OVERVIEW

FIRE.ICE.FLOW WITH TARA STILES & MIKE TAYLOR OF STRALA YOGA

We’re so excited to announce this new collaboration with EPM x Strala. Special guests Tara Stiles and Mike Taylor will join us on this Icelandic adventure and share their ease, flow, and healing movements with guests throughout the week. EPM founder Erin Lewis has been connected to the Strala family since working together with Tara and Mike at the former Strala studio in NYC a decade ago - it will be a fun reunion in Iceland, and we can’t wait to share it with our guests. Join us for daily movement, breath, and wellness, combined with adventures in the “Land of Fire & Ice,” to stimulate our senses.

Join us for this self-care break in the midst of the bustle of the holiday season, and give yourself the gift of health and well being!

HOTELS

We will split our retreat between two uniquely Icelandic boutique hotels - both in and outside of the city center of Reykjavik. That way we can experience the various landscapes and cultures of this amazing country.

We’ll start out our time in the capital city at the Fosshotel Reykjavik. Enjoy pleasant views of the city and sea in this stylish hotel, located near Höfði House and the main shopping area. Here, from the heart of the city, you can easily explore Reykjavík's magnificent architecture, captivating history, vibrant markets and rich culture – the ideal starting point for experience the best of everything the city has to offer.

Then, after our time in the city, we’ll head to the countryside to one of Iceland’s most prized and talked-about design hotels: the Ion Adventure Hotel.

“Nestled in the magical lava landscapes of the UNESCO-listed Thingvellir National Park, this unique design hotel is constructed very much with nature in mind. It features a slick restaurant and bar, an outdoor hot tub and spa, and comfortable, high-end rooms.” —Telegraph

Fire and ice. Hot and cold. An abandoned inn turned boutique hotel in Iceland. Ion Adventure Hotel is where modern design meets Iceland’s incomparable natural landscape. Situated in the south-western town of Selfoss - near a national crossroad, making the hotel accessible to various parts of the country - Ion is conveniently located to offer guests the best of Iceland. From the volcanic marvels of Mount Hengill to the urban sophistication of Reykjavik nearby, the unique landscape plays a pivotal role in the rich design of the hotel, which leans heavily on sustainable practices and the natural features of the island. In the guest rooms, one can expect a mellow mix of concrete chic and earthy ambiance, combined with the warm accents of locally salvaged driftwood and lava, all deftly handled by design studio Minarc. Beyond this, the farm-fresh cuisine at Silfra Restaurant & Bar, view-heavy Northern Lights Bar, and partially exposed Lava Spa all ensure that visitors have the ultimate Icelandic experience before even stepping foot outside.

CUISINE

Healthful, vegetarian food is part of the retreat experience, including breakfast and dinner daily, as well as selected lunches. We've carefully chosen delicious and fresh meals from renowned restaurants and chefs which will give guests an expansive experience of the cuisine. Our dinners will include a few multi-course tasting menus at each hotel’s restaurant, emphasizing honest, healthy, and delicious Icelandic food, as well as various meals out in town and on our day trips - from dining in an organic greenhouse with food growing just feet away, to watching how the Iceland rye bread is made in the ground under volcanic sand, and also feasting on the award-winning eclectic cuisine - our tastebuds will be on their own adventure.

SURROUNDING AREA

Our day trips will allow us to experience the many unique landscapes and activities that this area has to offer. We will take a tour through Iceland's famous Golden Circle, which will include the main stops on the route, such as the waterfall Gullfoss (meaning "golden falls"), and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been inactive for a long time, Strokkur, on the other hand, continues to erupt at 5-10 minute intervals. We will also have time to explore our home for the week - the capital city of Reykjavik - to explore some sites, take a walking tour, have some free time to shop, see more of the Icelandic design, or relax!

We’ll embark on a whale watching boat adventure from the city to see if we can spot any of the species that call this area home. And a trip to Iceland wouldn't be complete without a day at the Blue Lagoon with its healing waters, silica masks, unparalleled views, and luxurious spa experience! We’ll also visit an organic greenhouse (which holds a unique and modern new cafe), catch some sites of the beautiful Icelandic horses, and have have time for some moss-covered walks around the Adventure hotel with time to relax in their thermal pool. Then a visit to another natural thermal area with saunas and hot pools next to an expansive lake with room to sit back and watch out for a possible spotting of the Northern Lights will be our experience on the final full day before a dinner followed by a closing reception in the Northern Lights Observation Bar.

YOGA

Daily meditation and yoga will be offered in a way to relax, stimulate, and help guests grow in their own personal practice. Classes are open to all levels, beginner to practiced.* Style and class levels will be determined and moulded to fit participating students' needs, and with our limited retreat class size, students will be able to get personalized attention and comfortability to deeply explore their practice.

SPECIAL COLLABORATION WITH TARA STILES & MIKE TAYLOR OF STRALA YOGA

Strala combines the movement and healing wisdom of tai chi with the form vocabularies of yoga, tai chi, qigong, and Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine, to help people release stress, move easily through challenge, and live radiantly inspiring lives.

