Embrace & Embody Retreat

About the Travel

Come and join me for a healing experience and embodiment in this divine sanctuary!

We are especially diving into the Heart of Embodiment with the support of classical Tantra and it's beautiful wisdom for embracing life (no Neo Tantra which is the sexual practices etc.).

Yoga classes are taught in the Embodied Flow way and are either Slow Flow or Embodied Yin sessions (perfect also for beginners).

Embodied Flow™ is a continuum of movement and expression that draws from the discoveries of various hatha, tantric and somatic movement systems in order to experience yoga as a living art form. Embodied Flow™ provides the technology for a deep sense of ease, strength and connectivity in the human form. This in turn, empowers the practitioner to be their own greatest teacher as they expand, integrate and facilitate awareness in their entire body-mind.

We had the most amazing experience in this cocoon in a beautiful valley called Vale De Moses:

"Yoga is a love affair.

When we first go to a yoga studio or buy a book or watch a video, we may do so because on some level we recognise we are under strain. Mental, physical or emotional. We practice a little and feel loosened, at greater ease. Some of the stress we carried before our practice seems to abate enough so that we may move into our life with assurance. Yoga is healing and offers us a return to a state of equilibrium. So we devote a little more time to ourselves, just for ourselves.

Right now, you may be in the early tentative days of this yoga romance, or entirely certain that what was once a sporadic practice has now become a way of life. Whatever stage in your relationship, a retreat at Vale de Moses is an invitation to deepen the love affair. With yoga and with yourself. Removed from the normal stresses and responsibilities of life, surrounded by the stunning wilderness of the Portuguese forests, nurture yourself, without distraction. Be romanced into yoga, free from intimidating complex drills, open slowly, sweetly, squeeze and savour all the juice out of your practice and digest every drop of the nutrients.

Through the gentle compassionate guidance of an experienced teacher, be taken inward to connect with the harmonious rhythm of your breathing and from this rhythm into your body. Broaden, lengthen and soften into each asana, into your day, into your week and into your life. The indulgent luxury of time loosens and dissolves nervous tension. From this calm space, a confidence in ourselves and our personal experience grows.

Return home with a stronger desire to cultivate a personal practice that encourages a little more contentment and ease in your world.

Bend, stretch, ground, bind, flow, cry, invert, balance, fold, open, relax, tuck, twist, release, close, experience silence, contemplate, walk, broaden, sing, dance, digest, taste, consolidate, stand, swim, sit, lengthen, soften, calm, laugh, live, love, lie down."

Schedule

(May change)

• Sunday afternoon:
  • Arrival from Lisbon at 5pm or from Porto at 8.30pm.
  • Sundays are just to arrive, settle into your accommodation, meet the team and the others in your group and have dinner together.
• Monday to Friday:
  • 7.30 am:  Kitchen opens for tea, fresh fruit and nuts
  • 8 am: Chance for a silent group meditation either in the shala or outside
  • 8.30 am: 2 hour Yoga class with Satu
  • 10.30 am: Big breakfast; a variety of delicious rice and grain porridges, fruit salads, toasted seeds, local honey and freshly squeezed juices
  • 11.30 am: Free time / massage treatments / swimming / walking
  • 2 pm: Large nutritious lunch
  • 3 pm: More free time / massage treatments / swimming / walking
  • 5 pm: Yoga classes/workshops
  • 7 pm: Light evening meal
• One afternoon during the week we head off to the nearby Rio Zêzere for a wild swim and mud bath if the weather permits.
• Friday evening:
  • party with music and dancing
• Saturday:
  • Check out 7 am for 8 am coach to Porto or Lisbon. 2 pm for 3 pm coach for Lisbon

Explore

Hiking, cycling, climbing, exploring these beautiful valleys. If people hire cars, then there are historic villages and towns half an hour to an hour's drive in all directions. We're in the middle of a remote and depopulated part of Portugal, which makes a lovely place to retreat to but not so full of tourist attractions or tourists. We can arrange a Friday afternoon trip for a swim and mud bath in the local Rio Zêzere. And we have a Swiss friend, Christian, who lives in our village, a mountaineer who doesn't charge much to take guests on climbs and longer hikes.

