We are working on it! After our sold-out 2022 retreat, we are currently negotiating the details for a new, spectacular retreat venue.
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There is a magic to the island of Paros that lures us back again and again. Can you hear the call of the waves, the sand under your naked feet, the wind in your hair?
Join Tash Barnard, Dominique Vieira and Mareile Paley in a weeklong deep exploration of movement. Discover Pilates and Yoga as a tool to find peace and a deeper connection to yourself.
Renourish, replenish and finally return home full of calm, healthy energy.
"Take a moment now - right now - to pause, wherever you are. Exhale all the air out of your body. Take a full, deep breath in through your nose. Pause. Feel it. Now release it all slowly. Feel that? That’s what this retreat feels like."
“I’ve seen so many different people flourish in the 15 retreats I've lead for Mareile. For this one, it's the choice of accommodation - you can decide to go minimal and strip yourself back to the basics or you can indulge in a luxury villa right by the beach."
Stay tuned for an exciting new venue!
JOIN US IN Paros, greece FROM September 25th - Oct 1st 2022 with your feet in the sand and the wind in your face.
Paros is one of the Cyclades lesser known islands. Situated in the Aegean Sea and small enough to be explored in a day, it is best known for its beaches and traditional villages. Think of whitewashed sugar cube houses, paved streets and blue-domed churches – the perfect place for a quintessential Greek retreat.
We secretly call this retreat our feel good retreat, as we invite you on this exploration of your body and mind. You will be in the hands of three wonderful teachers who have found their calling in working on a deep level through Yoga, BASI Pilates® and a love for connecting people.
You can get to Paros by either boat or plane. On departure and arriving days we will provide a free pick up from either location.
How to get to Paros:
By plane:
Aegean Air flies from Athens to Paros. Depending on the season you could also catch a flight to Mykonos island and from there its a 45-minute boat ride to Paros.
By boat from Athens:
There are two options: Pireaus port and Rafina port.
1) Rafina port is closer to the airport and you can get there either by taxi or bus. By bus will take you about 45 minutes and it costs 3 Euros.
By taxi it will take you less time but more money.
2) Piraeus port is further from airport than Rafina, and you can get there by bus, metro or taxi. The metro and bus are both very convenient because they will leave you just a few meters from where you get the boat to Paros. Depending on the ferry company, the trip from Athens to Paros will take between 3 – 5 hrs. For Greek ferry schedules, a good website is www.gtp.gr
Our retreat will officially start in the early evening of September 25th, giving you all day to arrive at the venue. Leaving day is October 1st after breakfast.
BESIDES SPENDING A much deserved WEEK away from it all on a greek island, HERE’S MORE TO DREAM ABOUT:
INCLUDED IN THE PRICE:
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Not INCLUDED IN THE PRICE:
CHoose between two venues – Our main retreat venue Okreblue or share a 3-bedroom luxury villa with up to 5 other participants.
OKREBLUE, a yoga retreat with heart and soul, will be our home for the week. Impeccably run and located on a quiet beach it's the perfect place to reset and return to yourself. Expect natural materials, refreshing simplicity and a truly sustainable spirit.
The yoga shala is a peaceful space with the sunlight filtering through its reed curtains…oh, how much we are already looking forward to being there!
For those looking to indulge in luxury and comfort on their retreat, we have reserved a large 3-bedroom LUXURY VILLA in short walking distance from Okreblue. Boasting a huge swimming pool overlooking the sea, we cannot think of a better way to relax after class. The villa has a large shared living room and kitchen as well as a private terrace overlooking the pool.
The three bedrooms are spacious and ideal to be shared with a friend or spouse. All amenities are provided.
Our retreat home Okreblue has the true soul of a yoga retreat. No wonder we need to book our spot a year in advance… The rooms are cosy and clean with the minimalistic feel that is typical of the Greek islands. Our meals and classes will take place here.
We expect these spots to book out quickly, so the sooner you let us know, the better. From the villa it’s a short 5 min walk along the beach to Okreblue.
