Hawaiian Yoga Vacation Retreat

Nourish Inner Being, Explore Outer Beauty –

Cultivating the 6 Perfections

A 7 day Yoga Vacation Retreat

Put your $ away for Next Year's Offering!

With Debbie Mathew on the Big Island, Hawaii

 

Come and explore the Big Island of Hawaii, where your senses will be filled with the sheer beauty of rugged coastlines, sand beaches, tropical trees bearing exotic fruits and engage in fun activities to nourish your Inner Being. By mid-February, merging for a full week in a tropical oasis will be a welcome boon to your body and soul.

This is an opportunity to begin or deepen your yoga practice from the inside out.  We will explore the multiple ‘bodies’ from the yogic perspective: physical, breath, emotional, and mental bodies, and you will practice strengthening, flexing, clearing and toning to balance all layers of your Being.  Such a retreat facilitates a return to your essence and will allow you to synchronize with your unique journey, and celebrate transformation within community. 

We will engage in 3 yoga sessions per day; every morning, you will have the opportunity to awaken with gentle alignment-based postures, followed by pranayama (breath practices) and meditation – a perfect way to set the intention for the day.  Depending on the activities of the day, we will engage in 2 more yoga sessions; options include: a longer early morning yoga session; a late morning posture class (vigorous, playful, heating); a late afternoon class (restorative or Yin, cooling); and/or an evening session of guided relaxation and visualization.  Each day will follow a theme that connects with the 6 perfections as guiding lights for living a beautiful life.  We will play and explore these concepts in the inner and outer aspects of Being. This is an opportunity to nourish and realign your inner essence to embrace the outer world.

We will be a small group of participants (min. 10, max. 14), joining together at a retreat center near both the heart of one of the few active volcanoes on the planet and the ocean coastline. Here, on the Eastern shore of Pahoa, you will be a short driving distance from visiting a local ‘hangout’ black sand beach, whose waters are frequented by dolphins. Also close by are natural hot steam vents, (literally, lava caves that are being heated by steam produced by the underground water and magma); a warm pool protected from strong ocean waves by a seawall,  a public swimming beach park, and tide pools to explore a vast array of reef life (fish, turtles), via snorkeling. 

Our retreat home base will be at the lovely “Your Hawaiian Retreat” hosted by Hugh and Elvira, a sweet couple with 3 grown children.  The main building (of Balinese design) has a beautiful wooden floored room for yogic practices,  a main kitchen and lounging area, and 5 semi-attached double occupancy ‘cabins’.  Most have 2 single beds, one has a queen bed. Participants share 2 simple bathrooms and 2 large bathrooms with double showers. To view the accommodations, visit: http://www.yourhawaiianretreat.org/ If there are 10 people we will occupy the main building, called the Ohana House; beyond that, accommodations will stretch out into their outlying ‘houses’: Mango House (which has its own kitchen, bathroom and sleeps 4), and the Avocado house (attached kitchen, bath/shower, & sleeps 3). You can view another website which has some lovely videos of the accommodations: http://www.magicretreats.com/. 

Our hosts are Hugh (an organic ginger farmer) and Elvira, who also is our fabulous cook.  You will be provided with 3 meals a day, except for 2 or 3 ‘outing’ days, which will allow you to dine out and taste the local cuisine. Elvira’s cooking is international in flavors and textures and she uses primarily organic, local produce and locally caught fish; she also accommodates food sensitivities, including gluten and dairy free foods. Both websites listed above have beautiful pictures of the foods served, their orchard, and grounds from this ‘off the grid’ retreat center. There is even 2 funky outdoor ‘hot tubs’ (old fashioned claw foot type tubs), where you can bathe under the stars.

 

Some of the other activities that you can fit into your vacation include:

·       Snorkeling at some spectacular places around the island.

·       Going Humpback Whale watching

·       Swimming at ocean bays where turtles and dolphins are common companions.

·       Hiking on Kilauea volcano craters (with steam escaping from this ‘lunar’ landscape)

·       Walking through the famous Thurston Lava Tube

·       Visiting the Black and Green Sand Beaches

·       Touring the local Lava Tree Park

·       Visiting the Akaka Falls, a 420’ waterfall drop

·       Walking around a gorgeous Tropical Botanical Garden

·       Visiting pictographs, petroglyph sites.

·       Surfing, boogie-boarding, kayaking, paddle boarding (rentals separate)

·       Soaking in the local warm ponds.

·       Visiting The Place of Refuge, a National Historic Site.

·       Zip Lining

And of course, I, Debbie Mathew, will be your other retreat host.  I will guide your yogic practices for 7 days – encouraging you to explore the world within and develop alignment of your desires with patterns of thought, speech and action.  I will also help to guide you to discover the beautiful natural environments that the Big Island has to offer.  If needed and desired, I will accompany some groups to visit both near and further sites worth exploring, and/or simply give advice of where, when, and how of anything your heart & soul desires.

Dates:             TBA

 

Cost:                          $1375/person

Includes Double Occupancy Accommodations, 3 delicious meals/day (minus 2 to 4 meals), 3 yogic practice sessions/day, guidance/advice from Debbie

 

Other Costs:  Cost does not include airfare, transportation to and from airport and/or other island explorations.  So:

Car rental www.DiscountHawaiiCarRental.com - 1-800-292-1930,

I advise that you share the rental with a small group of people and will help to arrange this once we have some committed participants.

Volcano National Park entrance fee ($10/car), souvenirs, restaurant meals, snacks.

The West Side day excursion has options for: kayak rental, surf lesson, paddleboard rental (varies / hour or ½ or full day).

If you prefer to be in a bigger space (Mango or Avocado House), additional costs will apply.  This may be preferable for small groups of people (family, couple, friends), who desire more space and/or privacy