Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP) retreat, Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom
Beyond the Mind
The Art of Meditation and Samadhi
Tuesday 24th to Monday 30th June 2025 (7-days, 6-nights)
This retreat will take place in a beautiful venue in Pembrokeshire in South West Wales.
The centre is a charming old country house with a beautiful garden. There is a stream running through the grounds with pond.
There is wifi in the main house.
The Yoga
The focus of the retreat will be on the cultivation of inner silence, peace-fullness, bliss and Self-Realization.
We will be holding three meditation sessions each day and two asana sessions. In the evenings there will be teachings on the philosophy of yoga. Daily practices will include asana, Spinal Breathing Pranayama, Deep Meditation and Samyama.
There will be silent periods during the retreat from 9pm each evening until 9.30am each morning.
Topic
During the retreat we will be looking at the practice of meditation and the cultivation of inner silence. We will look at the witness and the process of entry into samadhi.
We will look at how the witness leads to the gradual transcendence of the mind through the process of discrimination (viveka) and the letting go of fixed ideas, attachments and views (vairagya).
We will look at how this leads to the gradual rise of peace, unity and knowledge of the Self.
Practices
Teachings on the retreat will also include:
- Deep Meditation – especially looking at the process of brining the mind to stillness and silence and the cultivation of the witness.
- Spinal Breathing Pranayama – looking at the purification of the subtle nervous system.
- Samyama – looking at the practices of samyama and cosmic samyama, and at how these relate to transcendence.
- Asana practice – building a daily posture practice routine.
Full instructions in practice will be given. The retreat will be led in English and will be suitable for people of all levels of experience.
All yoga classes and meditation sessions are optional, so you can take the retreat at your own pace.
There will be half an hour of karma yoga (service to others) each day. This will mostly be kitchen clean-up.
Bhajans will be held in the marquee on some afternoons during the retreat.
Teachers
Tristan Dorling
Tristan began the practice of yoga in 1985 at school when he was 16 years old. At the age of 19 he travelled to the Himalayas to live in a Mahayana Buddhist monastery. This was really his first introduction to the higher teachings and to the spiritual life. He had his first awakening experience a year later after a meditation retreat in a Buddhist cave monastery in Thailand…
Alex Wales
Alex first came to yoga through meditation, and this practice continues to provide the foundation of his yoga journey and the inspiration for his teaching. He sees the practice of yoga postures as a means to integrate the subtle transformative effects of meditation with the physical body creating space in life for peace, energy and creativity to arise.
Food
Food will be vegetarian. The food served will support a yoga and meditation practice. We can also cater for vegan diets and sugar and gluten free diets, if you let us know in advance.
There will be two meals served each day (brunch and dinner). Hot drinks will be available all day.
Accommodation
The accommodation is in the main house with a mixture of single and shared rooms. There are also a number of glamping spaces in the garden, with a yurt, tipis and bell tents. All the glamping spaces have beds in, already set up.
Cost and booking
Per person:
- One bed in a shared four-person room (male): £895 per person (Available)
- One bed in a shared twin room (female): £945 per person (Available)
- One bed in a shared twin room (male): £945 per person (Available)
- Double room (2 sharing): £945 per person (Available)
- Single room: £975 (Fully Booked)
- One bed in a twin tipi (male) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- One bed in a twin tipi (female) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- Double tipi (two sharing) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- Single tipi £895 per person (Fully Booked)
- One bed in a twin bell tent (male) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- One bed in a twin bell tent (female) £875 per person (Available)
- Double bell tent (two sharing) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- Single bell tent £895 per person (Fully Booked)
- One bed in a twin yurt (male) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- One bed in a twin yurt (female) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- Double yurt (two sharing) £875 per person (Fully Booked)
- Single yurt £895 per person (Fully Booked)
The price includes accommodation for 6-nights, food and all the yoga and meditation sessions.
A non-refundable deposit of £100 is required to secure a place on the retreat, with the balance paid 2-months before the retreat starts.
Once your place on the retreat has been confirmed, you can make payment by credit/debit card here, or by bank transfer. Payment terms and conditions are on the same page.
Getting there and away
The nearest train station is Carmarthen and there are busses from Carmarthen to the village with the retreat centre in. Busses leave Carmarthen every hour and take about 50 minutes to reach Drefelin where they stop outside the centre.
The nearest international airport is Cardiff. Trains take around two-hours from Cardiff to Carmarthen.
Full travel directions are sent out to people attending the event.
Retreat schedule
Tuesday 24th June 2025
15:00-16:00 arrival
16:30-18:00 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
18:00 dinner
20:00 evening meeting followed by silent period until 09:30 the following morning.
Wednesday 25th June 2025
07:00-08:30 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:40-09:40 pranayama, meditation, samyama
10:00 brunch
11:00 – 16:00 free time/ walking/ personal practice
16:00 – 18:00 asana pranayama, meditation, samyama
18:00 dinner
20:00 evening talk/ questions and answers followed by silent period until 9:30 the following morning.
26th June to 28th June 2025
07:00-08:30 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:40-09:40 pranayama, meditation, samyama
10:00 brunch
11:00 – 15:00 free time/ walking/ personal practice
15:00 – 16:45 asana pranayama, meditation, samyama
17:00 – 18:00 pranayama, meditation, samyama
18:00 dinner
20:00 evening talk/ questions and answers followed by silent period until 9:30 the following morning.
Sunday 29th June 2025
07:00-08:30 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:40-09:40 pranayama, meditation, samyama
10:00 brunch
11:00 – 16:00 free time/ walking/ personal practice
16:00 – 18:00 asana pranayama, meditation, samyama
18:00 dinner
20:00 evening talk/ questions and answers followed by silent period until 9:30 the following morning.
Monday 30th June 2025
07:00-08:30 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
10:00 breakfast
11:00-12:00 house clean-up
12:00 farewells and departure