A Retreat to Unleash the Abundant & Brave Entrepreneur within you!
Get ready for an extraordinary experience to take you out of your day-to-day hustle and to help you tap into the creative, brave and most JOYFUL version of yourself!
The true potential of your best ideas, creative vision and soul’s awakening are not found in your routine life of emails, meetings, text messages and school pick ups. Put technology aside and get ready for a week of unplugged JOY, inspiration, clarity and FUN with fellow driven and courageous entrepreneurs!
As an entrepreneur, you work hard day in and day out to make your business a success.
If you’ve been craving time to work ON your business and give yourself the space necessary to uplevel your leadership and ideas, THIS is the retreat for you!
The Joyous Uprising Retreat will take your business to the next level by cultivating an experience that will give you the space and freedom to let your creatives ideas come to life!
You'll gain exceptional clarity on what's next for your business and the leader you need to be to get there so that you can go home with a renewed sense of confidence and ease.
Here's how the uprising will unfold...
Enchanting Cuba
Imagine yourself surrounded by a culture that is infused with joy... one that has overcome many hardships and yet continues to persevere with their creativity, community and a positive attitude.
I specifically chose Cuba as our destination because it has a rich, complex culture of grit, joy and artistic expression - just like entrepreneurs!
Let the Cuban people, music and way of life wash over you for deep inspiration to help you find your inner fire! 🔥
Yoga & Meditation
Start your day breathing in the fresh ocean air while moving your body to get your juices flowing, allowing your creative senses to come alive and centering yourself with your highest alignment.
You’ll be in incredible hands as classes will be lead by renowned yoga teacher, Melanie Caines (see Melanie’s official bio below).
We will also have a special class with the co-founder of Mhai Yoga Centre, Eduardo Pimentel. Eduardo brought the yoga movement to Cuba nearly 40 years ago!
Organic Delights 3 Times/Day
The incredible Mhai Yoga Retreat Centre will be hosting us and they are well known for creating magical experiences with their food. Their chef Ernesto, lovingly and creatively prepares healthy, organic vegetarian dishes for guests that even meat eaters rave about!
Cuba is one of the world’s biggest cultivators of organic produce, and this is attributable to the lack of access to fertilizers and pesticides.
To uphold their commitment to reducing Mhai Yoga's carbon footprint, they only work with local farmers to source all of their produce.
You'll feel energized and satisfied after each meal!
Exciting Excursions
We will be doing two half day excursions. One to Old Havana which Lonely planet says "nobody should leave Cuba without seeing this historic neighbouhood"... so we are going! :)
The second to Fusterland where the Cuban artist José Fuster’s reclaimed his impoverished neighbourhood as a dreamy folk art kingdom.
Get ready for your creative juices to be flowing while discovering new places, new art and the locales!
Salsa Dancing
What would a trip to Cuba be without Salsa dancing? 💃🏻
Get your groove on with our special guests! Professional Cuban dancers will be teaching us how to Salsa for a wonderful opening night together and some mid week fun!
No experience required! It's time to try something different and let loose!
Soul Moving Sessions
Each day of the week, you will discover something unique through our soul moving sessions. You will be guided towards releasing, embracing and inspiration.
We are diving deep into surrendering any stories or beliefs that are holding you back. You’ll paint a vision of your future business and find the parts of you that are ready to unleash, so that you can bring that vision to life!
You’ll leave this retreat with a newfound clarity, confidence and courage that you’ve never felt before.
When you get home, you'll be ready to boldly step into the leadership role that allows you to serve bigger than ever!
Cuba is the perfect place for you to spend 7 magical days to...
- press pause on your business and life and immerse yourself in adventures, joyous dance and cultural experiences.
- feel the sand beneath your toes, the warm wind in your hair and give yourself permission to let go and feel the bliss of true presence with yourself.
- make new friends, have rich discussions about who you want to be as a leader and how you will show up to build your dream business.
- commit to your personal transformation to take your business and life to the next level.
