Varberg Winter Retreat – INFORMATION

We start the evening off with some words from Asia Spa and Michael J Wong, then we hand over to Malin Mendel who has prepared a special menu for us.

Explore the deeper meaning of the Sanskrit word Anahata, meditate on openness, strength, and vulnerability and learn Sara's favorite tools for backbending. This workshop is open to everyone who wants to understand backbending, expand their range of motion, and try asanas such as camel and wheel and their variations. The session will begin with a short dharma talk, intention setting and a mantra. Then we will move through series of warmups and progressively work towards the peak poses. To wind down we will flow through a couple of counter poses and finish with savasana and a mantra.

Movement Unraveled is your invitation to use the power of movement and visit places within your body that are craving to be seen. You can expect to flow seamlessly to the rhythm of your breath and work towards deep hip opening asanas like the firelog, compass, pigeon variations, and leg behind the head. We will start the practice with a little workshop talk on hip opening and a mantra, and then flow to the rhythm of our breaths. After visiting the peak poses we will wind down and relax.

True to its name, this class will help you to playfully get into inverted positions like the forearm stand or handstand. This class is for everyone, and you don’t need to be able to do a handstand to join, quite the opposite. I will share with you my favorite tips and tricks, we’ll strengthen and move the body, and then play around with fun partner exercises that will help you to get upside down and explore the world of inversions.

Ancient yogis say that our true nature is sat-chit-ananda, or truth consciousness and bliss. Why is it then, that we don't experience this blissful self and instead worry, regret, get jealous, angry, or afraid so frequently? In this lecture we will look at the philosophy of yoga and understand its correlation with psychology. You can expect to learn about the three parts of the mind, why are habits, or samskaras so powerful, explore what dharma is, and look at four different paths of yoga and approaches to connect with your blissful self.

There are plenty of ways to shortcut your way into a pose, or at least something that looks like the pose on quick inspection, but here we’ll be focusing on integrity over aesthetics. Backbends have countless benefits, if done mindfully, but have lots of less-than-desirable outcomes if you are ‘chasing the shape’. Here, through a controlled vinyasa practice, we’ll be especially looking at; finding evenness, enhancing technique, building strength and finding comfort, in your backbends. We’ll strengthen your over- loose bits and open your over-tight bits.

If a yoga practice can been seen as a practice of balance, then perhaps as we practice balance we should not only look for the flexibility, but also compliment it with strength and mobility. . Many people need to increase flexibility in most places to find the balanced middle, but for many experienced yogis, they need to find strength and stability in many places to come back to that middle. Prepare to explore how we can not only increase passive flexibility in yoga, but how we can use strength to increase active range of motion, for a safe long term practice. We’ll explore common asanas where people hang out in joints or collapse in to their flexibility and take variations of familiar poses that encourage more strength, but that will look less photogenic! You’ll use use muscles you never realised you had and learn to let go of ego!

We spend lots of time walking around in comfortable, chunky trainers on artificially flat surfaces, meaning many of the muscles in our feet never get the chance to wake up and be used! In this class we’; build a strong, yet flexible, foundation for our whole body moving our feet, ankles and toes in every possible way. Expect balancing, mobility, and a new appreciation of your feet.

Join Cami for a gentle awakening that helps your welcome the day. In this yin yoga class you will move through slow and deep postures to open the body and prepare for the day ahead. In this class you will take your time and move mindfully, each posture helping move the body and enlighten the senses. The best way to wake up is always slowly.

This yin class will help release stress, process emotions and find your way back to you. In this class you will melt the heart and soften your edges and treat yourself to a deeply enriching and nourishing practice. Come back home with this beautiful yin practice with Cami.

Dive into the magic of yin with long, slow and deep postures to turn the focus inside. Join Cami for a journey inward through wisdom, feeling and intuition. The practice will have help unwind the mind and create space in the body. This is the perfect practice to balance the weekend of activities.

A good night of sleep starts with what you do during the day. Join Cami for a yin yoga class to help prepare you for deep sleep and blissful rest. Take it slow and move gently as we practice together through yin postures and sweet stories that finishes with a long and cosy savasana. This is a class not to be missed.

Join Michael for his signature practice that combines music, movement and the breath. In this practice you will learn a series of short sequence and repeat them in the breath and body. This practice is strong and steady, and is truly the practice of feeling. This class is not to be missed.

Join Michael for a vinyasa practice that will open the hips and deepen the body. In the practice we will move slowly in and out of the poses and take time to ensure the body peels back the layers of takes time to create space and flow.

Join Michael for a restorative practice of breathwork, meditation and deep rest. We will start with an ecstatic breathwork to clear the body and balance the nervous system and follow it with restorative yoga postures, yoga nidra and a meditation.

Lie down under a blanket, close your eyes, and prepare to lose sense of the world around you as you’re guided on a journey of sacred sounds. Surrender to the healing vibrations and sensations from Holly’s beautiful instruments such as crystal bowls, chimes and voice, as they weave their wonders over and through you. Expect a unique, sensory experience which aims to leave you in a state of balance and harmony. Nothing for you to do but relax.

