4-Day Yoga Retreat: Relax, Reflect and Rejuvenate

Retreat begins on Thursday, August 13 at 5pm – Ends on Sunday, August 16 at 12:30pm

$795 Single room | $725 Early bird, exp. 7/23
$670 Shared room (price per person) | $600 Early bird, exp. 7/23
Active teacher discount 20%

Please register in advance; a Zoom link will be emailed 1 hour before the session, or join Zoom directly via your Momence dashboard.

We appreciate advance registration.

At Commonweal Retreat Center, Bolinas, CA. This in-person 4-day retreat will include a variety of Yoga classes for all levels of practice, workshops, meditations, inspirational evening programs—including kirtan with Astrud—healthy vegetarian meals, and free time for walks, resting, or reading.

Each day will also include Yoga Nidra practices to support deep rest and nervous system renewal. We will practice silent, walking and guided meditations as well as an end-of-day personal reflection practice to integrate the day’s teachings and insights and help us move more deeply into awareness.

We will observe silence from Thursday night until Sunday morning. In this spacious quiet, we can strengthen our inner connection to peace, find clarity of thought, and cultivate compassionate connection with one another.

We are blessed once again to gather at the Commonweal Retreat Center in Bolinas, known for the natural beauty of its oceanside setting and its location on sacred Native American land. Practicing Yoga in this powerful natural environment offers an opportunity to cleanse the body and mind of the stimulants and toxins we ingest through the mouth, eyes, and ears, and to renew our personal commitment to live courageously in the light of awareness.


Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, C-IAYT, and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.
He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced-level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He co-founded The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI), which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.

Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT, ERYT-500, YACEP, has been teaching a variety of classes and workshops since 2001 and since 2017 offers yoga therapy sessions privately and at Integral Yoga Therapy Clinic in San Francisco. She has over 15 years of experience in leading and co-teaching Yoga and Meditation teacher trainings. She has been working in the clinical setting for Kaiser Permanente since 2005 as a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and health educator. Diana’s focus is on the healing aspects of Yoga on the mind as well as the body by applying the physical postures, practices of breath-control, mindfulness and meditation. Diana helps her clients to find the ability to move through life with increased ease, stress resilience, and intuition. Diana Meltsner works as a programs manager at Integral Yoga Institute, an urban ashram in San Francisco. www.dianameltsner.com

Astrud is a celebrated kirtan wallah and yoga teacher currently living in Los Angeles. She has been sharing the art and practice of kirtan for over two decades and has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe sharing her passion for Mantra Meditation and Bhakti Yoga. Astrud teaches teachers in training the essence of Bhakti and basic harmonium skills. She has been teaching asana infused with Bhakti since 2000. “Astrud’s kirtans immerse the mind in a sea of sacred sound and melt open the heart” -Swami Ramananda. You can find her album Hari Om and other singles on Spotify, and all other music platforms.

4 Day Yoga Retreat: Restoring our Natural Center of Balance and Peace

In person | Commonweal Retreat Center, Bolinas CA

Single room | WAIT LIST– $695 Early bird, use promo code RETREAT, exp. 8/1 | $735  regular – SOLD OUT
Shared room | WAIT LIST – $595 (per person) Early bird, use promo code RETREAT, exp. 8/1 | $635 regular (per person)

Call Raama Das at 415-857-2552 to check for availability.

Thursday August 22, 5pm – Sunday August 25, 12:30pm

Our August retreat will focus on restoring the natural sense of balance and peace that dwells in the heart of our being as our truest nature. Through meditative practices, rest and reflection, we will calm the mind, come fully into the present, and strengthen our connection to the unchanging spiritual presence within.

Join Claudia Bartsch, Astrud Castillo and Swami Ramananda at this in-person 4-day retreat. It will include various Yoga classes for all levels of practice, workshops, meditations, inspirational evening programs, healthy vegetarian meals and free time for walks, resting or reading.

We will practice periods of silence including Friday morning and the whole day Saturday. In this spacious silence, we can strengthen our inner connection to peace and renew our personal commitment to live courageously in the light of awareness.

We are blessed once again to use the Commonweal Retreat Center in Bolinas, known for the natural beauty of the ocean side location which is located on sacred Native American grounds. The practices of Yoga in this beautiful natural setting offer an opportunity to cleanse the body and mind of stimulants and toxins that we ingest through the mouth, eyes, and ears and find rejuvenation.


Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, C-IAYT, and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.
He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced-level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He co-founded The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI), which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.

Claudia Bartsch, E-500CYT, C-IAYT, has been teaching yoga for 17 years. With over 1,500 hours of training she offers an in-depth understanding of yogic practices and techniques and how to apply them for healing, integration and transformation. In 2011 she bridged her interest in Western psychology and the yogic path and became a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. Additionally, Claudia is a certified Stress Management Educator, a trained Reiki and Shiatsu Practitioner. In her work she offers a unique blend of the various branches of yoga, hands-on body and energy work empowering her clients to move towards greater resilience, well-being and health. Please visit her website for more information: claudiabartsch.com

Astrud Castillo has been teaching yoga since 2001 and sharing Kirtan internationally for the last 10 years.She trained in NYC at Laughing Lotus, currently known as Body and soul Yoga collective and is a senior teacher and teacher trainer. She has studied the basics of yoga therapeutics and Vedic chanting with T.K.V. Desikachar in India. Her teaching has been inspired by her mentor and friend Mark Whitwell over the last 20 years. Astrud’s classes are warm, welcoming and all inclusive. Her love and relationship to Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, is always illuminated in her teaching. There is always chanting in Astrud’s classes, awareness around the breath and mindful movement. Astrud leads annual pilgrimages to India, teaches Bhakti yoga with teachers in training and currently lives at the IYI in SF. Her slow flow class weaves together poses in a creative and mindful way using the breath as the bridge to deepen and explore the balance between effort and surrender and focus the mind.

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