RETREAT OVERVIEW
Hosts: Francisco Morales-Bermudez and Salim Rollins
Retreat Leaders: Maya Breuer and Kiesha Battles
Dates: June1st – June 8th , 2023
Venue: Peru’s Sacred Valley
Experience the magic of Peru’s Sacred Valley with a wonderful community of Women of Color. Maya Breuer, Kiesha Battles, and the Synergy Yoga team welcome you to Soul & Spirit Peru. For the past two decades, Maya has nurtured a sacred space wherein women of color can express themselves freely, without social or familial expectations through yoga, dance, deep discussion, self-inquiry, and joy! For the first time in its history, the Retreat for Women of Color will take the show on the road to the heart of the goddess Pachamama, in the Sacred Valley of Peru.
Our journey begins in the Andean city of Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. From Cusco, we travel to Willka T’ika Wellness Retreat & Boutique Hotel, in the town of Urubamba, surrounded by the splendor of the Andes. During our stay at Willka T’ika guests will experience outdoor herbal baths; therapeutic massage; daily yoga classes; nutritious farm-to-table vegetarian meals; and the well-known chakra gardens which hold a variety of healing herbs. From our Willka T’ika base camp, we will explore the Sacred Valley through daily trips including Machu Picchu; Moray; and Urubamba. Our vision for the retreat is to offer guests a range of cultural experiences, deepening their understanding of Inca culture; create an environment in which guests can decompress and relax from their daily routines, and celebrate life through a daily yoga practice while absorbing the high energetic frequencies of the Sacred Valley.
OFFERINGS
hosts bios
Maya Breuer (She/Her)
Maya Breuer is the vice president of Cross-Cultural Advancement for Yoga Alliance, providing support for the advancement of cross-cultural competency across all Yoga Alliance programming and activities. Celebrated as one of America’s distinguished Black Yogis by Black Enterprise magazine, Maya is the cofounder and emeritus president of the National Black Yoga Teachers Alliance and a preeminent yoga teacher, speaker, practitioner, author, and community activist. In 1998, Maya founded the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color, offered biannually at Kripalu center for Yoga and Health, where she is Emeritus Trustee. she has also been training and certifying yoga teachers throughout the United States at her Santosha School of Yoga since 2001. Maya has been featured in Yoga Journal, Black Enterprise, Essence, Heart and Soul, Common Ground, Black Women’s Health, Upscale Magazine, and Many Kripalu publications.
Kiesha Battles (She/Her)
A full-time yoga teacher and trainer, a co-director of the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color™ and has taught for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. In addition to teaching through her own I Am Yoga organization, Kiesha has been the yoga director at Charlotte Family Yoga Center and is on the board of You Call This Yoga, a nonprofit organization offering accessible and adaptable yoga classes to under-served communities. With a graduate degree in Asian Studies, Keisha brings knowledge of Asian philosophy, religion, and language as well as Easternphylosophy including Toaisinm, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Keish teaches with confidance that comes from a strongtraining andrich experience. Her instruction is careful and crystal clear; she gives optionsand variationsthat makeher classes accessible formany students.
RETREAT SCHEDULE
SACRED VALLEY PERU PHOTOS
