Mindfulness yoga

going beyond yoga

Sacarest Mindfulness based Yoga Retreats

yoga pose

Sudaka and Sadhita are offering two distinct meditation and yoga retreats in the wonderfully remote and rugged Sacarest Retreat Centre. Sacarest is situated a few kilometres back from the Alicante coast. Sacarest is a Retreat Centre run by Dolf and Anne (Dutch and German).

More than just a yoga retreat, Sudaka and Sadhita introduce gradually practices from the Hatha yoga tradition, as well as core Buddhist teachings. A typical day involves a morning double session of meditation then yoga. In the afternoon we offer a second session of more recuperative yoga or breath-work. We present themes related to mindfulness, meditation, yoga and Buddhism.

We ask all participants to agree and assent to the following;

1. A minimum of 6 months regular meditation practice.
2. To follow the programme and practice the silence as fully as possible.
3. To stay for the duration of the retreat. (No day trips out)
4. Please note Sacarest is not a holiday venue. There is no swimming pool. Just vast beautiful silence, forests,
mountains and sky. We attempt to provide all the conditions necessary to deepen your meditation and yoga practice.

If you fancy the beach please arrange to stay on the coast a few days before or after your retreat.
We recommend Hostal Mercat in Villajoyosa.

The Dana economy :: contribution based approach

What does this mean and why are we running our retreat in this way?

This way of running our retreats in this consumerist age is a radical approach. We want to break out of a conventional way of thinking about paying for what you receive and enter into a more profound and meaningful relationship with our students.

We will give you our time, energy and many years experience of doing and guiding retreat practice as well as many years experience teaching yoga. We invite you to give generously based on your economic capacity and bearing in mind that these retreats help to support us, Sadhita and Sudaka in their Dharma and yoga teaching work, as well as helping to maintain and develop Sacarest and the running costs of the retreat.

Language English

The Fundamentals of Mindfulness Yoga

4 - 11 June 2016

Dana economy :: contribution based

Bodhiyoga is an approach to yoga which incorporates the Buddhist teaching of mindfulness and loving kindness. Deepening awareness has been a key part of the Buddha's system of spiritual training since the beginning.

Meditation forms an important part of the practice as well as the yoga classes, systematic relaxation and breath training. The principles of mindfulness inform the practice of yoga asana and lead to a deeper level of integration. Places will be limited to 12 participants.

Retreat programme for both events

7.00 Rise
7.30 Meditation
9.00 Breakfast
10.30 Meditation review / groups
11.30 Yoga practice
13.30 Lunch
------------------------
17.00 Workshop / Talk around bringing Mindfulness into our yoga practice
18.00 Yin yoga / Mindful forest walk & Meditation practice
20.00 Evening meal
21.15 Meditation
Silence over night

view-Puig-Campana-from-Guhyaloka

A special feature of the courses will be the afternoon sessions (17.00 – 20.00). We pick up the theme of Mindfulness and Yoga and explore how you can bring this into your own practice and teaching. Follows are 2 hours of the meditative Yin-style Yoga or walking meditation in the forest.

As the retreat deepens we offer an extended one day practice of silence with an emphasis on more meditation practice in the format of "seshins", a Zen or Chan style of practice whereby we alternate short periods of walking and sitting meditation.

Silence, with which Sacarest in wonderfully blessed, supports the retreat.

Booking and payment

The retreats are limited to 12 persons only, so book early.

Contact us via our email and send your full name, address, phone number(s) and emergency contact name and number as well as tell us a bit about your yoga and meditation experience. To reserve and secure your place send us a non-returnable deposit of £150 (British pounds sterling).

The rest of your payment to us will be based on what you wish to give us on the last day of your retreat in Sacarest. Please give generously within your capacity. Understand that what you give goes to support Sudaka and Sadhita in their yoga and Dharma teaching work, your food and accomodation and maintenance and development of the Sacarest project.

