Are you called to retreat to the sacred mountains of the Himalayas?

Nestled in the heart of the Indian Himalayas, I will be offering two exclusive yoga retreats in 2025!

A Yoga & Meditation Retreat from the 27th of July till the 5th of August, to connect with the beauty and spirituality of the Himalayas while immersing yourself in the practices of yoga, Qi Qong, Pranayama, Meditation, Chanting, Yoga Nidra, Mountain Bathing and Tibetan Buddhism. And a Himalayan Goddess Retreat from the 20th till 29th of August to tap into the Yogic Mountain Goddesses and Tibetan female Dakini’s.

These retreats are an invitation to immerse yourself in the vast spaciousness and stillness of the Himalayas of mountain range, to connect on a deeper level with your spirit through meditation and Yogic practices, while being warmly welcomed by the traditional Ladakhi culture and colorfull ancient monasteries.

A yoga retreat in this sacred land of the mountains is a magical and life changing experience. Often described as the “Land of the Gods & Goddesses”, the Himalayan mountains welcome you on an authentic spiritual pilgrimage. While residing in our 5 star Togocheepa Eco Hotel, you will not only experience the beauty of the Himalayas in a unique way, but also nourish body, mind & spirit with delicious locally sourced & organic food.

Step on your mat each morning for yoga and pranayama as the sun rises over the stunning Himalayan mountains. Practice walking meditation and Qi Qong in the ‘Silent Valley” and follow the ancient trails that connect our local village Hemischukpachan with the monastery of Ridzong where the monks will welcome you with tea and roasted barley.

Take time for self-reflection, to relax or read in our sacred water garden. Gaze up at the turquoise sky decorated with colourful prayerflags and sip fresh glacier water from the stream. This 10 day Yoga & Meditation retreat will recharge your body, mind and soul, purified by the pristine and peaceful surroundings while feeling held in small mountain village that still looks like 500 years ago.

Retreat shedule:

July 27:  16:00 Welcome ceremony in our Hotel in Leh. Evening meditation and Yoga Nidra.

July 28: Morning meditation & yoga at Shanti Stupa. Cultural visits of ancient Royal Palace of Shey, monasteries of Thikse and Hemis. Overnight in our hotel in Leh. 

July 29: Morning meditation with the monks at Shey monastery. Breakfast outdoors and drive to Unesco heritage of Alchi Monastery. Afternoon arrival & session at Togocheepa Eco Hotel. 

July 30- Aug 4:  7:30-9:30h Morning silence & meditation, pranayama, gentle hatha yoga session. 9:30-10:30h: Breakfast  10:30-16:00h: Free personal time to hang out in the water garden, read, walk through the village or visit local families. 13:00h: Vegetarian lunch 16:30-18:30h: Afternoon Yin Yoga, mantra, restorative practices. 19.00-20.00h: Vegetarian Dinner buffet. Evening program: Yoga Nidra on the rooftop

Aug 5: 7:30-9:30h Morning practice and closing ceremony.  9:30-10:30h: Breakfast buffet Transport back to Leh.

Prices

The prices below include all yoga classes, accommodation for 9 nights, 3 vegetarian meals a day, transport from Leh to our Eco Hotel and back, as well as transport during the first 3 days of cultural exploration.

• Double room: 2000€ ( Come as a couple or 2 friends and share a room. Twin beds available)

• Single room: 2350€ ( Enjoy the luxury of a room entirely for yourself)

• Triple Room: 1800€ ( A large room that offers a community feel, while still having personal space)

  All Rooms are equipped with a Western style toilet and bathrooms, comfortable beds and incredible views over the mountains)

This Himalayan Goddess Yoga Retreat is an honouring, remembering, and reclaiming of the Mothers of the Universe. A celebration of the sacred feminine which our world needs so desperately to create healing and peace. And where better to hear her voice than in these Himalayan mountains where it’s said that Tara Ma, Kali Ma, Durga, Parvati…reside for 1000’s of years. This Retreat is an invitation to meet them in your heart and awaken their wisdom in your bones.

This women yoga retreat is a sanctuary that is both transforming and nurturing. A space to come home in the land of the Goddesses, detox from overstimulation and overwhelm, and nourish your body with yoga, meditation, cocoa ceremony, dance, rituals in the mountains, monasteries, caves and rivers....and delicious organic food, fresh glacier water, deep rest in our magic healing garden and a vast spaciousness for you to allow yourself to fully be an expression of the most authentic version of yourself.

Maybe the Goddess has been speaking you, perhaps even for years. A voice of a deep yearning to awaken, to step out of the treadmill of rush and competition, playing small or suffering from exhaustion and unexplained symptoms. This retreat is an invitation to stand on these majestic mountains and reclaim the truth of who you really are and get you aligned with what you came here to do.

