About The Retreat

. Join us for daily movement, breath, and wellness, combined with adventures in the “Land of Fire & Ice,” to stimulate our senses.cSpecial guest Tara Stiles will join us on this Icelandic adventure and share ease, flow, and healing movements with guests throughout the week alongside guide Mindy Johnstone.

Join us for this self-care break in the beautiful summer season in this magical land, and give yourself a mid-year gift of health and well being! We will be enjoying daily yoga and day trips to the various sites like a walking tour through Reykjavik, a visit to the lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula’s volcano, and the main sites of the famous Golden Circle’s waterfalls, geysirs, and beautiful vistas.

Plus, to harness the theme of self-care each day, we will be incorporating the thermal waters of Iceland as a way of healing our spirits. From the famous Blue Lagoon, to a lake-side thermal area with natural saunas, to a newer modern facility near the ocean, – and even the hot tubs at our hotel – guests will have a chance to experience the healing properties for body and soul while enjoying the long summer daylight hours.

Your Retreat Hosts

Mindy Johnstone

This retreat will be led by our beloved Collaborator, Mindy Johnstone. Living in the ever inspiring Canadian Rockies, Mindy has a love of the outdoors, travel, all things artistic and yoga related. Her home town of Banff is an International destination that brings in over 4 million visitors per year. She founded Banff’s Yoga studio, Rocky Mountain Yoga in 2009, and now focuses her time sharing yoga on international retreats with Eat Pray Move.

Having began her practice 20 years ago, Mindy’s style of teaching is rooted in the Ashtanga tradition. A love for the fluidity is deepened with Vinyasa Flow and the more restorative Yin & iRest Yoga Nidra. On retreat prepare to be inspired and nurtured as her strength lies in the ability to cater to groups and individuals needs. The yoga community offers a family in all parts of the globe and Mindy is grateful for the guidance and shared wisdom she receives from students and teachers. She looks forward to inspiring people to see the delight in travel and where we can feel at ‘OM with the world.’

When she’s not traveling, you can find Mindy painting, teaching art, reading cards or embarking on outdoor adventures with her husband and daughter, Charly.

Tara Stiles

Tara is the co-founder of Strala Yoga, best-selling author and wellness expert. Tara revolutionized yoga for millions, away from dogma and rigidity toward moving with ease, through a yoga practice that supports your life and feels like you. Her podcast, Feel Better with Tara Stiles, is a deep dive on topics and issues we all move through in life like health, purpose, family, relationships and career. Strala Yoga is practiced in more than 100 countries, and thousands of Guides are leading Strala classes daily around the globe. Tara leads daily yoga with thousands of people on the Strala Yoga app. She has been profiled by The New York Times, Times of India, The Times (UK), and featured in most major national and international magazines.

Accommodation

We will split our retreat between two uniquely Icelandic boutique hotels, both in and outside of the city center of Reykjavik. That way we can experience the various landscapes and cultures of this amazing country.

We’ll start out our time in the capital city at the Fosshotel Reykjavik. Enjoy pleasant views of the city and sea in this stylish hotel, located near Höfði House and the main shopping area. Here, from the heart of the city, you can easily explore Reykjavík’s magnificent architecture, captivating history, vibrant markets and rich culture – the ideal starting point for experience the best of everything the city has to offer.

Then, after our time in the city, we’ll head to the countryside to one of Iceland’s most prized areas of the Golden Circle for a stay at the 5* Hotel Grimbsorgir.

Hotel Grimsborgir is a luxury hotel located 70 km east of Reykjavik in the heart of the Golden Circle, nestled on the bank of river Sogid surrounded by stunning landscape. Some highlights of Icelandic nature, geography and history are within easy reach. All rooms come with balcony or terrace and access to one of 29 geothermal hot tubs on site.

Yoga

Strala combines the movement and healing wisdom of tai chi with the form vocabularies of yoga, tai chi, qigong, and Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine, to help people release stress, move easily through challenge, and live radiantly inspiring lives.

It begins with a mindset that says our best way to get where we’re going is to feel good along the way. It also works miracles for whole health, helping us to find ease in our bodies and minds, and create the right conditions both for healing and optimal performance.

