RETREAT DETAILS Nourish your soul in the jungle of Goa. In India, at the roots of yoga we connect to ourselves and raise consciousness for both us and our surroundings. Wake up every morning between rice fields and coconut trees. For body, mind and soul, Palma Sole offers every day sunrise meditation, as well as morning & evening yoga classes in the beautiful yoga shala. Beginners and advanced - all levels are welcome. In between you have enough time for yourself: Relax at the pool, enjoy the exotic nature, or indulge yourself with an ayurvedic treatment at the Samata Holistic Clinic. We will also experience an Indian night market and hold a holistic ritual. We are happy to host the retreat at Samata Holistic Retreat Center (www.samatagoa.com). Located in the jungle of Goa near the colorful hippie beach, Arambol, Samata offers beautiful rooms, suites, yoga shala s and a teardrop pool. Samata means balance or equilibrium in Sanskrit, and speaks to how we must attempt to restore balance in every facet of our lives. An important part of this balance comes from our diet. What you eat is what you are. Amrit Holistic Kitchen will indulge us with healthy vegetarian food from 1
Samata s own self-sustainable organic garden. Vegan and gluten-free meals are available upon request. Get a feeling for our venue: https://www.facebook.com/samata.goa/videos/481701448694780/?hc_ref=ne WSFEED 1. Schedule: Tuesday, 30.1.2018 4pm Latest arrival 5.15-6.30pm Welcome Circle & Yoga 7pm Veggie Lovers Dinner Daily schedule: 6.30-7am Fruits & Tea 7-7.30am Sunrise Meditation 7.45-10.30am Morning Vinyasa Yoga 11am Holistic Brunch Time for yourself (Beach, pool & chill, nature, holistic treatments) 4.30-6pm Evening Yoga 7pm Veggie Lovers Dinner Special Inclusions: On two afternoons we will skip yoga, once for a trip to the Saturday night market (no dinner served at Samata Yoga) and the other, to spend the afternoon on your own. Tuesday, 6.2.2018 6.30-7am Fruits & Tea 7-7.30am Sunrise Meditation 7.45-10am Closing Circle & Yoga 10.30am Goodbye Brunch Schedule can be changed during the retreat due to weather, conditions or feeling of the group. 2
2. Requirements What can you expect from us? Leave your daily life and your work at home and dive into a week of self-care. Enjoy yourself, healthy food and the company of people who are on the same path. Everyone is welcome: Yoga or meditation beginners, advanced practitioners and children. The retreat is a great chance for beginners to get a first, deeper sense of what yoga, meditation and self-care are. At the same time, this is an opportunity for advanced yogis to grow in their personal development and to receive new inputs for their practice. Join us, fill your fuel up and go home light, inspired and relaxed. What do we expect from you? Full dedication to the retreat, commitment to yourself and the group. The willingness to leave your work at home and to spend a week of self-development with us, in beautiful Goa. For once you are the priority, not something or someone else. Ask us J Do you have any questions about the program, visa, flights or yoga? We are here for you. Send Sarah a message on contact@maisondarna.com or call her +41797599526. We are happy to help you in everything. There are no stupid questions. J 3. Yoga Teacher & Host Palma Sole, Yoga Teacher Yoga has been a part of Palma Sole s life intensively for 10 years. Since her first apprentice-ship with Baron Baptiste in the USA, Palma has constantly been developing her practice and attending trainings all around. Since 2015 she has had her own studio, Sole Yoga in Zurich. Her teaching focus is on power vinyasa yoga for beginners and advanced students. This method combines intensive, flowing physical movement with an important focus on the mental aspect of yoga practice. This allows students to fulfill their need for compensation, offsetting a mental difficulty in another area of their life, acts as an antistress treatment, and allows every student to find their own balance. Palma places special emphasis on encouraging you individually during the lessons, so that you can take the best out of any asana practice and continue practicing independently. www.palmasole.ch 3
Sarah Bischof, Host Yoga and the spiritual path has changed Sarah s life completely. Like most humans coming from the outer, extroverted world, she has found beauty in the soft, inner landscape. Sarah loves to offer spaces for others to step out of their daily life and to share spirit. She organizes retreats and immersions and lives parttime in Morocco. As a teacher she is influenced by Anusara Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga Krama Therapy and Universal Yoga. Do you have any questions about this retreat? Don t hesitate and contact Sarah: contact@maisondarna.com. www.maisondarna.com 4. Accommodation & Rates Beautiful Samata Yoga offers us not only a beautiful yoga shala, pool, and holistic clinic, but also an organic garden and beautiful tropical surroundings. Choose between a triple, double, single room, or a suite. 4
