HEALTH & NATURE

practice to achieve clean mind, active body, peaceful soul.
​Engage with nature, goodness in food and awareness on your body and surroundings

CREATIVITY & EXPRESSION 

we experiment introspection through YOGA and expression through practices like creative writing, ​music, dance, philosophy, theatre inspired sessions, organic art, and more!

YOGA PRACTICE

go deep and enjoy yoga & meditation practice, experiencing its theoretical background through philosophy, trying over all kinds of yoga "styles" and teachers, and going through mantra chanting, sound therapies and yogi guidelines of self care and lifestyle. 
​
We offer  CREATIVE YOGA & Meditation RETREATS
 
+ RETREATS where we combine yoga & meditation practice
​with home made delicious nutritious food, creative writing, music, art expression and philosophy focused experiences, 
and long silent walks in incredible natural places.

This project is about HUMANITY - it is expanding our sense of service and love to help and contribute to others and the planet we live in. We believe there is wisdom in compromising one's energy in a social project, and therefore we seriously and carefully work hard in order to offer our best service at each retreat.

 + the RETREAT EXPERIENCE is about enjoying, taking pleasure in asanas and nature around you, great food and good fun, as well as going deep in your yoga, meditation and pranayama practice. We offer different yoga styles in every retreat, ranging from Hatha, Vinyasa, Acro, Yin, Kundalini & put focus on yoga theory and philosophy in order to better understand the practice. You will be able to find a great mix of HEALTH, CREATIVITY & PRACTICE: enjoying great places, in beautiful locations while focusing on learning and going deep in yoga & meditation.  



WHAT IS A CREATIVE YOGA RETREAT? 

An experience of yoga that has to do with awakening the creative side of each practitioner.  But why do we practice creative hatha vinyasa yoga?  

If when we are faced with any situation in life that can feel like a problem and we can use our creativity to solve this problem, the experience becomes joyful, healthy, powerful and a step forward into knowledge.  
Thus, creativity can be a fundamental tool for happiness.  

Practicing yoga in a creative way, be that dancing within the practice, singing, losing up fears and exploring the space and context where we find ourselves practicing, can contribute to us being able to awaken easily our creative soul in any situation in life.  
During the retreat, we experience Hatha Vinyasa Yoga, exploring our bodies and the space around us, our fellow yogis and our conscious breath in order to be able to let go, express, create and formulate will.  

We will have a notebook or journal, explore dance performance techniques, plastic art with natural materials, chanting, therapies through kirtan and gong sessions, and live experimental music workshops. 

At the end of the retreat you will hopefully have felt what it is like to be creative, what it is like to unblock insecurities, create strength and joy within your normal activities in life, and be able to express it. ​

yogastudioproject 
"is a non-commercial yogi project
with social and cultural objectives"

PORTUGAL 
ALGARVE SURF COAST ​IN THE COUNTRYSIDE 
CREATIVE RETREAT

RETREAT week - end 
7 days trip 

GREAT FOOD  BASED ON AYURVEDIC STANDARDS
FULL WEEKEND RETREAT
​
HATHA VINYASA & YIN YOGA classes,

daily meditation and yoga sessions / nidra practices / japa meditation / GONG sessions

CREATIVE WRITING extensive workshops and ongoing writing exercises during the retreat 

USING YOGA AS A MEANS TO CREATIVITY
AND CREATIVITY AND EXPRESSION AS A MEANS TO
​YOGA PRACTICE

CONTEMPORARY dance corporal expression sessions working with the rhythm of breath and sounds around us 

daily EXPERIMENTAL live music from local community in the farm 

+ EXPLORING THE AREA AND SURROUNDINGS / beaches / local towns / markets / 

URUGUAY 
CABO POLONIO 
CREATIVE YOGA RETREAT

 Full ** Y O G A ** Experience
 4 days trip

nature & beach & dunes & peace 

HATHA VINYASA asana practice + yin YOGA 
+ ACRO yoga + Kundalini yoga + Ashtanga vinyasa yoga + NIDRA / KIRTAN / GONG 

NOTEBOOK practice creative writing exercises during the experience in order to explore expression and the flow of the mind on paper
​
meditation & pranayama sessions and techniques

JAPA meditation after sunrise in the morning next to the ocean

incredible food w/ organic veggies / Ayurvedic menus 

SPECIAL workshops on SELF EXPRESSION AND CREATIVE PROCESSES 

/ WHO WE ARE / 

@yogastudioproject
​GET TO KNOW US ONLINE

MACARENA VARELA

Founder & organizer
YOGA + meditation
​RETREAT guide  
​

Macarena is qualified with 500 hs TTC in Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga. She studied in Scotland, got certified in Greece and Denmark and later went to India to deepen her study both in Yoga practice and meditation, as well as in her philosophical research. 