It begins with a mindset that says our best way to get where we’re going is to feel good along the way. It also works miracles for whole health, helping us to find ease in our bodies and minds, and create the right conditions both for healing and optimal performance.

With Strala you learn to shape your destiny on every level that counts, from your psychology, chemistry and neurology, to your chromosomes and even gene expression. The unique set of skills you develop – for connecting with yourself and others, unblocking your energy, healing what needs healing and accomplishing challenge with ease – uncovers your ability to create the life you want and be an inspiring leader to the people around you.

This retreat will feature classes from the Strala framework: GENTILE, ENERGIZE, & TAI CHI. Gentle Yoga is a simple flow that opens and balances your body while calming your mind. You'll feel refreshed and restored. Energize Yoga is an easy going flow that invigorates your body and mind while resting your attention calmly on your breath. You'll feel revitalized and ready. Tai chi is a way of being, connecting, and moving that creates a harmonious, peaceful connection with your body, your mind and our world. It's our everyday ordinary path to an extraordinary life.

TARA STILES is the co-founder of Strala Yoga, best-selling author and wellness expert. Tara revolutionized yoga for millions, away from dogma and rigidity toward moving with ease, through a yoga practice that supports your life and feels like you. Her podcast, Feel Better with Tara Stiles, is a deep dive on topics and issues we all move through in life like health, purpose, family, relationships and career. Strala Yoga is practiced in more than 100 countries, and thousands of Guides are leading Strala classes daily around the globe. Tara leads daily yoga with thousands of people on the Strala Yoga app. She has been profiled by The New York Times, Times of India, The Times (UK), and featured in most major national and international magazines.

MIKE TAYLOR is the co-founder of Strala, with focus on East Asian movement, meditation, health, and healing practices. Named “Best Mover” by MindBodyGreen, he’s practiced Eastern movement and healing techniques, including tai chi, qigong, and shiatsu, for more than three decades. In his younger years, Mike challenged centuries of reasonable and well-tested martial traditions in hundreds of competitions, by applying unruly imagination to a world where rules were unbreakable. As he got older, he happily became more interested in supporting bodies than disrupting them, and continued on to medical applications of the mind-body connection in university. Mike studied mind-body medicine at Harvard, and alternative medicine and psychology at Oxford. After running into walls with standard medical practice in the U.S. and England, Mike left his healthcare roots. He worked at a steel mill for a while, joined a web company, and then founded a few more. Now Mike has found his way back to health care done right, helping to create a system of yoga that draws on his martial and healing experience. Unbound by rules and guru-traditions that don’t work, Strala is helping people let go of stress in their bodies and minds, become their own best caregivers, and live happy capable lives.

* Participation in classes and activities is optional throughout the retreat. All levels welcome!

DETAILS / PRICING

• 6 days / 5 nights (Dec 3-8, 2022)

• Inclusive Retreat Price = $4,095 (shared room*, +$895 for single supplement)

• Deposit to hold space = $950

• Max # Guests = 20

* Guests traveling alone can choose the shared room and we match up based on guest profile. Rooms are spacious with separate beds and private bathrooms.
** Final balance due 60 days before retreat start date.
Read full cancellation policy in our Terms & Conditions.

INCLUDED*:

• Hotel Accommodation (spacious bedrooms each with private bathrooms, linens)

• Daily Breakfast and Dinner

• Selected lunches

• Transportation to/from day trips

• Daily yoga classes (Gentile, Energize, Tai Chi) with Tara & Mike

• Use of hotel amenities

• Tour guide on various day trips

• Welcome Reception

• Entrance fees to Blue Lagoon with premium amenities

• Coursed meal at the fine dining Lava restaurant at Blue Lagoon

• Tour of Golden Circle (Geysir, Gulfoss, Thingvellir)

• Lunch, tour at organic greenhouse

• Visit with Icelandic horses

• Whale watching boat trip

• Visit to lakeside natural thermal pool & saunas

• Icelandic volcanic Rye bread demo and tasting

• Sites and tour on Reykjavik day trip

• Closing reception in Northern Lights Observation Bar

• Taxes

* airfare not included
** all meals are vegetarian. special dietary restrictions can be accommodated
*activities may change based on weather or unforeseen circumstances

TRAVEL:

Airport = Keflavik Airport (KEF), Reykjavik's major international airport
One group transfer will be offered on departure day at 9am from hotel to Reykjavik city center (from there guests can take the shuttle to the airport at their own convenience). We will provide details for how guests can arrive on their own at their own convenience, either by private taxi or the coach transfer companies which leave regularly from the airport.

SUGGESTED PACKING:

Besides the basic packing and travel needs, here are a few things to think about bringing with you.

• Yoga mat

• Journaling and workshop supplies will be provided

• Bathing suit (thermal spas)

• Comfortable outdoor walking shoes

• Weather-proof layers

• Yoga clothes

• Plug adaptors / converters