Luxurious easter eco retreat
Our Easter retreat (17 – 22 April) with Gingi Lee takes us back to EcoYoga on the gorgeous west coast of Scotland. Here we will enjoy invigorating ashtanga yoga practices in the morning with blissfully relaxing afternoons of Yamuna bodyrolling – an incredible combination for body and soul. Throw Japanese-style outdoor bathing, exquisite vegetarian food, […]
2010 escaping the city
Summer 2010 – we take a group of students to Oxon Hoath, a 600-year old Tonbridge pile with a distinctly bohemian feel and stunning grounds. Tai chi practice in the gardens doesn’t get much more idyllic than this – in the UK at least. Find out about our upcoming retreats here.
2008 back to island roots
The island of Crete has a legacy of yoga. For it is here that Derek Ireland and Radha Warrell set up the original Practice Place Yoga centre in the late 80s and exposed so many people to the practice of Ashtanga as well as to healthy living and holistic therapies. Gingi spent two seasons at the […]
Announcing italy, scotland & sri lanka
Our Retreat Plans In the depths of winter, as we have been longing for warmth and SUNLIGHT, we have been focusing on where to escape to on our next retreats… Gingi will be teaching three wonderful, very different retreats coming up in 2018 and 2019. Here are the dates for your diary for our Italy, Scotland and […]
Italy retreat 2018
For those of you who have been requesting we do another retreat, here we have it! Next October (20–27th) we will returning to Agricola Samadhi, in Puglia, Southern Italy to run a one week ashtanga yoga and Yamuna bodyrolling retreat. We had a truly memorable retreat here in 2013 on the organic eco farm of […]
Sri lanka yoga retreat
We may have taken a break from running retreats this year but our next retreat offering should (hopefully) make up for the gap year! This March we will be returning to our all-time favourite retreat venue – Ulpotha, a sustainable eco-village/retreat centre in the heart of Sri Lanka, which has laid claim to being “the best […]
Feasting roman style
A highlight of the Shala yoga retreats has always been the hours spent lingering and chatting over amazing meals – and a few bottles of wine. This picture pretty much sums up how students spend their retreats when off the mat. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
Life in the slow lane
Here the group is led by Gingi in an afternoon tai chi session at InSabina as the sun goes down. After a beautiful practice, the aperitifs are beckoning… Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
Flying yogis
Not sure if it was the coffee, the wine or the intense practices that fired up all the yogis to make daredevil jumps in to icy October waters during this South of France retreat. The waterfall here was the pinnacle of adventure. Kudos went to Emily Pitts for taking the waterfall leap in her underwear.
High in the hills on meditation
This outdoor platform overlooking the Insabina Hills has to be one of the most glorious spots to still the mind. Here Gingi is leading a meditation to a group of Shala students during a retreat. The dog is in the higher levels of consciousness. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
2014 bienvenu au cevennes
As gorgeous retreat settings go, the Cevennes is a hard act to follow… No matter how exotic or idyllic a location we choose for our Shala yoga retreats, the Cevennes is always voted the number one favourite by our regulars. The summer of 2014 takes us to a new Cevennes venue tucked away in the foothills of […]
2014 relaxing in the french manner
Aperitif o’clock on our yoga retreat in the Cevennes, South of France with Isobel, two Helenas, two Emilies and others yogis. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
Yoga & walking in the cevennes
After our morning yoga practice our gung ho group of yogis took to the mountain footpaths to get a real sense of the spectacular Cevennes. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
2013 catching some italian rays
After a steamy yoga practice the crystal clear beaches of Puglia were beckoning. Oh life as a yogi on retreat…. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
the italian job
There are some retreats where the chemistry is just right. And this one at an eco farm in Puglia (Yoga in Salento) is one. The Southern Italian sun, crystal clear waters, welcoming staff, the jamming and the singing and some of our loveliest old-timer students make this one of the retreats to remember. Admittedly there are too […]
2013 under-floor heating, insulation and jaccuzzis