MACARENA IS CENTERED ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL, CULTURAL AND THEOLOGICAL ASPECT OF THE PRACTICE. 
She is qualified with a Philosophy BA & MA level courses at the University of St Andrew's (UK) & Aarhus University (Denmark) and has focused her philosophical research on the study of metaphysics from a Buddhist perspective on topics like "Personal Identity", "Consciousness", "The epistemology of art", and "Epistemology of spiritual knowledge". 

Her HATHA VINYASA ** Y O G A ** classes have movement, creative flows and dynamic transitions from asana to asana, giving the yogi the chance to go deeper in his/her own practice and be prepared for lotus once the experience of meditation arrives. 
​

GIORGOS SIORAS

Special guest
​YOGA teacher

Second generation yoga teacher. Giorgos is a very special guest teacher as he has been teaching this practice, together with contemporary dance for the past 15 years.

He teaches at teacher trainings, retreats and special workshop programes and has ongoing art projects where he combines yogi knowledge together with performance, photography and dance. 

He is able to give profound knowledge on yoga practice on and off the mat, philosophical discussions and great anatomy workshops. 
​
He comes from Greece, studied in India with Surinder Sigh in Rishikesh and taught to very many different cultures. 

HIS EXPERIENCE IS TRULY UNIQUE! 
​

JOSEFINA PASCALE

CREATIVE retreats partner associate & 
Creative Writing guide​

Communication & Writing graduate Josefina works as both writer and copywriter in the area of publicity and marketing in ads agencies.

She has wide experience in guiding creative writing long and short workshops and is an absolute lover of books, writing and reading as a unique tool for inner knowledge and expression of creativity. 

She is a 100% dedicated writer and gives amazing creative writing sessions and exercises during the CREATIVE RETREATS proposals. 

USING CREATIVITY TO GET CLOSER TO YOGA PRACTICE AND INNER KNOWLEDGE. 

TOMAS HUELMO

Professional COOK
AYURDVEDA EXPERT

COOK, percussionist, Dj. 
He loves cooking since a very young age as he watched his family, grandmother and mother cook specially natural and nutricios food and meals. His family taught him about AYURDEVA since he's got memory of life! 

And after going through professional studies on GASTRONOMIC education in Uruguay, he specialized in vegan, non gluten, natural and nutritious kitchen. 

He is well recognized in the country as an original artist and HEALTH LOVER on his cooking style, service and education on nutrition and health, as Tomi combines food with mediation, breath, and thought. 

IVAN MURAÑA

HORSE & TREKKING MOUNTAIN GUIDE
retreats associate

He has started an amazing project at  the largest protected natural area in Uruguay, "Quebrada de los cuervos".

He offers horse riding off touristic trails in order to get people to know more about the country, the land, the culture of indigenous groups, the nature, plants, birds, animals at the area, and the way people nowadays live,

​and now has also started the only STUDY CAMP at the natural protected area, inviting professors and students to live at the place for a while and register, observe and study the information he has encountered and discover new data.

A TRULY KNOWLEDGABLE GUIDE!

JESUS GIRAUD

explorer & guide
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Jesus has developed his work for over 12 years in Buenos Aires, photo shooting fashion and design, and publishing at the best magazines in the big South American fashion city! 

Yet, after leaving Buenos Aires off to the Uruguayan coast and settle there, his art started to change, his models became HORSES, countryside, the sea, nature.... 

Now he is the best well known HORSES photographer in the country, and you can find a large selection of his work at interior design stores, art galleries, magazines and polo clubs. 

HIS VIEW ON PHOTOGRAPHY is such that horses look like women, countrysides look like heavens and there is a feel in which the oceans speak. 

An amazing gaze on our retreats in nature! 

SANTI CURUCHAGA​

General assistant
CULTURE & ART PROPOSALS

A LOVER OF CULTURE, HUMANS, THE MIND, ART, EXPRESSION, A TRUE LOVER OF FREEDOM! 

He has lived in various parts of the world, speaks about 5 languages and chooses Cuba to be one of his places in the world! 

He has worked out a movie club in Uruguay, where he offers cinema under the stars, culture, art, exhibits, at really special places! 

On top of that, he is truly just A GREAT PERSON, always watching details, helping out on all service, a people lover and nature lover!