Check that you will have adequate health insurance cover for the duration of your journey and check that your arrival and leaving time from Alicante airport allowing time to get to and from the airport. The pick-up is at 18.00 in Finestrat on the first day and we can drop you back at the earliest 11.00 on the last day.

You may have to spend one night in the area to co-ordinate your travel times. Finestrat and the surrounding villages are well worth a few days visit, before or after our retreat.

Mindfulness-based yoga and meditation

The morning yoga will be stronger and more dynamic to energise and strengthen the body, the afternoon class will be gentler, more meditative and aimed and relaxing and opening the body. Workshops and presentations are run in the late morning and afternoon.

Sadhita and Sudaka alternate teaching sessions of yoga and meditation, so you will receive classes from both.

Meditation sessions are combined with the yoga classes and we provide plenty of instruction on setting up a meditation practice, how to meditate and how to deepen your meditation practice. We draw strongly on the Satipatthana or Mindfulness - "Direct Path to Awakening" teaching from the Buddhist tradition. We teach the meditations of the Mindfulness of Breathing, Metta Bhavana and Just Sitting as well as how to practice and integrate "everyday Mindfulness" into your everyday life!

How to get there (and away)?

sacarest room

The retreat pick-up is at 18.00 in Bar Cantonet in Finestrat, the village some 20 mintues from Sacarest on the first day of the retreat. Drop-back to the airport of Alicante or coast at 11.00 at the earliest on the last day of the retreat. Please check your travel times in relation to this. Keep my number at hand; Sudaka 0034 638 31 71 38.

Sacarest is easily reached from Alicante airport. Or if you come overland, from Benidorm. Travel to Alicante is easy from most European destinations.

There are two options for the final part of your journey;

Option 1. Co-ordinated pick-up and travel by taxi from Alicante airport. Meet other retreatants in the Cafe on the ground floor in Alicante airport and travel up together sharing the costs. The taxi ride is some 50 kilometres and costs around 70/80 euros (shared with up to 4 passengers) each way. Let us know if you want to travel by taxi and we will help you co-ordinate a shared ride with other retreatants.

Option 2. You make your own way to Finestrat. First you head to Alicante by Airport bus or go directly to Benidorm by bus (company called Alsa). From Alicante you can to take the tram or bus to Benidorm. From Benidorm, ride up by taxi to Finestrat (about 25 euros for the taxi). The cheapest way up, if you can make the connections, is to take a bus from the Airport to Cala Finestrat and then take a local bus from Cala Finestrat up to the village of Finestrat.

We will organise the drop-back to the airport or the coast with Dolf once you are at Sacarest.

The address is of the venue is: Sacarest, Apartado 130, 03509 Finestrat (Alicante), Spain

Transforming yoga through Mindfulness

17 - 24 September 2016

Dana economy :: contribution based

Mindfulness practice forms the basis of this retreat. It is for all those who want to understand the basic principles of Buddhist meditation practice and hatha yoga. Open to all levels, the retreat will start from basics and build up over the week, exploring the fundamentals of practice. You will be carefully guided to help you establish confidence in your yoga and meditation.

The retreat draws its inspiration from the Buddhist tradition. Led by Sadhita and Sudaka, the founders of Bodhiyoga, you will leave the retreat clear and confident as to how to work effectively in yoga. Practicing in the context of a retreat will give the experience of more depth. Enjoying the surroundings of the wild natural beauty of the mountains, you will be inspired.

Sacarest is wonderfully secluded which provides excellent conditions for the practice of yoga and meditation and silence. The silence is pronounced and vibrant! Places will be limited to 14 participants.

Sacarest

Living at Sacarest Retreat Centre for just a few days brings you into a more intimate connection with nature and the elements, which supports and enhances the cultivation of sensitivity and awareness of the mind and body through the yoga and meditation practices.

The programme is designed to give plenty of time to be quiet, to rest, hang out with others, or go for walks through the nearby woods, through the valleys and along the nearby ridges. Puig Campana (1406m), the local mountain, stands majestically over the premises.