It is with great relief that we escape lawyers and bank managers and estate agents and the stresses of setting up the new centre, to head to the Scottish lochs at Eco Yoga. Blissfully removed from internet (mostly) and mobiles (completely) we spend days walking and yogaing and bathing on our third retreat here. One evening […]
Wide open scottish skies
We return to Eco Yoga for our third retreat. More yoga, hot tubs, forest bathing, lochs and wide open skies on the stunning West Coast of Scotland. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
2012 garden of eden
Returning to the Finca in La Gomera without the 20 kids this time means we can fully appreciate the serenity of this idyllic Garden of Eden. This particular trip brings together a lovely group of ashtangis including Simon and Jude. It is a great honour to share this retreat with Simon who is an inspiration. […]
2011 moroccan adventures
Venturing beyond the European borders we take the Shala students to the Moroccan coast in 2011. Shacked up in an exquisitely designed riad with a to-to-die for rooftop Shala, we have a week of practicing, feasting, surfing, shopping and lazing under the African sky. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
Wild bathing
Winding right down to a soporific state is the main agenda at Eco Yoga in Scotland. A retreat here involves ashtanga yoga practice to the sound of the waterfall, high-quality vegetarian food, massages, star-lit hot tubs and wild bathing al fresco in the glorious Scottish countryside. The healing and rejuvenating water therapies (Jacuzzi, sauna, outdoor baths) are a cure-all for […]
Yogis hanging ten
Game Shala yogis take to the surf in Morocco…One thing we can say about our retreat regulars is that they are always game. Here seven of our group take to their surf boards to catch some waves. It is hysterically funny. They are looking deceptively like pros in this picture here. Find out which retreats […]
2010 la gomera family yoga retreat
Now whose brainwave was it exactly to take 35 people (including 20 kids) to the island of La Gomera? It seems like a fine plan at the time but we soon understand why noone offers family yoga retreats. It works. But the logistics are mindboggling. We turn the place upside down. It is certainly the most […]
2009 italy retreat
Returning to InSabina for a second year running, with many of our regular students, this retreat is filled with laughter and music. This is the first of many when Rob Davis brings his guitar and acts as our personal dukebox, heroically enduring our best singing efforts. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
2007 jungle magic
Teaching yoga and tai chi at Ulpotha in Sri Lanka is one of life’s richest experiences. So close to nature. So removed from civilisation. Living simply but breathing in nature’s prana. The jungle doctor cures all. This place fills the senses, elevates the heart and gives renewed perspective on life. Find out which retreats we currently have […]
2006 one little tai chi student
Having children really advances us to the “seventh series”. They are our greatest gurus. Here Kaya, aged 3 months, is practicing the “grand ultimate”. She goes from being wide awake and alert to comatosed in a matter of just a few tai chi moves. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
2005 rolf & marci’s thai shala
Gingi & Ella visit Rolf Naujokat and Marci at their Thai Shala on Koh Phangan, after a few months on the South East Asia travelling trail. It was a wonderful feeling for them to fully roll their mats out and practice in a group energy again with the sound of the sea crashing on the rocks […]
2005 chateau shala
A haven in the foothills of the Massif Central. Times of river bathing, gourmet vegetarian food, steamy practices and lazing in the Cevennolle sunrays. Each retreat we hold here has it’s own special moments and special people. Find out which retreats we currently have coming up here.
2005 crouching tigers
One of the most memorable Shala retreats is this early one in 2005 when Gingi Lee’s English yogis join forces with his father’s martial artists for a week of study in the Cevennes, South of France. The cards are turned when the karate kas find themselves in challenging yoga postures on the mat. And they thought […]
2005 sitting buddhas
There is a lot of yoga…. along with hours of laughter, a few bottles of wine, table-top dancing, late night swimming and much cheese. Thank you to Sharon, Jeremie, Debbie, James, Emily, Big & Small Dave, Sasha, Alli, Caroline and all for this and many other great retreats.