Awaken the Goddess within you on a yoga retreat, that has been created for women to transform body, mind and spirit. Restore your inner and outer glow with traditional yoga practices suitable for all women, no matter what age, size or fitness level.
Be guided on a journey to a more peaceful internal environment by making space for healing, creativity, stillness, intuition and connection for you as a Goddess in your life.
Most of our guests are escaping hectic lifestyles and burnout and over the years of hosting retreats in Bali, we have found that instead of intense power yoga vinyasa flows, what our Goddesses really crave is to be brought back into balance and harmony within the body and soul with Hatha, Yin and Restorative yoga sessions.
To release built up stress and tensions, we use rejuvenating yoga sessions as a powerful antidote to stress. These sessions help you down-regulate the sympathetic nervous system and up-regulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest, hormone production, digestion, energy conservation and slowing the heart rate.
Designed with beginner and novice yogis in mind, Goddess Retreats offer restorative and yin focused yoga asana (poses) classes that include introduction to breathing control, posture, and meditation to help relieve stress and anxiety. For women looking to learn how to cultivate a deeply self-caring yoga practice this is the place for you.
Our women’s yoga classes are designed to exploring the feminine side of yoga and meditation traditions. We will introduce you to a selection of traditional yoga practices, that you may not have experienced before. This a unique opportunity to immerse yourself fully into the feminine side of yoga that is referred to as Yin Yoga.
Classes may include a combination of Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, slow Vinyasa Flow, Kundalini Asanas, Pranayama, Mantras, Mudras, Yoga Nidra and explore a variety of gentle meditation techniques and will be adjusted to suit the needs and interest of the group.
During your yoga retreat in Bali, we provide all your equipment including yoga mats, bolsters, straps, blocks and eye masks.
We have three dedicated female yoga instructors who have many years of teaching experience. They each bring their own unique flavour to each retreat and hold multiple levels of the internationally recognized Yoga Alliance .certification.
There are so many different types (often refered to as ‘disciplines’) of yoga, and this is one the big reasons yoga is so popular! Each type of yoga has different benefits and can work for you at different times. Our yoga retreat classes aim to offer an introduction to variety of traditional yoga and meditation practices throughout the week. We choose to focus on the more restorative yoga practices vs power yoga. This is because most of our guests are interested in relaxing and ‘refilling their well’, or they are already doing physically demanding activities such as surfing and fitness training during the day. The combination of yoga practices listed below will vary depending on your group and the the yoga instructor your retreat date. All of our instructors are internationally certified.
This class is ideal for beginners and more advance students looking to fine-tune their practice. Take time to slow down and master the key posture transitions, while developing your core and upper body strength. During your meditation in motion vinyasa, you’ll learn how to become completely immersed in your practice. Vinyasa is a Sanskrit word, literally meaning ‘to step or place in a special way’. It refers to the process of moving from where you are now to where you want to go. Meditation in Motion Vinyasa is a thoughtful process that helps take you to the next step; into a deeper and richer yoga practice. Through slowing down, you have the opportunity to bring more awareness to each posture and each breath. This practice of attentiveness and awareness is a form of meditation in motion, that bears the fruits of becoming more precise, purposeful and centered, as you take your practice off the mat and apply it to your daily life.
While ‘yang’ vinyasa style yoga focuses on your muscles, yin yoga targets your deep connective tissues, like your fascia, ligaments and joints. Like restorative yoga, it is slower and more meditative, giving you time and space to turn inward and tune into both your mind and the physical sensations of your body.Because you’re holding poses for a longer period of time than you would in other traditional types of yoga, yin yoga helps you stretch and lengthen those rarely-used tissues while also teaching you how to breathe through discomfort and sit with your thoughts.The practice of yin yoga is based on ancient Chinese philosophies and Taoist principles which believe there are pathways of Qi or Prana (energy) that run through our bodies. By stretching and going deeper into poses, we open up blockages and release that negative energy to flow freely. The main difference between yin and restorative yoga is that yin yoga is not fully supported by props, so it is not a completely passive relaxing stretch. Instead it is practiced with about 70% of effort in held poses and will create some discomfort, as it deeply stretches connective tissue.
Restorative yoga is a healing practice that holds yoga poses (asanas) for a longer duration using props like yoga blocks, blankets, and bolsters. It is a practice of deep relaxation that emphasizes the meditative aspect of yoga; the union of body and mind. Through the use of props for support, many of the postures are held almost effortlessly. When the body enters a state of relaxation the mind can also consciously relax, as tension is released from both body and mind. The only work, that is required on your part during a restorative yoga practice, is to pay attention to your breath and become aware of any sensations or thoughts that may arise. These sessions are often combined with sound healing therapy, where you will be guided into a blissful state of ease through the sound of healing vibrations.
In Hinduism, Kundalini is a form of divine feminine energy believed to be located at the navel or the base of the spine. This energy is considered to be dormant until it is activated and channeled upward through the chakras in a process of spiritual perfection. Chakras are energy centres in your body that affect you physically, emotionally, and spiritually and are located from the base of your spine up to the crown of your head.
Pranayama is the practice of breath control in yoga. In modern yoga, it consists of synchronising the breath with movements between asanas, but Pranayama can also be a separate, distinct breathing exercise on its own.The goal of pranayama is to strengthen the connection between your body and mind. According to research, pranayama can promote relaxation and mindfulness. It’s also proven to support multiple aspects of physical health, including lung function, blood pressure, weightloss and brain function.
