Sunfood Yoga Retreat on the beach of Kerala, India 2026

This New Year’s Yoga Retreat was a truly family-supported event!

What set the tone of this North Kerala yoga retreat apart was the beautiful setting of the venue.

Nestled between a small backwater river and the nearly empty beach, it provided us with such a calm and private sense of space.

Trees, mostly coconut, all around us and shading the yoga floor, formed the most ideal natural yoga shala ceiling ever.

At times, especially during Shavasana, when lying on our backs, we could see eagles floating over the treetops, right over our heads.

Throughout the day, a gentle breeze from the ocean kept us naturally air-conditioned.

Sunrise at 7 am soon became the favorite moment for an ocean swim.

Sometimes during the day, in the distance, mosques would call to prayer, or some Hindu chants or music would greet the day and add local charm, never too loud.

A naturally calming setting to let go of the outside world and drop into a yogic bubble, into ourselves, resting, stretching, breathing, and opening up.

Since we had two weeks to share and seven chakras to explore, we had the luxury of exploring each chakra in depth.

The first day of each chakra focused inwardly, through asana, breathwork, meditation, mantra, and self-reflection, all adapted to the associated elements and body regions.

The second day of the same chakra gave space for related excursions and ceremonies. offering a more worldly experience of the same energy center.

This year was a truly family-supported event!

A sample day would look something like this…

Tara’s son, Sky Govinda, would greet the sunrise by singing the Gayatri mantra on the yoga floor, accompanied by early birds and the calming sound of the waves in the background.

After that, he would lead us into a guided meditation, exploring the possibility of and a way to calm the mind.

We learned to witness our breath, thoughts, sensations, and feelings as clouds floating in the sky, neither stopping nor following them.

Simply noticing and bringing awareness back to the here and now:
The sound of waves, birds, a light breeze passing…

Finishing with a gentle song that transitioned into Tara’s morning yoga class.

Tara would begin with a short, practical introduction to each day’s chakra, its associated element, and its relevance to our physical and mental-emotional setup.

She guided us through asanas to bring awareness to and open those regions of our bodies, connecting with the chakras.

With awareness following our conscious yogic breathing, or, as Tara describes it:

“Breathing makes simple stretching into true yoga.”

And yoga took us to breakfast…

Breakfast was overflowing with choices…

Quite a feast, with triple options between fruit and yoghurt, Indian dishes (idli, puri, bhaji (you name it), ever-changing…), or Western style, omelette, jam, and toast.

Lunch boxes were there to fill up and enjoy lunch whenever and however one liked.

That gave ample space between the yoga sessions to do as you pleased…

Swim, read, write, walk, have a massage or whatever till the afternoon session..

Usually at 4 pm, Shireen (Sky’s partner-wife) would begin with pranayama.

Day by day, she took us deeper into different yogic techniques, drawing prana, life force, into our breath, our bodies, and our lives.

Afternoons invited us inward once more with Yin Yoga led by Tara,
accompanied by heartwarming bhajans and sacred heart songs sung by Sky Govinda.

Another swim, the sun setting in the sea, and then dinner, prepared with much love by Indu.

She was always ready to happily explain what exotic, tasty dishes we were wolfing down. Indu and her husband, Pradeep, were our most welcoming hosts.

As the yoga evolved day by day, connected to each chakra. Every second day brought surprise excursions.

A long beach walk, climbing over rocks for Earth Day.

For water, we visited a temple at a riverfront, quite exceptional for India, where dogs are honoured too!

We had lunch in a floating restaurant and danced our way downriver on the ferry.

Go with the flow, we ended up in a nearby superstar superstore shopping for local, climate-appropriate clothes; some picked colors to match the chakras.

On fire day, we happened to have the opportunity to see local Theyyams, god-impersonating dances, in very natural, local, small temple settings.

At night, it became a true spectacle, with whirling fire torch-bearing, fully dressed-up, colourful mediums of the divine.

And on a more private note, we gathered for a beach campfire and a fire ceremony, to let go of old habits and preoccupations and to release energy for new plans.

On Heart Chakra day, we had a beautiful cacao ceremony led by Cassandra, Tara, and Sky with a deep heart sharing, music, yin yoga, and even some dance at the very end.

And the next day, an introduction to Tarot by Patricia, who also offered individual readings, and we had a second introduction, now focused on the doshas, in Ayurveda by Shireen.

Then, on Throat Chakra day, we sang late into the night, gathered in the outdoor dining space while an unexpected thunderstorm passed through and cleared the air.

The next day, we visited a Brahmin-led temple where everyone did there own little ritual…

And we visited an old Kerala-style palace with an impressive museum about tribal life and Theyyam ritual dances.

As the retreat unfolded, beautiful friendships blossomed, filled with joy and laughter.

Last day, I (Inti), the excursion guide and masseur, shared my viewpoint on the chakras and how awareness of them, yoga, and meditation can help us in life to connect with consciousness in a broader sense and to live from a more flexible, alert, calm, and open yogic state of being.

And especially, at Crown Chakra day, to break free from our physical, emotional, and ego-based self-perceptions and meet life, the world, and others from our true, full Selves.

And our last yoga session gave space to practice opening up to the world and to some fun partner yoga.

Offering a playful yet grounding way to connect deeply with each other through breath, balance, and mutual support.

As the retreat came to a close, we felt like we had been on a real deep inner journey together…

We felt lighter, clearer, more alive, and ready to bring that inspiration into our daily lives.

The next morning, shortly before and after sunrise, guests began to leave with tuk-tuks for their trains to Kochi, where some people had a few days left to spend in this blooming Indian city.

Others left at noon, heading out in a 12-seater for a little after-retreat trip to Wayanad, the inland hilly region of Kerala, with tea and coffee plantations, cool air, and wildlife.