Retreats & Workshops
About this retreat:
March 29 – 31, 2024
Reset yourself this spring! Join Nikki for a weekend of asana, pranayama, meditation and yoga philosophy as we transition into spring season. Refresh mind, energy and body with extended yoga practices, time to rest, delicious food and surrounding nature.
While many yoga classes just focus on physical postures, Nikki Estrada can help you access yoga also through meditation, breathwork, and yoga philosophy, honoring each person exactly as they are and working with their unique strengths and needs. If you are looking to find other ways to deepen your spiritual practice or connect to your health and happiness, this retreat is for you. Whether you’re new or experienced to yoga or spirituality, this weekend is designed for you to feel more integrated and aligned.
About this trip:
October 26-November 2, 2024
Group size 10 – 20
Rejuvenate with 7 Days of yoga and meditation in the Le Marche region of Italy overlooking the Adriatic sea. Stay in one of two villas set on 8 acres of land nestled amidst vineyards, gardens and olive groves. The private luxury estate has unobstructed Adriatic sea views, two swimming pools, a yoga room, platform deck for outdoor practice, a gym, dry sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and 10 private ensuite rooms.
Enjoy three daily fresh farm to table meals prepared by a private chef, daily yoga and meditation practices, time to relax by the pool, explore the region or hike the hills. This will be a once in a lifetime luxury yoga retreat experience.
What’s included:
- Daily Yoga & Meditation
- Three Meals Per Day
- Your Housing
- Group Bus Transfer
Learn more and register at wetravel.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a medieval yoga manual written by a yogi named Swatmarama, and is considered one of three traditional hatha yoga texts (the other two being The Gheranda Samhita and The Shiva Samhita). The Pradipika discusses asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breathing practices), mudras (“gestures” or “seals”), and samadhi (the state of enlightenment that many yogis strive to reach). While even earlier texts within the yoga tradition describe the spiritual or mental experience of yoga without offering a clear “how to,” hatha yoga texts such as the Pradipika outline clear, specific, and concrete practices with explanations of both the how and the why of practice.
As B.K.S. Iyengar said of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika: “It should be realized that the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a major treatise with practical guidelines. It takes the practitioner from the culture of the body towards the sight of the self.”
While the wealth of information it contains is indisputable, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika was written in the fifteenth century C.E. and can be difficult to understand. There are metaphors, descriptions, and asana names that many modern yoga practitioners have never heard of—not to mention mystical, esoteric claims that can sound somewhat far-fetched. But don’t worry! That’s why we’re offering this course: to give you access to an experienced teacher who can guide you through the text and make the practices within it accessible to the modern yogi.
This course is for anyone interested in unpacking the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and learning not only what it has to say about yoga practice, but also how these guidelines can be applied to your life. Whether you are a teacher or a dedicated student, the text will come to life in an understandable way as you learn how the wisdom of the Pradipika can support how you live your yoga.
This journey includes:
- A complete overview of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika
- 15 postures recommended to accelerate your yoga practice
- Nine yoga classes, which include asana, pranayama, mudras, bandhas, and meditation work
- An essential subtle-body lesson that reveals the hidden backbone of the text
- An explanation of what hinders a good yoga practice, and what makes a yoga practice successful
- A final discussion that will help you put everything together
After each chapter discussion, you’ll receive a yoga practice that shows you how to bring the information that you just learned to your mat. Each practice builds in intensity as your knowledge, skill, and experience increase.
Price: $149 ($179 with USB)
Past Workshops
YOGA & CULTURE IN ITALY
Gubbio, Province of Perugia, Italy
Nurture yourself with 7 days of yoga and meditation in Italy’s Umbria countryside. Enjoy deep & extended yoga practices, organic farm to table food, hikes in the surrounding hills, swimming in the pool, soaking in the hot tub or receiving a massage. This trip includes a group cooking lesson and trip to market in the nearby medieval town of Gubbio.
