Flow Breath and Meditation

Held within the incredibly sensory-rich natural environment of Ulpotha, this retreat centres on practices that restore our relationship to the body, breath, nature, and the quieter layers of experience. Across the week, you will explore how embodied movement, breath, meditation, and stillness can support a return to full presence. These practices are rooted in the understanding that the body is not something to fix, but something to listen to and learn from, and with this comes a profound settling of the nervous system.

Days will be shaped by rhythm rather than demand, allowing layers of stress to unwind, the intelligence of the body to re-emerge, and a felt sense of ease, clarity, and grounded being to return. We will find our flow state, slow down, pause, and re-establish connection with sensation, breath, and presence. Held in the rhythm of the Sri Lankan jungle, the sessions are designed to support both vitality and restoration.

Each day moves from embodied movement into deep stillness, supporting not only flexibility and strength, but resilience, clarity, and a renewed sense of connection to yourself, the group, and the natural world around you.

Afternoons turn inward. These sessions are slower, softer, and more subtle, placing less emphasis on physical postures and more on the inner dimensions of practice. You will be guided through deeply restorative and meditative experiences, which may include gentle breathwork, mantra and chanting, guided meditation, Qigong, and reflections drawn from yogic philosophy.

This retreat is especially suited to those who feel exhausted, overwhelmed, creatively depleted, or disconnected from their body, and who are longing for an experience that is grounded, spacious, nourishing, and real.

Gingi founded The Shala in London as a dedicated Ashtanga centre in 1998. He has been teaching for more than 20 years and is one of the UK’s most established Ashtanga teachers.

His path began with martial arts in the 1980s, training and teaching alongside his father, Sensei Richard Taibong Lee. A first trip to India sparked a lifelong relationship with yoga. He returned many times to study and to deepen his commitment. He apprenticed for two years with the late Derek Ireland, completed a final training in Goa, then went to Mysore to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. He later completed a two-year teacher training with Graeme Northfield in Australia.

Gingi has led holidays and workshops in the UK and abroad, often with friends and long-time colleagues such as John and Lucy Scott and Kristina Ireland. He continues to teach regular workshops and retreats that include pranayama, simple meditation and elements of tai chi. His teaching is known for sensitivity, warmth and a quiet dedication to the practice. He has taught, trained and encouraged many British Ashtanga teachers and helped to grow the community in the UK.

At Ulpotha

Mornings focus on steady, breath-led sequencing with practical adjustments. It will be a combination of vinyasa, qigong, ashtanga and somatic intuitive movement. Afternoon sessions will be chilled out, Breathwork, meditation, gentle yin movement, and some philosophy. So if someone is looking for pure traditional hard-core Ashtanga this is not the right fit.

Afternoons bring calming work with pranayama, gentle meditation and time to restore.

What you will experience with Gingi:

• Vinyasa, qigong, ashtanga and somatic intuitive movement taught with patience and clarity.
• Breath, bandha and drishti made simple and usable
• Thoughtful hands-on or verbal adjustments

Gingi began studying and teaching martial arts in the 1980s with his father, Sensei Richard Taibong Lee. During an early trip to India, Gingi came into contact with yoga and spent many years returning to India to study and devote himself to the discipline. For two years he apprenticed with the late Derek Ireland, completing a final training course in Goa. He then went to Mysore to continue his studies with Sri Pattabhi Jois and then completed a two-year teacher training course with Graeme Northfield of Australia.

Gingi has hosted many yoga holidays and workshops in the UK and abroad, including combined retreats with John and Lucy Scott, and Kristina Ireland. He continues to run regular workshops and retreats, which often include elements of pranayama, meditation and tai chi. He is a well-respected teacher who has remained at the forefront of the ashtanga yoga community. He has taught, trained and inspired many British ashtanga yoga teachers and has played a key role in popularizing ashtanga yoga in the UK. His teaching is characterised by sensitivity, warmth and a deep commitment to the practice.

Michelle is certified in Reiki, Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Deep-Tissue Massage by schools in the UK and Spain. Michelle has cultivated a uniquely personalised practice, drawing on 30 years of exceptional experience and an avid, consistent curiosity in the worlds of health and wellness.

Michelle has spent her career working in wellness retreats, health centres and from the comfort of her own home in Lisbon, Portugal. Clients receive treatment based on an initial consult; Michelle then carefully blends essential oils paired with massage and reflexology techniques specific to the individual’s unique needs.

Michelle’s philosophy is based on the notion that wellness is balancing the physical, emotional, and mental well-being; her practice mirrors this in acknowledging that the mind, body and soul are all connected. Blending essential oils for each individual is an important aspect of her treatment in bringing the mental and emotional into the physical practice.