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 Travel & Outdoors | January 2006 
Via Yoga Retreats for 2006
 Surfersvillage Global Surf News
| | Enjoy yoga, meditation, and surfing vacations at the acclaimed Villa Amor in Sayulita on Mexico’s Pacific coast. |
Sayulita, Mexico - There are six retreats left in Via Yoga’s 2006 season at Villa Amor in Sayulita. Via Yoga is the company created in 2003 by Seattle’s Kelly Kemp, an entrepreneur and passionate yoga practitioner, and Michelle King, a certified yoga instructor and licensed massage therapist, who set out with a plan to take yoga vacations to a new level of bliss.
Looking at their audience, Kelly and Michelle found that the career-driven professionals were looking to de-stress and unwind on vacation but also sought excitement and adventure. So they organized retreats that focus on yoga, but also add meditation, surfing, and access to the many adventure options available on Mexico’s Pacific Northwest coast.
Guests can seek their inner stillness in yoga and meditation practices at the serene Villa Amor. They can relax on the expansive beaches and immerse themselves in the authentic town of Sayulita. And they can also snorkel, fish, kayak, hike, ride horses, take zipline tours through the jungle, and enjoy some of Mexico’s best surf. A Via Yoga retreat is a week of inward and outward adventures.
Villa Amor was named by GQ one of the eight top choices in the world for a romantic getaway, with “spacious, opulent” rooms. Fodor’s cites the “luxury palapa suits among the trees.” The 35 private villas are open air, tranquil, beautifully designed and decorated in an authentic Mexican style, and just steps from the beach, with spectacular views of the ocean, jungle, and distant volcanic mountains.
Sayulita is a rural village about one hour north of Puerto Vallarta. The tiny village nevertheless has good restaurants, shopping, and galleries. Guests come with partners, in groups, or alone, and yoga and surfing novices are welcome. The maximum number of guests per retreat is 20.
A Via yoga retreat includes six nights accommodations at Villa Amor, two 90-minute yoga classes each day, daily meditation sessions, breakfast on the beach, three group dinners, a one-hour massage, and a day trip to Punta Mita. Rates range from $1695 to $2395 for the week. Airfare is separate.
Via Yoga’s mission is to provide retreats that enrich personal relationships, business interactions, and everyday experiences, and to send guests home with a healthy balance of mind, body, and spirit. One guest said it best: “It was really an investment in new energy and peace of mind for the rest of the year rather than just an ordinary vacation.”
Via Yoga is introducing a new series of Yoga & Pilates retreats this year at the posh, private resort, Las Alamandas, about two hours from Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, Mexico. The three scheduled retreats at the luxury resort/celebrity hideaway are March 26-30, April 30-May 4, and June 8-11.
Via Yoga 2006 Programs
January 22-28: Yoga & Surfing – Fluid Journey - with Lauren Hanna
Lauren has an unusual background that blends yoga, psychotherapy, and surfing. An avid adventure sport athlete with a deep passion for surfing, Lauren studied and practiced yoga for more than 10 years at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City. She also earned her Masters in Clinical Social Work, and completed postgraduate training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Lauren’s background, which also includes training in Ayurveda, has led her to develop a wide range of integrated mind/body programs. This week of yoga and surfing should be an exceptional one.
January 28-February 3: Ashtanga Yoga with Troy Lucero
Troy’s casual style combines patience with a deep understanding of the practice of Ashtanga yoga. Years of training with some of the nation’s best Ashtanga teachers, as well as months spent studying in India with Pattabhi Jois, have given Troy the ability to assess and understand each student’s unique body and yoga level. His teaching style is simultaneously vigorous and contemplative; his adjustments are skillful and astute. The long, focused morning practice will include sitting meditation. Troy has been practicing yoga since 1988 almost exclusively in the Ashtanga yoga tradition, and he conducts workshops nationwide.
February 18-24: Anusara and Jivamukti Yoga with Paisley Thompson
This week, the dynamic Jivamukti-style classes will energize your body and spirit. Mornings begin with powerful movements in meditation, hands-on instruction, and discussion of yoga scriptures and other inspiring texts. Afternoon classes will offer an in-depth exploration of principles of alignment in simple, yet challenging yoga poses. Paisley has been developing her yoga practice for over a decade and has taught for more than five years. She is an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher and an affiliated Anusara yoga teacher. Her classes combine the energetic Vinyasa flow with precise alignment instructions.
March 18-March 24: Yoga & Surfing with Sharon and Jeff Dawson
Sharon and Jeff are a husband and wife team who offer the thrill of surfing combined with the focus of a deep yoga practice. Sharon has been studying, practicing, and teaching yoga since the mid ‘70s. She studied Sivananda, Anusara, Iyengar, and Ashtanga yoga styles as well as dance, and her teaching combines all these disciplines.
Her yoga classes encourage you to approach the poses with an open heart and sense of playfulness. Jeff approaches surfing with a similar sense of fun. He grew up surfing the waves of Southern California, and moved to Hawaii as a young adult to pursue his passion. He has surfed throughout Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Virgin Islands. Jeff also stays grounded through his daily meditation practice.
April 23-April 29: Yoga & Surfing with Wade Morissette
Wake up every morning this week with a dynamic Vinyasa flow class. The afternoon classes will blend elements of pranayama, meditation, and chanting with live musicians. You’ll learn three dynamic yoga sequences to take home and use for your personal practice: Vishnu Vinyasa Flow (balancing), Shiva Vinyasa Flow (energizing), and Shakti Vinyasa Flow (relaxing/calming).
Wade fully committed to yoga 13 years ago in California and Mysore, India, where he studied the Ashtanga method with Pattabhi Jois. He has taken Iyengar teacher training, studied yoga therapy (Viniyoga and Phoenix Rising), and explored Anusara, Hatha, and meditation. Wade’s love for music brought him to the exciting world of kirtan and mantra/Japa yoga. With this diverse background he was able to create dynamic, still, contemplative, and “vigorously soft” Vinyasa flow classes. He now teaches yoga, kirtan, workshops, and teacher training worldwide.
For more information, go to www.viayoga.com. |
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