Yin & Yang Awakening: Yoga Immersion with Esther Jones

Yin & Yang Awakening is a two-week yoga retreat at Ulpotha Yoga & Ayurveda Retreat in Maho, in Sri Lanka's North Western Province. It is led by yoga teacher Esther Jones and built around Yin Yang Yoga, a practice that pairs slow, held poses with more dynamic and standing work. It suits anyone who wants a daily rhythm of movement, breathwork and rest, and who is curious about bringing mindfulness off the mat and into ordinary life.

What to Expect

Days at Ulpotha follow two sessions, usually two yoga classes a day.

The morning, called "Rise & Shine", begins with Kriya, a cleansing practice, then Pranayama breathwork and Yin Yang Yoga, and closes with Mantra and mindfulness practice. Yin and Yang are Taoist ideas describing two qualities present in everything. Yin is internal, passive, cooling and downward. Yang is external, dynamic, warming and upward. Holding both in one class is meant to balance energy, flexibility and strength, and to teach stillness within movement and flow within stillness.

Evenings turn toward rest. Sessions open with Yin and Restorative Yoga alongside guided breathwork, stress management and Yoga Nidra, a deep rest-and-digest practice for winding the day down.

Throughout, Esther guides you to follow the breath and stay with the present moment. Thoughts and feelings are allowed to rise, and you practise watching them without getting involved until they fade. The aim is to quiet the "monkey mind" and turn down persistent, negative thought patterns. The emphasis is not on muscular strength but on sitting with sensation and learning to let go and surrender. The hope is that these skills travel with you, so that when worry or frustration takes hold you can bring the same attention to the body and the workings of the mind.

About Esther Jones

Esther Jones guides the yoga on this retreat, teaching both the Yin Yang practice and the evening restorative sessions. Her approach centres on breath awareness and mindfulness, offered as a practical skill for everyday life rather than something confined to the mat.

Resident Therapist: Dilani Kandegama

Dilani Kandegama brings 24 years of massage therapy experience to Ulpotha, with professional qualifications in deep-tissue and relaxation massage and in foot reflexology. She works at a physiotherapy clinic in Colombo, where she delivers therapeutic massage and supports patient rehabilitation programmes. Earlier, she spent nine years as a sports centre therapist at Hilton Colombo Residencies, working with guests from across the world. She also provides prenatal and postnatal massage support and works as a personal therapist for diplomats based in Sri Lanka. Dilani believes every body tells its own story, so she takes time to understand what each guest needs before they get onto the table and shapes each session around that.

The Setting

Ulpotha is a lakeside retreat property in Maho, North Western Province. Guests stay in a hut for the length of their visit, and all meals are provided.

Before You Go

The retreat runs for two weeks, Sunday to Sunday. A one-week stay is also possible by choosing your dates.

Included are your hut, daily yoga (usually two classes) and all meals. Ayurveda treatments and transfers are not included and are arranged separately. Room details are listed with the stay options.