BODY, BREATH, MIND
A Complete Practice in Rome, Italy
This workshop includes a brief lecture and overview of asana, pranayama and meditation, followed by a deep and well rounded practice. Suitable for students and teachers alike, you will feel physically challenged and prepared to go deeper with your body, breath and your mind.
LET’S BREAK IT DOWN
A Comprehensive Weekend Immersion
Refine and deepen your yoga practice with 4 mini workshops covering hips, abdominals, shoulders, inversions and restorative postures.
BEYOND ASANA
50-Hour Philosophy and Subtle Body Training
A four-week deep dive into the subtle body, ancient yogic texts, pranayama, and meditation.
THE 4 PILLARS OF YOGA
Body, Breath, Mind & Diet
A livestream workshop series with live lectures and Q&A as part of online membership with Nikki.
LA VIE est BELLE
Reflect & Renew in the Historic Heart of France
7 Days of yoga, meditation & beauty at Château Bardouly in the heart of French Wine Country!
KAPHA SEASON PRACTICE
Building Heat to Melt Away Winter
Yoga and Ayurveda call late winter and spring Kapha season- where the elements of earth and water are dominant.
Nature is full of density with a build up of cold, wet and heavy properties. Building our inner fire is the best way to usher in spring and melt away winter stagnation. This two hour practice will build the inner fire called agni through movement, breath work, bandhas and abdominal postures. You will feel lighter, stronger and more balanced.
RATNA LING WEEKEND RETREAT
Cazadero, CA
Join Nikki for an unforgettable weekend away in the redwood forests of Sonoma County. Unplug and unwind with daily yoga practices, relaxing guided meditations and several hours in the afternoon to explore this naturally beautiful and secluded setting. Delicious farm-to-table vegetarian meals are lovingly prepared with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. Enjoy a private bedroom in a bright and spacious cottage wonderfully outfitted with luxury bedding, living room with fireplace, kitchen, coffee/tea facilities, spacious bathrooms with Jacuzzi bathtub and large deck with panoramic views and comfortable outdoor furniture.
YOGA AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS
A 35-Hour Immersion
Using the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and space—as a framework for study, we will see how these qualities govern the interplay between the physical and energetic worlds. Each session will focus on a specific element, where it is located in the body and in the cosmos. We will learn practices that correspond to these elements in order to bring healing and balance.
This profoundly experiential series will transport you to depths of yoga not possible in public classes. To fortify your growth, there will be some journaling, homework and reading assignments.
TANTRIC YOGA
Integrate spirituality into all aspects of your life
San Francisco, CA
Tantra integrates spirituality into all aspects of one’s life, cultivating more peace, joy and personal success. It stems from a worldview that sees the “divine” or universal energy permeating everything. After an introduction to Tantra philosophy, we’ll cultivate that energy through a yoga practice that includes asana, pranayama and meditation.
YOGA WITH THE GAYATRI MANTRA
Highly revered, the Gayatri Mantra is one of the world’s oldest and most sacred mantras from the Vedic tradition. Renowned for its perceived power to heal, protect and awaken, the Gayatri is beloved by millions of people around the world. Chanting the Gayatri is said to deeply purify the chanter and the listener. It honors deva Savitr, the sun god.
Many cultures around the world recognize the significance of the sun during Winter Solstice. It’s a time of darkness—when we have the least hours of daylight in the whole year. It’s the perfect time to honor the power of the sun as an external force, but more importantly, as an internal force. Sun represents light, energy and knowledge.
While practicing asana we will chant the Gayatri in a call and response manner out loud one line at a time (you don’t have to know it by heart). As we move through the practice, we will begin to chant the Gayatri internally, where the power of mantra is increased.
The session will include pranayama and meditation.
THE ART AND SKILL OF PRACTICE: SEQUENCING FOR DEDICATED STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
This 3-day workshop includes practice and theory appropriate for both dedicated students and teachers alike. Each session begins with an extensive practice structured physically, energetically and spiritually, followed by lecture and discussion on the science and skill behind the practice.
THE ART AND SKILL OF SEQUENCING
YOGA SUTRAS & HATHA YOGA PRADIPIKA