STRAND(ED) ON STROMBOLI 2024 … A Jivamukti Yoga Retreat with Anja Kühnel hosted by Three Boons Yoga
Three Boons Yoga Berlin is super happy to be able to return to our most favorite dropout island STROMBOLI in 2024 for STRAND(ED) ON STROMBOLI 2024 - A Jivamukti Yoga Retreat with Anja Kühnel.
Cast off the northern coast of Sicily, the blustery island of Stromboli is home to only around 300 full-time residents, two villages and one incredibly volatile volcano. 2024 will be 90th year that the volcano that is lovingly and respectfully called Iddu by the only 540 inhabitants of this rumbling, grumbling 12-sq-km speck of land in the Tyrrhenian Sea has been erupting continuously. In fact, its fountain-like spews of molten rock are so distinctive that geologists use the term “Strombolian” to describe similar volcanic eruptions around the world.
Once you set foot on Strombolis with its beautiful black sandy beaches and pebbles you somehow feel like you have landed on the moon. Or in a different time and age. Or like you stranded on a somehow even cooler and more remote Italian version of Hawaii. Without any car traffic nor street lights, ever since we started offering Jivamukti Yoga retreats 14 years ago, we always thought that this tiny remote island must be the perfect place to retreat and practice yoga. In 2022, after years of dreaming and thinking about it, finally the time was ripe and we had the most beautiful first retreat on Stromboli. Afterwards, we spent some extra days on the island to scout, research refine for future Stromboli retreats. And so we we are happy to be able to return to an even more refined and comfortable retreat location for our 3rd Stromboli retreat in 2024.
Join us for the breathtaking expanses of volcano views, island life, sea, and sun on our private yoga retreat settlement formed of three adjacent houses which comes with our own private beach and is situated in what not only we feel is the best part of Stromboli: Piscita right next to one of the most popular public beaches of Stromboli: Ficogrande.
This retreat will be taught by Three Boons Yoga Berlin director Anja Kühnel. Fresh, local, and vegan brunch will be prepared daily by our Italian chef, head of our legendary Jivamukti Canteen, Alessia Cecconi.
RETREAT LANGUAGE: English (Anja teaches in English but also speaks German for individual tips/assists/questions and Alessia our Italian head chef speaks German, English and, of course, proper Italian).
THE DATES: Sunday, September 29 (arrival 16:00) until Sunday, October 6, 2024 (departure 10am). Yes, as a German, you need one day less holidays, as it includes Oct. 3rd. !
STROMBOLI - THE VOLCANO ISLAND: “What mystery, what beauty!” - Karin played by Ingrid Bergman in Roberto Rossellini’s 1950 film “Stromboli (Land of God)”
“An active volcano like taken from a picture book, crystal clear deep water on black beaches of superfine lava sand, dreamy alleys with zero street light at night and the smallest harbor of all of Italy: Only one island can show off with these aspects. Still, Stromboli only got famous through the society scandal that shook the movie scene in Rome and Hollywood when Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman shot the movie Stromboli (Terra Di Dio) here in 1950.” - Dumont travel guide on the Aeolian Islands
“At seven in the evening, with the western horizon all golden from the sunken sun, and specked with distant ships, the full moon sailing high over head, the dark blue of the sea under foot, and a strange sort of twilight affected by all these different lights and colors around us and about us, we sighted superb Stromboli. With what majesty the monarch held his lonely state above the level sea! Distance clothed him in a purple gloom, and added a veil of shimmering mist that so softened his rugged features that we seemed to see him through a web of silver gauze. His torch was out; his fires were smoldering; a tall column of smoke that rose up and lost itself in the growing moonlight was all the sign he gave that he was a living Autocrat of the Sea and not the spectre of a dead one.” - Marc Twain: The Innocents Abroad (Chapter 32)
GENERAL INFO ON THE YOGA PROGRAM & OTHER ACTIVITIES
THE THEME: During this week we will embark on a yogic journey to explore our Self and dismantle our ego culminating with an auspicious with an auspicious full moon in the middle of our week. The volcano serves as a wonderful backdrop and metaphor for our task as yogis to question preconceived notions. His compositions change constantly — the landscape's verticality results in shifting perspectives — and the volcano's smoke and steam are constantly reshaping what we see. The earth, vividly presented as a living being, breathes and transforms itself — and ultimately us, too — at every turn, reminding us that volcanoes, like earthquakes and glaciers, are markers of time, evidence that the whole surface of our planet was thus made and will thus be remade.