Prices for registrations before 30. December 2017 (prices in Swiss francs CHF) triple room: 1240.- per person deluxe twin room: 1260.- per person single rooms 1440.deluxe king rooms single 1550.deluxe king rooms couple 2460.master suites single 2340.master suites couple 3460.Prices for late-registrations after 30. December 2017 (prices in Swiss francs CHF) triple room: 1440.- per person deluxe twin room: 1460.- per person single rooms 1640.deluxe king rooms single 1750.deluxe king rooms couple 2660.master suites single 2540.master suites couple 3660.Included in the price: * Daily yoga and meditation * Full board holistic food (brunch, fruits, dinner, tea) * Accommodation * Trip to the Night Market Additional costs: * Flight * Transfer from/to the airport * Dinner & shopping at the night market * Visa * Ayurveda and other treatments: http://www.samatagoa.com/samata-clinic/ 5
4. Registration To secure your booking we require a completed registration form (PDF in the appendix), a deposit of 500 Swiss Francs and and a balance payment by 30. December 17 on the same bank account. Bookings made after 2nd January 18 need to be paid in full to secure your booking. Payments can be made via Bank transfer. For further details please see the registration form. You can cancel your booking at any time and notification must be given to Sarah (contact@maisondarna.com) in writing. Regardless of the reason for cancellation, the cancellation fee will be calculated as follows: * Notification received more than 60 days before the start of the retreat: 30% of the full fee + 25% administration fee. * Notification received 31-60 days before the start of the retreat: 50% of the full fee + 30 CHF administration fee. * Notification received less than 30 days before the start of the retreat: 100% of the full fee. 5. Travel Information Immigration For entering India, you need a visa. You can download the application at http://in.vfsglobal.ch. Please note that your passport must be valid for 180 days! Airport Destination airport is Dabolim in Goa. The sooner you book your flight, the cheaper are the prices. We recommend traveling with Qatar Airways, Condor or Swiss. We recommend a travel cancellation insurance for all cases. Our accommodation is easily accessible from Dabolim / Goa Airport by taxi in 1.5 hours. You can book the taxi service directly at the registration. A taxi costs one way for 1-3 people 35 Dollars. For 5 people or more arriving at the same time we can also organize a bus (10 Dollars each). Emergency address: The address of the retreat is: Samata Holistic Retreat Center, Goa 403512, India, Phone: +91 77980 73946 Currency The currency is the Indian Rupee (INR). INR 100 = ~ CHF 1.70 (July 2017). Import and export of local currency is prohibited. Rupees have to be exchanged in India. We suggest to bring US Dollars or Travel Cash Cards. Credit card and the Maestro card are also suitable as a supplement. More information: https://www.swissbankers.ch/en/mastercard-prepaid-kreditkarte/travelcash/laenderinformationen-detail.aspx?iso=ind 6
language In addition to Hindi, there are 23 equal official languages in this huge country with its different regions. English is the second main language and is important for communication. Food & Beverages We advise not to drink tap water. "Safe" water can be purchased at any store. Also avoid: Ice creams on streets and markets, ice cubes in drinks, unpeeled fruits, lettuce, raw meat and raw fish. For your own safety use the following rule: "Cook it, peel it or leave it". Culture The left hand is considered as unclean, so never give objects or never eat with your left hand. Shoes must be pulled out before entering a room or a sacred place. Out of respect for culture, it should be avoided to show too much "naked skin" in public. In Samata, however, we are among us. Whoever goes to a mosque or temple should cover himself (no short trousers or wide cut-outs, no uncovered shoulders). Medicine We recommend to bring a mosquito spray with you to protect yourself from mosquito bites, especially after sunset. If you are dependent on certain medicines, make sure you bring enough supplies from home! Traffic in India There is left-hand traffic. Be careful when crossing the streets! Electricity: 220 volt. Adapters are required because the socket outlets vary. In many cases three-pole sockets are available, an adapter (intermediate plug) is necessary. Weather Goa offers a humid and hot climate all year round. In January / February, the average daytime temperature is around 30 degrees, at night it is around 20 degrees. Time shift: The difference in time between Switzerland and India is + 4 ½ hours in winter, between NYC and India it s +9 ½ hours. 6. Packing list We recommend to bring along: * Sweater for the evening (important, because in the evening it is fresh) * light jacket * mosquito spray * coal tablets (against diarrhea) * Water bottle for filling 7
* Swimming suit and beach towel * Sun protection: sun cream, glasses and hat * Scarf or large fabric (good for meditation or Shavasana) * Notebook and pen * Camera * Flip flops and good sneakers For the price of 5 dollars / kg it is possible to have your clothes washed. Yoga mats, blocks and straps are available on site. If you need something special or you prefer your personal yoga mat, please bring it with you. 8