7 Day Women's Wisdom and Yoga Retreat

Summary

Become the physical embodiment of your soul so that you discover the woman you were always meant to be.

This carefully designed women retreat is full of yoga specifically for women, mindfulness meditations, menstrual cycle & fertility awareness sessions, herbal medicine workshops all for women's health. Rediscover your strength and living according to the natural cycles of life. This retreat is hosted by women for women. Each of the hosts will bring input on women's health & cycle (sense) awareness through their own field of expertise & via their own struggles & joys as a woman.

It will be a week of connecting, embodiment & laughter. Connection to our inner & outer nature.

Yoga specifically for women is characterised in the practice of asana and movement, designed for the needs of women at all stages of life. We as women are cyclical beings, strongly connected to nature. Living in a very linear society where everyday life, especially on the work floor, demands of us an evergoing similar approach going against our monthly cycles, which even after menopause can still be felt if we become deeply rooted and connected to them. This type of Yoga gives us as women the ability to face the physical, mental and emotional challenges of contemporary life with strength, vitality, mobility, thoughtfulness and equanimity.

This retreat includes -

6 nights stay at the retreat house

3 healthy, abundant vegetarian meals a day [cooked and prepared freshly by loving hands every single day! Most of the food we will eat will be organic & or local.]

all water & herbal tea

10 Morning & Evening Iyengar women's health yoga classes

5 evening Mindfulness meditations

all yoga mats etc

swimming pool

2 menstrual cycle awareness sessions

2 herbal medicine for women's health workshops and/or women's health food workshop

1 massage treatment

About Herbal Medicine Workshops

Every woman is intimately tied to nature. The menstrual cycle follows the cycle of the moon, ebbing and flowing every 28 days, in most cases. A woman’s body can grow and change, like the earth, to hold the life that grows within. And like the soil below us, a woman’s body can assimilate the nutrients needed to grow the perfect food for her children. Perhaps this connection with the cycles of nature has something to do with the powerful relationship that plants can have in supporting the health of women. For thousands of years, herbs have been consumed as part of rituals of menstruation and as part of supporting a woman through her transitions into puberty, motherhood and menopause. And today, botanical medicines provide potent medicine for modern women.

About Mindfulness Meditation

If we learn to focus our attention on our breath, thoughts, feelings and physical sensations, we establish a strong foundation. A foundation from which we can expand our awareness to our actions and interactions with ourselves, other people and the world. We choose our behavior based on response and conscious choice instead of habits and automatic patterns. When we are aware, we can take care of our feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety, stress, fear and insecurity. When we are aware we notice all the little things around us that makes life beautiful and that lift our mood. When we are aware we feel more calm, joyful and alive.

Aljezur is a small market town of whitewashed houses and cobbled streets located thirty kilometers north of Lagos near the border between the Algarve and the Alentejo in south west Portugal. Nestling among the rolling hills of northwestern Algarve, Aljezur represents the untouched Algarve, an area of beautiful natural landscapes where donkeys work the land, cowbells tinkle on the plains and some of the best beaches in Portugal await you.

Outside the town, it’s hard to decide what is more appealing: countryside or coastline. Nature treks, mountain biking tours and donkey or horse rides around the hills offer the opportunity to admire wild boar, foxes and badgers in their natural habitat while Aljezur’s 40 km-long coast is a treasure trove of rich marine life, numerous species of local and migrating birds and a beautiful mix of virgin beaches and peaceful river valleys.

The Costa Vicentina, as this south-western coastal strip is referred to, contains some of the most beautiful unspoilt beaches in Portugal, many of which feature broad expanses of sand dunes flanked by towering cliffs and with hardly a building in sight. The swell size at beaches such as Arrifana and Praia do Amado attracts surfers and bodyboarders while Odeceixe, Bordeira and Amoreira are situated at the mouth of rivers, making them especially popular with families and offering a choice of river or sea to swim in.

Enjoy a short drive through wonderful countryside with spectacular views of the Western Atlantic coast as you approach the beach. In springtime the roadsides and the clifftops are covered in flowers of all colours and with all the foliage and grass fresh and green it really is quite a sight to see.

Aljezur and the villages and countryside in this corner of the Algarve are quite different from the more hectic south coast - there is no hustle and bustle. This makes Aljezur an ideal place for a relaxing holiday in the countryside, where you can enjoy walking, cycling or horseriding, or just sitting at a café with a good book. There are near deserted beaches within a short drive and lots of villages to explore the 'alternative' Algarve!

Food

All the food during retreats is local and organic coming either straight from the organic farms down the road or from the farmers market. Meals are based on a healthy, nourishing diet including superfoods and not only are they good for the body, they are also absolutely delicious! This retreat offers many types of different dishes so that everyone can have a choice of what they enjoy and even people with dietary allergies and intolerances will be in for a treat! Learn how to nurture your body, balance your hormones and use natures best gifts for wellness and vitality.

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