UPCOMING
Retreats
April 4 – 11, 2026
ṚtÚ VIDYA: SEASONAL WISDOM
ASHTANGA & AYURVEDA
AN IMMERSIVE RETREAT FOR WOMEN
SALENTO, ITALY
With Nea Ferrier, Authorised level 2 Ashtanga Yoga teacher (2010) & Founder of Ashtanga Yoga Dubai & Nilaya House & With Kate O’Donnell, Authorised level 2 Ashtanga Yoga teacher (2011) & Founder of the Ayurvedic Living Institute)
Join Nea & Kate in beautiful Salento, Italy for an immersion into Ayurvedic lifestyle practices and yogic philosophy to support your journey as a female Ashtanga yoga practitioner.
Learn about the anatomy of the subtle body, women’s physiology and how to connect to your innate cyclical wisdom as a yogini.
Ideal also for teachers, wanting more know-how on guiding female students through various life stages.
We’ll also make time for some site-seeing in picturesque Puglia – la dolce vita!
This 6-day immersion will include;
- Daily Ashtanga Yoga practice – one-on-one Mysore-style teaching
- Asana workshops with a woman-centric focus
- Complimentary Yoga Practices: Pranayama, Restorative Yoga & Meditation
- Daily lectures covering Women’s Physiology through the Lens of Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Lifestyle Practices & Yoga &
- Ayurvedic Philosophy
- Sanskrit Chanting
Lecture Topics
- The Ashramas (life stages)
- Prana, Tejas & Ojas
- Dinacharya and Rtucharya: Daily and Seasonal Practices
- Intro to The Tissues and the Channel system
- Ay and Western view on Hormone Health
- Anatomy of the Subtle body
- Ay views on asana and pranayama, Modifications for different stages of Life
- Menstrual Health, Fertility, Pregnancy and Postpartum according to Ayurveda
- Menstrual Cycle Awareness
Daily Schedule
- 7:00am-8:30am – Mysore Class
- 8:30-9:00am – Sanskrit chanting
- 10:00am – Brunch
- 11:00am-1:00pm – Lecture
- 1:00-3:00pm – Free time (spa/sauna available)
- 3:00-5:30PM – asana workshop or lecture
- 7:00pm – Dinner
Package Includes
- 7 nights’ accommodation (single and sharing options available)
- All yoga classes and lectures
- Daily Organic vegetarian brunch and dinner (straight from the farm!)
Additional extras
- Use of spa/sauna and any treatments
- Any additional siteseeing
About the Retreat Centre
Yoga is Salento is one of the world’s top Ashtanga yoga retreat centres. Set in the stunning southern Italian countrside on a working organic farm Agricola Samadhi, Yoga in Salento has become of favourite of teachers and students worldwide. Enjoy your yoga practice in the beautiful custom-built shala and when not practising, walk through the gardens, be at the pool or use the spa.
Located in the inland of the ‘Heel of Italy,’ an enchanting peninsula in the south of Puglia, Yoga in Salento & Agricola Samadhi are just a few kilometers from the ‘beautiful Baroque Lecce’ and equidistant from the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea, offering a perfect location to explore the wonders of Salento.
The closest town Zollini is ten minutes walk away and Lecce is 15 minutes drive.
Nearby airports:
• Brindisi Airport (BDS) – 50 km from Zollino (about 50 min by car)
• Bari Airport (BRI) – 180 km from Zollino (about 2 hours by car)
The agriturismo is just a short walk from the Zollino train station (Ferrovie del Sud Est), making it easy to explore Salento even without a car.
International connections:
International flights: The airports of Brindisi and Bari are well connected with numerous low-cost flights.
From outside Europe: You can stopover in Rome or Milan, both well connected to Brindisi and Bari by flights and trains.
Ashtanga Yoga & Ayurveda Programme –
EURO 975 (EARLY BIRD EURO 795)
For bookings email nea@ashtangayogadubai.com
Accommodation to be booked separately via Yoga in Salento.
Prices start from EURO750 per person.
Booking Terms & Conditions
Secure your spot with a 50% non-refundable deposit. Final payment to be made 30 days before retreat start date.
Payment installment plans for the yoga portion are available (4 installments, plus 6% surcharge).
Please wait for confirmation before booking flights.
About Kate
Kate O’Donnell has spent the last twenty-five years traveling through the far-reaches of India in search of ancient healing practices to bring back to the United States. Through her own healing journey, Kate experienced first hand how a holistic system creates lasting health. She’s since emerged as a preeminent expert in Ayurveda—the sister science to Yoga—and has built her own method customized for modern Americans. Her individualized approach—“guiding from disease to ease”—has transformed the lives of thousands of people and made her one of the most respected thought-leaders in holistic medicine. Kate is a four-time bestselling author of the Everyday Ayurveda Cookbookseries, host of the Everyday Ayurvedapodcast, international speaker and the founder of the Ayurvedic Living Institutewhere she has educated a generation of practitioners.
Nea is a level 2 authorised Ashtanga Yoga teacher (2010) and the founder of Ashtanga Yoga Dubai and the yoga school Nilaya House. She teaches in Dubai as well as leading retreats & trainings internationally, and has been a guest teacher in shalas in Asia, Europe and the Middle East since 2008.
A student of yoga for 20 years, Nea continues her personal studies in Ayurveda, Tantra and Veda Chanting. She is Menstruality Mentor, certified by The Red School, and is passionate about sharing menstruality as the ultimate spiritual practice for women.
Nea’s teaching style is gentle, compassionate and intuitive, drawing on 15 years of daily teaching and focused on guiding students to find their own balance between effort and letting go, and to practice in a way that is sustainable and supportive for various life stages.