Mantra yoga is a form of yoga that is designed to help a person achieve inner peace. While you can chant mantras just about anywhere, anytime, and for any length of time, there are structured types of chanting and traditional rules. The main practices of mantra yoga are japa, kirtan, and community chanting.
In yoga, mudrās are hand and body positions used in conjunction with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), and yoga asanas to focus and increase the potency of a pose. Mudras act to stimulate different parts of the body involved with breathing and to affect the flow of energy in the body and even one’s mood. The specific hand gestures and positions act as ‘locks’ to guide energy flow and reflexes to the brain. By curling, crossing, stretching and touching the fingers and hands, we can manipulate the mind-body connection, as each area of the hand corresponds to a certain part of the mind or body.On a more spiritual level, practicing specific mudras is an outward representation of one’s inward intentions. There are many different mudras and it is said that meditating on a specific mudra will help manifest certain hopes, energies and devotions in your life. Mudras are a way to concretely see what you want to be, what you need most. When your hands come into a mudra, it allows a physical connection with an intangible wish.
Yoga Nidra is a form of guided meditation also known as ‘yogic sleep’ or ‘effortless relaxation’. It’s usually practiced lying down with a teacher guiding the session. The practice draws our attention inwards, and we learn to surf between the states of wakefulness and sleep, where our body finds its natural state of equilibrium (homeostasis) – the breath balances and becomes quiet, unconscious and conscious aspects of the mind reveal themselves, and we fall into an innate state of deep, blissful awareness.
Be guided through various beginner meditation techniques and promote a more peaceful internal environment making space for healing, creativity, stillness, intuition and connection. Meditation is the most effective way to cultivate a happy life. Learn how to transcend the ego and start to quieten the mind. By exploring a variety of meditation techniques on the retreat, we offer our guests the opportunity to develop their own home practices after they leave.
Absolutely not! Our classes are suitable for everyone! Our yoga retreats focus on finding inner balance and connection and are primarily restorative focused, so our yoga will suit all levels.
If you are an experienced yogini, you may already know that yoga retreats are a great way to travel. If you are open to exploring a variety of yoga practices that look to explore a restorative yin style yoga practice you will enjoy this trip. If you are looking for a retreat that focuses on astanga, power yoga or a yoga ‘intensive’ immersion experience, then we will not be the right fit for what you are looking for.
While learning anything can be challenging, we make it lots of fun to learn if you are open to the process of being a beginner. You will be with good company and in great hands, so you can relax and enjoy the fun of trying something new!
Each class will be different. In general our yoga classes begin with breath awareness, followed by a warm up. A series of postures (asanas) are offered that will develop flexibility and strength. The asanas may be held on the floor or standing. You’re likely to feel slightly uncomfortable, this is considered part of the practice of developing the mind. The instructor may offer adjustments to help you during your pose. Sometimes pranayama (advanced breathing techniques) and mudras will also be woven into the yoga session. Your instructor might lead you in a mantra (chant). Each class ends with a deep relaxation or meditation time.
We’ve been running yoga retreats for women for 20 years and the wonderful women that attend always impress us. One of the benefits of yoga is that it attracts women from all walks of life, creating a community of like-minded women. It’s called Sangha in Sanskrit. Feedback we’ve received from our women only yoga retreats include: “As well as a deeper understanding of yoga postures, I loved the chance to bond with and get to know other women” “We bonded so well as a group.” “An added bonus is sharing the time with beautiful like-minded women from all around the world…”. Having highly qualified and experienced teachers who truly live yoga enables the transformation. All of the Goddess Retreats that lead the yoga retreats are yoga devotees; this experience means that they are able to transmit authentic yoga to you. It’s not just about being able to make complex shapes with your body. Being a true yogi means that they too are life-long students just like you, so they are understanding and can relate to what you need and what you want to get from your yoga practice – whatever stage you’re at. They’ve all undertaken more than two years of yoga teacher training, are internationally certified and have devoted their life to the practice of yoga.
When we’re at home, we may have the best of intentions to create a work/life balance. We plan to go to yoga every day, but life gets in the way of these plans, and we don’t make it to class. A yoga retreat is a beautiful way to get the benefits of yoga. A yoga retreat can help us to reset to our best self. Many of us have experienced major breakthroughs and greater peacefulness from a yoga class. So often guests say, ‘I was really stressed out before I came on your retreat…I’ve had so much pressure at work or from my family, but now I feel so much more relaxed…’ or ‘I feel like myself again!’ The fantastic part of going on a yoga retreat is that these benefits are exponential. It’s not just that we feel good after one yoga class, there’s a depth of experience, that occurs due to the repeated practice over the days of the retreat. The yogic practices of asana (postures), pranayama (breathing practices) and meditation work at a gentle but deep level, that you will feel cleansed and are renewed.
A yoga retreat is a completely different experience from a regular holiday. What makes a goddess yoga retreat such a magical experience? The complete immersion into a week long retreat with daily yoga means that you can focus and go deeper into your yoga and meditation practice. A yoga retreat is a special time for your, a time to reconnect and recharge. Many of us lead busy lives, that are full to the brim with urgent demands and long to-do lists. Often, we can feel as though we are running on auto-pilot, just surviving rather than living a fulfilling life. Sometimes a regular holiday doesn’t leave us feeling refreshed and rested, especially if we over-indulged as a way to relax, or we had to attend to other’s needs at the expense of our own, or because we’re so wound up or burnt out that we have forgotten how to relax. On a Goddess Retreat, we take care of everything for you. We have spent 20 years perfecting the balance of ingredients that go into making a holiday that awakens the body, mind and spirit.
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