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- Organizer: Ulpotha
- Type: Yoga Retreat
- Starting From: 10-November-2019
- Duration: 8 Days
- Area: Kurunegala, Sri Lanka
- Food: Vegetarian,Vegan,Gluten Free,Organic,Ayurvedic,Dairy Free
- Surrounding area: Lake,Close To Nature
Overview
During this retreat Jovinna will lead daily Hatha yoga classes with meditation and yogic philosophy.
We invites you to come reconnect with your body, reduce the chatter of the mind, relax and rejuvenate your whole being while creating space for the flow of aliveness in you!
Reviews
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Michael Barnes
Core Subject: 1000hr Yoga Teacher
Mick is a 1000hr Teacher based in Sydney. 200hr Samadhi, 300hr Jivamukti, 500hr Jivamukti mentor and Advanced cert Jivamukti teacher. Registered with both Yoga Australia and Yoga Alliance.His emphasis nowadays is on inclusiveness, keeping things grounded and accessible to all. This means understanding the importance of fundamental asana and methodology. Giving students the time and space to breath, find stillness and progress. Finding the breath, observing, giving up desire and attachment to physical form and turning inward seems to tick all the boxes in terms of improving strength, flexibility and mind clarity. Rushing the process and forcing students into poses through athleticism and force is not conducive to peace nor progress. The practice is a process, not an event and every day it is different hence the need for some familiarity with the fundamentals.
Location
The retreat will take place in Ulthopa, located in the heart of Sri Lanka by a lakeside at the foot of the Galgiriyawa mountains. Geographically, it is literally in the middle of the country on a north-south axis and slightly to the west on an east-east one. Ulpotha is blessed with surroundings that are uncommonly beautiful and serene.
The abundant bird and animal life reinforce its timeless beauty. When one looks out towards the mountain, one sees what one would have seen for two thousand years.
8 Days Relax, Restore & Renew with Jovinna Chan
Jovinna Chan, E-RYT 500, leads transformational programs around the world in the art and science of being fully alive through Conscious Dance, Yoga, and Meditation. Born and raised in a village in Singapore, she infuses her life and work with a sense of reverence and awe that she learned from the temples and forests that surrounded her home.
Jovinna spent eleven years in New York City as a Performing Artist and six years in studying Shotakan Karate. She has served as the Assistant Dean, and teacher trainer for the Kripalu School of Yoga in Massachusetts USA. Currently, she is a faculty member of Pranotthan School of Yoga and the co-director of the year-long Acharya Intensive program. In recent years, Jovinna co-founded Shakti Initiation Yoga Leadership School and A Wild Life Sanctuary™. She is a certified Soul Motion™ and LetYourYogaDance Teacher.
A well-respected teacher of yoga, conscious dance, and self-expression, Jovinna radiates a contagious quality of aliveness – in both movement and stillness – that students find liberating. In the many workshops and trainings she leads worldwide, she creates sacred space for deep joy and transformational experiences. www.Jovinna.com
Your Shelter:
There are 11 charming adobe guest huts in Ulpotha, all of which are built using traditional wattle and daub with comfortable beds, voluminous mosquito nets, cupboards, fresh water, towels and offer a sarong to wear and take home.
Open and airy by design, the huts offer you coziness and protection whilst being at one with nature. Each hut is hand painted twice a year using natural coloured clays. Much use has been made of clay, stone, wood, pottery and fabrics that reflect traditional village practices and aesthetics.
With one or two exceptions, Ulpotha adheres to the Sri Lankan village tradition of keeping toilet/loo spaces separate from living spaces. The enchanting showers are open to the stars and the toilets are comfortable and modern.
All the huts at Ulpotha are allocated on a twin share basis.
Your Food:
The food in Ulpotha is almost entirely vegan, naturally gluten-free, with an abundance of fresh vegetables, organic red rice and tropical fruit. Based on traditional rice and curries from the area, no specific ‘Master Chef’ has had a hand in the cuisine. Instead the dishes served at Ulpotha have evolved over its 20 plus year existance by a simple process of elimination.
Ulpotha has been written about in culinary articles and is in the esteemed position of having a celebrated cookbook dedicated in its honour! A visit to Ulpotha is a good opportunity to detoxify your system without fuss.
