Yoga on the River
A Three-day Yoga Retreat
on the Rio Chama
with Sonya Luz Costanza
and Los Rios River Runners
July 19 – 21, 2024
The Rio Chama is one of America's most beautiful Wild and Scenic Rivers, and New Mexico’s most spectacular wilderness boating. The current carries us past cliffs towering up to 1500 feet, striped in vivid shades of pink, vermilion, and white. We make camp under immense old-growth ponderosa pines, in glorious meadows carpeted with wildflowers, or at the foot of a side canyon ideal for a short hike. Each day’s float will be complimented with a yoga practice to balance and improve our boating posture, as well as refine our connection to the incredible natural surroundings we’ll be immersed in.
The Chama is mostly a gentle float, punctuated by easy rapids which speed up near the trip's end. You’ll have the option to ride in the big raft with the expert boatmen/women, or paddle yourself in a funyak or paddle board. Three days on the Chama gives us time to stop at a historic homestead which was a hideaway for horse thieves, a hot spring, a ghost town, and fossilized dinosaur footprints.
We’ll enjoy our yoga session on Friday evening as dinner is being prepared. After dinner, we’ll swap stories around the campfire. We will begin our day on Saturday with yoga and meditation before breakfast and our second day of adventure on the river. We’ll have another yoga session before dinner on Saturday afternoon, and a full moon meditation later that evening. Sunday morning will be our final yoga session before breakfast, and the last day of this incredible communion with the healing waters of the Chama River.
The price for this three-day yoga retreat and river excursion is $695, which includes exceptional river guides and boatmen, funyaks and paddle boards, yoga and meditation sessions, all camping gear, transportation to and from the meeting place in Abiquiu, and delicious, healthy meals and beverages (lunch and dinner on Friday, three meals on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday). Not included in this price is: tax, credit card fees, gratuity, or personal snacks and alcohol. Deluxe comfort camp is available for an additional $695 per unit (sleeps 2).
The trip is limited to 15 participants and will fill quickly. Reserve your spot soon! For registration and more information visit Los Rios River Runners
Peruvian Cultural Journey
and Yoga Retreat May 2025
SACRED WATERS AND HIDDEN GEMS
A journey to lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, water temples and other sacred sites off the beaten path in and around the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Details for this tour will be published soon. Sign up to join the mailing list at the bottom of this page for updates.
Admire sacred archaeological sites, colorful markets, breathtaking scenery, and delve into the rich culture of the Quechua Indians, the Inca descendants, in a very personal relationship with the land, the people, and their customs. Among the highlights of the trip are visits to Cusco, capital of the vast Inca State, known as the navel of the ancestral world, and a day of marveling at the ancient and mysterious citadel Machu Picchu. One event that makes the trip truly unique is a visit to the traditional highland community of Amaru, where we will participate in their communal workday, share a meal, enjoy weaving demonstrations, music and dancing – a cultural exchange that deepens the appreciation of Quechua history and social life.
This Andean cultural journey combined with a yoga retreat sets the stage for a profound cultural and personal experience. Based out of the Pisac Inn in Pisac, Peru, the woven itinerary, accommodations, and meals celebrate the Andean perspective. Your participation directly supports sustainable efforts to preserve traditional Andean culture.
Meals are provided by the Pisac Inn’s restaurant Cuchara de Palo, celebrating the wealth of Peruvian Cuisine, and dedicated to organic, locally sourced and fresh ingredients. Peru’s ancient agrarian tradition resulted in an abundant diversity of products, with a myriad of flavors, colors and aromas that have won special recognition for Peruvian Culinary Art as one of the most exquisite and sophisticated on the planet.
Throughout our travels the yoga sessions will allow time for reflection and integration of our incredible experiences, but if you or your travel companion do not practice yoga, you can still join the tour and use the yoga time to spend at your leisure. The daily yoga practice ranges from an invigorating vinyasa sequence, to a restful, restorative session, depending on the other activities of the day and the needs of the group.
For a sample itinerary of the tour visit PeruCulturalJourneys.com.
Practice yoga in the yoga room at the Pisac Inn and in some of the sacred sites in the area.
Our guide, Roman Vizcarra, never runs out of good stories and jokes
Exchanging coca leaves in Amaru to set the intention for the day’s activities
Working up an appetite in Amaru before the afternoon festivities
Relax at the Unucha Spa after a day of adventure
The incredible sight and magnificent mountains of Machu Picchu
Cultural Tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas 2025 prices TBA
Price includes accommodations, delicious meals, yoga classes, guidance through and entrance to archaeological sites, private tour van, taxes and fees. Not included in the price is: airfare, travel insurance, gratuities, meals eaten out, and other personal expenses.
$900 deposit required to reserve your spot. Four months before the trip deposits can be refunded less a $500 registration fee. Full payment is required 3 months before the trip.
Prices are based on double occupancy. For single occupancy, add an additional $350.
For more information contact Sonya: yoga@sonyaluz.com or 575-758-8007. To register go to our registration platform: WE TRAVEL.
Visit Pisac Inn for more information about accommodation, and Peru Cultural Journeys for more information about your hosts, Fielding Wood-Vizcarra and Roman Vizcarra.
Three varieties of potatoes, fava beans and corn roasted in an earthen oven
Weaving demonstration in Amaru
Roman interpreting poetry in architecture
Your table awaits at the Cuchara de Palo restaurant
Salutations to Pachamama and the sacred mountains
Breathtaking beauty in an ancient citadel