Transylvania Hiking, Yoga and Discovery Retreat 1-7 Sept 2020
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Set in a picturesque village inside Romania’s most beautiful National Park, Piatra Craiului (King’s Stone) mountains, our Transylvania yoga and hiking retreat will be an experience of a lifetime!
Yoga, breathing and meditation practices to recharge
your body and mind combined with nature and mountain walks to nurture your soul
are complemented by historic outings to Transylvania’s most emblematic sites,
like the Dracula Castle and stunning countryside.
In this quiet and quaint village you will find a
handful of hard working mountain farmers and shepherds maintaining traditions
going back hundreds of years, transporting you back in history.
The
Transylvania yoga and hiking retreat includes:
• Pick up and drop
off to Bucharest airport (at a given time)
• 6 nights
accommodation with en-suite bathroom
• Daily healthy
vegetarian meals all organic and local produce
• Hiking, historic
and wildlife outings with a professional guide
• Dracula’s Castle,
Bear Sanctuary, Saxon fortified church, etc.
• Wild bear safari
(optional extra)
• Daily yoga
sessions
• Local
transportation
• A tree planted to
offset your flight and stay with Conservation
Carpathia
Our Transylvania yoga and hiking retreat centre,
based in Magura, is a luxurious location
sitting at an altitude of over 1000m
surrounded by unspoilt mountain views in the heart of the local countryside. It
has boutique bedrooms, all equipped with ensuite bathrooms. Some of the twin
bedrooms have private balconies, while the single rooms feature glorious views of the mountains.
sitting at an altitude of over 1000m
surrounded by unspoilt mountain views in the heart of the local countryside. It
has boutique bedrooms, all equipped with ensuite bathrooms. Some of the twin
bedrooms have private balconies, while the single rooms feature glorious views of the mountains.
The retreat has
magnificent views over both the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului mountains as well as surrounding hills, forests and rivers.
You will be inspired by nature, clean eating,
relaxation and a healthy mind healthy body lifestyle.
Meals
You will enjoy 3 delicious vegan/vegetarian meals each day as well as fresh fruit
and teas available all day.
The delicious menu is designed to fortify your overall
health and wellbeing using organic unprocessed seasonal produce with the
highest nutrient content possible. The food here is not only delicious and
easily digested but deeply nourishing, sustaining, healing and energy-boosting.
The aim is that you'll pick up good habits from being
on retreat and that you'll continue to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle
back home using essential principles about food and nutrition that are easily
applicable in our daily lives.
The Yoga
Program
The yoga program is appropriate for all levels from
total beginners to seasoned yoga students and includes Asana, Meditation and
Pranayama (breathwork). You’ll be guided to get out of your comfort zone in a
safe and loving environment and receive individualized attention.
We will have daily yoga practices to complement the deeply connecting work we will be doing with the natural environment. Connecting to your body and moving it into places of new possibility. We will be working with a combination of Ashtanga Yoga and Somatic Awareness-Based practices.
By the end of our yoga retreat you will feel deeply
recharged and empowered: physically, emotionally and in spirit.
The attendance to the yoga program and all activities
is optional. If there is a morning you prefer to sleep in or an afternoon you
would rather hang out in the sun than come to class, that's ok!
Whatever makes you feel best, please do that.
Transylvania
hiking and yoga retreat sample program
7.30 – 9h Yoga
9 – 10h Breakfast
9 – 10h Breakfast
10.30 – 17h Guided
Hikes
19 – 20h Dinner
Daily program:
Day 1:
Welcome to the Carpathian Mountains
12-13h pick up from airport*
14 - 16h Arrival + retreat centre tour
18 – 19h Yoga Practice
19 – 20h Candlelit Dinner
Day 2: Magura and Pestera – the Kalibash Villages
We hike through the rather original villages Magura
and Pestera, situated on a plateau between the mountains Piatra Craiului and
Bucegi. Due to the secluded location of these villages they still preserve
traditional rural life, as it can no longer be experienced in Western Europe.
People live mostly on what their sheep give, everyone has a cow in the stable
and a few happy chicken in the yard.
At noon we visit a traditional farm where a
transylvanian picnic awaits us.
Late afternoon we return to the villa.
Distance: 10 km approx. Duration:
5 h approx.
Day 3: Wolkendorf and Bear Sanctuary
In the morning we drive to Zarnesti, where we first
visit the bear reserve established in 2005. Nearly 80 European brown bears have
found a new home in an oak forest. All these bears were saved from imprisonment
and can now live their lives in a natural environment. From the bear reserve we
start a 3-hour hike over a gentle ridge to Wolkendorf village. On the hike we can see
many birds, among others, this is the habitat of the Red-backed Shrike or
Black-fronted Warbler, but also of Woodpeckers or the Hoopoe, as the path leads
through open hills with large, solitary trees and through deciduous and
coniferous forests.
In Wolkendorf we are welcomed with coffee and cake,
then we explore the well restored and lovingly maintained fortified church. We drive back to the villa in our minibus.