* all prices are per person, and quoted in EUR. We will try our best to help you avoid bank and transfer charges, but if they do occur, all bank/PayPal charges must be carried by the participant.
YOU COULD NOT BE IN BETTER HANDS! BOTH Tash Barnard & Dominique VieiRa HAVE BEEN TEACHING FOR many YEARS AND are amazing human beings!
Tash’s high energy and passionate encouragement brings infectious joy and laughter to anyone in the group. No wonder that we have so many return guests. During class, Tash will push you to reach for the stars and to believe in the impossible. Tash is a highly accomplished Pilates teacher and BASI Pilates teacher trainer. Every year she joins us on our retreats with all the passion and excitement you’d expect from a first timer. If you are looking for a mentor who will encourage you to believe in yourself, a week with Tash might very well change your life.
Dom teaches Vinyasa & Restorative Yoga, as well as a meditation and breathwork. She firmly believes that yoga is for everybody and every body and carries that ethos throughout her teachings. Her classes focus on intelligent sequencing and making the practice as accessible as possible. She places a lot of value on the connection to breath and cultivating that beautiful feeling of presence and connection through breath, movement and stillness. For her, the yoga practice is really a practice of coming back home to oneself with loving-kindness. She can’t wait to guide you through your own practice.
If a retreat is a beautiful piece of art, Mareile is the glue that holds all the pieces together. Having started in 2010 leading her own Pilates retreats, she soon found her true calling and strength in connecting people, in crafting and curating truly exceptional retreat experiences and in finding the best teachers. The personal attention you will receive before, during and after the retreat can all be attributed to Mareile’s deep desire to make people happy and to make you feel valued and special.
Nothing really beats a Greek Island Holiday... Add Pilates, Yoga, sunsets and the turquoise water to it and call that perfection! ENJOY SOME OF OUR HIGHLIGHTS BELOW:
Less crowded and less touristy than others of the Cyclade islands, we fell in love with Paros on our first retreat there in 2019. Beautiful crystal clear waters coupled with just the right amount of shopping and restaurants, makes it a perfect escape destination with 'a little bit of everything'. Our retreat venue is tucked away on a remote beach, so you can dip in and out of civilization as you please.
Be reminded that our retreats are all about movement and definitely more than just 'an active holiday'. As always, we bring you the best Pilates and movement teachers, so expect to be challenged, to learn, go deeper and find yourself in your body in ways that will elevate and exhilarate you. To find our more about Tash and Dom, check the teachers' section.
As it is our signature, each guest gets a private one-on-one session as part of their retreat package. This extra time spent with you helps us to get to know you and to serve you better during the group sessions. Whether your aim is to bring your Pilates practice to the next level or to find deep relaxation, let yourself be guided by the expert knowledge of your teachers.
One of our highlights on this retreat is our excursion day. We fondly remember spending the day out on the water in our own sailing boat. We swam in the clear turquoise sea, watched the sunset over drinks and a delicious dinner prepared by chef Costas on the boat... Memories were made for sure! Are you joining us this time?
Whether you come with an old friend or are ready to make new ones... Our Paros retreat is the perfect setting to connect, unwind and reconnect. We’ve had friends surprise each other, daughters bringing their moms and husbands sitting the baby while she does Pilates. Spending time while having time is a real treat these days!
In these crazy times, when was the last time you treated yourself to yourself? To spend time with yourself? By yourself? For yourself? Surrounded by the elements, the sun, the sea, the sand and the wind you can take a moment to breathe. To be. Enough. Again.
I KNOW... IT’S HARD TO STAY GLUED TO THE SCREEN AND READ THROUGH SO MUCH INFO. HERE ARE A FEW MORE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS I’VE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE YEARS:
No. We offer each of our retreat (except for the Teacher Trainings) just once a year around the same time.
Yes. If you are a group of friends looking for a personalized and intimate retreat experience, the Life in Movement team is happy to work with you on a bespoke retreat package
Yes. Even if you are new to Pilates, Yoga or both, we welcome and encourage you to join. A retreat week always starts with the basics no matter how experienced the other participants might be. Depending on the overall level of the group we will slowly (or quickly) build up the classes day by day. You can decide to book additional private sessions if you feel you want to work on something specific. If there is a very big difference between levels, we might offer some additional classes to the more advanced participants, but the group sessions will always be tailored to accommodate beginners.
