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- Organizer: Vale De Moses
- Type: Yoga Retreat
- Starting From: 15-March-2020
- Duration: 7 Days
- Area: Centro, Portugal
- Food: Vegetarian,Vegan,Gluten Free
- Surrounding area: Forest,Mountain,Close To Nature,River
Overview
Come retreating in the Serra de Estrela mountains of Central Portugal to soak in the pure mountain air and the unparalleled blissed backdrop of nature. Whispering forests of pines surround the retreat abode where meditation becomes an effortless exercise.
Gurgling brooks crisscross the forest paths, wide patches of herb gardens fall on the way, with heaps and oodles of peacefulness all around. You would love the Yogshala, with glass walls and wooden floors promising warmth and openness to the verdure of nature outside. It’s amazing to discover the deeper reaches of your body and mind as you fold out in the inner revealing asanas here, eat delicious and fresh meals, star gaze, and sleep like a baby each night.
The retreat curriculum is designed for yogis of all levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Whether you are in Portugal with the soul intent of backpacking in the Serra de Estrela wilderness or in search of a holistic wellness retreats that suit your temperament, here you will find solace. With the full retreat package, you will receive morning and afternoon yoga lessons, hands-on assistance and asana modification tips, 2 deeply healing treatments, health consultations, massage and acupuncture, nourishing daily meals thrice a day, and a vivifying day trip to Rio ZeZere. This Portugal yoga pad is one of the best features destinations for wellness seekers, appearing in NatGeo Traveller, The Guardian, The Telegraph, OmYoga Magazine, and Yoga Journal publications.
Reviews
Blessed to have been guided to your place... it was exactly what I needed. Connecting to nature, practicing Yoga surrounded by wonderful people, experiencing what good, healthy food can do for your body and soul, having a wonderful massage and experiencing the magic of a reconnective healing treatment. Missing the open laugh of such an uplifting soul like Oliver, missing the deep conversations with you, Andrew, missing the spirit and dedication of beautiful Mars. Thanks to every one of you who shared this week with me. You guys are all awesome. I love you. Truly.
Source: Facebook
If you are lucky enough to have visited then you are truly lucky enough .
Source: Facebook
So this is to you Vale the moses, a place where miracles happen, where Beauty grows out of places you would have never expected it, where the heart opens up, where love finds it's way, where animals make you feel safe and loved, where yoga is a philosophy, where Food is like art, where words don't always have to be used, where sometimes the light is found in silence. A place where you'll find you own truth. - Thank you Vale de Moses for making this week unforgettable, thanks for making me laugh and cry. Every single one of you made this journey special!
Source: Facebook
Teachers
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Tom Barber
Core Subject: Yoga Instructor
I walked into my very first Yoga class on a weekend trip to Amsterdam 12 years ago. Since then I have explored different styles including Bikram, Ashtanga, Power Vinyasa Yoga and now I teach the intensely physical and healing Forrest Yoga, a modern, dynamic practice carefully crafted by Ana Forrest over the past 40 years.Forrest Yoga ignites every cell in my body. I love the intensity and the emphasis on personal freedom, intuition, and connection to spirit and the authentic self. I completed my 200hr teacher training in 2014 in London at Hot Power Yoga with world-class instructors Dylan Ayaloo and Craig Norris. I then trained with modern Yoga pioneer Ana Forrest in the UK and completed the 200hr Level 1 Foundation Training, and in Spring 2017 I completed the Forrest Yoga Advanced Training with Ana in Calgary.
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Tashi Dawa
Core Subject: Vinyasa Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Dynamic Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Dance Teacher
Tashi dawa practices yoga with complete dedication, she was introduced to Ashtanga yoga in Bali in 1996 and has integrated the methods of Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar and Dynamic yoga into her workshops and retreats around the world. She firmly believes that a balanced and joyful life is achievable through the effortless effort afforded by a regular yoga practice; peace and happiness arise naturally by living creatively with a willingness to explore and witness the body and mind in the present moment.
Location
Set in the hiking district of Serra de Estrela, Portugal, the valley of Vale de Moses is heartbreakingly beautiful. Winds whisper all day long through the surrounding pine and eucalyptus forests and fills the ambience with the caress of nature. It’s an ideal place to pause and ponder by along the busy and exhaustive days of life.
The retreat folks Andrew and Voetta Winter promotes a relaxing and leisurely yoga life in these serene steppes of the Potuguese mountains and invite you to spend a few days doing little and resting maximum. Though if you are a mountain lover, weekend summer hikes at the local Natural Park and winter time skiing at the Estancia de Ski is always on the cards here in these parts of beautiful earth.
Joyfulness becomes one’s very essence and ease her natural state, when the body is freed of negative emotions and tension. The Valdemoses retreat program is designed to suit just this goal, for rising against one’s lesser potential self to reach the infinite possibilities of the self, soul, and the universe.
The various strengths of the program are as follows:
- Postures- Lessons on posture are divided into spry morning classes- inspired by Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow, and dynamic Hatha Yoga; afternoon lessons- peaceful Yin Yoga exercises, Acro Yoga, and contemplations. Taking part in these differently temperamental classes will bring you integration, wholeness, and profound relaxation.
- Breathing- Breathing is central to the yogic exercise. Learn the ways of diaphragmatic breathing in this section to clear the channels of prana or the vital energies.
- Meditation- The daily yogic rituals will remain incomplete without some time apart for inwards-looking contemplation. Let the expert instructors at Valedemoes guide you in channeling your thoughts inwards, opening up your being to the infinite. Mindfulness meditation is part of the daily schedule.
