Special Gozo One-Off Retreat September 2021 Dates TBC From £595...If you're fed up with being locked in & locked down, here's a golden opportunity to spread your wings and fly!
COVID-19 - All government safety regulations are in place will be strictly adhered to for your health and wellbeing.
Gozo yoga holidays Fr £645
Sunra is delighted to offer a one off retreat in September to this stunning location. A jewel in the Mediterranean with its wonderful weather, stunning scenery & beaches, steeped in history and as yet quite unspoilt, we invite you to come, relax and enjoy this beautiful island of Gozo!
The island is a masterpiece created by nature, with its pristine shoreline, untouched country trails, baroque architecture and 7000 years of culture. The government have a project in place to make it an Eco island with a view to complete the project in the near future & it is fast becoming a tourist attraction in its own right.
Gozo is easily accessed by a 20 minute ferry ride which runs 24/7 from the port in Malta, 1 - 1.5hrs from MLA Airport. Airlines fly daily from all over Europe offering inexpensive flights all year round. For UK flights please look at www.airmalta.com www.ryanair.com & www.easyjet.com For flights from Europe & worldwide please look at www.skyscanner.net
Flights for 12th – 19th September are incredibly cheap, starting at £40 return!
This is a great opportunity to deepen your practise and/or for beginners to jump in at the deep end. There are two Sivananda yoga classes per day, each lasting one & a half hours, generally at 8.00am & 5.00pm, with one free day per week. Sivananda is a soft, gentle style of Hatha yoga. Each class incorporates pranayama, assanas, stretching & Meditation & are tailored to the individual needs of each student.
In each week there will be one free day giving you plenty of time to travel round the island sightseeing as well as between morning & evening classes. Public transport is very cheap and easy to use. Alternatively you can just chill by the pool & relax or have a massage.
There are two sandy beaches on the island. Ramla Bay, which is the largest of the two, offers sun beds, umbrellas & a cafeteria & San Blas, which is small with a very steep walk from the road, but worth the trek! There is a jeep service available for €3 each way if you prefer to take it easy. There are also sun beds, umbrellas & a cafeteria here.
The bus stop is a 5 minute walk from the farmhouse & from there you can take a 15 minute bus ride from Victoria & then another bus on to both beaches. Please note from Ghasri to Victoria the buses run once per hour. There is a flat rate of €2 for any bus journey, however the ticket lasts for two hours, so you can use it on any bus route. You can also hire cars, bicycles & scooters locally, please ensure you bring your licence!
Victoria, the capital of Gozo, is buzzy & lively, full of shops, restaurants & cafes where you can sit outside & watch the world go by. You can also visit Gran Castello, a citadel in an area of Victoria which has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. The Cittadella is a combination of a medieval castle and an early modern gunpowder fortress, with its northern walls retaining a largely medieval form and its southern walls dating back to a 17th-century reconstruction.
Ġgantija in Xaghra is a megolithic temple, the oldest known ruins in the world, even older than the Pyramids! Coach parties stop here but if you wait for them to pass through it is much easier to get a sense of the scale of the temples and the effort it must have taken to construct then so long ago. There is some information given out and tickets for here also get you into the Ta Kola windmill and can be used once for each attraction over a couple of weeks so you don't need to visit them both on the same day. Every village in Gozo has a quaint square in its centre with a church. These squares are generally surrounded by bars and restaurants. The churches are stunning and always worth a visit.
Daily Schedule:
Day 1: Arrival
Day 2: Yoga 8am - 9.30am. Brunch 10am. Relax by the pool or go sightseeing, have a treatment, go to the beach. Yoga 5pm - 6.30pm.
Day 3: Same as day 1
Day 4: Free Day with no yoga classes. Brunch only will be served. Optional boat trip to Camino Island at an additional cost.
Day 5: Yoga 8am - 9.30am. Brunch 10am.
Day 6: Same as day 1.
