European House of Yoga Light — San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

A residential yoga ashram and retreat centre in the Czech countryside

On a typical evening at the European House of Yoga Light, the day's practice ends with mantra chanting. The kirtan group Samadhi leads it, and the day has already included yoga classes, a meditative walk, and a satsang in which participants put anonymous questions to the teacher. The centre sits at Štěpánov 7, in Bezděkov-Chotěboř, Czech Republic. Its pages call it an educational and residential yoga retreat centre, and an ashram. It was founded by Professor Predrag Nikić, PhD, whose pages credit him with more than four decades of teaching, research and personal practice. His doctorate came from research into emotional intelligence. He later brought that academic training to yoga education, building structured programs for instructors, teachers and researchers. His postdoctoral work tested his "Yoga Intelligence" concept at the Patanjali Institute in Haridwar and at SVYASA (Vivekananda University) in Bangalore. He also founded the International Yoga Academy and Sense Journal, which the site describes as the first international scientific journal dedicated to yoga. The House runs on a distinction its pages draw carefully. A wellness retreat, they say, combines yoga with tourism at a gentler pace. Every retreat here is a scalar retreat, an intensive full-day program aimed at what the site calls energetic purification. The flagship is a seven-day gathering, with the 2027 edition, Līlā, set for 31 July to 6 August. Its days run from morning class and a walk in nature to meditation, an energetic support session with Nikić, yoga volleyball, satsang and the evening kirtan. Participation is never compulsory. Shorter retreats cover other ground: a 50+ regenerative program, a five-day family retreat for children and adults, a weekend for couples, a weekend of Nāda yoga on sound and vibration, and an Energetic Renewal retreat built around a personal program and a dosha determination. Teacher trainings run from a 200-hour foundation to advanced courses, including Golden Kundalini and Kirtan. Meals come from the ashram kitchen, vegetarian and vegan. Excursions take guests to the ethno village of Kladruby and the river valley of Doubrava. Prague is the nearest airport, and the pages say no prior yoga experience is required.

Traditions: Scalar Yoga, Nāda Yoga, Kirtan, Satsang, Līlā Yoga, Meditation

Programs: International Scalar Yoga Retreat Līlā (7-day), Regenerative (50+) Yoga Retreat, Family Yoga Retreat (5-day, children and adults), Energetic Renewal Yoga Retreat, Nāda Yoga Weekend Retreat, Couples Yoga Weekend Retreat, Basic Yoga Teacher Training (200h), Kirtan Yoga Teacher Training