Portugal                

Yoga by the coast of Algarve

Sneak away to the south of Portugal where the climate is mild and sunny year around. In a peaceful environment you will get a mix of yoga, ayurvedic nutrition and surfing classes, everything according to the different weekly programs. Your hostess Diana creates a relaxed atmosphere and a comfortable environment. Yoga practitioners on all levels are welcome, the classes will be adapted to the individuals in the group. Housing, yoga, food and other activities all hold high standards.

You can choose between the following weekly programs:
-Yoga Detox
-Yoga Surfing
- Hormone Yoga

You find more info about the programs further down on this page.

                   

                   

You stay in one of the most breathtaking areas in southwest Portugal.

Some weeks the retreat will be held in Casa Douro which is located in Espiche between Lagos and Burgau. It is a guest house/retreat house with a more than 1 hectare property. The owner is a Swiss artist and professional gardener who has created a fantastic atmosphere. The yard is filled with fig- and almond trees. It takes about 30 minutes to walk to the beach, but only 5 minutes if you drive or take the bus.


Casa Douro

Some of the weeks the retreat will be held in the beautiful guesthouse Monte Velho which is located a few kilometers from the ocean. The house is built on a hill and looks out over amazing landscapes. In the foreground you can see the ocean offering its fantastic surf waves. The house itself is beautiful and could as well have been an art museum. The bungalows are cozy and warm with comfortable beds. The food is tasty, well-prepared and vegetarian. Diana's boyfriend Robin is a chef and cooks amazing food. The breakfast usually consists of oatmeal, yoghurt, nuts, honey etc. Filling salads are usually served for lunch and for dinner it will be a lot of vegetables and soups.



Diana Jost has usually been the hostess at the retreat, but she will now take a break for 2013, and has hired other qualified yoga teachers to replace her. However Diana will sometimes be around at the retreat. Her goal is still to help you move forward through your own potential to find health and wellness.

Diana has handpicked teachers who are very qualified and experienced to teach and
run the retreat. The teachers are:
- Jenny and Igor: They have their own yoga studio in Algarve, which they run sucessfuly since many years.
- Lauren: She used to work together with Diana in a Yoga Fasting Retreat, where Lauren was retreat manager. She has been Diana´s replacement for whenever Diana was not able to run the retreats.
- Kathrin: She is 'the hormone yoga specialist' in the Algarve, where, since many years she runs hormone yoga workshops to the locals (next to teaching Hatha Yoga Classes) and is now spreading her teaching around Europe.

Diana was born and raised in the Swiss alps but moved, after a lot of traveling, to the south of Portugal where "the sun warms my cold body and the atmosphere calms my restless mind". She studied physical training at ETH in Zürich and in time she became a qualified yoga instructor at Sivananda Ashram in Austria. She is also a nutritionist educated at the School of Natural Health Science in Great Britain, Ayurvedic health- and nutritionist educated by the International Society of Kamlesh Ayurveda, massage therapist specialized in Thaiyogamassage and Indian head massage educated by Science of Yoga School in India as well as life-coach educated at the School of Natural Health Science.

Click on the picture and watch Diana performing a sun salutation by the Atlantic coast.

                


Yoga can choose between the following programs:

- Yoga Detox
In general yoga has a detox effect on the bodies organs and this program is focused on activities and food which will encourage the detox. During this week you will get new energy from yoga, fresh air and energetic food.



This retreat can be either an introduction to yoga or, if you are already doing yoga, a deepening in your practice. The classes will be adapted to all participants individual level in small yoga groups. Every day there will be two meditation classes and two yoga classes with asanas (positions), pranayama (breathing exercises) and relaxation techniques.

Breakfast, a light lunch and a light dinner will be served, all of it based on healthy vegetarian food. Each day there will be a lecture/lesson about detox and nutrition for about ½ hour- 1 hour depending on subject and which questions come up. Lauren, to the right, is one of the teachers. The lessons will, among other things, deal with sourness and alkalinity in your body, too much sugar in the food, ayurvedic nutrition philosophy and different ways to eat healthy. To help your body to detox special food and natural supplements will be used.

