About This Event
The word Odyssey comes from the Greek word Odysseia, and refers to an epic voyage and spiritual quest. Yoga is the spiritual quest of the body and the mind to the Real You – a Soul Odyssey. This week long odyssey will enhance your postural and energetic awareness, help unlock physical and mental challenges, as well as build strength and balance to cultivate new joy in your yoga practice. Kelly and Katrina will guide you on an illuminating and nourishing journey of the body, mind and spirit, while submerged in the surreal beauty and living history on Greece’s largest island of Crete. Empowering and energizing morning classes will deepen your knowledge and advance your practice as you explore the nuances of a traditional Vinyasa practice. Evenings will be a time to relax and renew with gentle flow and restorative practices which will revitalize the body and calm the mind. Join us for this one of a kind odyssey that will elevate your yoga, transform your practice and awaken the Real You. For Yoga Alliance Registered Teachers- Part of this retreat is recognized as a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Program. Upon completion of this retreat and its classes, workshops & lectures, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for 15 Continuing Education Contact Hours.
About the retreat leader
Kelly Brandon is an E-RYT 500, YACEP level Yoga teacher, holding accreditations and certifications in multiple disciplines of Yoga, including Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Kids & Family Yoga to name a few. She has had the honor of being a two time Yoga Ambassador for Lululemon, and has been teaching yoga full time for the past 13 years. Kelly is the Founder & Director of The Yoga School of Miami© and has conducted 14 RYT 200 & 300 trainings in Miami over the past 10 years. Kelly has had the honor of studying with and training under world renowned teachers such as Patrick Nolan, Kino MacGregor, Tim Feldmann, Julie Montagu and Chase Bossart. For the last 3 years she has been intensely studying the Bhagavad Gītā & Patañali’s Yogasūtra, word for Sanskrit word, weekly with her teacher, Chase Bossart, in a the Viniyoga Tradition of Mr. T.K.V. Desikachar. Kelly knows that the truly profound practice of Yoga extends far “beyond the mat”, by applying the principles of Yoga in every thought, word and action.
Kata Bilanchone fell fiercely in love with yoga when she was first exposed in college. After taking a course on meditation at the university she redirected all her energy into yoga. At only 21, she successfully completed her first teacher training course and became a certified RYT 200. Having studied Religious Studies, with an emphasis on Hinduism, her journey sent her to the motherland of India where she lived amongst the Jains for an entire summer. Katrina, later on, embarked on a one year Master Apprenticeship Program (RYT 300) ascending her to a 500 level certified yoga teacher. Katrina has since completed a Restorative Yoga Certification, and now co-leads both RYT 200 & 300 programs along side her teacher, Kelly Brandon, E-RYT 500. Katrina truly enjoys teaching all styles and methods of yoga; however, she’ll admit that Vinyasa will always be her first love
About the hotel
Located on the edge of Crete’s north east coastal town of Malia, Cretan Malia Park is ideally situated for the island’s
most picturesque charms. A beachside location buttressed by rugged mountains, the locale presents a well-placed
base camp from which to explore the island — or to simply bask in the beauty of this corner of Crete.