Meet Our Hosts, MHAI YOGA
Take a moment to step into the world at Mhai Yoga. They will be hosting us during our week of your joyous uprising! Here's what they have to say :)
Our center is located on the beautiful beaches of Playas del Este, 20 minutes outside of La Habana. Our home is up on a hill, which is about a five minute walk down to the beach. The rooftop overlooks the ocean and is the perfect space for a morning meditation. There is a beautiful private pool, with hammocks to swing on and plenty of privacy. We are close to local amenities, such as the WIFI park, banks, and transportation.
Mhai, in Arabic, means water. At Mhai, we strongly believe in the importance and symbolism of water in our lives. Water makes up most of our bodies, and it covers most of this planet. Most importantly, we look to water as a reminder to let go of what can’t be controlled.
In life, we can’t really control much except for how we react to things. Going with the flow ties into expectations within Cuba: in a place where a lot of stuff is outside of our control, if we remember to be still like water and move with the current – and that doesn’t mean we accept everything with our hands behind our back – we can learn to embrace an attitude that is easy going. With this approach to life, you free yourself of the weight that comes with expectation. We hope that a week with us at Mhai will instill within you this kind of philosophy.
Relax and Recharge
Your best ideas tend to come when you're in the space between thought. Here you'll have lots of time to rest, relax and recharge to allow those great ideas to hatch, delightful conversations to unfold or just enjoy a good book or peace and quiet.
Accomodations
Mhai Yoga has simple, clean rooms with a private ensuite per room. It will be the perfect place to lay your head down at night and allow yourself to recharge.
Tantalize Your Tastebuds!
Our Head Chef Ernesto and his assistant are highly experienced, and have worked for the best private restaurants in Havana. They do their best to cater to all of our needs. They are with us 24/7 during the week and prepare 3 delicious vegetarian meals a day. All of our meals are organic, from the local gardens in Havana.
Did you know Cuba is one of the world’s leaders in organic agriculture? Most people who have visited a resort in Cuba haven’t had the opportunity to taste real Cuban food and its delicious organic produce.
The most common thing said of Cuba is that the food is bad and we are more than happy to prove otherwise. We want to change the all too common misconception about Cuban food because it simply could not be further from the truth. Cuba is one of the world’s biggest cultivators of organic produce, and this is attributable to the lack of access to fertilizers and pesticides.
Because of the import complications Cuba’s faced, they had hardly any access to fertilizer and pesticides – this misfortune actually let them to be creative, and start growing their own food. Cuba was literally an island, cut off from the world and yet, it successfully managed to sustain itself. To supply themselves with food, the Cubans started small urban organic vegetable gardens (huertos). Eventually bigger spaces were created, called organoponicos, and the delicious agriculture farmed here would be more than enough to supply the bigger population. Now there are over 35 000 urban organic gardens in Cuba and they supply the population with over 90% of its vegetables and fruits.
Imagine waking up and having an organic pineapple, guava smoothie, and knowing those fruits were picked that very morning and did not travel on planes, boats and trains getting to you?
Come and enjoy delicious black beans, sweet plantains, and gigantic avocados. We invite you to come and nourish yourself!
Meet Your Retreat Host
Your Retreat Host, Jennifer Trask
Daily Movement
You're in fantastic hands with your daily dose of movement and meditation being lead by Melanie Caines.
Your Yoga & Mediation Instructor, Melanie Caines
Melanie Caines is a Certified Yoga Teacher and the owner/operator of Nova Yoga & Nova Retreats. She is passionate about helping people improve their physical and mental well-being and has a strong love of movement; she teaches multi-level Vinyasa (Flow) Yoga classes infused with spirit, laughter, sweat, and creativity.
Melanie is the host of three seasons of The Nova Yoga Show on Rogers TV. She has also released a yoga DVD called Nova Yoga Flow, filmed in beautiful Newfoundland and Labrador. Her latest project, Move with Melanie, a membership site for yoga videos online is now live.
Melanie loves to travel and leads delicious and exciting international yoga retreats in Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Hawaii, and Europe.
