EVOKE LOVE: A Yoga and Subtle Energy Retreat with Holly

Deeply unwind and return to home to your Self through the practices of vinyasa and yin yoga, mantra and pranayama, reiki and subtle energy practices, meditation, ritual, and community.

If you know you’d love some sun on your face and sand between your toes come December, join us at the Evoke LOVE Yoga and Subtle Body Retreat, December 2-9, 2023, where we will live nature’s healing wisdom in beautiful Costa Rica.

Nestled within the embrace of the jungle and the ocean, the Blue Osa Eco Retreat Center will be our sanctuary throughout this transformative experience. Known for its hospitality and surrounded by the magic of nature, this retreat center will create the perfect space for us to harmonize our body with nature’s cadence, commune with our practices, and embrace the joyousness of our bodies — and each other.
Each day will offer yoga as both exercise and “innercise” with two daily nourishing yoga asana classes, one in the morning and another in the early evening before dinner. We will offer a full spectrum of physical and energetic practices including vinyasa, yin, and subtle energy yoga, chanting and mantra, reiki, pranayama, meditation, ritual, and the sacred bonds we form as a community. There will also be some optional workshops.

In between, we will explore vibrant beauty indulging in optional activities such as horseback riding, kayaking, surfboarding, and jungle hikes. Nature will be our companion and guide, supporting us as we cultivate whole-self habits that enliven our bodies, minds, and hearts.

Amidst the rhythm of our retreat, there will also be ample chill time for reflection and personal space. It is in these moments that we integrate the transformative experiences of each day and deepen our connection with ourselves.

This retreat’s theme is inspired by the teachings of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés and her remarkable work, “The Joyous Body”. (You are most welcome to listen to her original recordings prior to your retreat, but it is not at all required.) Different from simple cliches about embodiment and self-love, in this retreat we will “rediscover the profound truth that the body is not merely a servant, but a divine fellow traveler and consort, a Radiant Being in its own right, ever ready to protect, guide, and support us on the journey of the soul.”

Through somatic practices and playful traditional storytelling, we will explore the ancient knowledge that unveil the power and beauty of the body, celebrating its sacredness, innate wisdom and wholeness. We will utilize the ‘power of the pause’ to better know and care for our body’s needs. We will cultivate deep and loving discernment and you will leave this retreat with tools you can easily integrate into your daily life – so you can decide day-to-day and moment-to-moment what your loyal companion needs to be joyous.

It’s said that we are the Universe experiencing itself, so let’s come together to embrace and celebrate the natural bliss of our body in deep gratitude for this life given to us to live – wholly, holy.

Dec, 2 — Dec, 9 | $2700

About Your Yoga Instructors:

Holly

woman playing harmonion

Holly grew up in small-town Shelby, Montana and began practicing yoga in college, as she dealt with the anxiety and depression of living an average American college existence and trying to figure out where she belonged. She was hooked by how the practice made her feel welcome in her body and mind; something she had never really experienced before. She continued to practice and deepen her relationship with yoga as she obtained her Master’s Degree in Education. Throughout her time as an English teacher, she always found ways to offer yoga to her students and fellow school teachers, despite not being certified quite yet. Teaching and connecting with others through yoga and movement came very naturally to her, and was well received by all with whom she worked.

After having her first daughter in 2016, and taking a year off from teaching high school English, she decided to enroll in a 200hr yoga teacher training. After a few years of being certified and cultivating her own practice, she seized an opportunity to open her own studio in her home of Whitefish, Montana. Now, almost forty, with two free-spirited daughters, and more than 700 hours of yoga training under her belt, she has found that one of the most rewarding parts of her work is building community through trainings and retreats.

A lifelong seeker, student, and teacher, she lives for sharing her love of yoga, chanting, singing, movement, and creating community and connection among those she has the privilege of calling her students and friends. She lives in Whitefish with her husband and two daughters, and her dog Cupcake, who is the studio mascot and true spirit of love.

Her classes are typically a balanced mixture of meditation, breathwork, mantra, philosophy, music, and intentional/ devotional movement. She lives to make a good playlist and seeks to bring joy, wellbeing, strength, soul, and connection into her yoga classes.

Her intention for this retreat is to help participants deeply unwind and align into nature and into the body. You can expect some rejuvenating vinyasa and movement with equal parts pranayama, mantra, and meditation.

What's Included

Blue Osa Dessert | Blue Osa

Meals

Three delicious farm-to-table meals per day using homegrown, organic ingredients, plus snacks and more to keep you energized and satisfied the whole week long.