Sacarest Retreat Centre emphasizes ecological sustainablilty, simplicity and collective living.

We use compost toilets (as well as more conventional flush loos).
Water is heated by a solar heating system
Electricity comes from solar panels.
Water comes from on-site mountain springs.
There is no Internet!
The Retreat Centre is off the grid!

sacarest view

sacarest-bedroom

Accomodation and food

Sleeping is in individual and double rooms on the first floor of the restored farm house. There are 10 rooms in all and all open on to a long terrace with a spectacular view to the West through the mountains to the azure Mediterrenean waters. There are indoor and outdoor wash and shower facilities, compost and conventional flush loos. There is limited individual occupancy so please let us know well in advance.

On the ground floor a large entrance gives way to a long dining room and spacious kitchen. A small library is situated in the practice space.

Dolf and Anna

The yoga and meditation practice space is a spacious arched room also on the first floor.

The food is vegetarian and sourced locally as much as is possible. All meals will be prepared by Sacarest's capable cooks Dolf and Anne, who have many, many years experience running retreats in Sacarest and on the coast at El Bloque.

What to bring

yoga mat
light comfortable clothing for yoga practice
towel
sheets and pillow case for a single bed
bathroom things
head lamp or torch
sturdy shoes or boots
sun protection and sun creams
notebook
some clothing to cover up at night (it can be cool - we are at 800m)
insect repellent
any essential medicines

Final details

Please note that Sacarest is a retreat centre and that there is no Internet available and it is preferable to not have your mobile device switched on during the course of the retreat. You can give Sudaka's number 0034 638 31 71 38 to loved ones if there is need to contact you in an emergency.

Testamonials

I turned up to the Bodhiyoga retreat with my arm in a sling with torn shoulder and arms muscles. I was worried about how much yoga I would be able to do... Sudaka and Sadhita couldn't have been more sensitive. They worked around my injury and I was amazed at what I was able to do as the days progressed. When I left I could do a headstand! The retreat, set in the mountains, high above Finestrat, made a perfect getaway. There is a beautiful calmness there, which led to a very moving week. The yoga and meditations were inspiring, and the understanding of the human spirit that Sudaka and Sadhita share is truly unique. I especially enjoyed the guided silences which gave an oppurtunity for self reflection which I hadn't experienced before. A wonderful week,f ull of loving kindness, which I highly recommennd. - Francesca Stutely, Javea, Spain

Upon arrival at Sacarest you are immediatly- physically and spiritually transported a step closer to ¨heaven¨. The landscape devours you, the teachers, Sudaka and Sadhita charm and warm you with thier simple caring and natural attitude (there is no yoga ego living here!) while your yoga and meditation practice slows down, deepens and opens you on all levels - KathrynAnn Webster, Bilboa, Spain

Sudaka and Sadhita gave a really clear and excellent course in meditation and yoga that helped me deepen my practice in a way that I will take forward as part of my busy life in London! - Hugh Mouser, London. U.K.

Clarifying, reflective, supportive, comforting, relaxing, detoxifying, peaceful, emotional, space, heat, frustrating, rewarding, release, recommended, special, unique, returning. - Fiona Stiles, Wirral, UK.

Sacarest is a magical place and Sudaka and Sadhita's ability to teachyoga and meditationin a very direct and kind way has left me feeling more energised, confident and very relaxed, Holly Murray, London U.K.

Sadhita and Sudaka really know their stuff. Yoga is intensive and light, so is the meditation, teaching and guidance. A wholesome holiday! Fiona Kelk, London, U.K.

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Retreats at Suryavana Retreat Centre, Spain

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Sacarest Mindfulness based Yoga Retreats

The Fundamentals of Mindfulness Yoga

Dana economy :: contribution based

Retreat programme for both events

Booking and payment

Mindfulness-based yoga and meditation

How to get there (and away)?

Transforming yoga through Mindfulness

Dana economy :: contribution based

Sacarest

Accomodation and food

What to bring

Final details

Testamonials