Working in the travel industry, we are witnessing a growing demand from tourists’ tribes around the world wishing to visit Croatia with the specific goal of attending the yoga retreat.
In recent years, Croatia is joining other Mediterranean countries known for retreat centers, such as leaders Portugal, Spain, and Greece, followed by France and Italy. Every vital tourist destination has a wide range of retreat centers that offer various wellness and self-care programs throughout the year.
These programs are beneficial for the venues as they fill up accommodations in pre- and post-season, as these programs are best held out of hot periods when temperatures are milder.
All this means that guests are happy to visit Croatia during May and June as well as in September and October.
Thanks to the Mediterranean region’s climate changes, you can ideally have a morning outdoor yoga session and sea swim in October. Days are a bit shorter, but you still have all advantages of a good retreat.
LOCAL EXPERIENCES
About the above, there is a more considerable demand in incoming guests’ requests than an actual offer on the terrain of the specific venues. Fortunately, some of the players in the region have recognized many opportunities this vacation style has to offer.
In the first place, it is the profile of the retreat guest. They are mainly highly educated, ecologically conscious, and valuable visitors who strongly appreciate all levels of local content on the spot. Their fields of interest span culture, food, nature exploration, and participation in local community living.
In June, a group of US yogis insisted on voluntary work for the local community. Then they painted the wired fence of the bocce playground after participating in the island’s women’s competition in bocce. All involved were immensely happy, and a warm connection was made with the local women population.
WHY CHOOSE CROATIA RETREATS
One of the advantages is the country’s central position inside the EU. Croatia’s long coast with numerous islands and the Istria peninsula is easily reached from the bordering countries by car and a good network of roads. For a distant visitor landing in one of a few country’s airports, you can get to any venue in less than 2 hours max.
So far, you will encounter offers for boutique retreats hosting up to 15 people maximum. Usually, indoor practice space is a definer of the group number. It is nice to practice by the beach. Still, you must have a lovely comfy, airy Shala, possibly with a nice view, in case of rain, wind, or other weather inconvenience. The best measure of 12 guests offers retreat leaders space to create connection and such needed intimacy in the group.
There is such an incredible sensation on the departure, seeing people hugging and crying with happiness for being offered such a great week of togetherness that gifted their souls, especially when you saw them so shy and shrunk during the welcome session of day zero.
It will probably take more years for investors to recognize this growing potential and create bigger venues to host the most demanding teachers with 20 and more practitioners for one retreat. As for now, only big hotels can host a bigger group, but yoginis generally avoid generic hotels for their gathering location, lacking intimacy and privacy.
MODERN TEACHERS
The evident growth of yoga teachers worldwide in response to our modern life calamities, with growing stress, anxiety, and burnout cases arising globally, makes it hard to choose those teachers we want to host in Croatia.
We like to attract international teachers to Croatia who have long years of teaching and sharing yoga wisdom with the world. The most attractive and inspiring leaders know how to comprise this ancient profound knowledge with nowadays discoveries in neuroscience, physiology, or physics.
Embracing the new without the dogma of the past means being open to exploration and acceptance. Modern teachers are nomads, open-minded, kind, humble, respectful, and happy to share and connect.
RETREAT UNIQUE BENEFITS
Therefore, expressing and resuming all the goodness you will experience from a week of self-care vacation is hard. You will certainly come back home transformed and enriched with new experiences, knowledge, and tools to deal with stress in your everyday life.
You will make a new interpersonal connection among the like-minded community and uniquely rediscover yourself. You will be assured that you are not alone with your worries and have a safe space to share them without judgment.
One week is enough to install new wellness rituals you can continue to practice once back home. All this is added to the classic holiday content of nature, activities, food, and culture that make part of an ordinary vacation. You will probably work hard on the mat. Still, once you return home, you will become aware of transformation and a growing sense of unity and clarity.
WEEK-LONG INTENSIVE ASHTANGA IMMERSION IN THE BLUE ADRIATIC SOUTH BAY ON THE BRAČ ISLAND
We are lucky to hold a space for Laruga Glaser and very proud that she is coming to Croatia again to share her immense knowledge of Ashtanga. She is undoubtedly one of the world’s most highly respected Ashtanga teachers, with almost 30 years of practice and teaching. Her level of expertise proves her deep dedication to the practice. If you visit her page, you will see her traveling and offering yearly retreats.
Ashtanga is one of the most famous styles of yoga nowadays. If you are only new on the mat, Laruga Glaser is the name you have probably already heard. Take advantage of this second visit to Croatia and learn from the best.
Besides a lot of yoga learning, we appreciate a great connection in the community, a fantastic chef specializing in healthy food, many activities, massages, hikes, and boat trips to islands. You are welcome here, as Laruga is an unbeatable teacher in breaking down the method and technique into steps and details.
WHERE WE GATHER?
We get immersed in Adriatic blue and green in the stunning house on the island’s southern tip, Brač, for an unforgettable learning time, relaxing, laughing, and connecting to joy and simple pleasures. We talk about the magic trick of Mediterranean beauty and peace combined with yoga community spirit.
This gorgeously designed villa, overlooking the turquoise sea, offers ten twin beds, six bathrooms, two kitchens, practice space for 20 mats, an infrared sauna, jacuzzi, outdoor bathroom, cellar, and pizza oven.
All the rooms have twin beds with high thread count bedlinen, a super selection of pillows, and a direct sea view from each bedroom is spectacular.
Is there anything better than listening to your breath and feeling your movement just by the seashore? Can you smell the sea and pine trees? Have a deep breath! We are waiting for you! Nature truly is the best and cheapest therapy.
BIRTHDAY MONTH FOR YOGA HRVATSKA – Gift for last-minute bookings
For Yoga Hrvatska, August is a birthday month, so we like to make a gift to you for our incoming gathering in October. For all registration after 3rd August, you will be discounted 100 EUR on the regular price of 1800 EUR including:
– two daily meals – brunch and dinner
– tea and coffee daily
– morning led/ Mysore session / 6 per week
– afternoon workshops into method sessions / 5 per week
– boat trip to the island
– accommodation in 4**** villa
3 places left in shared double rooms.
For single occupancy sleeping, please contact directly at yogaincroatia@yogahrvatska.hr.
ABOUT LARUGA GLASER
Laruga Glaser has been practicing Ashtanga yoga continuously for over 23 years. Laruga is one of the most senior Ashtanga teachers in the world with a Level 2 Certification and a charisma who shares her yogic knowledge and ethos off & beyond the mat. Starting at the beginning of her 20s, she was immediately drawn to the practice after working with other forms of yoga years prior.
After establishing a committed practice, she deepened her studies, traveling to Mysore, India, annually to practice at KPJAYI, where the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois teaches and now his grandson, R. Sharath Jois. Laruga has made more than 14 trips to Mysore and is on a mission to continue to learn and grow as a student and a teacher.
She is one of the few in the world with the distinction of being certified to teach up to Advanced B, which is not easily given and takes many years to earn. Through it all, Laruga teaches as an act of deep sharing and love for what yoga develops in each individual, facilitating space to open, challenge, and inspire those to realize their inherent potential, and has been personally invited all over the world to do so.
