Experience the Harmony: Ashtanga Vinyasa & Yin Yoga Retreat — October 19–25, 2025, in Portugal
Immerse yourself in a transformative week in the heart of central Portugal, where ancient yoga traditions and mindful stillness converge in a retreat designed to nurture strength, flexibility, and inner peace.
Evoke Inner Strength with Ashtanga Vinyasa
Each morning unfolds with the Primary Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, taught by Peter, a senior yoga teacher with over 20 years of experience delivering deeply intuitive sequences. Ashtanga, or “yoga chikitsa,” is a therapeutic format that aligns posture (asana), breath (pranayama), and gaze (drishti), unlocking the body's healing potential
Peter’s approach has evolved over two decades, integrating gentle heart-opening backbends to counteract forward folds—and inviting practitioners to explore the edge of sensation with mindful alignment
Soothe the Soul with Yin Yoga & Meditation
Evening sessions of Yin Yoga led by Sue bring a contrasting softness—entering the quieter, lunar side of practice. Sue, an experienced Yin Yoga teacher since 2012, creates a safe, sensitive space for exploring inner resonance, breath, and subtle energetic locks (bandhas) Yin Yoga emphasizes long-held postures that access the body’s fascia and connective tissues in accordance with meridian theory and traditional healing systems.
Sue’s deep understanding of the benefits behind each posture—and the power of knowing why—empowers participants to embody these practices with confidence and intention.
The Retreat in Nature’s Embrace
Located in a peaceful forested valley in Amieira, central Portugal, this retreat center spans seven hectares of lush, calming woodland that invites deeper connection with nature
Accommodations cater to a range of preferences and include:
- Single Rooms: £600
- Twin or Double Rooms: £550
- Single/Double En‑Suite: £700
- Room with Veranda: £750
- Eco Caravan : £500
Each retreat week runs for six nights and five full days, offering ample time for practice, reflection, and rejuvenation.
A Holistic Journey: More Than Yoga
This retreat goes beyond yoga. Expect a tapestry of mindfulness and healing practices woven into your week:
- Shamanic Drum Journeys and ceremonial work in magical spaces, often held by the stream or around a fire, weather permitting
- Gong Baths using healing sound frequencies from planetry gongs to flush out energetic blockages.
- Forest walks, herbal walks, and riverside outings to connect with nature’s grounding presence. We will visit the river of the weather is good
- Optional massage, and creative workshops like raw chocolate‑making, organic soap and incense creation, or medicinal herb walks.
Nourish the Body & Heart
Participants receive three delicious vegetarian meals daily, designed to support the practice and the body’s rejuvenation. Retreats are “all‑inclusive,” encompassing accommodation, meals, classes, and practices. extra protien such as eggs and tuna is available.
The Sequence of postures begins with suryanamaskara A (sun salutations) which then leads to sun salutation B. This is the foundation from which we build our practice. We then move into the standing sequence, followed by the primary series and then closing sequence and these will all be learnt during your retreat here.
The Yin Practice. Our Yin yoga retreats are about surrendering to our shadow & gently exploring the deeper, Quieter, Feminine, Lunar aspects of our nature. An essential balance to the more stimulating morning practice.
Sue has been intensively studying, teaching & embodying Yin Yoga since 2012 & refining & redefining her teaching of the Bandhas for many years. The sessions provide an opportunity to go deep in a safe, sensitive, non judgemental holding environment. Sue has come to recognize that knowledge as to why it is beneficial for us to integrate certain practices is essential for empowerment & self efficacy. Her goal is to inspire & enable students to develop an informed home practice which is compatible with & relevant to their own unique constitution & limitations. As a qualified Yoga Therapist she has extensive anatomical & physiological knowledge relevant parts of which she integrates into the yin practice in simple & understandable & often humourous language. She focuses alot on the importance of the regulation of the breath & Autonomic Nervous System as we navigate the higher vibrational frequencies of the Shift of Ages.