THE PROGRAM: Each morning (Mo.-Sat.) of the retreat, Anja will lead us on a 5-hour “all-inclusive” journey of yoga practices . We are starting at sunrise with a morning meditation, chanting, and scripture reading, that is followed with a little pranabooster (coffees, smoothies and fruits) and then a 3.5hour Jivamukti yoga asana practice. These will be intensive “workshop style” classes focused around the theme of the elements that are surrounding us and that we are experiencing so directly and undistorted on this so special piece of planet earth.
Anja will infuse her many years of experience from teaching international Jivamukti Yoga retreats and Jivamukti/Three Boons Teacher Trainings to offer a distilled vision of the practice and its purpose. You will experience and explore different aspects of Jivamukti Yoga like asanas, kriyas, pranayama, meditation and yogic scriptures. The afternoons are intentionally kept open for the participants to explore the island, but we will offer some optional yoga and group activities like kirtans and chanting by the sea, meditations in a cave, boat trips around the island as as well as walking trips to the volcano. So your days after yoga will be filled with fun on and around the island, swimming and snorkeling in the ocean and hanging out on our private beach or one of the - mostly empty - beautiful public beaches of Stromboli.
REGISTRATION AND PRICES:
BASE PRICE: 1.296 EUR
SIGN-UP DEPOSIT: 198 EUR (holds your spot)
ADDITIONAL UPGRADES: Please check out the registration form for detailed prices, discounts and accommodation options.
THE 2-STEP REGISTRATION PROCESS:
STEP 0: Download the registration form, and make sure the offering, dates, prices, options and terms are agreeable for you.
STEP 1: Make the applicable non-refundable sign-up deposit to hold your spot in the retreat and initiate the registration process. See below for payment options and instructions for the sign-up deposit.
STEP 2: Fill in and sign the registration form you downloaded in Step 0. We kindly recommend to use the free iPhone/Android App “Adobe Fill & Sign”! Alternatively, you can also print it out and fill and sign it and then either snail mail, or fax it to +49-30-48491950 or scan and email it to info@threeboonsyoga.de. Download Adobe Fill&Sign for iPhone/ipad here and for Android hier.
PLEASE NOTE: Spaces are strictly limited due to the size of the intimate retreat location.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE: Your sign-up deposit is non-refundable, if you later change your mind and/or cannot come and/or cannot pay the full retreat price, however, you may find another person to take the retreat instead and who did not pay the sign-up deposit yet and transfer your deposit to this person.
MORE INFO ON BOARD AND FARE:
ACCOMMODATIONS + YOGA HEADQUARTERS: Strombolian houses and buildings are rather small which is why it took us so long (and some lucky coincidences) to finally find a fitting setup to be able to organize a yoga retreat on this beautiful island. Our yoga retreat on Stromboli are formed of three adjacent houses which we are combining for our own little yoga settlement that also comes with our own private beach and is situated in what not only we feel is the best part of Stromboli: Piscita right next to one of the most popular public beaches of Stromboli: Ficogrande.
Here, all our daily yoga activities happen, as is our daily post morning yoga brunch. You are welcome to hang out on the private beach and the terraces of our yoga headquarters all day.
Our yoga classes happen right on the sea on a big shaded terrace overlooking the see and the volcano. In the rare case of the weather not permitting classes there (it only happened one day last year), we have a back-up building on a cliff overlooking the sea as well that serves as a indoor yoga shala and - with its breathtaking views - also sometimes for meditations and kirtans. Some meditations and kirtans will also take place in a natural Eolian cave - yogi style pure ;)
Brunch: Our legendary JIVAMUKTI CANTEEN’s Italian head chef, Alessia Cecconi, will be responsible for preparing a daily vegan brunch for us for right after the yoga sessions at noon. We will use only super fresh, healthy local Italian produce and products during this retreat, thus dramatically reducing our intake of toxins, providing a great stimulus for the natural detoxification of the body, and protecting the environment all at the same time. The food part of our retreats is an intentional revival of our legendary Jivamukti Canteen that - after the pandemic - continues to live and evolve in our local retreats here in Europe with the main and most important part being our former Jivamukti Canteen head chef Alessia Cecconi joined by select helpers from our staff. Together wit Alessia we try to embody and evolve our tried and tested Jivamukti Canteen concept that is based on only using the very best, vegan, local and in Italy mostly organic ingredients in a Italian infused home-cooking style that participants are only raving about and craving for.