Special diets cannot be catered for but it is fairly easy to pick and choose, depending on your taste, from the many dishes served at each meal.
As we have no electricity, all food is freshly picked, un-refrigerated, and cooked in terracotta pots on open fires.
Ulpotha is a secret hideaway where you can enjoy a fabulous break from the digital world in a stunning environment, get strong thanks to twice daily yoga sessions led by world-class instructors, regain health with copious nutrient-rich plant-based cuisine, and tone up thanks to our expert international therapists and supplementary Ayurveda treatment programs.
Built around Buddhist agricultural village ethics offering gentle hospitality, Ulpotha has been named by the international press as "the best yoga retreat in the world" (Observer). And it's no wonder, for it's unlike any other yoga retreat on this planet.
Included in the holiday cost/ per week:
- Accommodation on a twin sharing basis (sharing with someone of the same gender if coming alone)
- All meals, snacks, drinks
- Two Yoga classes a day (No yoga on arrival morning, departure day and the excursion days)
- A one-on-one consultation with our resident Ayurveda doctor (only for those who have booked some Ayurveda).
- A one-hour massage/ per 7 nights' stay
- Laundry service
- The use of bicycles and hot water bathing area
- Taxes
- The organisation & transport of an excursion once a week (1/2 day excursion during Week 1 & a full day during Week 2 of any retreat)
Excursions from Ulpotha
Since gracious and priceless hospitality is what Ulpotha offers, tipping is not accepted and there are no additional service charges.
Not included in the holiday cost are:
- Travel costs to and from Ulpotha,
- Insurance,
- Ayurveda treatments,
- Entrance fees to cultural sites, outside meals/drinks
- Any additional massages guests may wish to book with the respective therapists (these can be arranged with the therapist subject to availability at USD-$80/per hour).
Ulpotha
Ulpotha is a Buddhist agricultural community in the jungle heartland of Sri Lanka, offering guests not only world class yoga but also traditional Ayurveda healing in an incomparably beautiful setting as close to nature as is humanly possible. Ulpotha has no aspiration to be anything other than what it is – a lovely, playful but honouring folly. Ulpotha is there to be enjoyed as one wishes, and taken for what it is: an enchanting place that sprinkles its magic dust on those who pass through.Ulpotha is in itself an integrated privately-run community that nurtures close ties to the surrounding villages.
“Ulpotha is talked about in revered tones as one of the most extraordinary yoga destinations in the world.” – The Guardian
PAYMENT INFO:
The easiest way to pay is by bank transfer.
We will send you an invoice for your payment to be made either by wire transfer or credit card.
DEPOSIT:
If the start date of your holiday is more than 8 weeks away, a 40% non-refundable deposit is required within 5 days of booking confirmation to reserve your space, the balance payment is due 8 weeks prior to your arrival date at Ulpotha.
If the start date of your holiday is less than 8 weeks away, a full payment is required within 5 days of your booking being confirmed.
Please note that as our spaces are very limited, if your payment is not received within the stipulated time, we regret that your space will automatically be released.
CREDIT CARD:
You may pay by credit card via Pay Pal, for which we will send you the payment request / invoice. Kindly note that Pay pal has a 5% surcharge on all payments which has nothing to do with us!
Early bird: -10% discount for full holiday price paid, by 1st July, for the winter holidays, and before the end of February, for the summer holidays.
* Please note that Discount or Special promotions don't apply to the tailored Ayurveda treatments as all the proceeds go towards funding a free clinic for the local population.
CANCELLATION POLICIES:
Cancellation of your holiday, for whatever reason, should be notified to us in writing. In any case, the 40% Deposit payment is NON refundable.
The cancellation charges are as follows:
55 - 28 days before arrival date : 70% of total cost
27 days or less before arrival date : 100% of total cost
However, in the event you wish to re-book your holiday (date change) all funds paid except for 40% Non refundable deposit will be available as a credit towards a future holiday to be booked within a year. The replacement holiday dates can include the Christmas and New Year period as well, but subject to availability and at the rates applicable at that time.
We regret, there will be no refunds on the Ayurveda bookings, or to any changes made to the on-going Ayurveda booking whilst at Ulpotha due to our limited capacity and high demand.