Nourishing the Soul through Ahimsa: A Transformational Yoga Retreat

This week-long yoga retreat at Haramara Retreat in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico, invites you to explore ahimsa, the yogic practice of non-harming, through rest, community and study. Led by Sharon Hills-Bonczyk and Summer Hills-Bonczyk, it is open to all levels and centers on hatha yoga, meditation and the wisdom of the Yoga Sutra.

The intention is to build a real sense of sangha, a group in which you feel held by the people around you and by the earth, and open to your own kindness and compassion toward yourself and all beings. The premise is simple: to practice ahimsa with others, we first need to pause, rest and recalibrate. From that restored place, learning comes more easily.

What to Expect

The teaching draws on the Yoga Sutra, with a focus on the Four Attitudes, which support a clear, tranquil mind. Together you look at how to cultivate vitality, happiness and well-being whatever is happening in the world outside.

Yoga is offered twice a day in the hatha style, and guided meditations and group activities fill out the program. Evenings offer a choice of sound bath healing, yoga nidra or meditation in motion. There is solo time for healing arts, and off-site activities are available as you wish, so the week holds both shared practice and unscheduled space. Private Ayurvedic consultations, covering lifestyle and healing, or yoga therapy with the leader are included at no cost.

About Sharon Hills-Bonczyk

Sharon Hills-Bonczyk, MPH, E-RYT 500, is the founder and owner of 5809 YOGA, a small in-home neighborhood studio in southwest Minneapolis. She is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher, a Vishoka meditation teacher and an Ayurvedic educator, and has practiced yoga for over 40 years. Her teaching includes all-levels yoga, meditation training, yoga nidra, restorative yoga and therapeutic yoga for people with physical issues. She grew up in Zambia, one of six children, and later served with her husband in the Peace Corps in the Fiji Islands. She and her family of yoga teachers lead retreats that bring together yoga, nature, art, music, healing and food.

About Summer Hills-Bonczyk

Summer Hills-Bonczyk, MA, E-RYT 500, is Sharon's daughter and a professor of ceramic art at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a Kripalu yoga teacher with 500 hours of certification, a Journey Dance facilitator and an accomplished artist. She speaks fluent Spanish, has taught salsa dance and works as a performance artist. She created and directed The Performance Art Intensive, a performance art and yoga retreat that received grant funding twice and played to a sold-out audience. She enjoys co-facilitating international retreats with her mother and is an avid home cook.

The Setting

The retreat takes place at Haramara Retreat, in the jungle near Sayulita on Mexico's Nayarit coast. Accommodation is in natural, comfortable casitas, each with a bathroom open to the jungle. There are three options:

- A shared casita for two, with two twin beds or a king. You can come with a friend or partner, or ask to be matched with a roommate.
- A shared casita for three, with separate beds, suited to family or friends traveling together.
- A women's dorm, a spacious casita shared with a few other women, with two bathrooms and a maximum of eight beds.

Food is provided throughout the retreat.

Before You Go

Yoga sessions are offered for all levels, so participants of any experience are welcome. The package includes all accommodations, food, twice-daily yoga, guided meditations, group activities, the evening sessions and the private Ayurvedic consultation or yoga therapy. Off-site activities are optional and arranged at your discretion.