Ecodharma retreats

Ecodharma yoga and meditaiton retreats

Sadhita and Sudaka are offering two yoga and meditation retreats (open to all) each year in the summer period in the wonderfully remote and rugged Ecodharma Retreat Centre in North West Catalonia.

It is situated in the Catalan pre-Pyrenees some three and a half hours by bus from Barcelona.

Abella de la Conca (Bee Valley) is sufficiently secluded (there are no through-roads and access is by four wheel driive or walking up from the nearest village) to provide excellent conditions for the practice of yoga and meditation.

Places will be limited to 12 participants.

About the retreat

The retreat is aimed at people who wish to deepen and explore their yoga and meditation practice. Sadhita and Sudaka have many years experience in doing and leading retreats here in Spain and the UK. The retreat is open to all levels of experience; beginner to more advanced. If necessary we will provide individualised sessions for those that require them. Living at Ecodharma 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 or along the nearby ridges, as well as get down to the bathing pools in the entrance to the valley.

Ecodharma Retreat Centre emphasizes ecological sustainablilty, simplicity and collective living. We use compost toilets, water is heated by a solar heating system and electricity from solar panels. Most of the food is grown organically on site and is vegetarian.

Our training offers a practical vehicle for spiritual transformation. We are principally concerned in providing conditions for the development and deepening of greater awareness, confidence and self-discovery.

The yoga

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.

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

Meditation sessions will be combined with the yoga classes and we will provide plenty of instruction on setting up a meditation practice, how to meditate and how to deepen your meditation practice. We will draw on the Buddhist meditation tradition teaching the Mindfulness of Breathing, Metta Bhavana and Just Sitting.

Accomodation & food

You will be sleeping in the restored farm house and Monglolian yurts. The accomodation is shared and there is a spacious kitchen and dining area as well as a library.

The yoga and meditation practice space is a custom built ecologically friendly structure built up onto the terraced woodlands near to the farmhouse. It is a wide wooden platform, covered to provide shade and warmth if necessary, with windows open to the south with views through the trees down the valley. It is surrounded by the Meditarrenean oaks and pines native to the region.

The foods grown here have a vibrant energetic freshness which supports the healing yoga practice. All meals will be prepared by Ecodharma's accomplished cook food will be carefully and lovingly prepared by the Ecodharma cook from vegetables mostly grown on site in the organic vegetable garden.

Retreat Programme

6.30 Rise

7.00 Meditation & yoga practice

9.30 Breakfast

11.00 Workshop

12.00 Meditation

13.00 Lunch

18.00 Yin yoga & meditaiton

20.00 Evening meal

21.00 Meditation

The afternoons will be left open for time to take walks and rest and we will be offering some body work sessions and workshops on meditation, massage and shiatsu and Ecodharma themes.

How to get there (and away)?

From Barcelona you take the bus from the Estació del Nord to Isona. About Three and half hours.

Getting to Ecodharma, there are two buses each day;

• 7.30 arrives 11.00
• 14.30 arrives 17.41

Leaving Ecodharma;

• we will get you down for the 9.24 bus from Isona to Barcelona (arrives around 13.00 in Barcelona) on the last day of the retreat, Saturday morning.

Most people take the afternoon bus. From Isona we can pick you up and take you to Ecodharma. About 15 km up hill.

There are various ways to get to Barcelona.

Please ensure your arrival and departure time into and out of Barcelona gives you plenty of time to get across to the Bus Station; two hours will be plenty.

Barcelona International Airport (BCN) is connected well with most UK and European airports. We can recommend Easyjet who offer some good deals if you book early enough.

There is the Airport Bus which takes you to Plaça Catalunya and from there a short 15 minute walk to the Bus Station.

It is also possible to travel cheaply and easily by bus to Barcelona, www.eurolines.com for more details. 

You could also consider taking the train. You can travel by train overnight from Paris to Barcelona. You can easily go from London to Paris with the Eurostar.

Booking

The retreats are limited to 12 persons only so book early. Send a non-returnable, but transferable booking fee of 150 euros. This will secure your place. Tthe balance is to be paid 31 days before the beginning of the retreat.

Contact us via the Contact page 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.

Check that you will have adequate health insurance cover for the duration of your journey and check that your arrival and leaving time from Barcelona allows you to catch the bus up and down to Isona.

You may have to spend one night in Barcelona to co-ordinate your travel times. We can recommend to you some places to stay in Barcelona and it is well worth a few days visit, before or after our retreat.

What to bring

• yoga mat
• light comfortable clothing for yoga practice
• swimming costume
• towel
• bathroom things; a flannel for washing is useful
• 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 1300m)
• any essential medicines

We recommend travelling light!