Yoga and meditation retreats in Portugal

A yoga and meditation retreat combines a daily yoga practice with periods of seated meditation. Ours leans heavily towards the meditation. Cave of the Heart Retreats runs silent Hridaya meditation retreats at Karuna Retreat Center in Monchique, in the Algarve, Portugal, with an hour and a half of Hridaya Hatha Yoga each day and around five and a half hours of sitting meditation split into shorter segments.

We are not a yoga holiday with meditation added. We are a silent meditation retreat, and the Hatha Yoga is here because it supports the practice of meditation.

This post describes what the yoga actually is, what it is for, and who the retreat suits. If by the end you can tell that it is not what you were looking for, the post has done its job.

What "yoga and meditation retreat" usually means

The phrase covers a very wide range. At one end are the retreats built around a strong daily asana practice, two classes a day, often with a beach, a pool and a full social life, where a short meditation opens or closes the class. At the other end are retreats where the meditation is the most relevant aspect and the yoga is supporting and deepening the meditation practice.

They are different approaches.

We are firmly at the second end. Our retreats are held in continuous silence, meals included, from the first morning sitting to the final morning. The yoga is not a class in the ordinary sense: it is done in silence, without music, and nobody is corrected in front of anybody else.

Hridaya Hatha Yoga, and why we practise it during the retreat

Hridaya Hatha Yoga is a traditional Hatha practice, taught slowly, with long holds, and practised in a meditative way. The attention is placed both in the posture and the movements of energy, and in the awareness in which all these phenomena occur. It is a practice of interiorisation rather than of achievement.

Hatha Yoga prepares the physical body for longer periods of meditation.

It also prepares the energetic body. Each yogic posture can be seen as an antenna, tuning the body towards particular qualities of energy, and each chakra as a lens the world is seen through. With the practice of Hatha Yoga we open to live fully different aspects of the human experience.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the foundational texts of Hatha Yoga, is very clear about this. Its opening verse describes the knowledge of Hatha Yoga as something "which like a staircase leads the aspirant to the high pinnacled Raja Yoga", the yoga of the mind, meditation. Later it states the same thing as a rule running in both directions: "No success in Raja Yoga without Hatha Yoga, and no success in Hatha Yoga without Raja Yoga." The postures were never meant to be the destination. They purify the subtle body so that deeper states of consciousness become available.

We all know how the body somatises stress, so the invitation of Hatha Yoga is to reverse the direction and somatise joy, presence, spaciousness, light. The Sanskrit word for it is samarasa, a body of the same essence as the nature of our being, a body vibrating with divine qualities.

The shape of a day

The rhythm is the same whichever length you sit: roughly five and a half hours of sitting meditation spread across the day in segments with breaks between them, an hour and a half of Hridaya Hatha Yoga, as well as talks and question and answer sessions.

We describe a full day hour by hour in what to expect on a silent meditation retreat, and the silence that holds it in noble silence, or mauna.

Who this suits

Beginners, at every length we run. No previous meditation experience is needed, and no previous yoga experience either. Everything is taught from the beginning.

Also those who have a regular meditation practice and wish to deepen in it.

It also suits practitioners with an established yoga practice who have begun to sense that asana was pointing towards a Stillness that the mat alone cannot fulfil.

Who this does not suit

If you want a yoga and surf week, or a retreat with evenings and conversation and new friends, this is not it. The silence and the meditation are the core of the retreat and they carry the greatest transformative power. Silence is the container, and it runs through meals, walks and the spaces between sessions.

If you are living with, or have a history of, a significant mental health condition or a recent period of crisis, we warmly ask you to write to us before registering. Our note on that is on the Meditation Retreat Mental Health Disclaimer page, and it is worth reading before you book rather than after.

Do you need to be flexible, or fit

No. Yoga is about awareness, not about flexibility or performance.

Cushions, benches and chairs are all in the hall, and choosing one over another is not a statement about your practice.

What the retreat asks of your body is not flexibility. It is willingness to open yourself to a deeper dimension of your being. Come as you are, you are welcome.

Where it happens

Karuna Retreat Center sits in the Monchique mountains in the Algarve, with spring water, simple lodging and a good deal of quiet.

Dates and details for all lengths are on our silent meditation retreats in Portugal page.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a yoga retreat or a meditation retreat?

It is a silent meditation retreat that includes an hour and a half of Hridaya Hatha Yoga each day. The meditation is the main practice, with roughly five and a half hours of sitting daily, and the yoga is there to support it. If you are looking for a retreat where asana is the main practice, this is not that retreat.

How much yoga is there each day?

About an hour and a half, at every retreat length we run. It is a traditional Hatha practice, taught slowly, with long holds, and practised in silence.

Do I need yoga experience to come?

No. Beginners are welcome and everything is taught during the retreat. Postures are adapted, and a chair is a completely legitimate way to sit, both for the yoga and for the meditation.

What is Hridaya Hatha Yoga?

It is the Hatha Yoga practised within the retreat: slow, with long holds, and oriented both towards the essence of our being and towards the posture and the movements of energy that it triggers. It is designed as preparation for meditative practices rather than as a physical exercise.

Is the yoga silent too?

Yes. The whole retreat runs in continuous silence, so the yoga is guided by the teacher's instructions and nothing else. There is no music, and no conversation before or after.

Can I come for the yoga and skip the meditation?

No, and it would not really be possible in practice. The retreat is one continuous programme in silence rather than a menu of sessions, and the yoga is the smallest part of the day. What you can choose is the length: we run 3-day, 5-day and 10-day retreats, and there is an honest guide to choosing between them.

What kind of meditation is taught?

Hridaya meditation, which rests on three pillars: awareness of the Heart centre, awareness of the pauses in the breath, and Self-Inquiry. It is explained in full on our Hridaya meditation page.

Is this suitable for a first retreat?

Yes. Beginners come to every length we run, and the method is taught from the beginning with no assumption of experience. If this would be your first, our honest guide for beginners goes through the concerns people actually raise, and the Retreat Guidelines are worth reading before you book.

With Love, the Cave of the Heart Team