Yoga Healing Retreats
a guide for your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing yoga healingholistic therapiesBoost Your Physical, Emotional And Spiritual Wellbeing
A Guide To Getting The Best From Your Healing Retreats
In today’s fast-paced and demanding world, it has never been more essential to take time for self-care. Our yoga healing retreats offer you a unique blend of ancient yoga wisdom informed by modern science, to help you reconnect with your essential self and find balance in a chaotic world
Join us on a journey of self-discovery and self-care with yoga practices, meditation techniques, and healing therapies tailored to your individual needs, and discover the transformative power of our healing retreats
Healing Yoga Focused On Your Needs
At Spanish Yoga Retreat we celebrate your unique qualities. That’s why we’ve designed our yoga healing retreats to be flexible and adaptable to meet your needs, preferences and goals. We work in groups of six to allow you to tailor your practice to meet your personal objectives
We believe that healing is a holistic process that encompasses the body, mind and spirit, and our retreats are designed to support you on this journey of self-discovery and self-care
Whether you are looking to deepen your yoga practice, heal from a physical or emotional trauma, or simply take a break from the demands of daily life, our healing retreats offer a space for you to explore and grow in your own direction
Our Healing Retreats
Yoga & Walking Holidays
Yoga & Mindful Walking Retreats
Our most active retreat: regular walking can lengthen your life by up to 7 years. Add yoga & mindfulness and it’s win, win
Join us on a yoga walking retreat, live healthy and long, and discover Extremadura, Spain’s natural paradise
Healing Yoga Breaks
Flexible Date Healing Yoga Breaks
Yoga & Cooking Holidays
Yoga & Plant-Based Cooking
Our most delicious yoga retreat to date!
Unleash your imagination with yoga & meditation and learn to transform simple, local ingredients into exuberant dishes from Spain and around the globe
Ova-lacto vegetarian or 100% vegan
Getting The Best From Your Retreat
The Spiritual Dimension In Yoga Healing
Far from just being a form physical exercise, yoga is an ancient spiritual practice to help us experience a connection to something greater than ourselves
Originating from Sanskrit, India’s classical language, yoga means yoke or union. Though yoga unites mind and body, it also offers us a way to experience our one-ness with something greater. This unity of the individual with the universal is an experience beyond words and thought, and is to be realized in the silence of meditation
This is of the greatest practical significance. If the scientific literature is full of the incredible health benefits of yoga, the evidence also clearly shows that the secret to yoga’s healing power is in its contemplative dimension
Our Yoga Healing Retreats embrace this spiritual dimension of yoga through practical exercises that nurture mindful awareness
Whether you’re practising postures, breath-work, or guided visualization, you will learn to quieten the mind and open the heart to release old patterns, beliefs, and emotions that no longer serve you for a profoundly healing transformation
The Impact Of Yoga On Your Physical Wellbeing
Yoga has been shown to have a hugely positive impact on your physical wellbeing, from improving cardiovascular and respiratory health to optimizing digestion, boosting immunity and relieving pain
Though yoga’s healing power goes beyond the merely structural, yoga postures, or asanas, are a vital component of yoga practice, providing strength, flexibility and balance to help you establish a sound basis for optimal health
Our yoga and healing retreats offer you an opportunity to get to know your own body more intimately, discovering habitual movement patterns and finding ways to release tension, minimize wear and ease stiffness and pain
Jump to the next section to see how yoga can help you relieve your aches and pains and enjoy greater vitality, energy and health in your daily life
The Benefits Of Yoga On Structural Wellbeing
Click / tap the tabs to see how yoga can help you relieve your aches and pains and enjoy greater structural fitness
1 - Low Back Pain
Back pain has many causes. It can result from injury, dysfunction and even disease
A catch all for back pain in the absence of trapped nerve or other serious signs, mechanical low back pain is the commonest form
Mechanical back pain can appear after straining you back, sometimes trivially, and often for no apparent reason. It is not associated with tingling, numbness or other signs of nerve entrapment
It resolves by itself withing 2-3 weeks. Or it can persist to become chronic
Yoga has been shown to be helpful with this type of back pain, particularly in its persistent, or recurring chronic form
Systematic reviews looking at the benefits of yoga in low back pain found positive evidence for yoga in
- reducing pain intensity
- improving function, as well as
- measurably improving quality of life
References
Effects of Yoga Therapy on Pain, Quality of Life, and Functional Ability in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients. Singh (2016)
A systematic review and meta-analysis of yoga for low back pain. Cramer (2013).
