LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT
A Soul-Smarts-Grit Yoga Retreat in Amed, Bali
March 15 - 22, 2015
Are you ready to SHAKE UP + WAKE UP every aspect of your life?
Live the way your life is nudging you to live.
Invest in yourself.
The way we see it:
We all have a sweet spot and we know it when we're in it. Relationships, career, money, fitness, nutrition, parenting ... take your pick. Living from the sweet spot feels freakin' pretty awesome, right? Until the day you look around, perplexed and probably a little pissed with yourself, wondering where it went.
Sometimes it takes a radical event to reawaken your inner voice ... the one that tells you what decisions to make and how to steer through various inner and outer situations. Call it your inner guide, compass, north star ... it's the voice that connects your consciousness with the deep peace and contentment that is the essential you.
Our retreat is the perfect setting for reclaiming your true nature. We don't have all the answers, but here's what we do know: Your life will work much much better when you let your deepest, innermost desires direct your choices. They will bring you freedom, peace and joy ... and when that happens, the money always seems to follow.
We have the tools and the stories of our own journeys to help you start living from your sweet spot again -- and make it stick.
Are you hungry for spin-free straight talk ... transformation ... deep connection?
Each day you will:
- Rise with the sun & meditate on the rugged black volcanic shoreline
- Explore & practice different types of yoga (appropriate for all levels - no experience required)
- Learn to cultivate or deepen your meditation practice
- Investigate what’s working in your life & what isn’t
- Release what no longer serves you
- Rethink your assumptions about what makes you happy
- Get to the core of your true strengths and desires
- Connect with like-minded people
- Nourish your body with fresh, organic meals
- Sleep to the sweet scents & sounds of exotic Asia
- Hike, swim, snorkel, dive, dance, lounge & laugh
- Practice how to live from your sweet spot
That's what this week is about ... reclaiming your sweet spot and living from it. Unapologetically. Every. Damn. Day.
Our commitment to you? Fresh, compassionate, sassy, wise, spin-free STRAIGHT TALK that is practical and actionable.
What is included in the retreat (all activities are optional):
- 7 night accommodations
- Airport transfers to & from the Denpasar airport on arrival and departure days only (this is a 3-hour journey each way ... the scenery is breathtaking. Trust us, you won't be bored.)
- Breakfast every day
- Opening night dinner & ceremony
- Final evening closing ceremony
- Mid-week dinner party & special Balinese dance performance
- Five days of morning & evening yoga plus guided meditation. All levels welcome ... no experience required!
- Nyepi celebration and day of silence
- World class snorkeling (diving and standup paddleboarding also available at an extra cost)
- Special outing to Tirta Gangga Water Palace
- Hikes, pool time and warm ocean swimming
- One-hour Balinese massage at the on-site spa
- Staff gratuities
- Tools, inspiration, transformation and friendships that will last well after the retreat ends
What is not included:
- Yoga mat
- International airfare
- Alcoholic beverages
- Lunch & dinners not otherwise mentioned above
- Travel insurance (highly recommended)
- Additional excursions/spa treatments
We aim to keep this small & intimate ... there's space for just 16.
Come alone or with a companion. You can choose accommodations for a single person if you prefer privacy. If you're attending the retreat with a companion or if you don't mind sharing a room with another attendee, you can choose the "double" option for a bit of a discount.
Prices below reflect early-bird discounts and will increase by $300 on February 1, 2015.
Single room occupancy: $2900 USD
Double room occupancy: $2500 USD
Price does not include airfare to Denpasar.
Deposit of $750 due upon enrollment. Balance due by February 15, 2015.
There are no refunds or exchanges at any time for any reason. We wish we could compensate people for unforeseen circumstances (injury, family emergency, etc.), but we have costs already incurred to reserve the retreat venue. We strongly recommend you purchase travel insurance.
What your day might look like ...
The Area
Bunatan is a sweet little cupcake of a village at the northeastern tip of Bali. It's nestled between mountains and ocean. Rice field terraces line the hillsides. The air is fragrant with tropical flowers, salt air and incense. The sounds of Indonesia come alive at night. It's idyllic. It's breathtaking. The pace of life is deliciously slow.