Daily program (subject to minor changes due to local circumstances):

Please find dates and prices in the Facts column to the right.

- Yoga Surfing
The yoga- and surf retreat is for everyone: for those who know how to surf and want to start with yoga, for those who has a lot of yoga experience but want to learn how to surf, for those who are beginners in both and want to learn and of course also for those who know how to do both.



Try surfing, you will not regret it! The beginners get the first basic lesson on the beach and practice in the next step in shallow water where you are able to stand completely safe.

Every day starts with meditation in the sunrise followed by a yoga class, specially adapted to build up flexibility, strength and self confidence. After breakfast your surf teacher will come and pick you up and you will go to the beach which offers the best conditions for surfing that day. You will go to different beaches depending on weather and wind. Between the surf lessons you will get lunch served on the beach and by the end of the day you will finish with a yoga class followed by dinner.

During this week your body will become stronger, healthier and filled with energy. You will also deepen your knowledge in yoga and learn how to stand on a surfboard, if that was something you did not know before.
The surf school is experienced, both when it comes to teaching beginners and advanced surfers so it is up to you how far you want to reach.





The food during the week consists of well-cooked, tasty and nutritious vegetarian dishes based on Ayurvedic cooking. If you want you can bring some of the recipes back home.

Daily program (subject to minor changes due to local circumstances):

7.00	The day begins with lemon water on the terrace
7.30-8.00	Morning meditation
8.00	Power drink
8.15-9.45	Yoga
10.00	Breakfast
10.30	You go to the beach
11.00-13.00	Surf lesson
13.00-14.30	Lunch
14.30-16.30	Surf lesson
16.30-17.30	Yoga (usually on the beach)
19.00	Dinner

- Hormone Yoga Retreat
The Hormone Yoga Retreat is for women only (sorry guys…) and it's Algarveyoga's new retreat for the 2013 season. The Hormone Yoga retreat is a unique program that directly connects we women with our female energy. A week of Hormone Yoga Therapy will increases the flow of life energy through out the female body whilst recharging focus and mental clarity.

The Yoga Practice is a mix of Energetic Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Tibetan meditation techniques of directing energy. By sending vital breath and life energy to these parts of the body we begin to energize, heal, and revitalize the glandular system. The dynamic Yoga sequence is a wonderful practice that is truly enlivening on both the physical, mental, and spiritual levels.

Hormone Yoga is a natural alternative to conventional hormone therapy. It can help women to connect with and influence areas of the female system that are problematic or have undergone some type of stress. Hormone Yoga can have a positive effect on PMS, menstrual problems, infertility, menopause (pre, during and after), and oestrogen levels.



Kathrin (above) is our HYT expert and she will lead you through the week. She has received her teaching directly from the founder of HYT, Dinah Rodrigues, and has since then helped many women in many workshops and retreats to balance their hormonal level and to feel the fountain of youth again within them selves.

Our daily program includes 3.5 hours of Hormone Yoga Therapy (HYT). The rest of the day is set aside for relaxation, massage, and time on the beach. You will be served healthy pure vegetarian yoga food by our staff. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in the program. In the evenings we will explore different meditations that inspire and increase our feminine energy/shakti.

Daily program (subject to minor changes due to local circumstances):

7.00	Light pre Breakfast
8.00	Hormone Yoga Therapy I
10.30	Breakfast
14.00	Lunch
17.30	Hormone Yoga Therapy II
19.00	Dinner
20.00	A form of evening meditation

At the end of the week, you will go home with the full HYT sequence (as a reminder in a booklet), which will take you through all beautiful, as well as challenging stages of your life as a woman. Spending a week with a group of women will make you strong, happy, confident and full of joy.


Please find dates and prices in the Facts column to the right.

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