Tools required

Zoom, WhatsApp, or Facetime.

Timing of sessions (GMT+5:30)

The time of the live sessions will be agreed between the teacher and the customer.

How the retreat works

The program includes a package of 10 online classes and 1 free video with instructions. Instructions are given in the extra video with guidance on safety and quality. All practices include a 40-minute physical practice, relaxation, and 10-minute guided meditation. Each practice will have a different focus e.g. extension of inhalation, breath-holding, hips and legs, twists, etc. The meditations will also teach different techniques. The videos can be downloaded and the students may practice as often and as many times as they wish.

On the first day, there will be a comprehensive live consultation with the yoga teacher and therapist to understand and discuss any physical and mental ailments, preferences, and tendencies. The teacher will then guide and provide an additional personal sequence and will be available for guidance follow up.

Course information

All practices guided by Plantation Villa’s yoga and meditation teacher, Bernardo Staut. He is known for his breath-based approach and therapeutic experience, a style that is the perfect method for the needs of this moment. The practices are suitable for all.

Bernardo Staut has been helping guests understand and adopt yoga as a form of regular practice that can begin an internal transformation in their lives. He has also helped many guests heal from health conditions such as joint and muscle issues, sleeping disorders, emotional problems, among others. He has over 12 years of teaching experience and has an in-depth knowledge of yoga (asana, breath, and philosophy), meditation, and Ayurveda therapy. He is also currently training to become a doctor of Ayurveda and Sri Lankan Indigenous Medicine.

Yoga and meditation

Yoga is an ancient tool for understanding of the human system. Even though meditation is nowadays portrayed separated from yoga, it has never been as such in the past. At Plantation Villa, every part of their retreat is leading you to the doors of meditation. This is why their way of teaching yoga to you is breath-centered and aiming at the progressive development of self-awareness.

The practice of yoga should be a well-rounded structure where one element supports the other. The way you move your body is interconnected with the internal movement of the breath, which is directed by the attention of the mind. The health that is gained physically and physiologically is used to experience life in a way that is less obstructed and more suitable for good relationships with yourself and others.

With meditation, you develop insight into the tendencies of your mind and the ways to direct it into more wholesome and skillful states, those that are more in line with a happier life. When yoga is seen as such, as a complete practice, the benefits are unsurpassed.

But apart from the benefits for your body and mind, they always couple their teachings with instructions that are useful for you to lead your own way. With time and practice, and following these bits of philosophy and understanding that they will provide, you can have a clearer path to form your self-practice.