Everyone gelled really well and enjoyed meeting and sharing experiences from different countries and backgrounds. There was a lot of fun and laughter especially around the table at meal times!
The FOOD!
Oh so important on a yoga retreat! We are passionate about vegetarian and vegan food and enjoy giving you the experience of creative, healthy and interesting meals. Our chef Niels prepared the meals with fresh locally sourced produce (we’re lucky in southern Spain the veg produce is amazing). Here’s an example of a daily menu:
Breakfast options:
- Fresh green juice or smoothie
- Fruit bowl & overnight oats (or other cereal)
- Eggs: The Palms omelette, poached, scrambled, boiled or fried
- Avocado, mushrooms or scrambled tofu on toast
- Toast or fresh bread, homemade jams, tomato, marmite, homemade peanut butter
Lunch options:
- Buddha bowl with fruity cous cous, roasted vegetables, dried fruit & nuts, avocado and hummus
- Cheese & biscuits
- Homemade chocolates or bliss balls
Dinner - 3 courses
- A different theme each evening
- Vietnamese rice rolls & chilli dipping sauce
- Breaded aubergine & sweet potato in a katsu curry sauce served with steamed rice & wok vegetables
- Caramelised banana & oat ice cream
What Yoga did we practise?
Jane & Sue planned a full schedule of classes for the week, but of course everything was optional so you could decide how much you wanted to practise.
The plan was to give a variety of styles so everyone on the retreat practised what they were familiar with but also tried some new practises as well.
They were flexible with the schedule to suit that particular group and make changes where needed along the way so that everyone had the most incredible yoga experience.
We loved our practise on the outdoor yoga shala with nature and listening to the birds, although early and late season we did practise in the indoor studio for the morning classes.
A typical day looked like this:
- 7.30am - Sunrise meditation
- 8am - Morning slow yoga flow
- 12pm - Bikram yoga 60 minutes
- 5.30pm - 90 minutes Yin yoga
Optional workshops
Jane and Sue offered short workshops to breakdown technique or fine tune some postures, e.g. preparation for handstands, how to work towards Hanumanasana (the splits) or tweak your downward facing dogs!
What the guests did with their free time
A lot of the guests chose to spend their free time relaxing by the pool soaking up the sun or chilling out in the hammocks. We booked our talented therapists in for certain days so some people opted for a massage, reiki, reflexology or a facial.
For the more adventurous David guided a exhilarating waterfall hike or mountain hike over to the beach resort of Benalmadena, for others they spent an afternoon exploring Malaga, or one of the local towns or villages.
Another favourite amongst a few was to stroll to our local village restaurant and refresh with a cold beer!
Enjoy our gardens!
We are very proud of our lush, well maintained gardens! Our guests often commented that the gardens really made the retreat special, they would often walk around looking at the various fruit trees, palms, plants and water features with the backdrop of the mountains
Guest comments from previous retreats:
See you in 2022! – Kevin
Kevin
I am the new kid on the block. My parents, Sue & David, found me in the middle of the road in august 2020 as a 10 week old puppy. We don't really know what breed I am, but I am very playful, full of life and I love being part of each retreat. If you can't find me, you can find me generally by David's side.
