Workout.lk is hosting a uniquely curated two-night restorative nature retreat to provide an opportunity to experience Ulpotha – one of the most serene yoga destinations in the world. 
If a digital detox, the song of chirping birds, and to sleep like a baby attracts you, this is the holiday you’ve been waiting for. The experience will offer a range of delicious and organic Ayurvedic cuisine, a walk through breathtaking mountain ranges, and a dip in the refreshing waters of the lotus-ringed lake. Much of the food provided is grown on site, so one may even visit the kitchens and brush up on your cooking skills, or simply observe your meals being prepared. Nourishing healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, teas, and juices will be available for the entire stay.
Guests will also have the opportunity to enjoy an exhilarating bicycle ride, a hike in the countryside, and take their raft or canoe through the backwaters for the best birdwatching spots. The highlight of the experience will be the yoga sessions where, while learning the benefits of the practice, one will get back in touch with nature’s soft, age-old rhythms for true healing and rejuvenation.
This retreat will have two yoga sessions, one conducted by Joshua Reyna who will be offering optional Shamanic sound healing sessions during this weekend in addition to yoga sessions. Guests will have the chance to enter into deep relaxation and connect with their inner self through pure healing vibrations; release fear and come into balance. Sound healing can help detoxify the body, mind, and emotions. A session includes breath work at the beginning, integration at the end, and healing frequencies with a mix of meditative instruments including singing bowls, Tibetan bell, rattles, Native American flute, Shamanic voice, hang drum, and more.
The other session will be conducted by Rekha Krishnamoorthy who was previously a strategy consultant for 10 years in the US and Sri Lanka, and is now a certified Isha Hatha Yoga Instructor. She underwent 1,750-plus hours of training in India, which involved comprehensive exposure to yogic practices, maintaining a strong link to its classical roots. She was also trained in understanding human physiology, anatomy, and Siddha medicine.
In conversation with Krishnamoorthy, she explained what her session would be like: “We will be entering the classical roots of yoga. For this retreat, I was looking at sharing the practice of Asana yoga with a focus on your form, breath, and alignment, because the impact of this particular form of yoga is only achieved when all of these aspects are in order.”
She aims to open up the path of yoga to each individual that attends the session. Guests will also be able to add on an Ayurvedic treatment – “Vindana”, being a one-day treatment, and “Santhushti”, a three-day treatment to their experience at the retreat.
Ulpotha, being a self-sustaining agricultural community, spanning 25 acres in the jungle heartland of Sri Lanka, is the ideal destination to leave behind all your stress and burdens and indulge in a digital detox, while lounging in gorgeous nature huts for a deep restorative sleep and a closer connection to nature. Ulpotha exists in a world where it’s safe enough to live without fences or walls or doors or locks. You’ll be looked after by its gentle, traditional agricultural community, among whom you will be living. All precautionary measures against Covid-19 have also been implemented by the organisers, so you can relax and enjoy your stay with no worries. Ulpotha will be hosting this retreat for a limited private group so there’s plenty of space in the 25-acre area for social distancing too.
The Morning Brunch spoke to Workout.lk Founder Teesha Wickramatunga on what to expect from this retreat. “The stay is a minimum of two days, so guests can simply relax, and enjoy this splendid retreat we have tailored for them. We would encourage them to participate in the entire programme, but they are free to choose what they’d like to do,” she explained.
She added: “This is a very relevant retreat for these times, because going back to nature, and detoxing will be a lovely change of scenery from being confined to their houses most of last year.” She further explained that they will provide guests with an experience of natural lifestyle, with all the Covid-19 health protocols in place, emphasising that it is a very good experience for everyone to go back to the bygone eras, and understand how much potential we have to reconnect with ourselves.
You can choose the days you’d like to visit Ulpotha during the period of 3 and 7 February. Coaches are arranged from Colombo on 3 and 4 February and to Colombo on 6 and 7 February.
Contact Workout.lk via their Facebook page @workout.lk for further information.