- Healing- Yoga is healing as it conditions the body back to equilibrium, with the stress levels toned down, the joints relaxing, and the hormonal balance restored. Regular practice is known to cure sleep dysfunction, improve circulation, and propel detoxification from within. Self-love is at the core of yoga, thus promoting emotional wellness.
- Consultation- The retreat houses a team of expert instructors and wellness guides to whom you can talk to you about difficulties you have been facing and work towards a restorative solution with yoga. Whether it’s an issue of joint pain, reducing energy level and fatigue, or digestive dysfunction, a prescription of lifestyle modifications, exercise, and dietary changes will bring you closer to a holistic health solution.
The curriculum of this retreat is comprehensive of posture practices, self-time, and healing treatments. In addition, some nights are reserved for partying! You can also show off your yoga skills at the weekly workshops and take part in interactive learning.
Take a look:
Asanas: Yoga every day for 2 hours with the teacher in the morning and afternoon covers-- Hatha Basics, dynamic Ashtanga, Yin, and other restorative forms.
Meditative Forest Walk: The mornings are made merry with silent led walks into the depthless calm of the forests. Grow your inner silence.
Leisure Activities: Leisure is part of the retreat plan. A few hours should be dedicated to spending on your own. Just lay back and read a book, take a massage, go swimming, or walk in the wilderness-- it’s your call!
Healing Spa: The in-house facility is equipped to give you a thorough rub down each day with herbalized extracts. Rejuvenating oil or creme spas helps in detoxifying, clearing dead skin and hair cells, and give your dermal layers the necessary hydration.
Trip: Take a long walk with the group in the surrounding forests, heading off to the nearby Rio Zezere to swim, a mud bath, and some quaint earthy moments spent in leisure.
Earthy and charming, beautiful stone cottages in the midst of murmuring forests with private and sharing arrangements make for a complacent stay. Alternatively, there are Soulpad belle tents with clean bed spaces promising restfulness in deep connection with nature’s heart. The living quarters come with room-attached shower cubicles and bathrooms. Basic furnishings and other amenities are provided inside to keep lives smoothly running while on the retreat. Whether you are visiting solo or seeking n escapade with your dear beloved, the retreat home is going to make you feel like in paradise. Select your accommodation, add your week, and fill out the form with the advance deposit from the following accommodation types--
- Private Soulpad Belle Tent- Stay up in one of these cozy tents pitched right inside the forest amidst the murmur of wind blowing through the leaves and the quietude of the riverside.
- Ninja Suite- With stone paved floors and a cabin roof, this private suite is located next to the Adega. This is the best deal for accommodation if you are a family of four.
- Moses or Monastic Adega Cottage- Couples sharing a private double bed room are warmly welcome in the Adega cottages. The windows open into forest verdure and a river.
- Double Bed Soulpad- It is a farmhouse room designed either for couple’s stay or a luxuriant private accommodation.
- Oleiros Riverside Wooden Cabin- A wooden cabin by the river beach, it’s a haven of peace and composure. You would love to yoga on the deck, looking towards the sunset in the forests.
You won't be hungry as we feel it's important to nourish your body while on retreat with us. We lovingly prepare three delicious and nutritious vegetarian/vegan meals every day. Our talented plant-based chefs bring passion and joy to their cooking. They have years of experience with vegetarian and vegan food in a variety of settings around the world.
We start the day with warming tea, fruit and nuts before a silent meditation walk in the forest, followed by yoga class. After which we serve a hearty breakfast of rice, millet, quinoa or buckwheat porridge, with fruit salad, toasted nuts and seeds, and freshly squeezed juices. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day when our stomachs are best able to digest. Dinners are light to help us sleep more deeply.
We are well versed in looking after those who have specific dietary requirements. The majority of our menus are vegan and gluten free. Please do let us know any other requirements in advance.
- A chance to have a different kind of Euro tour with yoga in Portugal’s Serra da Estrela the highest mountain range in mainland Portugal, dotted with charming villages.
- Adapting to a slow-paced yoga schedule conducted in the midst of the forest verdure.
- A cuisine rich in nutrition, forming a balanced diet to restore health in you.
- Health consultation centered on your specific ailments.
- Rejuvenating spa and massages in-house.
- Exciting local trips in the wilderness.
- Transport to and from Oleiros
- 3 daily vegetarian/vegan meals
- A 90 minute Body Harmonising massage - Thai, Tui Na, Indonesian, Ayurvedic and/or Acupuncture
- A mid-week trip to the Rio Zêzere for a mud bath and swim (weather permitting).
- Use of all the facilities
- Additional treatments available from our therapists for 90€ per 90 minutes
Vale de Moses
We found Vale de Moses in September 2007, six months into a year’s trip round Southern Europe in a motor-home with our children Joshua and Eloise, aged ten and eight, and our legend of a golden retriever, Moses. We took a year out from work and school, to be together as a family, for a glorious adventure, for a very long dog walk and to see, perhaps, if there was a life in Europe a little more sustainable and connected to nature than the furious paced one we were living in south east London.
In September of that year, having traveled (and eaten!) extensively through France, Italy and Spain, we arrived in Portugal and found an old abandoned farm in the remote forested foothills of the Serra da Estrela mountains, nestled below the picturesque village of Amieira, with the same name as our dog, Moses. In Portuguese it means a place of many millstones, but to us it was a divine coincidence!
If you can’t come on appointed time, a full balance refund will be facilitated. The 150 € advance deposit can be used in any other Vale de Moses retreat, that year or the next.