For years I have been dreaming of bringing women to these Himalayan mountains. The “land of Gods and Goddess” and Tibetan Dakini’s; female “Sky Dancers” who hold the feminine principle of Tibetan Buddhism. This retreat is a call for those who long to deeply come home, plug into something greater than themselves and find ways to anchor the sacred feminine teachings into their daily life and yogic practice. Together with Audur, we offer a sacred space in which you feel safe, held, seen, respected and can explore which parts of you want to rise into more light and presence.

Veerle & Audur are both professional yoga teachers and mountain sisters, who met in the Himalayas and have since a deep connection and love for the feminine ways of yoga, the spirituality of trees/mountains and empowering women. Together they will create a sanctuary of yogic practices, Goddess and nature teachings, mantra, nidra, meditation and healing rituals that will make a profound if not life changing transformation! This retreat is for ANY women who feels the call to come home, connect with the Great Mother (in whatever form), connect in sisterhood and unwind in the healing mountains of the Himalayas!!!

Retreat Shedule

The daily shedule of this Retreat will be announced later, as fluidity is a key principle of the feminine ways of yoga :) However, you can be sure that there will be 2 daily yoga sessions a day (yogini yoga and afternoon restorative/yin/nidra), guided meditation, pranayama, chanting, Qi Qong, restorative & yin yoga, nature ceremonies, sacred rituals, women circles, cacao ceremony,…) As late august is the most beautiful and abundant time in Ladakh and full harvest time, we will participate in the apricot harvest and learn about their tradition of making apricot oil, jams and juices.

This retreat is an invitation to meet the Goddess who dwells and sings in these mountains, but also an invitation to meet the women of Ladakh, the living Goddesses who cultivate the land, sing their prayers and hold a deep wisdom of weaving spirituality, kindness and compassion into daily life. We will meet women associations and visit the local women in the village in their homes, enjoying cooking ‘momo’s’ together!

Prices:

• Double room: 2350€ ( Come as 2 friends and share a room. Twin beds available)

• Single room: 2700€ ( Enjoy the luxury of a room entirely for yourself, Goddess option! :))

• Triple Room: 2150€ (A large room that offers a community feel, while still having personal space)

  All Rooms are equipped with a Western style toilet and bathroom, comfortable beds and incredible views over the mountains)

Teachers

Veerle Geuens always lived up to her name of “Travelling Warrior”. After many years of travelling to her spiritual home land India and the Himalayas, where she founded a Himalayan Yoga Eco Resort, she is now living in France. Besides being a Yoga Teacher & Women’s health facilitator, Veerle is also a psychologist, combining mystic Eastern traditions with Western Psychology. Since the last 7 years, Veerle is deeply passionate about a feminine path of spirituality, ancient Goddess Mythology and womb wisdom. Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Angela Farmer, both pioneers in feminine yoga, influenced Veerle’s way of teaching.

With the feminine body very much neglected in traditional yoga lineages, an enormous pressure om women’s bodies in our western society, as well as the depletion of Mother Earth, Veerle felt the need for a radical shift for her own body and feminine students. Today Veerle greatest mission is to guide women back into connection with their feminine bodies; especially their womb & menstrual cycle. Veerle is a certified pre- & postnatal teacher, kids yoga teacher and yoga nidra teacher.

For Veerle her yoga mat, preferably outside in nature, is a sacred space of a moment to moment intimacy with her most inner self. Her yoga classes awaken in her students the the potential to tap into hidden inner resources as well as a greater, loving intelligence guiding you into greater clarity, fulfilment, softness and trust. Ultimately Yoga is the most intimate dance of living in harmony with nature and honouring her rhythms and cycles within us all. Along this path of feminine embodiment and cyclical wisdom, Veerle fell in love with the harmonium and offers mantra medicine through her music. 

Auður Bjarnadóttir, a former dancer, choreographer and theatre director has been teaching yoga since 2000. Yoga and meditation became her healing path, both physically and mentally after intense years in the theatre in Iceland and Europe. Her teacher certifications, include hatha/ashtanga yoga, several prenatal courses and kundalini yoga. She also holds certifications in Yoga Nidra and Yoga Therapy from the Amrit Institute in Florida. Also a Diploma in Hypnosis.  Auður has specialized in prenatal yoga and childbirth education; Doula and HypnoBirth.

She created a Kids Yoga program for TV and released a Kids Yoga DVD in 2012. Auður has taught widely and also runs her own popular Yoga Teacher Training in Iceland. Audur loves to teach but also sees herself as an eternal student of human development.  She loves to travel and teaches regularly in Crete, Corfu and women’s retreat in Italy. Her lifetime experience as a professional dancer and yoga teacher is backed up with an ability to make even an absolute beginner feel equal as her multidimensional classes offer, the yogi and non yogi, a wonderful multi-style, morning stretch, dance, meditation or whatever else she plucks from the ether. Her lightness and wisdom will touch the heart and bring positive affirmations to your day.