Yes. We usually offer a custom retreat price in that case. If you want to bring a child, we recommend you contact us directly to see how we can best accommodate you. In Bali it is easy, for example, to organize a nanny for the day or for during classes.
We have lots of guests traveling alone and for many it’s been the first time or the first time on retreat. As long as you make it to Bali, we are here for you. A retreat is actually a perfect setting for a first solo trip. All is organized and taken care of, but if you want to step out of your comfort zone, make friends, try something new, here is your opportunity. You will be surprised how quickly it all falls into place.
We love it when teachers join our retreat! This usually means that you are excited to continue your learning journey. Be aware that our retreats are open to all levels and that this retreat is not primarily focused on an advanced level participant. That said — when we see that you can be pushed… we will do so! All our teachers are amazing movement professionals with decades of teaching experience. If appropriate we might organize some additional sessions for our more advanced participants.
We do like to say that all participation in any aspect of our retreats is, of course, voluntary. We won’t ‘require’ you to do anything! That said… you did find our retreat for a reason and we know that there are plenty others out there. Our teachers, even though they are teaching different methods, work very much together and in synergy. In that respect, we’d prefer it if you see the combination of Pilates and Yoga as two methods working with and towards each other rather than simply two daily, separate exercise classes. We promise you will learn loads and that it will make so much sense to you after.
I get asked this a lot and unfortunately, I have yet to find the perfect Pilates retreat location that offers the possibility to add in equipment sessions. In fact, I am building this space right now in Portugal, so I invite you to support CALM Portugal, so that in a few years the answer can be ”Yes, of course!”
If you have doubts about your physical abilities in regards to the retreat and due to a chronic or acute condition, we encourage you to contact us prior to booking. That way we can advise you and make sure that you will benefit from the retreat. All participants will need to complete a health form prior to the retreat start.
For maximum benefit we encourage each guest to arrive and leave on the official retreat arrival & departure days. If you can’t make it, we will try our best to find a custom solution for you, which will, however, not affect the retreat price.
As you can imagine, we are very used to dealing with all kinds of food allergies, preferences and unusual diets. As long as you tell us ahead of time (there is a line about it in our mandatory health form) we can inform the venue and let you know how much we can accommodate you. For the most part it’s easy (ie vegan, gluten free, dairy free) and if it’s potentially tricky, we will advise you to bring your own snacks, supplements and supplies.
LET US HELP YOU DECIDE HERE...
BEST DECISION EVER! WELCOME TO OUR Greece 2022 PILATES & YOGA RETREAT
Yay! That’s exciting. We are very happy to have you on board. We will be in touch with the next steps.
Below, you can pay your deposit to make sure you get a spot.
In order to secure your spot on the retreat, we need to receive a non refundable EUR 500 deposit from you. We accept Credit Cards, PayPal or direct bank transfer. Please note that we won’t pay for any bank or transfer charges, including PayPal fees.
We highly encourage you to purchase travel insurance in case you need to cancel your trip. We have found during our travels that it is well worth having the coverage, as it covers many unforeseen circumstances that may arise while on vacation.
If we are able to fill your cancelled spot by three months before the retreat start, we will return all money paid to us, except your deposit. If we are unable to fill your spot, we will only return 50% of all money paid to us after deduction of the deposit.
Sorry, but no refund possible after this date.If you are not able to attend the retreat but have a friend or family member that would like to attend, we are happy to transfer 100% of the money that you have paid toward your friend or family member. Both parties must notify us in writing in order to transfer names.
All money paid to us by you will be returned, excluding bank chargers. Unfortunately we cannot compensate you for any plane tickets/transportation arrangements you have already made.
EUR 500 non-refundable deposit is required in order to secure your spot. We accept Credit Card (PayPal) and / or direct bank transfer. Please note that we won’t pay for any bank or transfer charges, including PayPal fees.