LIFT YOUR ASS TO ENLIGHTENMENT
Strengthen your arm balance and piking practice in this 7-Day Piking Camp at Okreblue Seaside Retreat Center in Greece, taught by Heidi Sormaz and Catherine Allen. Since we spend the majority of our time standing on our feet or sitting on our butts, arm balancing and piking are difficult feats for a lot of us. Heidi and Cat will take you through smart yoga practices and techniques and meditations that prepare you for piking. You will receive personal guidance and skillful partner spotting to help you establish the focus and connections for piking. Each day will intentionally build upon the skills you learned in the previous day. This continuous learning will bring your practice (and your butt) to new heights. You will leave this retreat knowing how to lift your ass if nothing else!
Why Pike?
Bottomline is – It’s fun! Piking is difficult and strange, but that makes it all the more fun when you rise above the difficulty of it and ask yourself What Part of This Can I Do? It raises endorphins. It gives you opportunities to problem-solve, celebrate your wins, and expand your limited beliefs. Piking isn’t the only way to reap these benefits in your life, but the journey to piking is a way! And it’s definitely an exciting way.
Why a Retreat?
You may wonder…why a retreat and not a traditional series of workshops at a yoga studio? The retreat setting is absolutely key to helping you pike. Here are the main reasons for having this training at a retreat:
- Relaxation: You will learn how relaxation is essential for piking. Excess tension in your muscles and connective tissue and restricted breathing weigh you down and make it harder to use your core muscles to lift your butt in piking.
- Nutrition: You will be fed nutrient-dense food. The quality of your nutrition greatly influences your stress and strength levels. The professionally prepared meals will reduce your stress and boost your strength. Okreblue grows and harvests much of the organic food you will be eating.
- Community Energy: The bright web of energy that will be created by the people around you will help boost and brighten your own energy. Pleasure and positivity are the energies that literally lighten you and help lift your ass.
- Focus: For 7 glorious days, you get a chance to put down old habits and energies that drag you down. You will practice quality focus and commitment to yourself and your piking practice without the usual life distractions. You will return to your normal life feeling recharged and seeing with new perspective.
Who is this retreat for?
This retreat is for ANYONE who wants to learn how to pike or arm balance. You don’t need to have an arm balance practice, and you definitely don’t need to have a piking practice. We suggest that you know how to do Dolphin with hands clasped in order to participate in the piking exercises. (Dolphin is like Downward Facing Dog, except the forearms are on the floor.)
What is a typical day like in this retreat?
A tentative schedule will be published. But here is a summary of what a typical day would be like:
- Wake up to a light and nutritious breakfast.
- Led Morning Meditation Session. Meditation practice is essential for piking. It builds focus and helps you ally with your mind and the rest of your body.
- Yoga Intensive, taught by Heidi and Cat, that will focus on building intelligence and connections for specific aspects of piking.
- Yummy vegan or vegetarian buffet lunch, laughter with friends, and get some fresh air around Paros.
- Afternoon Lecture and Q&A on topics specifically related to piking. There will be one day where the afternoon will be dedicated to beach time or whatever you’d like to do!
- Evening Yin Yoga Session. Yin Yoga is excellent for helping you to release excess tension that inhibits piking.
- …followed by Led Yoga Nidra Meditation.
- Float off to a delicious vegan or vegetarian home-cooked dinner freshly prepared and served on-site.
- Star-gaze before bedtime.
Check-in starts 15:00 on October 17. The training will start at 4:45pm on October 17.
Retreat will end at 12:00 on October 23 with lunch at 12:00-1:00 that day. (Check out is 12:00).
Paros is the most beautiful getaway!
Okreblue Seaside Yoga Retreat Center in Paros, Greece, is located at Filizi beach, an area of exceptional natural beauty, with sand dunes, aged cedar forests, “secret” coves with sandy beach and clear waters, next to the long sandy beach of Santa Maria.
The Center is a passion that became reality for Angelo Malamatenios & Sasy Malamatenios-Chasomeri who run the center and actually stay at the premises all year round. Their love for nature, yoga and healthy living has been a way of life for them and, after many years of passionate and careful work , they are happy to share this simple & fulfilling lifestyle with their guests from all over the world.
“What we do is who we are,” boasts Angelo who has actually grown up here at Filizi. He deals with ecological constructions, like the apartments & halls of Okreblue. Angelo also takes care of their organic garden and cooks delicious healthy meals at “Caretta” (Okreblue’s restaurant).
“Respect to the environment, the body & soul is our way of life,” comments Sasy who is the hostess of the center and the main Yoga instructor with daily yoga classes and retreats all year round.
