4 Day Zen Meditation and Yoga Retreat in Alleppey, Kerala, India
Zen Meditation and Yoga Retreat India
Come and revitalize your body and mind in Alleppey’s beautiful backwater and beach environment, and invigorate your soul through yoga, meditation, and stillness. Reflect and practice in an environment designed for self-care and renewal. Experience the unique and spectacular Kerala Backwaters of Alleppey Vembanad Lake from the Sambodhi Yoga Retreat and Zen Center in Poonthope, Ashramam Ward. It offers tranquil settings, easily accessible from Alleppey town, backwaters, or Marari area.
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Daily yoga and Zen meditation sessions
- Workshops and pranayama sessions
- Individual private discussion with the yoga teacher
- 1 excursion cruise in the backwaters
- 3 nights accommodation
- Daily 2 vegetarian meals (dinner & breakfast)
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Yoga styles
Cochin International Airport (US$ 29 per person)
Accommodation
Facilities
- Garden
Accommodation will either be in the Yoga Homestead (Sambodhi Yoga Retreat and Zen Center) or the Beach center (earlier named as Ananda Beach Home). The Homestead consists of three simple ethnic Mangalore tile slope roofed private rooms with common deck space and backyard.
The Sambodhi Yoga Retreat - Beach Center is surrounded by a pristine lush green coconut grove and with a quiet and serene secluded beach. It is next to the Alleppey beach, and before Marari Beach. It's nestled in a lush green coconut grove and with a quiet and serene secluded beach. It is adjacent to Pozhiyoram Beach Resort and Colonels Beach Villa.
You will be staying either in a private or a shared room. Together, there is a total inventory of 15 rooms and out of this, 5 are traditional Kerala cottage rooms and 11 are private rooms, each with a few cottages having semi-open bathrooms and restaurants with simple traditional cuisine.
Program
Daily classes include two/three lessons a day for you to expand your experience of Raja yoga, including Hatha, Kundalini yoga, Restorative yoga, Zen meditation,Ayurveda doctor consultation and Sound healing sessions to reflect on your day with the cozy group. Meet people and share what you learn at your own pace.
Tentative Daily schedule
Day 1
- 12:00 Arrival and settle in
- 15:30 Meet in yoga shala for the introduction, covering styles of yoga, meditation, and meal preference
- 16:00 Individual private discussion with the yoga teacher to discuss any personal needs or areas of the body, mind, spiritual aspects, you would particularly like to work on during your week
- 16:30 Pranayama and Hatha yoga (75 minutes)
- 19:00 Dinner
Day 2
- 06:00 Zazen, Heart Sutra chanting (seated and silent walking Zen meditation)
- 06:30 Hatha yoga (60 minutes)
- 08:30 Breakfast
- Samu / seva (30 minutes)
- Silence (personal work)
- 15:00 Personal consultation with Ayurvedic Doctor, body constitution analysis and diet, how it affects mind and body.
- 16:00 Asana pranayama practice with different styles of yoga (75 minutes)
- 19:00 Dinner
Day 3
- 06:00 Zazen, Heart Sutra chanting (seated and silent walking Zen meditation)
- 06:30 Hatha yoga (60 minutes)
- 08:30 Breakfast
- 09:30 Samu / seva (30 minutes)
- Silence (personal work)
- 11:00 Sound Healing Workshop: Experience the sound healing with Tibetan bowls and other sound healing in instruments. (60 minutes)
- 14:30 Exploring backwaters on motor / country boat
- 17:00 Asana alignment workshop (60 minutes)
- 19:00 Dinner
Day 4
- 06:00 Zazen, Heart Sutra chanting (seated and silent walking Zen meditation)
- 06:30 Hatha yoga (60 minutes)
- 08:30 Breakfast
Included excursions
There will be 1 excursion cruise in the backwaters (2-hour on motorboat / Shikara Boat / kayak once during the stay - any one option as per choice).
Instructors
John Jose
Was Introduced to Yoga tradition by late beloved K.C.Fabian a renowned Yoga teacher from Central Kerala, was introduced to Zen Meditation by Ama Samy, later got opportunity to meet and study under Yoga teacher Shri Krishna Kurup a disciple of Shri Parmeshwaran a direct disciple of great Master Swami Sivananda and further studied under Shri H.S.Arun renowned (Iyengar teacher),Shri Mohan Bhandari( co-founder and director of Yogic Yoga (China),Saul David Raye(Famous for his unique style of heart centered healing yoga),renowned Kundalini teachers Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa & Kia Miller, Mert Guler(Sufi).
Jessy John
She was introduced to yoga by beloved Yoga Acharya, C Nagappan a yoga teacher of Sivananda tradition and disciple of Swami Chinmayananda Sarasvati a renowned spiritual master of Advaita Vedanta who inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission. She got the opportunity to study under the French yoga teacher Shri Christophe Millet offering holistic and integral yoga. She also has a diploma in Yoga from Prestigious Annamalai University in Tamilnadu, South India. She gives yoga classes in local government schools, centers, and yoga retreats. She devotes her life and research to the study of yoga.
Retreat location
Throughout the stay of retreat, guests will be hosted at the Yoga Homestead (Sambodhi Yoga Retreat and Zen Center) located in Poonthope in Ashramam Ward, a quiet suburb in the north part of Alleppey. They are easily accessible for people visiting / holidaying around Alleppey backwaters / town or Marari area. The retreat is also 20-25 minutes from Alleppey Railway station.
Distances
- Alleppey Railway station - 20-25 minutes
This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly
Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats
Food
During this retreat, you will be served daily vegetarian and organic meals (breakfast and dinner) prepared with organic ingredients.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Tea
- Detox juices
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Organic
What's included
- 6 yoga class sessions
- 6 meditation sessions
- 1 excursion cruise / kayaking in the backwaters
- Daily relaxing meditation walks and excursions
- Flexible program (freedom to customize exercises and yoga instructor)
- 3 nights accommodation
- 2 daily vegetarian freshly prepared homely meals (breakfast & dinner)
- GST
What's not included
- Additional activities
- Additional spa treatments
- Airfare
- Airport / railway station transfers
- GST
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Cochin International Airport
70 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Cochin International Airport (COK). Transfer from and to this airport is available for an additional cost of 2500 INR.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookYogaRetreats.com. All major credit cards supported.