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It’s all about U

It’s all about you at U-Retreat: a journey to personal growth, transformation, health and happiness

Yoga retreats are a wonderful thing, but how do you take all the amazing, healing benefits with you after you leave? U-Retreat may have the answer.
Essentially, the 21-day experience doesn’t start at the retreat, it starts with you, in your own home and continues after the actual physical retreat holiday.
The U-retreat idea was developed in Austria last year by Korayem Razik. He’s conceived a method to bring you to the very edges of your own capabilities through a carefully crafted series of experiences designed to help you maximise your own potential.
“U-Retreat is not just a retreat. It is a transformation,” he tells OM. “Everything in your 21-day experience is arranged from the inside out to make you soar beyond the basics. We give you the tools you need to embrace your inner potential and flourish with a renewed vigour for life.”
The U-Retreat experience takes place in three distinct parts, over 21 days.

The first 7 days: preparation

This phase is designed to prepare you for the experience ahead. Through an educational booklet, you’ll begin developing a mindset of self-love and self-confidence from within your own home. You’ll jumpstart the healthy, plant-based diet that you’ll continue throughout the experience. You’ll be a part of the community right from the very beginning and able to stay in touch with the rest of the group.

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The next 7 days: the retreat

This is the core of the experience. You’ll be swept away to an impossibly beautiful and carefully selected location, into an ideal environment to restore heart and mind. This is where you maximise your potential for transformation as you are guided through the process of self-love, understanding and health.

The last 7 days: continued transformation

This is the most important part and it’s done by you, within your own life. The purpose of this phase is to absorb what you’ve gained throughout the experience, and practice using it in your everyday life. You’ll have the tools to stay connected with other team members from the retreat, and continue to support each other through your journeys.

The retreat

So, what does a day on-location look like at U-Retreat?
“Everything at U-Retreat, from the dazzling location, to the schedule, to the knowledgeable internal team is arranged with a purpose,” says Razik. “Our goal is to empower you to focus on your own transformation, and to give our team members the space to focus on you. That’s why we put the most optimised routine in place to guide you through your journey.”

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Example daily schedule

Wake up: Greet the morning with a smile at 7:00 am.
Energiser: Delight in an invigorating energiser smoothie made of orange, lemon, ginger, cayenne and black pepper, crafted to give you a boost to your day.
Yoga: Nurture your body and restore your mind with a yoga session led by a teacher with full support and freedom within the retreat to give you unbounded, personalised attention.
Breakfast: After yoga, get ready to savour an exciting new food experience. The team of chefs create a plant-based breakfast to maximise the health of both body and mind.
Workshop: Next, you’ll join one of many workshops to discuss the topics laid out in the educational booklets, and have the opportunity to dig deeper into their contents and unearth new revelations.
Personal Time: Self-reflect with a walk on the beach, melt into a restorative massage (included in your package), or take a diving class or a nutrition lesson (optional booking during sign-up process).
Activity: Cherish this memorable time within your day to nurture deep, lasting friendships. Join the group for a circle, a gong meditation, a cooking workshop, or a second meditation.
Yoga: Continue the connective flow with yet another chance to harmonise your body and mind through a deep, soulful yoga practice.
Dinner: Round out your day with a nourishing, plant-based signature dinner that’s designed to optimise your health and mind, and carry your vitality into the next day.
Relax: After dinner, absorb the moonlight with a long, starlit walk. Watch a movie on spiritual transformation, or engage in life-transformational games with the group.

At the very end, you’ll have seven amazing days and nights to remember forever, and the tools and support to enjoy your life more than you ever imagined possible.

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Your tribe

During your retreat experience you’ll be interacting with a whole group of other people from your yoga teachers to the rest of the community.
U-Retreat likes to treat its visiting international yoga teachers as guests, too. It’s a mindset that allows instructors to give students their full, undivided attention, and help them to reach their true potential.
“Working together with U-retreat is a very efficient way to organise a yoga retreat,” says Katrin Frank, a yoga teacher within U-Retreat. ‘They literally do everything for you, and I just have to focus on
my students.”
You’ll also meet the two chefs, Petra and Sonia, who are behind all the nourishment throughout your journey. Crafted as close to nature as possible, their food is infused with wellbeing, and inspired by a passion for plant-based, minimalist cooking.
“We believe in the beauty and freshness of food,” says Petra. “We celebrate seasonal produce and whole gluten-free grains. We offer simple, light, nutritious and delicious meals to support you on your transformational journey and, in the future, on your daily activities.”
“All our food is made by us from scratch,” adds fellow chef Sonia. “Starting the days with super shots, continued by delicious smoothies, plant-based milks, granolas, desserts, snacks, fermented vegetables, crackers, and ending with beautiful dinners. We aim for magical gatherings throughout the day in order to reconnect with your senses.”
Others you might come across during your U-Retreat experience include mindfulness coaches to help guide you through a grounded discovery of yourself. As well as learning the art of mindfulness, you’ll learn how to carry the knowledge home with you beyond the retreat itself.
You’ll most likely meet some of the locals on your travels too, who are involved in the various activities that take place during the actual retreat holiday. One of the local team members, Dora, says: “We know the retreat locations and surroundings inside out. We are locals so we are familiar with the best hiking trails, hidden spots and beaches.”
On top of all that, your fellow retreat members will develop the same open heart and transformational experience as you. You’ll most likely make deep, genuine connections, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Book your spot on U-Retreat today and start the journey to a lifelong transformation to a happier, healthy life. Discover more at:
http://www.u-retreat.com/retreats-places

Om Magazine

First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.