Shanti-Som Wellbeing Retreat
Yoga Retreat
Find Stillness Through Movement
Choose your location
Two stunning destinations, one transformative experience
Same expert-led wellness programs, each shaped by its unique surroundings.
About this retreat
At our Yoga Retreat, we focus on the essence of mindful movement, combining breathwork, meditation, and yoga to create a transformative sense of connection and wellbeing. This practice encourages balance, patience, and awareness, shaping not only your time on the mat but your overall sense of self.
Led by experienced instructors, we offer Vinyasa and Hatha yoga in small groups to ensure personalised attention for every level, from beginners to advanced practitioners. Set in a calm and supportive environment, the retreat provides space to step away from daily life and fully immerse yourself in movement and mindfulness.
You’ll leave feeling lighter, more grounded, and at peace with yourself and the world around you.
Why Choose a Yoga Retreat
In the pace of modern life, a yoga retreat offers something rare: uninterrupted time to reconnect with your body, breath, and inner stillness. Unlike a weekly studio class, a residential retreat removes the distractions of daily life and creates the conditions for genuine transformation. At Shanti-Som, our retreats are designed as complete wellness immersions — combining expert-led yoga with spa therapies, nourishing cuisine, and the space to simply be.
What to Expect on Your Yoga Retreat
A typical day begins with a sunrise yoga session — dynamic Vinyasa or flowing Hatha — followed by a nutritious buffet breakfast. Mornings offer spa treatments or free time to explore the grounds, swim, or rest. An afternoon session of Yin or restorative yoga helps release tension before a 3 course dinner. Our schedule balances structure with freedom: every class is optional, and our instructors tailor modifications to your level, whether you are stepping onto the mat for the first time or deepening a decade-long practice.
Choosing Your Retreat Duration
Three-night stays suit a quick reset — perfect for a long weekend of movement and rest. Five to seven nights allow genuine transformation: enough time for the body to release tension, establish new sleep patterns, and begin building a sustainable practice. Longer stays of ten days or more are ideal for those recovering from burnout or seeking a deep immersion. We recommend a minimum of five nights for the full Shanti-Som experience.
Yoga Retreats for Beginners
Never practised yoga before? Our retreats are designed with beginners in mind. Every class offers modifications, and our instructors provide individual attention in small groups of no more than twelve. Many guests arrive as complete beginners and leave with a personal practice they can continue at home. There is no pressure to perform — only an invitation to explore movement, breath, and stillness at your own pace.
Yoga Retreat FAQ
Yes, and a great many of our guests do.
Our classes are taught in small groups, which means a teacher can give you individual attention rather than delivering a single sequence to a full room. If you've never been to a yoga class in your life, tell us on your booking form and your first session will be built with that in mind.
The genuinely useful thing about learning here rather than at home is time: five consecutive days of practice teaches you more than five months of a weekly class.
No, and this is far and away the question we're asked most.
Flexibility is a result of yoga, not a requirement for it. Turning up unable to touch your toes simply means you're in the same position most people are in when they start, and it's the reason to come rather than a reason not to.
Every posture we teach can be modified, and props are always available. Nobody is asked to do anything their body isn't ready for, and no teacher here will place you in a shape you haven't chosen.
No. Twice-daily practice with proper instruction is more than most experienced practitioners get at home, and our teachers will extend you if that's what you want.
Tell us your level and what you'd like to work on. A retreat is one of the few chances you get to refine something specific - a bind, an inversion, breath work you've never had time to explore - rather than simply keeping up with a class.
Almost certainly not. Our guests range from their twenties to their seventies, and yoga is one of the few disciplines that adapts completely to the body doing it.
If mobility is a concern, tell us and we'll make sure you're supported - with props, with modifications, and with a teacher who knows before the class begins rather than finding out halfway through.
Not in any way you'd need to opt into.
Yoga has philosophical roots and we don't pretend otherwise- you'll hear the odd Sanskrit posture name, and meditation is part of the daily rhythm. But nothing here asks you to adopt a belief, chant anything you'd rather not, or participate in anything that makes you uncomfortable.
Most of our guests come for the physical practice, the quiet and the sleep. That's a perfectly good reason.
Yes, and more than people expect. Our groups are mixed, and men who arrive slightly self-conscious about being outnumbered generally stop thinking about it by the second class.
Most of our guests do. Solo travel is the norm here rather than the exception.
Practising twice a day with the same small group tends to build an easy familiarity - you'll recognise everyone by day two without having had to introduce yourself formally. Meals are relaxed, and nobody has to talk if they'd rather not.
Often yes, with modifications, and prenatal treatments are available. Please tell us before booking so we can be honest with you about what's suitable at your stage, and please check with your midwife or doctor first.
We offer a blend of Hatha, Vinyasa flow, Yin, and restorative yoga. The exact schedule varies with instructor, but every program includes a mix of dynamic and gentle sessions. If you have any concerns, you are welcome to discuss these with our instructors before the class so they can tailor the movements to your needs.
Every day we have 2 yoga classes - a morning session focused on energising flows and an afternoon or evening session centred on stretching and relaxation. Daily meditation and breathwork are also available.
Nothing is compulsory. Guests routinely skip an afternoon class for a treatment or the pool, and no one will ask where you were.
The minimum is three nights. We'd recommend five to seven.
Three nights gives you a genuine break. Five gives your body time to change how it feels, most guests notice around day four that they're sleeping differently and standing differently. Seven is where the habit starts to hold once you're home.
Both offer the same twice-daily practice, the same small groups and the same unhurried pace. The difference is the setting.
Marbella sits in the hills of the Sierra de las Nieves, forty-five minutes from Málaga - mountain quiet, pine and olive, and an outdoor pavilion looking down the valley. There are just15 rooms so it's extremely private and secluded. We are 20 minutes to trendy down town Marbella if you are seeking some trendy shops, beach club and restaurant vibes.
The Algarve Set in the peaceful countryside of the Eastern Algarve, near the village of Moncarapacho and just 20 minutes from Faro Airport, Shanti-Som Algarve offers a tranquil escape surrounded by four hectares of private farmland, orange orchards and olive trees. Housed within a beautifully restored 19th-century Portuguese farmhouse, the retreat combines authentic Algarve charm with contemporary comfort, while the nearby coastline and Ria Formosa make it easy to explore the natural beauty of the region. With 22 intimate rooms, Shanti-Som Algarve offers a deliberately personal and unhurried setting for rest, wellbeing and reconnection
Both properties are open year-round.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable for practice and hiking. Winter is mild, quiet and often the loveliest time to come - genuinely warm afternoons with sunshine while northern Europe is grey, and a stillness the busier months don't have. A fireplace at both locations keeps you cosy and warm as nights cool down.
All meals (excluding beverages), daily yoga and meditation sessions, a personalised spa treatment, and use of all wellness facilities.
Our Retreat is recommended only for adults (18+) to maintain guest privacy and a peaceful environment.