Sue weaves many themes into the sessions including Yama-Niyama (the attitudes & orientations of Yoga Practice) The Koshas (dimensions of our existence) Modern Meridian theory, traditional chinese Medicine, upregulation of gene expression, A Taoist exploration of the Visceral organs, the Yoga of sound & mantra, aspects of mindfulness to consolidate the morning themes & paint them on a yin canvas, Yin in the historical context of the reemergence of the divine feminine & masculine aspects of us all & dropping into the void of deep silence. She invites you to surrender, soften & become absolutely still. allowing you to observe clearly your individual blockages, tensions & emotional hurts & gradually dissolve them sensitively & safely. As a caring & approachable teacher Sue always makes herself available to students.
The practice taught at our retreat center is based around the first series and the second series, taught in a way that allows young and old, experienced, inexperienced practitioners to enjoy a detailed led practice. We teach in a way that allows conscious awareness of the breath, bandha's and the relationship between the muscles, tendons, ligaments involvement in our movement. When using Drishti, Ujjayi breathing and the bandha's correctly we begin to fan our internal fire (Agni) which allows the muscles to become more malleable and the postures less of an effort. As we move through the asana series each and every organ in the body gets stimulated, this enables stagnant blood to be put back in to circulation wthin the body and allows the organs to be flushed with fresh oxygenated blood improving the function of our organs and ultimately clarity to our minds.
The postures and your own edge
Many of the postures of the primary series can be quite intense and if not accessed in the correct way can cause serious injury to the practitioner. Finding correct alignment in all of the postures is of paramount importance as this is the only way that creates freedom for the movement of the diaphragm . Variations will be given if a posture is too intense.
Assists and Adjustments
During the practise Peter will be giving assists to those who are ready to move a little deeper into a posture or are having difficulty in aligning the body correctly to access a posture. Peter takes great care and is very sensitive and intuitive when working with your body and its capabilities, to experience the posture fully, you must feel safe and nurtured and not pushed or pulled. Adjustments are given to everybody and may be verbal or physical.
Meditation practice
Everyday we will be cultivating a meditation practice. Peter teaches different forms of meditation and we will choose one for the week, including mindfulness, vipassana, antar mouna, spontaneous, visualization or object meditation walking meditation. The practice is guided and builds as the week progresses.
Pranayama (expanding the dimensions of the breath)
For one morning session during the week we have a therapeutic breathing with awareness class. This practice helps balance the mind and emotions, directly effecting the pranamaya kosha or our energy body.
Core strength vinyasa
Peter teaches this class at the end of the week and this is his own practise that he has developed over the years. When working the core we are directly affecting the Hara (power centre) and then direct this energy through the body allowing entry to a new experience of vinyasa as we distribute the prana.
Shamanic Drumming & chanting
Our last practice on a Friday will be to listen to the beat of the drum as we delve deeper into our internal experience and look at the possibility of allowing the spirit to journey to other dimensions. This journey will be led by Peter
Why This Retreat?
- Balancing Polarities: The interplay of dynamic Ashtanga and gentle, introspective Yin Yoga creates equilibrium—between strength and surrender; active and receptive, yang and yin.
- Expert Guidance: Peter and Sue’s decades of embodied experience ensure each session is both knowledgeable and nurturing.
- Natural: Situated in a verdant natural sanctuary, the retreat offers an auspicious backdrop of the mountain ranges.
- Diverse Modalities: From Ashtanga & Yin yoga to sound healing, each element supports holistic wellness—mental, emotional, and physical.
- Community & Ceremony: Life-changing moments await—whether in shared moments by the fire, during rhythmic drumming, or in silent reflection amidst the trees.
- Those wanting to learn the sequence and those with an established practice of the Ashtanga Primary Series.
- Yogis and meditators longing for restorative, mindful reconnection.
- Anyone open to energetic healing, nature immersion,
- Those yearning for a holistic escape from the everyday: a chance to breathe, reflect, and realign.
Pop it in your calendar: October 19–25, 2025, and plan to arrive at Yoga Evolution Retreats in Amieira, Portugal—where every dawn and dusk invites reconnection, both within and beyond.
Spaces are limited, so consider securing your preferred accommodation soon. Visit our booking page to book your week of transformation—and step into the dance of strength and stillness, breath and bandha, heart and earth.