Melanie was name one of the Top 100 Health Influencers in Canada in 2019, 2018, and 2017 by OptiMYz Magazine. She was nominated for the 2017 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards and the 2017 Canada Top 40 Under 40 Awards. She was named a finalist for the 2016 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards and was named a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2015 Awards. Melanie won the 2012 Start Up Business of the Year Award from NLOWE (Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs).
The Fine Details
What's Included:
- Accommodation at Mhai Yoga from April 18th - 25, 2020
- 3 Organic vegetarian meals, everyday locally prepared
- Unlimited coffee, tea, water
- A guided excursion to Old Havana including transport, guide and lunch in one of the most famous paladars in La Habana
- A guided excursion through Jaimanita Town.
- 2 nights of salsa lessons and dancing!
- Daily Yoga & Meditation with Melanie
- Daily sessions with Jennifer to work on getting your business to the next level!
What's NOT Included:
- Round trip airfare
- Travel & Health Insurance (please ensure you have this)
- Any travel Visa's needed (please speak to your airline to confirm)
- Transportation to and from Mhai Yoga (though instructions will be given)
- Alcohol
- Departure tax
Your Investment
Prepare for a magical week to help you make big shifts in your leadership, ideas and courage!
Terms & Conditions
*All prices are in Canadian dollars and INCLUDES tax.
This trip will be an intimate experience of just 12 participants to ensure you get a quality, intimate experience. There are two single rooms and 5 double rooms.
If you'd like to be matched with someone in a double room, I'll be happy to match you with someone awesome! If you and a friend want to be matched, please let me know via email (jennifer (at) joyousretreat.biz).
Please note that to save your spot there is a $500CDN NON-Refundable deposit required.
50% of the remaining cost is due by *New dates coming soon!*
and
*New dates coming soon!*
Payment can be made by Paypal, Credit card or Email money transfer (for Canadian residents only).
Please note that this is a NON-Refundable trip.
You MUST get travel insurance in case of an unforeseen circumstance that may prevent you from coming.
Travel health insurance is mandatory by law for your trip.
If you are unable to make your payments your trip will be cancelled.
"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
- Joseph Campbell
Are You Ready To Answer The Call?
There often comes a time when we know we need to shake things up, reset and look at what's working and what's not.
This retreat is for you, the entrepreneur who wants to dive deep, breakthrough, gain massive clarity, have enriching discussions, be moved by their surroundings and laugh until your face hurts.
The Joyous Uprising Retreat will give you a chance to get out of your head and into your heart. To truly hear what you need to hear from your highest calling and not the noise of everyday life and responsibilities.
Come dance with us. Find your flow and radiate your joy from the inside out!
Frequently Asked Questions
Prices are in Canadian dollars. All prices include tax for Canadians.
This retreat is limited to 12 people so that you can benefit from an intimate atmosphere. You'll have ample time to get to know your fellow entrepreneurs as well as discussion time on your business during group sessions. You'll feel heard, seen and included.
This is a business retreat with yoga. To provide you with the utmost opportunity to get out of your head and into your flow (where all your great ideas come from), we are setting up a week of magic that includes yoga, meditation, excursions, some local workshops and of course, some down time for you to do as you please. :)
When we are in 'session' you'll feel alive, refreshed, clear headed and excited about working on your business.
You do not need yoga experience. Melanie is capable of guiding everyone through a great class no matter your experience.
Yes! Please contact me at jennifer (at) joyousretreat.biz for details on how you can come. We work with Mhai Yoga to make it easy for you.
There is a Wifi centre near where we are staying. Please note however that we encourage you to use this week to be off your phone and computer as much as possible so you can have a true break from technology.
Yes! Absolutely. Please let us know once you sign up and we'll be sure to let the Chef's know so you can be accommodated.
Yes! We will happily pair you up with another retreat member who would like to be paired up as well.
The retreat will be in 2021 and the dates will be announced soon! Stay tuned!
You'll fly into Havana Airport (HAV).
You sure can! Email me at jennifer (at) joyousretreat.biz
If you'd like to chat, we'll set up a time to connect over phone or Zoom. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have to ensure the retreat is right for you! :)