Distance: 8 km approx. Time:
2-3 h approx.
Day 4: Hike to Dracula’s Castle
For centuries, Bran Castle secured the pass road into
Wallachia against invading enemies. In addition, it served as a toll station
for the traders who traveled from Kronstadt towards as far as Turkey. From
Magura we walk over the hills and through the forest to Bran. Nowadays, the
castle is better known as the castle of the bloodthirsty Count Dracula. We will
find out what this legend is all about.
We return back to the villa in the afternoon in our
minivan. Motivated hikers can of
course walk back to Magura.
▲350 m ▼350 m Distance:
10 km Duration:
4 h
Day 5: Horse carriage ride into the Burzental and wild bear safari
Typical Romanian: with the "caruta", the
horse-drawn carriage, we ride into the Burzental. There we hike uphill over
flower meadows until we reach a hermitage on a ridge. In the Middle Ages
Zarnesti's population withdrew here from attacks by the Mongols and Tartars, and
a chapel carved into the rock has been preserved from this period.
We stop to meet the monks and enjoy their tea from
self picked wild herbs.
In the valley, the horse-drawn carriages await to take
us back towards Magura.
In the evening it is possible to observe wild bears
from a secure high seat in the forest with a ranger (optional, extra charge 50
Euro).
▼200
m ▲ 250 m Distance:
approx. 10 km Duration:
approx. 5h
Day 6: Through Carpathian Gorges to the King’s Stone Mountain
In the morning we hike down into the valley to then go
up through the Zarnesti Canyon, which was dug into the rock about 3 million
years ago by water, to arrive at a summer pasture. On the way we take a rest
and at tea at a hut. If the weather and physical fitness allow, we climb from
the hut to the small King’s Stone (1816 m). If you do not want to climb up
there, you can stay at the hut and reach the meeting point on a different route.
▼
250 m ▲900
m ▼900
m Distance:
16-20 km approx. Duration:
approx. 6-7h
Day 7: Goodbye Transylvania
Today we say goodbye by getting together in a closing
circle. Transfer to the airport in Bucharest.
*Airport pick-up outside this schedule is not included in the package and needs to be organised separately (120€ aprox.)
Package
price per person (excl. flights)
Shared twin, ensuite bathroom: 1135€
Single room, ensuite bathroom: 1477€
Single room, ensuite bathroom: 1477€
Getting there
Bucharest International Henri Coanda airport, Romania and get picked up there by our team and enjoy a scenic 3 hour drive. The closest towns are Bran and Brasov.
Teacher -
About Masha:
Masha’s teaching offers a heart-opening, invigorating
and experiential practice, grounded with a focus on both physical and energetic
alignment. Yoga, when practiced with this holistic awareness becomes fluid
movement therapy.
Her own practice and therefore teaching encompasses
Asana, Pranayama, Relaxation, healthy diet, positive thinking and Meditation.
She is currently doing a 4 year long Feldenkrais
Method teacher training, seeking to fine-tune her knowledge of anatomy, alignment
and the mind-body connection. Masha also teaches in German, Spanish and French.
Reviews
"I have always
wanted to practice yoga but had never found a yoga teacher that I felt
connected with. With Masha, I had my a-ha moment and it was everything I
imagined yoga to be. I felt relaxed and the class flowed with ease. I left
feeling restored and possibly a few inches taller! An amazing experience which
I will want to repeat in the near future. I couldn’t recommend her more
highly!"
"I have gained a lot
from Masha's Yoga classes. She is a very technical teacher who is able to describe,
in stages, all the muscle groups and body landmarks involved in an Asana to
help me find that 'extra' bit of release and comfort in a pose. I love how she
integrates mantras and pranayama into her class and how she is able to adapt
her lessons to the needs of students. Her knowledge of yoga is integrated and
deep and I look forward to learning more from her."
Fiona M., Massage Therapist and Ayurvedic Life Coach, Australia
I walked into my first
yoga class with Masha and my life has never been the same! She is a truly
gifted yoga instructor and the most serene and calming person I have ever met.
I took several one on one sessions (I am a beginner). Masha is extremely
educated in all yoga practices and is a student of all subjects as well. I felt
through a combination of her yoga instruction techniques and words of wisdom
she knew exactly what I needed to guide me spiritually, mentally and physically…
…while Masha is
encouraging she also promotes happiness, serenity, integrity, truth, love and
grace. I can honestly say after my sessions with Masha I walked away with a new
strength in my body, a new air of positivity and a sense of
"weightlessness".
A.L., USA, Texas
YogaMasha retreats take place in carefully selected locations with abundant nature. In an effort towards sustainable traveling we have joined up with Conservation Carpathia to offset each of our guest's travel and stay through planting trees and rewilding projects.
Registrations:
Registrations:
For inquiries please get
in touch: om@yogamasha.com | 00351 926 735 786
To register, please
submit the following form.