With Strala you learn to shape your destiny on every level that counts, from your psychology, chemistry and neurology, to your chromosomes and even gene expression. The unique set of skills you develop – for connecting with yourself and others, unblocking your energy, healing what needs healing and accomplishing challenge with ease – uncovers your ability to create the life you want and be an inspiring leader to the people around you.

This retreat will feature classes from the Strala framework: GENTLE, ENERGIZE, & TAI CHI.

Gentle Yoga is a simple flow that opens and balances your body while calming your mind. You’ll feel refreshed and restored. Energize Yoga is an easy going flow that invigorates your body and mind while resting your attention calmly on your breath. You’ll feel revitalized and ready. Tai chi is a way of being, connecting, and moving that creates a harmonious, peaceful connection with your body, your mind and our world. It’s our everyday ordinary path to an extraordinary life.

Cuisine

Healthful, vegetarian food is part of the retreat experience, including breakfast and dinner daily, as well as selected lunches. Seafood options are also offered on specific meals during this sea-focused location.

We’ve carefully chosen delicious and fresh meals from renowned restaurants and chefs which will give guests an expansive experience of the cuisine. Our dinners will include a few multi-course tasting menus at each hotel’s restaurant, emphasising honest, healthy, and delicious Icelandic food, as well as various meals out in town and on our day trips. Special dietary restrictions can be accommodated.

Day Trips

Our day trips will allow us to experience the many unique landscapes and activities that this area has to offer. We will take a tour through Iceland’s famous Golden Circle, which will include the main stops on the route, such as the waterfall Gullfoss (meaning “golden falls”), and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been inactive for a long time, Strokkur, on the other hand, continues to erupt at 5-10 minute intervals. We will also have time to explore our home for the week, the capital city of Reykjavik, to explore some sites, take a walking tour, have some free time to shop, see more of the Icelandic design, or relax!

And a trip to Iceland wouldn’t be complete without a day at the Blue Lagoon with its healing waters, silica masks, unparalleled views, and luxurious spa experience! Before this visit we take time to walk on the dried lava from the volcano eruption a few years ago on Reykjanes Peninsula. We’ll also visit an organic greenhouse (which holds a unique and modern new cafe), catch some sites of the beautiful Icelandic horses, and have time for some moss-covered walks around the hotel in the Golden Circle with time to relax in their hot tubs. Finally, a visit to another natural thermal area with saunas and hot pools next to an expansive lake will allow us room to sit back and enjoy the long days of endless summer.

Retreat Price

Inclusive Retreat Price = $4,695 (shared room*, +$895 for single supplement)

Deposit to hold space = $1500

Max # Guests = 12

Included

• Hotel accommodation (spacious bedrooms each with private bathrooms, linens)
• Daily Breakfast and Dinner
• Selected lunches
• Transportation to/from day trips
• Daily meditation and/or yoga classes
• Meditation / Ritual Workshops / Tea Ceremony classes
• Use of hotel amenities (pools, spas, trails, etc.)
• Tour guide on various day trips
• Welcome Reception
• Welcome gourmet tasting dinner with wine pairing
• Premium entrance fees to Blue Lagoon
• Coursed meal at the fine dining restaurant at Blue Lagoon
• Tour of South Shore (waterfalls, Reynisfjara black beach, etc)
• Tour of Reykjanes Peninsula
• Rye Bread Demo + LunchThermal spa visitWalking tour in Reykjavik
• Thingvellir National Park visit
• Taxes

Not included

• Airfare not included
• Insurance

How to get here

Airport = Keflavik Airport (KEF), Reykjavik’s major international airport. One group transfer will be offered on departure day at 10am from hotel to airport and Reykjavik city centre.

We will provide details for how guests can arrive on their own at their own convenience, either by private taxi or the coach transfer companies which leave regularly from the airport.

What to pack

• Besides the basic packing and travel needs, here are a few things to think about bringing with you.
• Yoga mat
• Journaling and art supplies will be provided
• Bathing suit (on-site pool, spa)
• Comfortable outdoor walking shoes
• Yoga clothes
• Plug adaptors / converters
• Smartphone and/or camera

Booking

To make an enquiry or book this Adventure Yoga Retreat in Iceland, send your request to the team who will get back to you within 24 hours or email us directly on retreats@soulseedmedia.com.