Please note: In addition to coffees, fruits and smoothies served in the morning right after the sunrise morning meditation, the brunch described above is the only meal of the day included in this retreat. This is an intentional deviation from our other retreats, as we want to support the local restaurants on Stromboli and also let students experience this beautiful tiny island more broadly. We consider the entire mini-island our retreat location, so it feels better for us to also go out and eat in different places on the Island. This is a different approach than on our other retreats where we retreat from the rest of the world in a secluded retreat location. Here on Stromboli, we already retreat from the rest of the world by going on the ferry and immersing on this special island for a week. For those who like to cook meals together, we can also organize evening potluck dinners. In addition, the individual houses of our little yoga settlement do come with their own kitchens and there are places to buy groceries in walking distance, so everyone could also cook for themselves for the evenings at reasonable prices.
HOW TO GET TO STROMBOLI
Stromboli is connected to mainland Italy by various ferry/hydrofoil lines so it is not too complicated to reach, but still a little adventure ;).
The easiest, most economic and fastest way to come and join us is this:
take a flight to Catania airport on Sicily that arrives early enough for the 12:30 noon Giuntabus to Milazzo port (from Berlin for instance EasyJet EJU5077 that arrives 10:05am and currently costs around 100 EUR)
take the Giuntabus that takes you directly nonstop from in front of Catania airport to the Milazzo ferry port for only 15 EUR in only 2hours (a taxi would not be faster). The bus leaves daily at 9:10, 11:00 or 12:30. More info here: https://giuntabus.com/aeroporto-catania-milazzo
take the 14:00 or 15:30 Siremar Liberty Lines Ferry from Milazzo port to Stromboli. More info here: https://www.libertylines.it
If you have questions on the arrival organization, feel free to ask us and we can help you. We can also organize individual shuttles for you or arriving a day early or leave a day later. Or come to our Sicily retreat the week before and we will organize the transfer from there to Stromboli for you free of charge ;)
For the way back, it is best to take the latest flight possible on Sunday or to plan an extra day or two on Sicily. At the ferry office in Stromboli you can then book a transfer bus together with your ferry ticket for around 25 EUR. This transfer bus leaves 30mins after the Stromboli ferry arrives at the port and takes you to Catania airport. It is just important that you pick a flight not earlier than 2pm so you have enough time. Since there sometimes are no afternoon flight to Berlin Sunday, we also offer the option to extend for one extra night with us on Stromboli so you can take the 14:05 EasyJet flight EJU5078 to Berlin on Monday.
CARBON (CO2) OFFSET – WE WILL HAVE 3 TREES PLANTED FOR YOU
Your Stromboli retreat tuition already includes a carbon offset for the estimated CO2 produced by the retreat participants traveling to Stromboli and back. For each 2023 Stromboli Retreat participant, 3YB will have 3 trees planted. A tree absorbs approx. 11.7lbs of CO2 every year, or approx. 468lbs. of CO2 over 40 years, so 3 trees for each participant will absorb roughly 1,404lbs. of CO2 over this time, which is about the same amount of CO2 from a round- trip flight from Berlin to Sicily/Naples. We know this is a lot of CO2 and we commit to CO2 reduction whenever possible. As of 2021, we will try at the very least to offset the CO2-related travel costs of our non-local retreats through having trees planted. In no way do we want to white-wash the impact on the climate that our yoga retreats have, and we are committed to offering more local yoga retreats going forward. It is not an exaggeration to say that Jivamukti Yoga has made countless yoga students worldwide aware of the benefits of a vegetarian and better vegan diet for the planet as a whole as well as for their individual yoga practice and their general well-being. Converting to a vegan diet has prominently been named by The University of Oxford, among others, “as the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on earth”, “reducing an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73%”.
ANJA KÜHNEL
Anja has been a devoted student of Sharon Gannon and David Life since she first met them while temporarily living in New York. She has been directing the two Berlin Jivamukti Yoga Centers, now Three Boons Yoga Berlin, and their Apprenticeship Teacher Training program since 2008. After 15+ years of study with Sharon and David, Anja is more than grateful for all she has learned and all that she is still going to learn. Anja has been practicing yoga with teachers of various yoga styles and has traveled the world to do so. But in her heart, Anja knew immediately after her first Jivamukti class, that it was where she belonged. She teaches at her two Yoga Centers, is regularly invited as a guest teacher worldwide.
"The only thing that gives me credibility as a yoga teacher is the graceful association with my teachers." - David Life