This fun and relaxed workshop is for you if you love to sing, even if you think you "can’t”! Some things you'll learn about: The power of the voice as a healing tool. The significance of chanting ‘Om’. How certain sounds can heal certain energy centres (chakras) in our body. The magic of crystal singing bowls. We’ll raise our vibration through chanting and singing together, with a simple intention of joy!

Sound healing is science and magic combined. In this 90 minute workshop, you'll learn about: The power of sound. How your thoughts, emotions and words create your reality. How crystal bowl sound healing can help you manifest your dream life. How to overcome your limiting beliefs. You'll also lie down and receive a beautiful sound healing from Holly with her crystal bowls and singing voice. Expect fun, magic, manifesting and relaxation.

Experience the primordial power of drumming paired with breathwork techniques for energy, focus, and mental calm. Synchronise your breath with the rhythmic beat of the traditional drum to increase your mind-body connection and motivation. This experience compliments your spirit by providing a still mind and a sense of embodiment to guide you into a profound experience of your inner world. Discover the invigorating practice of cold water immersion in the famous Sea of Kattegat as a meditative practice as well as being given guidelines on achievable daily practices for physical rejuvenation, mental focus, and deep relaxation.

Deepen your connection with nature through practical methods that develop a heightened awareness of the natural environment, grounding exercises, and reflective activities. Increased nature connectivity cultivates a deeper appreciation for the natural world. It provides the foundation for an actionable pathway to increase well-being and nature connection in daily life that promotes a sense of responsibility and stewardship toward the environment

Under den här föreläsningen får du lära dig hur du kan öka både hälsa och livslust genom att få in lite indisk mat i vardagen. En majoritet av indierna är vegetarianer och det finns en uråldrig tradition att äta på ett sätt som gör oss både friska och starka. Inom yoga och ayurveda spelar maten en viktig roll för vårt välbefinnande, och mycket av den indiska mat traditionen utgår från magen. De många kryddorna i indiska recept är inte bara goda, utan har också mängder av hälsofrämjande egenskaper. I indiska recept ingår också ofta sånt som vi alla borde äta mer av: grönsaker, baljväxter och nötter. En indisk måltid består ofta av flera olika rätter som kompletterar varandra i smak, färg, näring, hetta och svalka. Men man behöver inte laga en hel måltid för att få del av det indiska hälsotänket, lite kardemumma i frukost gröten, en energigivande mango lassi till mellanmål eller en värmande linssoppa till middag räcker långt. Kom och lyssna på Malin Mendel när hon delar med sig av sina bästa knep hur du enkelt får till det indiska hemma i ditt eget kök med rätter som är både goda - och nyttiga.

A way of coming back into the body and reconnecting to the life force. This connection helps you to remember your own wisdom. We start to opening up a safe space and relaxing into the moment. Through establishing the connection to the earth and the sky we explore the support that is always available around us. This is a yoga class for deepening into the feminine. It’s a combination of different yoga styles and also Tantra, Shamanism, Feminine embodiment and Taoism. I welcome you as you are and all that is in every moment. Through breath, movement, connection, energy work and stillness we are going to move through a theme and reconnect to the realms of the feminine.

"Liberating dance" is a moving meditation, with your own mindful and free movements. We begin with a silent space, to connect with ourselves and our own inner rhythm. From there we let different rhythms and beats from the music inspire us to move. In an easygoing and playful way, we will explore how to support our body and mind to soften and relax more. We will open to allow the life force energy to flow more freely in our bodies. "Liberating dance" is a beautiful opportunity to invite more energy, joy, peace and relaxation in our lives.

In this class we will work with powerful movements and breathing to create deep relaxation. The exercises also focus on working with kidneys, liver and spleen. This creates a good environment to release fear and anger from the body. We end the class with mantra meditation.

Experience this vinyasayoga practice where Ottilia guides you deep within your own body, mind and breath. You can expect to move your body to create heat from within, perhaps build a bit of sweat, and discover how movement can help you find a deeper way to practice - body, mind & beyond.

Expect to breath and move to find strength, flexibility and create space withing your entire being. Together we'll find gentle movements on the mat to still our mind and listen to our breath as well as our heartbeat for guidance.

In this class you will have the opportunity to connect to your own lifeforce, Qi. Jonna guides you into your body, your presence and your own flow of qi. With movements from Chinese Qigong you support your meridians to let Qi flow freely in you. Enjoy the opportunity to move with soft movements at almost a meditative pace to really sense the sensations in your body. In the end of the class the sounds of Gongs will help you release your system and create even more room for Qi moving freely in your being.

Too balance your chakras is to balance your life! In this class you are invited to explore your chakras. Grounding, earthing, support yourself, open up, flow, cleanse and finding strenght. With support from the more free movements of yoga and by deeply listening inwards you let your chakras be in center. We will use both quiet movements, powerful expressions, shaking and stillness in this class and we’ll end it with a guided savasana.

All teachers and retreaters will join us for a beautiful last class on Sunday that also marks the ending of Varberg Winter Retreat this year. We’ll start with Kirtan hosted by Sara Ticha and end with a special treat and a closing ceremony by Asia Spa and Michael J Wong.