Yoga As A Treatment For Low Back Pain. Diaz (2013)
2 - Neck Pain
Neck pain is almost as common as low back pain, with an equally broad range of causes
Though less extensively studied than low-back-pain, two systematic reviews have found yoga benefits neck pain, with the findings demonstrating a reduction in pain and pain-related disability
References
Effects of yoga on chronic neck painKim (2016)
Effectiveness of Iyengar yoga in treating spinal pain: Crow (2015)
3 - Tension Headache
Tension type headache is the most common form, with a world-wide prevalence of 50%
The tension can be in the upper back, shoulders, neck, and the head itself. There is a strong association with stress
Two systematic reviews of have found yoga improves the severity, frequency and duration of pain
Yoga for Treating Headaches. Anheyer (2019)
Effects of yoga exercises for headaches. Kim (2015)
4 - Osteoarthritis
Osteo-arthritis is joint pain from wear-and-tear. It is associated with age, but can affect younger people, for example after injury
Pain can be sometimes better, sometimes worse, and at other times completely absent
For this reason x-ray evidence of wear and tear tells you little about your current state
The most crucial factor is probably joint function. Where an area is structurally compromised, good junction can make the difference between experiencing pain, or being pain free
Stress, too, plays a significant part
Systematic reviews have found yoga is beneficial for OA related pain and stiffness and significantly improves function
Yoga for Osteoarthritis: Lauche (2019)
The Effects of Yoga on Pain, Mobility, and Quality of Life in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis. Kan (2016)
The Benefits Of Yoga Healing For Internal Health
Click / tap the tabs to see how our yoga healing retreats can help you calm chronic arousal and enjoy greater vitality and health
5 - Cardiovascular Health
Some of the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease are raised blood pressure and altered levels of blood cholesterol and other fats
Add to this excess fat around your waist, and higher than normal blood sugar and you have a worrying combination known as metabolic syndrome, a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes and for suffering heart attack and stroke
Yoga has been found to reduce the risk factors for cardiovascular health at levels comparable to aerobic exercise
Systematic reviews on the benefits of yoga for cardiovascular health support these conclusions
Systematic Review of Yoga Interventions to Promote Cardiovascular Health in Older Adults. Barrows (2016)
A systematic review of yoga for heart disease Cramer H, et al (2015)
6 - Respiratory Health
The Benefits Of Yoga For Asthma
Asthma is a respiratory disease characterized by intermittent narrowing of the airways. Symptoms include wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing
It can be triggered by allergens, exercise or following a common cold
Positive evidence from early reviews has been somewhat refuted. More recent reviews have found moderate evidence that yoga can improve quality of life in asthma sufferers and can be considered an ancillary intervention to conventional management
Yoga and other slow-breathing techniques have also been found helpful in anxiety-related hyperventilation syndrome and breathing pattern dysfunction
Yoga for asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis Cramer (2014)
Yoga For Asthma Zu-Yao Yang, et al (2016)
7 - Irritable Bowel
IBS is a common condition of unknown cause affecting the digestive system. Symptoms include stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. The condition affects 11 of 26 people globally
The benefits of yoga for IBS are evident, with a 2016 systematic review concluding that ” yoga might be a feasible and safe adjunctive treatment for … IBS”
Effect of Yoga in the Therapy of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review. Schumann (2016)
8 - Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a disease of unknown origin characterized by muscle & joint pain, fatigue, insomnia, brain-fog and feeling, anxious or depressed
Yoga and other mindfulness-based movement therapies have been shown to improve sleep, fatigue, depression & health-related quality of life
Yoga provided the additional benefit of pain relief
Efficacy and safety of meditative movement therapies in fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review Longhurst (2013)
Yoga In Emotional Healing And Cognitive Ability
In addition to its physical benefits, yoga also has a profound impact on your emotional wellbeing. Yoga increases the production of endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, feel-good hormones that promote a sense of happiness and wellbeing
Practicing yoga will help you cultivate mindfulness, self-awareness, and self-compassion, releasing stored emotional tension to enjoy greater emotional balance and resilience
Our yoga healing retreats offer you a unique opportunity to explore the emotional healing power of yoga and develop tools and techniques to manage stress and anxiety. By embracing the emotional dimension of yoga, you can cultivate a deeper sense of self-love, acceptance, and emotional wellbeing
The Benefits of Yoga For Cognitive & Emotional Health
