Heart Opening Retreat

There is so much grief, anger, confusion and stress nowadays; in order to live with the greatest freedom and to enjoy the highest fortune we must learn how to enter the domain of our heart. It is our heart that lights the path to healing, it is in our hearts where we can connect to our true wisdom. When we learn how to listen to that inner wisdom, we then plant the seeds for worldly success. On this nourishing retreat, we will work on removing the veils that obscure our inner light.

We will have yoga sessions twice daily, one slow morning flow followed by Pranayama and a guided meditation, and a restorative/yoga Nidra in the evenings. The surroundings of Chia Retreats are exceptionally special, and we will have plenty of opportunities to go on nurturing walks as well as having “me time” to relax by either of the pools. To those who would like to explore their creativity, on offer is an optional evening painting class. We will express ourselves joyfully and most importantly, have fun.

VENUE
The retreat takes place in an estate with a private manor house that dates back to the 17th century with recent reconstruction bringing you all the comforts of modern contemporary life. This rural property is set in 17 hectares of gorgeous, green and natural scenery. The house is exclusively for our guests on this retreat. The property includes comfortable en-suite bedrooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis court and a lake. Shala surrounded by gardens provides a dedicated place for your daily yoga practice.

LOCATION
The house is located in the oldest village of Portugal known for its exclusive production of Vinho Verde wine. The house is situated 43 miles from Porto airport(1 hour drive), 45 miles from the city of Porto, 12 miles to the beach (25 min drive), 3 miles to the village of Ponte de Lima (5 min drive) and 35 miles to Parque Nacional Peneda-Geres (1 hour 20).

FOOD
Chia’s chef and team offer a creative and special Mediterranean cuisine using products of the highest quality with local, organic or seasonal fruit and vegetables.
*Loose leaf and herbal teas, coffee, fruit before your morning yoga session
*Brunch includes freshly squeezed juices, loose leaf teas, homemade muesli and granola, fresh fruit, seeds, nuts, yoghurts, free-range eggs, fresh breads, homemade cakes and hot specialities
*A healthy snack in the afternoon
*Evening buffet style meals are freshly and lovingly prepared offering a variety of plant based bowls of goodness for you to enjoy. All meals use seasonal, local or organic produce to provide delicious, nutritious and soulful food
*The chef can cater for all dietary needs with advance notice

RETREAT INCLUDES
*Daily meditation
*A fluid movement practice in the mornings and afternoons including mudras, mantras and pranayama
*Guided journalling and self-inquiry
*Space to relax, read, write, rest and swim
*Delicious vegetarian meals freshly prepared by our in house chef for brunch and dinner
*Pre yoga tea, fruit and snacks, drinks available anytime
*Time in nature
*Private use of indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis court and lake in the private grounds
*Comfortable en-suite accommodation in a beautiful refurbished manor house
*Return transfers to/from Porto airport (1 hour drive) Last day group transfer leaves at midday to Porto city or airport
*Check in 16:00 on 26 June and check out 11:00 on 30 June

DOES NOT INCLUDE
*Flights. Please take a flight to Porto. Recommended arrival flights with Ryanair, Easjet, BA or Tap Air arriving between midday and 1430 and departure should be later than 1400.
*Travel insurance- please organise your own personal travel insurance. NB – It is a condition of this trip that each person has personal travel insurance.
*Optional excursions: Trek in national park, wine tasting, surf, SUP lessons
*Optional visits: Visit to local village or surf beach

ACCOMMODATION
All rooms are equipped with fresh cotton bedding, TV sets, central heating and en-suite bathrooms with nature based body wash and fluffy towels.

Hi I'm Giselle Douglas-Morris. I was born in Venezuela and came to England twenty five years ago. My first teacher was my grandmother who taught me to salute the Sun every morning and before sunset every afternoon. My grandmother did not know what we were doing was "Yoga", but nevertheless, her teachings have always stayed with me.

The first time I heard the word "yoga" was in 1995. I was an actress and was working with the National Theatre Company of Caracas, Venezuela for a few years when, in 1994, I fell in love with a unique and eccentric British man who happened to be visiting my country. I came to London a few months later and enrolled in a year intensive course of "Mime and Physical Theatre". At this school there was a performer who used to do head stands everyday and when I asked her what was she doing, she said "Yoga".

My first class and subsequent classes were in an unknown but beautiful centre called Innergy. This place was a jewel and a secret to many Londoners. Faustomaria Dorelli was the founder and he built a community of regular students many of which became yoga teachers. And thus, the magic of yoga spread!

My training: I originally trained at the Sivananda Ashram in Canada. By then I had been doing yoga for twelve years and I was more than ready to become a teacher. As soon as I came back from training, I remember going to Fausto's class. He had a knee injury and was going to teach from a chair. We were all in Savasana at the beginning of the class and he came to me and said: "You teach this class!". The good thing was that he did not even give me the opportunity to get nervous. It was just like been thrown at the deep end of a pool! And since then, ten years on, I have been teaching and continue to study with great internationally well known teachers.

The Magic of Tantra enchanted me when I first studied with Yogarupa, Rod Stryker in 2010. The word Tantra has different meanings, one of them is: "To be touched". And that I was! Since then I joined the Para yoga Master training course which is one of the most advanced yoga teacher trainings in the world. Although I still study with a range of teachers, him and his teacher Padit Tingunai are my primary teachers. Other teachers I have learnt from include Tias Little, Judith Lasater, Michael Stone, Max Strom and Doug Keller amongst others.

My style of teaching: My classes are a combination of Intelligent Sequence (Vinyasa Krama) with more steady poses. Pranayama is essential in my classes because the breath has a deeper Physiological, Psychological and Energetic effect than Asana practice. Normally a specific theme is weaved into each class and I use Mantras, Mudras, Chanting and Kriya (active meditation) practices. The classes can be dynamic or calmer depending of what I feel are the needs of my students on a particular day. Time of day, Moon cycle, Season, Climate...these are all factors taken into consideration when I teach a class.

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