Take a flight to the osa peninsula || Blue Osa Yoga Retreat || Skyway

Transportation

Airport transfer from Puerto Jimenez to Blue Osa and return taxes.

More about getting to Blue Osa
Blue Osa Dessert | Blue Osa

Meals

Three delicious farm-to-table meals per day using homegrown, organic ingredients, plus snacks and more to keep you energized and satisfied the whole week long.

Girls Enjoying Blue Osa Retreat | Blue Osa

Accommodations

Intentionally designed beachfront eco-friendly rooms with ocean views and the use of the 25-meter pool.

Teaching methodology + practicum

  • Learn how to lead and market successful yoga retreats

  • Learn the principles of demonstration, observation, assisting/correcting, and instruction.

  • Learn different teaching styles.

  • You’ll learn specific techniques that will enable you to easily teach all levels

  • You’ll also learn how to sequence your asanas to create a natural, therapeutic and transformative arcs in your classes

  • Learn the qualities of effective teaching

  • Learn the business aspects of being a yoga teacher and gain the building blocks of how to build a thriving yoga career

Development of the Professional Essentials

History, Philosophy + Ethics

  • Identify your spiritual stance so you can step into it as a source of strength
  • Identify walls and develop strategies to take them down
  • Create a support network and support strategies and have them in place when you leave
  • Complete a physical and spiritual adventure challenge
  • Learn the business aspects of building a thriving yoga career
  • How to bring the practice of yoga into your everyday life and make it work for you
  • The science and application of mantra
  • An overview of the history of the yoga tradition
  • The ethical standards of teaching yoga

Yoga Humanities

Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™

  • Receive training in Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ training for Yoga Teachers
  • Go further in your anatomy training
  • Learn how to access muscle function
  • How to sequence transformational yoga classes
  • Learn the energetic and deeper sublime effects of asana
  • The science and application of Mantra
  • Design classes based on Ayurvedic principles
  • Knowledge of both human physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, etc.) and energy anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, etc.).

Anatomy & Physiology

Techniques, Training and Practice

  • A breakdown in the anatomical and energetic categories of postures
  • Develop a daily meditation practice
  • Learn pranayamas, kriyas, chanting, mantra, meditation, and other traditional yoga techniques
  • How to sequence and structure transformational 60 and 90-minute classes
  • Practical experience teaching postures, classes, and meditation
  • Learn deep relaxation techniques
  • Yoga Nidra, as taught by the Himalayan tradition and Western tradition
  • Learn how to conduct and lead fire rituals
  • Kundalini Yoga techniques
  • Learn the subtle energetic aspects of yoga like the Koshas and chakras
  • Kriya Yoga and Laya Yoga

Advance Your Own Practice in Yoga

Techniques, Training and Practice

  • A breakdown in the anatomical and energetic categories of postures
  • Develop a daily meditation practice
  • Learn techniques in pranayamas, kriyas, chanting, mantra, meditation, and other traditional yoga techniques
  • How to structure and sequence transformational classes
  • Practical experience in teaching postures, sequencing, and meditation
  • Learn deep relaxation and meditation techniques that come from the Himalayan tradition

Develop a Rock Solid Practice in Yoga

Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™

  • Receive training in Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ training for Yoga Teachers
  • Develop an understanding of basic anatomy
  • Learn about muscle function and how to improve it (something you will not learn in any other YTT)
  • Knowledge of both human physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, etc.) and energy anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, etc.)
  • The study of both the subject and application of its principles to yoga practice (benefits, contraindications, healthy movement patterns)
  • Skills to teach yoga classes suited to all levels of practice.

Anatomy & Physiology

History, Philosophy + Ethics

  • An in-depth study and application of the Yoga Sutra
  • How to bring the practice of yoga into your everyday life and make it work for you
  • The science and application of mantra
  • An overview of the history of the yoga tradition
  • The ethical standards of teaching yoga

Yoga Humanities

Teaching methodology + practicum

Get hands-on practice teaching so that you’ll be able to teach on day one after the training is finished. You will:

  • Practice teaching in small and large groups

  • Be ready to teach yoga as soon as you leave the yoga teacher training

  • Get hands-on experience teaching and give/receive feedback

  • Practice assisting students

  • Learn the principles of demonstration, observation, assisting/correcting and instruction

  • Learn different teaching styles

  • Learn qualities of effective teaching and adjust to the student’s process of learning

  • Learn the business aspects of how to build a thriving yoga career

Development of the Professional Essentials