Day 7: Same as day 1 with late afternoon yoga (weather permitting) followed by sunset meditation at the beach
Day 8: Yoga 8am - 9.30am. Brunch. Departure.
The retreat will be run by Barbara Gordon, founder and director of The Sivananda Yoga Centre (London) & Jane Nayar will be assisting in teaching.
BARBARA
Psychotherapist specialising in Eating Disorders
Masseuse
Massage Trainer
Healer
Singer
Yoga Teacher since 1969
Yoga Teacher Trainer (Yoga Alliance Approved)
Barbara has been practising yoga for over 50 years. Initially training with Swami Vishnudevananda, a direct deciple of Sivananda, she went on to study with many great masters; Swami Satchitananda, Swami Venkateshananda, Sogyal Rimpoche, Krishnamurti, and Baba Ram Das, to name but a few. Her current teacher is Guruji Mohan, an enlightened master and healer extraordinaire, whom she met in Rhajastan where he is based, six years ago, when invited to teach on an Indian colleague’s teacher training in India. She goes to visit Guruij every year for further training and inspiration.
She has studied and practised many forms of Hatha Yoga including, Sivananda, Iyengar, Ashtanga, plus Buddhist and Hindu Meditation. One of her great loves is Bhajan, (Sanskrit Chanting). Barbara teaches an eclectic mix of Sivananda and other styles. Each class is different depending on the levels of the students present and include asanas, pranayama, stretching and meditation. With her wealth of knowledge and experience she can help you develop your practice to a very deep level.
JANE
Jane is a qualified nutritionist and yoga teacher. She also offers Vega testing which is a machine that tells you if you have any allergies and what supplements you need.
Your Accommodation:
The retreat will be hosted at Dar Il-Hena, meaning "house of happiness, peace & tranquility", a beautiful 300 year old converted farmhouse with all mod cons in the village of Ghasri. It is fully detached so peace and quiet are guaranteed, making it the ideal location for a retreat with its stunning views of the surrounding countryside. The farmhouse has an outdoor pool with indoor and outdoor spaces for your yoga practise.
One bedroom has a double bed and a single bed with a shared bathroom. One bedroom has three single beds with a shared bathroom. One bedroom has a double bed with an en-suite bathroom. If you like the outdoors there is a bell tent suitable for one person in the walled garden, with easy access to an indoor shower and toilet.
FREE WIFI AVAILABLE!
Meals:
Daily brunch and dinner is included & gluten free options will be available. There is no dinner on the day off. Hot drinks including herbal teas will be available free of charge 24/7. The tap water is safe to drink and fine for making tea. Mineral water will be supplied free of charge.
Ghasri is the smallest village in Gozo with a supermarket and a lovely family run restaurant serving local and international cuisine, both of which are five minutes away from the retreat. You just have to walk out the door in any direction and there are beautiful country walks. Ghasri is dominated by Ta Gurdan Lighthouse standing 180m above sea level on a flat topped hill, high above the village. A steep path leads up to the lighthouse, with the reward of spectacular 360 degree views across the island. The village lies nestled between the hills of Zebbug and Ghammar overlooking the Ghasri Valley, which is ideal for walkers and cyclists alike. The scenery ends in a beautiful tight gorge dropping into the sea, a site popular with divers & ideal for swimming. Ten minutes walk away is Ta Pinu church, famous for its healing powers.
Cost:
Per person sharing a room with shared bathroom: £695.00
Per person sharing the room with en-suite bathroom: £725.00 (Single supplement only available in this room - £50.00 additional cost)
Tent accommodation (for one person) with shared bathroom: £595.00
Includes:
Daily Brunch
Dinner every night except the free day when brunch only is included
11 x 1.5 hour Sivananda classes
We can arrange return transfers from Malta Luqa Airport (MLA) for €40 per person each way. Alternatively you can use the Bolt taxi service or the island’s bus service to make your own way to the retreat.