In the tranquil atmosphere of the center and its surrounding nature, guests feel welcome and many return year after year describing Okreblue as “a home away from home”.
For accommodations, you will stay in one of Okreblue’s beautiful rooms – single, double, or triple (one bed per person). Each room or studio has its own private bathroom.
FAQs
What airport can I use? Where is it? How do I get there?
By plane: Aegean Air is the company that flys from Athens to Paros so far. For information, visit: http://en.aegeanair.com/
Coming 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) Pireaus 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.
Both the bus and the metro take about one hour (the bus a little longer maybe depends on the traffic) to get to Pireaus and cost 10 Euros.
The 2 companies that sail to Paros is Blue Star Ferries and Hellenic Seaways.
BlueStar ferries takes about 4:30 hours andruns twice a day with tickets starting at 33 euros
Hellenic Seaways takes about 2:45 hours with tickets starting at 45-50 euros.
Another option is a charter flight to Mykonos island and then a 45-minute boat ride to Paros.
What does tuition cover?
Residential tuition is all-inclusive. It covers all your meals, training curriculum, accommodations in a room with a bathroom. All meals are vegan or vegetarian. The meal schedule is:
Dinner on Day 1 (October 17)
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on Days 2-6 (October 18-22)
Breakfast and Lunch on Day 7 (October 23)
What are check-in and check-out times?
Check-in starts 15:00 (3:00pm) on October 17. The training will start at 16:45 (4:45pm) on October 17.
Retreat will end at 12:00 on October 23 with lunch at 12:00-1:00 that day. (Check out is 12:00).
What is the daily schedule?
This is a 38+ hour training that encompasses a daily 3.5-hour morning yoga intensive followed by a 2.5 to 3.5-hour afternoon session. The daily training schedule will most likely be this: 8:30am-12:00pm morning yoga intensive > 2:30pm-6:00pm afternoon session. It is subject to change slightly. We will dedicate one afternoon to free time at the beach (this is not counted as training time, but relaxing is crucial for learning well). On the first day (October 17), training starts at 4:45pm. On the last day, training ends at 12:00pm.
What are accommodations like?
You will be staying in a spacious and elegant room in one of Okreblue’s onsite apartments. Each room or studio has its own private bathroom. Click here for photos: http://www.okreblue.com/accomodation/
Can I stay an extra night?
Maybe. Fill out the message form below to inquire.
Can I smoke? Have a beer?
No smoking, recreational drugs, or alcohol on the retreat property during the event.
I can’t do a Handstand. Can I come?
You don’t need to have an arm balance or inversion practice to participate in this retreat. We ask that you know how to do Dolphin with hands clasped or Downward Facing Dog in order to participate in the piking. Anyone can benefit from this Piking Camp. You will do practices that open and strengthen your core, sharpen your focus, and help you relax, whether or not you want to pike. Everyone will be given appropriate alternatives for poses they don’t want to or can’t do.
What should I bring?
We’ll send you a complete list of things to bring with you about 1 month before the event. For now, we can tell you about yoga props you’ll need to bring: 1 yoga mat, 2 large yoga blocks like this, 1 yoga blanket, 1 rolled up mat or large beach towel, 1 strap, wristwrap gloves like this, a pair of WHITE socks and a back brace. If you have a bolster, bring it; you will use it. The gloves and back brace can help support your wrists and back during partner spotting.
Registration Information
Tuition includes a non-refundable $250 $500 deposit per person.
Please read the cancellation/refund policies before registering.
If you pay the $250 $500 deposit by February 1 15, 2019, then you qualify for the early bird rate. The balance for early bird rate is due August 1, 2019. If you pay the deposit after February 1 15, 2019 or the final balance after August 1st, then you will be charged the regular rate (additional $400).
UPDATE: Deposit for Early Bird Rate extended to February 15, 2019 (pay non-refundable $500 deposit per person by February 15).
Tuition covers all meals, training curriculum, and accommodations and shared bathrooms.
Residential Tuition – Early Bird Rate: (includes training, vegan/vegetarian meals, accommodations, and non-refundable deposit)
Single – $1655 USD Wait List
Double – $1320 USD per person Wait List
Triple – $1185 USD per person (4 spots left)
If you pay the deposit after February 1st February 15th or the final balance after August 1st, then you will be billed the regular rate, which is an additional $400 USD.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
This is a strict policy, no exceptions.
*60+ days prior to retreat: Full refund of monies less paypal fees and non-refundable deposit.
*less than 60 days: No refund. No exceptions.
*If you switch between non-residential and residential, a $100 admin fee applies.
Pay Here
Pay $250 USD $500 USD deposit PER PERSON who will be attending. Please fill out full name of each participant and room type desired in the field below. Rooms will be assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis.
