Deep Kalma Retreats launched their first Ibiza retreat this spring at Casa Azul,situated in a relaxing secluded rural area of West Ibiza. Deep Kalma Retreats offer luxurious wellbeing escapes with specialized pilates, yoga and meditation with a private chef in unique locations.
Their first location was certainly unique. As we arrived we all spread out like puppies exploring the nooks and crannies of the giant property. The outside space had a large private pools, stylish terrace and inviting linen day beds. Casa Azul boasted a 90sqm shaded chill out and yoga area enclosed by rustic ruin walls and beautiful gardens. Their large funky stone Buddha water feature, wicker recliners and cosy cushioned blankets are just some of the charms.The interior was just as impressive with modern catering kitchen, two cool lounge areas that overlook the pool, indoor banquet dining and stylish bedrooms which have en-suite bathrooms and are fully air-conditioned.
There was an intimate number on the retreat, each character was warm, passionate and open. We were paired up with like-minded retreaters to share rooms, two people per room with private bathrooms. Once we had settled in, we had a brief of the retreat to come and were let loose on the first mindfully produced dinner of the retreat.
The structure of the retreat was an early saturday flight followed by an authentic lunch on the beach Saturday afternoon. We had two full days Sunday and Monday and then returned early Tuesday am. We lapped up morning yoga outdoors with the blue skies and passing clouds floating above us from 8.30-10.30am with Tony Diamond. There were two afternoon workshops, both at 2pm and finally an evening class of pilates with Kaithrina Greene at 6pm. The workshop included partner work for deep restorative stretching and openings in the body, pranayama breathing techniques and The Five Tibetan Rites for rejuvenation and energy. Our final workshop was cooking a dish with our chef (Maili) for the retreat. The remainder of our days were to be spent as our hearts desired, but the rules were no phones or work devises in social areas. We were offered the option to walk 25 minutes to two local secluded beaches as well as relax in the luxurious facilities of the Casa Azul.
Our mornings yoga sessions were the perfect fix for the spring detox. Tony Diamond spearheaded perfect springy yoga class’s, packed with humour, playfulness, strength and connectivity. Tony specialises in movement repatterning, yoga, pilates and meditation. Having practised, studied and taught yoga for the last 12 years (Savannah British Wheel of Yoga), he has developed a unique teaching style, integrating movement from both disciplines.
“Tony Diamond is one of the world’s leading exponents of Pilates, with more than a decade’s experience training the world’s top athletes” — GQ magazine
Pilates was taught by Kaithrina Greene who specialises in restorative pilates. She works with many athletes on recovery and support, injury rehabilitation, pre and post surgery rehab, back pain and scoliosis to mention a few areas of specialty. Her evening Pilates classes were the perfect anecdote to offer core strength and focus to the mind and structure of the body.
Louisa Collyns , a pilates and free diving instructor was a large part of the team, assisting with the running and wellbeing of everyone throughout the retreat. She runs her own pilates classes in St Gertrudis Ibiza and will be offering free diving on some of Deep Karma’s upcoming retreats. Watch this space!
The food for the retreat was carefully considered and created by natural food chef Maili Denim. She specialised in macrobiotic and raw food cooking. The menu she served was entirely gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free, meeting all dietary requirements. Our first evening was a health feast, meze style with homemade hummus, baba ganoush, raw seed crackers, padron peppers, local sheep’s and goats cheese, roast vegetables, green salad and sahlab chocolate cake. Brekky daily was fruit, chia seed pudding, dehydrated granola, homemade almond butter and fruit! Hot dishes were also served in the morning; I enjoyed classics such as shakshouka and Spanish frittatas.
Maili managed to create bursts of color and flavour with her food; extremely impressive considering everything was ‘free-from’! My favourite of the retreat were her miso gravy on sweet potato wedges, served with lentil burgers and her own homemade cultured Sauerkraut, we were the first to try this and it takes a couple of months to make. She also made a generously sized dish names Three Sisters Quesadilla, a stacked flavour bomb, the colors of the rainbow in fact, made from corn fajita fried in oil, add mashed yam with cinnamon and salt, layered with black beans, corn, sour cream, avocado, Spanish tomato, salsa and toasted sweet corn. Other recipes and tools she introduce us to included ‘The Lurch’ spiralizer, a tool to make courgette noodles, served with Pesto sauce as a substitute to pasta! Her frozen banana’s dipped in dark chocolate were a definite hit!
I left feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and blissed out. I only wished I had one more day there!
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