Join Melissa as she offers vibrant, mindful flow classes in the morning. Melissa’s offerings are both therapeutic and focus on building strength and flexibility. Her classes will be a combination of slow, strong flow with modifications for injuries or sensitivity in the body, finishing with long-held prop-supported postures (restorative yoga). Learn to listen to the body through the marriage of breath and movement as we explore moving through postures with grace and strength. These sessions will intertwine mantra, pranayama, mindful vinyasa flow, and finish with restful postures.
In the evenings, Melissa will offer a combination of Restorative Yoga with Yoga Nidra and meditation or guided Thai Yoga Massage and partner yoga. A restorative yoga practice is one of receiving rest for us to build stores of energy. Experience luxuriously long-held postures that are supported by props for your body’s needs and complete the practice with an extended Yoga Nidra which is a meditation that walks you through intention, a body scan, observation of sensations, and enables the body to move through the subtly of relaxation in a supportive way.
WHERE
'Paradise' is the word guests most often use to describe this unique, mountain-ringed haven in the heart of Sri Lanka. It's a secluded hideaway where you live in elegant simplicity, close to nature, in adobe houses nestling among flowers and trees, swim in a lake half-smothered in tiny water lilies, and eat delicious food lounging on cushions like an emperor.
As a foodie one of the great joys of Ulpotha is its food. The main meals are eaten in a white, Sri Lankan manor house where jewel colours set off the carefully placed antique furniture and works of art. It was featured in 'The World of Interiors' and the elegant simplicity and use of colour make it look almost like a film set.
Ulpotha is a garden and a farm all in one but, with everything done the traditional way, there are no chemicals and no machinery. The bedrooms are little adobe houses in separate clearings among the lush mingling of tropical trees and shrubs, which produce the farm's fruit nuts. The sandy paths are shaded by coconut palms and fringed with brilliant hibisicus and the vegetable plots are bright with sunflowers and marigolds.
It is, above all, a place to relax and find peace and the only rule seems to be that there aren't any rules - unless you count an unwritten rule to treat everything and everyone with gentle respect and tolerance.
One of the special features of Ulpotha is that, if you want to be pampered, guests get one free 60 min massage with our international therapists per week's stay and a free consultation with our resident Ayurveda doctor, plus, if they wish and if space is available, they can use the Ayurveda steambath and sauna. In addition, if they wish to book lovely traditional Ayurveda detox treatments, they can do so at an additional cost. More info can be found on Ulpotha's website.
The health centre offers an interesting combination of east and west, modern and traditional. Though the herbal treatments are Sri Lankan, the massage is by an experienced European or American therapist.
WHAT TO EXPECT
· Accommodations on a twin sharing basis (sharing with someone of the same gender)
· All meals, snacks, drinks
· 2 Yoga classes a day (no yoga on arrival morning, departure day and the excursion days)
· A 1-1 consultation with our resident Ayurveda doctor - (only for those with Ayurveda bookings).
· A one-hour massage per 7 nights' stay
· Laundry service
· Use of bicycles and hot water bathing area
· Taxes
· The organization & transport of an excursion once a week (1/2 day excursion during Week 1 & 2 of any retreat)
Travel cost to and from Ulpotha, travel insurance, Ayurvedic treatments, entrance fee to cultural site, outside meals and any additional massages after the 1 included free massage, are not included in the fee.
MEET YOUR TEACHER
INVESTMENT
Two Weeks, all inclusive: $2940 USD- ONE Week Also available!
TESTIMONIALS
"After this life changing experience in beautiful, magical, spiritual Ulpotha, I want to thank all those very special people that have accompanied me with love, care and patience on my path towards further balance and inner peace. Melissa, you warmed our hearts, you brought us close to each other and often to laugh.”
-Chris Laudann, Costa Rica
"Magical, mystical and Melissa are three happy things that come to mind when I think back to my week in Ulpotha. It was a transformative experience filled with lots of sweet yoga, acro playtime and newly forged friendships in the most breath taking of surroundings. It is, by far, the best yoga retreat I’ve attended."
-Dawn Chin
"I danced through the Winter Solstice in a newly found freedom and lightness of heart, all thanks to you. Sometimes it seems amazing that we find ourselves in exactly the right place at the right moment in time. Ulpotha was such a lovely and unexpected experience for me, so enhanced by the setting of bright forest and rice field, soft waters and gorgeous flowers everywhere. It is a magical place filled with very special people. When I show my photos, my own family is delighted and friends are stunned, saying "Is that really you??!" and now they all want to be part of that flying life also. Such fabulous yoga sessions with Melissa guiding us through, and such beautiful companions to practice and play with.” -Allie
"Melissa's retreat in Ulpotha is a 'pilgrimage' one must do in their lifetime. The magical surroundings of the little village with its warm, caring community is the perfect partnership for the rejuvenation of the mind, body and soul. Going back to basics with an open mind and heart is just the thing the Ulpotha retreat offers for anyone looking to reconnect with themselves, and meet new kindred spirits along the way."
-May Liu
"So happy to have spent this wonderful time with you in the blissful Ulpotha. I am still processing it slowly and will hold onto the memories and lessons for a long time. “ -Julie
"Thank you Melissa for your life-affirming, grounding yoga goodness during the two week holiday at Ulpotha. Your creative structure of your classes with the compassionate focus on strength, body awareness and mindfulness has completely transformed my practice! I now realise my truth that yoga for me is an inside-out practice. The more I give back to my body by being present with her, the more the external changes. You have inspired me in so many ways .. I love the daily devotions you shared, loved the restorative classes and found so much JOY in the acro yoga! I am booking two years in advance to ensure I'll be at your next yoga holiday in Sri Lanka.” -Laura