PAULA ACUÑA

Hatha Yoga & kids yoga 
SPECIAL GUEST 
YOGA TEACHER

She has travelled to India various times and under different lines of career projects since 2001. 

Iyengar, Anusara, Vinyasa, Yoga Dinámico, Yin Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Ashtanga, Hatha, Yoga for kids, krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (Chennai), amongst others, are yoga schools Paula has studied, practiced and teaches.

​She has published several books on the introduction to yoga for kids, and has also published a mantra chanting album together with her Kirtan group AIRA mantras.

@paulapadmini
@inmersionenyoga
@aira_mantras
@minipadmini.yoga​ 

SARA NOTLEY

ACRO & VINYASA 
​mantra chanting & meditation
YOGA TEACHER

Originally from the UK and living in Uruguay for long now, she has worked uninterruptedly as a full time yoga teacher on various styles and schools in the country. 

She has participated at yogastudioproject's retreat since the begging! Offering incredible Acro yoga sessions, Yin yoga, Vinyasa flows, Mantra chanting and meditation. 

She specializes on Vinyasa yoga and asana practice and comes up with extremely creative flows! Sara can offer a great deal of knowledge on anatomy and asana building, and has over 500hs TTC. 

AIRA MANTRAS

KIRTAN 
MANTRA CHANTING 
Aira Mantras

Each retreat has its focus. Some of them are yoga focused, some of them nature focus, some of them creativity / art focus. 

KIRTAN means reciting, telling or chanting in Sanskrit (ancient hindi language). So during these sessions we chant some sacred vedic knowledge called "mantras" which is literally the philosophy from the VEDAS or phrases from texts like the Bhagavad Gita. 

LOVE and laughter and some tears characterizes the amazing vibe AIRA mantras always bring to our retreats! Full of energy, in between chants we meditate, and feel and integrate the sounds... 

HEALING WITH THE SOUND OF VIBRATIONS AND SACRED WORDS... ! 

ANA MAUTONE

Kundalini yoga teacher 
Sound therapist 
GONG BATHS 

Premjeet YOGAGONG by Ana Mautone is a beautiful kundalini yoga and GONG baths project. Ana got her certification as Gong sound therapist in Barcelona by the Spanish Institution of Sound-therapy. 

Anita offers incredible sessions where we is one with her instrument, transmiting a journey towards each person involved in the moment and place where the GONG starts to roar. She works with chakras, energy healing and sound vibrational therapy, focusing on one or more topic or objetive during the session, and offering her full energy and body to the 45 min GONG bath in each retreat. 

MEDITATION WITH SOUND, SILENCE THROUGH VIBRATION, NO SENSE OF TIME characterizes Anita's work. Dreamy, meditative, imaginative, creative, real... all these experiences we go through during the session. By the end of this, you feel like "SOMETHING REALLY HAPPENED INSIDE YOU" and you have no clue how long this took.. 

We are super lucky to have Anita in our retreats! 

CATHERINE KOCHE

VISUAL ARTIST
NATURAL ART EXPRESSION 
​WORKSHOPS

She studied in Paris and went on her professional artist path in Berlin. 


A huge fan of installations and nature, now combining organic plastic art and the knowledge and practice of yoga into her creations. 


She offers art expression workshops during the week, following a clear program proposed for the week, where we first create our colors using vegetables and elements from the earth, and then exploring artistic concepts such as "object", "light",  "space" and more ...! 

EXPLORING ART THROUGH NATURE AND WHAT IT
​OFFERS US 

THE RETREAT EXPERIENCE

HEALTH / CREATIVITY / PRACTICE

THE YOGA PRACTICE

- YOGA PRACTICE IS A WAY OF LIFE.
Starting from a way you treat yourself, to how you relate to the world around you, what your values are and how strong your faith in love is. 

YOGA PRACTICE is all that aligns yourself to others and the planet together with love, compassion, respect and wisdom. 

THE FOOD

Ayurveda, vegetarian, DELICIOUS 
​
Always taking care of what we eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how it looks. 

FOOD IS THE ENGINE FOR OUR PHYSICAL BODY, ALIGNED WITH PRACTICE, MAKES GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH, HAPPY BODY AND HAPPY MIND. 

THE SURROUNDINGS


"BE ONE WITH NATURE, SHE WILL TEACH YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW"

- SOME CREATIVE PEACEFUL YOGI ONCE SAID

COME JOIN US

AND LIVE THE RETREAT EXPERIENCE

Get to know us online

We offer FREE yoga asana & meditation sessions online
​ so you can get to know our practice and teachers before coming to a retreat!

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM 
@yogastudioproject





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