Travel time to/from the island's only airport in Denpasar takes about 3 hours. Bunatan has a few small shops (warungs) selling basic necessities and several small and charming family-run restaurants serving fresh, organic meals.
The Amed region is famous for its coarse black volcanic sand beaches. Locals earn their living from fishing, salt farming and tourism. As you make your way down the mountains and through the seaside villages of Amed, check out the large open drying pans along the side of the road. Those little boxes of gourmet Bali salt you see at Whole Foods or specialty food stores? Those crusty drying pans are where their journey begins.
The snorkeling and diving is some of the best in Bali ... exquisite coral formations, tons of colorful fish and one of the best sunken ship wrecks in the world.
NYEPI: "Day of Silence"
One of the highlights of our week together is sure to be Nyepi, a national "Day of Silence." This year, it falls on Saturday March 21. Nyepi is a day of peace.
It's a time for silence, meditation, contemplation and in some cases fasting.
It's a time when residents of this beautiful island think about Life in the big picture abstract, as well as a time for leisurely introspection of their own life.
The timing and tie-in to our week couldn't be more perfect. We're still pinching ourselves!
Brush up on your photo editing skills because the eve before Nyepi (Friday night) will be teeming with a front row seat to extraordinary picture-taking opportunities ... celebrations, parades, beach parties. It's a rare experience you will NEVER forget. Beginning at bedtime, everything goes absolutely still and silent. Normal life across the entire island comes to a complete halt for 24 hours. Businesses are closed. The streets are vacant. Lights and noise are kept to a minimum. Even the airport shuts down.
The following morning life returns to normal. Families and friends gather to ask forgiveness from one another and to perform traditional religious rituals. Nyepi is a magical time for the Balinese people ... it will be for you, too.
Our Accommodations
Our intimate retreat will take place at Golden Buddha Resort with extra lodging at Villa Paradiso and Pazzo Bungalows (all located on the same beautiful property). We will be the only group on-site for the week. That means plenty of space to relax, explore and listen to the whispers nudging you to go after the life you want.
Our Team
Sarah Tripp Stephan, Founder & Owner Sweet Spot Yoga, RYT-200
After a successful 20-year career helping national and regional organizations achieve measurable positive impact on the lives of vulnerable populations and communities of color through integrated public policy and outreach campaigns, Sarah had enough. She fled the corporate world in order to create positive impact at the individual level through yoga and its medicinal benefits.
Her teaching approach and methodology is steeped in anatomy, alignment, physiology and fearless living. She is known for an intelligent and playful approach that often includes a sprinkling of arm balances and inverted poses, breaking down challenging postures into simple steps and analogies that make sense for all levels. Her classes are designed to educate and energize. Her single most important goal is to help students experience greater vitality, health and wellbeing. Sarah received her 200-hour RYT certification through Tiffany Cruikshank. She continues to study under Tiffany’s guidance along with Jason Crandell and Noah Maze as she pursues her 500-hour RYT credential.
When she's not on her yoga mat, you can find her at one of two extremes: curled in a hammock with a book or getting an adrenaline fix on her Ducati, snowboard or surfboard.
Sarah holds a degree in English from Carleton College.
Email: sarah.stephan@me.com
Location: Portland, OR, United States
Phone: 503-381-0421
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.tripp.stephan
Twitter: @sjstephan
Sabrina Ullmann Mathews, MSW, LCSW
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Sabrina became a psychotherapist not out of altruism but because she finds people's stories endlessly fascinating. (Trying to unravel her own family's history had something to do with it, too.) A practicing psychotherapist for nearly 30 years, Sabrina has come to the conclusion that the relationship with the self informs all others and there's no such thing as a mind/body split. When we integrate mind/body/spirit, we create the right set of conditions to inhabit ourselves with authenticity and power.
When she's not seeing clients, Sabrina makes artsy books & journals, writes poetry, putters in the garden, hangs out with friends and puts off practicing yoga.
Sabrina holds numerous degrees and credentials from University of Michigan, Columbia University and Portland State University.
Email: sabrina.ullmann@comcast.net
Location: Portland, OR, United States
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrina.ullmannmathews?fref=ts