Ayurveda and Yoga Healing Retreat

The Ayurveda and Yoga Healing Retreat is a week-long ayurveda retreat at Enchanted Mountain Center in Garopaba, in the south of Brazil, for people who want to rest, be cared for and practice yoga with healing as its focus. It is led by Joseph Le Page, founder of Integrative Yoga Therapy, with María Zorilla and the English-speaking Enchanted Mountain team. Ayurvedic treatments, daily yoga, meditation and walks along the Santa Catarina coast fill the seven nights.

What to Expect

Each day turns toward one facet of the self: the physical body, the chakras, the mind and emotions, and a deeper connection with spiritual being. The practices follow that thread through the day.

- Morning: meditation and yoga classes, including pranayama.
- Afternoon: gentle yoga or somatics.
- Daily: yoga nidra.
- Evening: healing meditations or restorative yoga.

Ayurvedic treatments are part of the week. Your stay includes a Shirodhara treatment and Ayurvedic massage at the center's own spa, and you can book further treatments for your free time.

Three half-day outings take you out of the center: two coastal walks and one hike to a secluded waterfall. There is also time to rest on uncrowded beaches.

About Joseph Le Page

Joseph Le Page founded Integrative Yoga Therapy in 1993 and directs it. It is a pioneering yoga therapy training program in the United States, and more than 3,000 therapists have been trained worldwide. He set out to create a training that treats yoga as a healing art, student centered and non-dogmatic, while staying rooted in the yoga tradition.

His approach brings together asana, pranayama, mudra, yoga nidra, mantra and meditation. It is built around the model of the five koshas, supporting health across the physical, energetic, psycho-emotional, wisdom and spiritual dimensions of being. He teaches this retreat alongside María Zorilla.

The Setting

Enchanted Mountain Center is one of the largest yoga retreat centers in South America. It sits on one hundred acres of tropical rainforest, home to more than two hundred bird species, including toucans and the colorful surucuá. A natural pool fed by a freshwater spring is on the grounds, and the Ayurvedic spa offers a full range of massage and other treatments.

Garopaba has ten of Brazil's most beautiful beaches, with mountains draped in rainforest behind them. Rooms are comfortable, in double or single occupancy. Three vegetarian meals are served daily, with vegan, lactose and lactose-free options.

Check-in is at 4pm on a Saturday, and the first meal is dinner that evening. Check-out is at 2pm the following Saturday, after lunch.

Before You Go

Classes are taught in English. The week suits anyone drawn to gentle, restorative and therapeutic yoga, and the material names no prior experience as a requirement.

Airfare to Florianópolis is not included. Transfers to and from Florianópolis International Airport can be arranged for an additional cost. Americans and Canadians need a Brazilian visa, which can be obtained online, while most European passports do not require one. Additional spa treatments are also paid separately.