Useful Info

• Date: 15 -21 of June 2018
• Location: Amiera, Vale De Moses, Portugal
• Price:
  • 890 EUR in a shared cottage
  • 990 EUR for private room or Soulpad
  • 100 EUR discount on joint price for couples or friends sharing a private room or Soulpad to 840 EUR each
  • Please let us know if you have a friend or a spouse you can share a bed with!
• Included:
  • All food
  • 2 yoga classes per day
  • Accommodation and facilities
  • Transport to and from Oleiros if wanted
• Not Included:
  • Flights
  • Journey to Oleiros
  • Insurance
• Previous knowledge: Not needed, anyone can join
• To bring: Yoga mat is not needed but recommended
• Teacher: Satu Tuomela

Travel

There are 2 national coaches to Oleiros daily from Lisbon (3.5 hours, 25€ return) and Porto (5 hours in total with two 45 minute stops, 34€ return). We can arrange taxis to pick you up from Oleiros.

Accomodation

We have space for 20 students. There's a stone cottage guest house with 4 single beds, a stone Monastic Adega with 3 single beds, 3 private bedrooms in the farmhouse (each with double beds), 5 Soulpads (each with double or twin single mahogany beds, carpets, electricity, hammocks and solar lights outside).

Yoga Shala

The Yoga practice shala, floating over the kitchen gardens with views up and down the valleys, has a capacity for 25 students, so plenty of space for the group sizes we have beds to accommodate. The shala is fully equipped with good mats, bolsters, blocks, belts and blankets, plus a yoga swing and a shoulder stand chair.

Massage & Acupuncture Treatments

We have a team of therapists and acupuncturists available. Over the years we've found that the mix of daily yoga, great food, mountain walks, swimming in natural river pools and treatments has a profound effect on our guests health, even within just one week. Prices are 75 EUR per 90 minutes session.

Food

We serve 3 delicious vegetarian Ayurvedic meals a day. Restorative food is such an important part of the retreat experience. Our first e-cookbook, "Nourish: Healing Meals from Vale de Moses", has all the recipes and more that we serve here on retreats.

Staff

We have a chef, housekeeper, groundsman and manager, along with 2 Karma Yoga volunteers per month. Plus therapists, local cleaners, laundry service, gardeners and taxi drivers as well as a couple of local ladies who produce honey and olive oil and also handmade soaps, pressed flower oils, jams, broaches and other gifts to buy for their loved ones back home.

About the Teacher

Satu Tuomela (ERYT500, Reiki master, Embodied Flow™ Teacher/Mentor) is one of the most influential and respected teachers in Scandinavia and has a big and loving Kula (community) around the world.

Satu has been teaching for over 15 years and is known for her unique and authentic style. Her Embodied Flow™ yoga and Embodied Yin yoga classes are usually fully booked. She charms with her intuitive instructions, goddess vibe, humor, loving adjustments, Reiki and clear understanding of human body and how everybody is unique. Every class is different with purpose and will energize you with amazing music, laughs and freedom! She loves singing, surfing, nature and being with her family in her free time.

In 2013 Satu founded Pranama, a collective of yoga teachers dedicated to giving back and to offering Yoga for all! She and her business partner Maija own Pranama- The center of the Great Heart in Stockholm.

Satu and her Authentic Flow Tribe run 50h, 100h and 200h-teacher trainings and advanced teacher trainings (we are a Yoga Alliance RYS200 & RYS300 school ) all over the world and have hosted people from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, USA, Tunisia, Mexico, Canada, China, Germany,Australia etc. You can stay updated on her webpage and Facebook: Satu Tuomela+ Instagram Satuyoga.

Satu is currently studying devotional contemplative tantra with Sally Kempton. Satu is a Tantra devotee and honors her daily sadhana with passion.