Click / tap the tabs to see how a healing yoga retreat can help you cultivate mindfulness to enjoy happiness and wellbeing
9 - Anxiety
Yoga is effective in managing anxiety and is a recognized adjunct to psychotherapy for dealing with anxiety disorder
Yoga also provides a versatile range of tools to match to your needs
Yoga for anxiety: a systematic review of the research evidence. Kirkwood (2005)
Yoga for Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review Hanson (2016)
Yoga for anxiety: A systematic review Cramer (2018)
10 - Depression
Systematic reviews show yoga can benefit people with elevated levels of depression, including individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder
Yoga for Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review Hanson (2016)
Yoga for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis Cramer (2013)
11 - Mental Function
Studies show that yoga improves executive functions such as decision making and judgement, as well as memory, attention and processing speed to make you faster, smarter and more productive
Effects of yoga-related mind-body therapies on cognitive function in older adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis Bhattacharyya K K, et al (2021)
Impact of mind-body interventions in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review Farhang M, et al (2019)
Yoga and Cognition: A Meta-Analysis of Chronic and Acute Effects Gothe N P, et al (2015)
12 - Stress
A sedentary lifestyle and stress rank among the top killers of adults worldwide
One systematic has shown that movement therapies, including yoga are beneficial for reducing stress and improving overall health
A more recent review found that slow-breathing, increased rest & digest activity and produced brain-wave changes associated with emotional control and psychological well-being
Effects of yoga on stress management in healthy adults: A systematic review Chon (2011)
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review Zaccaro (2018)
Holistic Healing Therapies
Holistic Body-Oriented Therapies
All our Spanish yoga retreats offer you healing body therapies as an optional extra to complement your yoga practice and precisely address your specific issues
Manuel Ponce is a practising cranio-sacral and structural osteopath and medical acupuncturist 35 years in practice, and registered with the UK General Osteopathic Council
Fees: All Treatments
Healing treatments and one-to-one yoga coaching are available on all our retreats as an optional extra:
Classical And Structural Osteopathy
Founded by Andrew Taylor Still in the late 1800’s, osteopathy is based on the vital link between a healthy structure and optimal health
Emphasizing the importance of the spine in integrating the functions of the vital organs with the musculoskeletal tissues, osteopaths work on your body’s structural integrity to improve not just your mechanical function, but your whole physical and mental wellbeing
As a method of approaching your physical, emotional and spiritual health through the physical body, osteopathy complements the ancient yoga philosophy and can provide a valuable element in your healing retreat
Joseph Manuel Ponce is a full member of the UK General Osteopathic Council
Cranial Osteopathy & Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
The osteopath William Garner Sutherland, while studying the structure of the cranium, discovered that the whole body, including the skull, expresses a rhythmic motion palpable by the hand
Our understanding of the craniosacral impulse has evolved from a merely physical force to a vital expression of the fundamental life-force we call health
Dr Sutherland has given us a holistic healing system based on deep listening and using just intention to free your system from chronic, habitual tensions and help return you back to health
Medical Acupuncture
is an ancient Chinese form of energy healing for harmonizing the flow of vital force to improve health
Whilst acknowledging traditional Chinese medicine, medical acupuncture leans towards a Western medico-scientific model of health
There is good evidence that acupuncture can balance the body’s regulatory systems to …
… potentiate tissue healing and repair, fight infection and modulate pain and inflammation
… reduce stress and anxiety and their impact on your physical and mental well-being
Manuel practices acupuncture in the context of osteopathic medicine
A Note On Travel Insurance
We recommend you taking out travel insurance to include healthcare costs
EU citizens can access state health care in any EU country with a European Health Card (EHIC)
Post Brexit, UK citizens can get state emergency healthcare cover in Spain with the new GHIC card. Copy the link below for more information and to apply for your GHIC card online
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-for-uk-nationals-visiting-spain
Assessment: Your Health Matters
To get the most from your healing yoga retreats please tell us about your health status. Using the resources below, either:
- complete our online health questionnaire, OR
- request a live telephone or online one-2-one chat
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UK (+44) 7735 448588
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