In the last 5 years Audur´s teaching has been deeply influenced by Angela Farmer, a pioneer in the feminine approach of yoga. Auður met Veerle when teaching in the Himalayas in 2019 and is so happy to come back to beautiful, magical Ladak and collaborate with her "soul / tree sister” Veerle in empowering women.

ACCOMODATION & FOOD

Our Yoga Retreats take place in Togocheepa Eco Hotel nestled in the green mountain village Hemischukpachan. A unique deluxe family based Hotel with limited amount of rooms to offer their guests an authentic and first hand experience with the Ladakhi culture, nature and village life. Togocheepa Eco Hotel is committed to preserve the traditional culture of the village and fragile ecosystem of Ladakh through minimising the impact of tourism. The hotel offers a delicious and yogic menu based on vegetables grown in our own organic garden, added by local vegetables, cheese, barley, juices and fruits from surrounding farmers. Our healthy and artisan meals are prepared with the uttermost care and devotion. 

*Vegan, gluten- and lactose free meals can be arranged, please specify a special request with your booking

*Internet is still a pretty unreliable in the village Hemischukpachan and we encourage a digital detox during your stay. The absence of internet and a mobile network is a beautiful opportunity to unplug from the digital world and immerse yourself fully into the retreat and explore your own inner world, silence and freedom of time.

Watch our beautiful video and testimonials to feel what these retreats & mountains will offer you!

Travel information

Getting to the Himalayas is easier than you might think! Any flight from Europe to India (Delhi) takes about +/- 8hrs! After that it’s only a 1.5h flight from Delhi into the capital of Ladakh, called Leh. There are multiple flights a day from Delhi to Leh (IXL), and this flight is one of the most breathtaking flights you will ever take!

Important to know before you go….

INDIAN VISA & INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT

An Indian visa is necessary to enter the country. Nowadays an Indian e-visa is available and the procedure is very easy! You can apply for a 30-day E-tourist visa at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/ 

You will get your visa a couple of days letter on your email. Print it out and bring it with you. 

Prices vary from country to country and this information is available on the above web page. 

Remember that your passport must have 2 blank pages and be valid for at least 6 months after your returning flight. 

ALTITUDE, PHYSICAL CONDITION & WEATHER

Leh is located at 3500m above sea level. To optimise acclimatisation we advise to arrive at least 1-2 days  prior to the retreat in Leh and take the first day full rest and drink plenty of water. We will start the retreat very gentle to let our bodies adapt to the high altitude. Most people have only mild symptoms and are adapted after the first few days.

Extra vaccinations aren't obliged for Ladakh, but it's always a good idea to check Tetanus and optional Typhus. There is no malaria risk in Ladakh. The program isn't focused on a very strong & advanced asana practice and all levels and ages are welcome. A general health questionnaire will be provided prior to the retreat. Day temperatures from June to August vary around 25C, mornings/evenings tend to be colder (10-15C) and can be more windy. Best to bring comfortable clothing with different layers. 

TRAVEL INSURANCE

It's required that you get travel insurance covering  emergency medical treatment and emergency evacuation and repatriation. 

We highly recommend cancellation insurance. 

PAYMENT, TERMS & CONDITIONS

Payment is done via bank transfer.  A 500 EUR non refundable deposit is necessary to secure your spot.

EXTEND YOUR STAY

Travelling to the Himalayas is a unique and often once in a life time experience. Many people love to extend their stay before or after our Yoga Retreat. If you consider extending your stay in Ladakh for a trekking into the mountains or to the high altitude lakes near Tibet, feel free to connect with us, as we can help you with planning a route and logistics.

OUR PHILOSOPHY & COMMUNITY BUILDING

The Togocheepa Eco Resort and Yoga Studio is a partnership of Veerle & Sonam Togocheepa. Since 15 years they have been working together in sustainable tourism and hosting yoga retreats.

Our mission is based on creating sustainable and responsible spiritual tourism, by offering the ancient and authentic practices of Yoga & Tibetan Buddhism in an authentic environment. Gathering like minded people who love exploring nature and traditional cultures while minimising our ecological footprint and respecting the local community. My Himalayan Yoga retreats are part of a “Giving back” philosophy, so your retreat will be contributing to support the project “Our Ladakhi Sisters” . An international organisation which supports the wellbeing of Ladakhi women, girls and families by providing education, scholarships, trainings, housing. For more info: http://www.olscharity.org/