Yoga Retreat - Detox Retreat - Andalucia - Spain

Founders
Rosie and Jonji Miles

Rosie and I first met in 2001 on a teacher training retreat at Windfire Yoga in Ibiza. During the course all the students camped idyllically in teepis amongst the pine forest hills where we all lived, breathed and practiced yoga night and day. Rosie and I fell madly in love and before long we began to make plans for a new life together.

Our romantic enthusiasm immediately led us to India. Long hours spent tavelling in trains and buses offered a perfect opportunity to develop ideas for our yoga retreat. In Mumbai we met with Ramesh Balsekar, a renowned Indian guru, and here we also befriended one of his students who had just returned from solitary meditation in the Himalayas. Her name was an Indian goddess 'Kali' who represents the transcendent transformation of all things. The idea of transformation mirrored our personal journey in life and so the name Kaliyoga was born.

We returned from India and immediately began looking for a place to live and work. Rosie said something like "Spain has a nice climate and I know some people there..." and since I happened to be reading a travel book about Andalucia (Driving Over Lemons), it didn't take much persuasion to point our car in the direction of Andalucia. After 2000km we caught sight of the shimmering peaks of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada above Granada city and we carried on happily in search of the little-known Alpujarra white villages.

Instictively we felt that this was the right place to begin our project. After finding a farmhouse to rent through the providence of friends, we set about creating Kaliyoga and soon fell into step with the retro pace of life, the sunny blue skies and magical light so adored by Picasso. Since then the Alpujarra region has provided us with two gorgeous children, a good many friends and a retreat centre that continues to grow in strength and popularity. We are passionate about Kaliyoga and we continue to maintain daily contact, though in 2009 we relocated to the UK so that our kids could enjoy an English education. Rosie and I take it in turns to return to Kaliyoga every month to share and enjoy the place with our guests and staff.

Lelly studied Hatha and Astanga yoga in London from 1989 onwards  and trained to be a yoga teacher with the Sivananda school in Kerala, India. Her teaching style is now influenced by Godfrey Devereux's  Dynamic Yoga Method and by Sarah Powers' Insight yoga teachings along with Buddhist meditation.
Lelly says: "Yoga helps us to make sense of the often chaotic nature of our lives, taking us from 'Small mind' to 'Big mind'. Using  the tools of the  body, the  breath and awareness to bring  energy into areas where we get physically or emotionally stuck, we can experience new possibilities that contrast to our habitual & addictive ways of being. When our true potential becomes available to us, we become available to the world."

Arantza is originally from the Basque country, northern Spain. She also lived in the UK for many years, and has now settled in this part of Andalucia. She loves to practice Zen meditation and teaches 'The Open Way'. After graduating as a yoga teacher with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Kerala, India, she studies other

yoga techniques including the Iyengar method and the Dynamic Yoga Method. She also trained in traditiçonal Thai Yoga Massage in Chiang Mai, northen Thailand, and graduated with distiction. You can book a blissful massage with Arantza during your week at Kaliyoga.

Jamie has a taste for travel and a passion for yoga, good food and people. He was raised on a dairy farm in New Zealand and more recently has been managing ski chalets in the French alps. His cooking skills are considerably enhanced by his knowledge of Reiki and Tummo healing. Guests are warmly invited to participate in the kitchen and learn the principles of cooking from the heart, a creative technique that complements yoga beautifully.

Jamie is a Laughter Yoga teacher and once per week in the summer season he leads a one hour Laughter Yoga session at Kaliyoga. He also hosts Teacher Training Courses at Kaliyoga with an international certification in Laughter Yoga leadership.

Charlotte was born in England and now lives on a farm high in the Alpujarra mountains. She co-manages Kaliyoga with Nicola and Olga. She also makes soaps, perfumes, and healing balms from wild herbs and essential oils, and you can buy them from her boutique at Kaliyoga. She is also a professional therapist for Aromatherapy and Indian head massage.

Nicola was born and raised in London and has also lived and worked in the Lake District. We first met Nicola when she came to a retreat as a Kaliyoga guest. She returned to Kaliyoga the following year as a voluntary helper and Thai yoga massage therapist for a whole season. We all got on well and she liked Kaliyoga so much that she has since made her home in the Alpujarra with young son Rio. Nicola is our retreat mother due to her gift for communication and natural ease with people.

Olga was raised in Portugal. Her passion for dance and community work led her around the globe: in Brazil she mastered the martial art of Capoeira and learned to dance the Afro Samba; in Morocco she fell in love with Arabic dance, surfing and mountain climbing; in Bristol UK she studied dance and music. She now lives in the Alpujarra with her daughter Luana and enjoys looking after Kaliyoga and making delicious raw food cuisine.