Root + Rise: A Queer Yoga Vacation

High-Level Program Overview

A week to deepen what you know — or begin something that lasts.
If yoga is already a practice you’re committed to, this is an opportunity to work alongside a veteran to deepen your practice.

And if you’re a beginner, this is a chance to start on the right foot — with a method solid enough that you won’t have to unlearn it later.
Over seven days (six nights), this immersive retreat is a chance to invigorate and restore: to play in waterfalls, swing in a hammock, and connect to queer community — with just enough learning woven in to keep things interesting, but never enough to feel like homework.

Two daily practices bookend spacious days built for rest as much as movement. Slow mornings open into an energizing flow to wake, strengthen, and lengthen the body; evenings soften into a slower practice of restorative yoga, meditation, and sound healing. Rooted in yoga philosophy — the wisdom of the koshas, the medicine of Ayurveda, and the chakra system — the program blends skillful movement with self-inquiry, alongside Qasa’s core truth: as I am, in this body, I belong.

A deep dive into yoga is also a deep dive into yourself. At Qasa, that exploration happens in a space created for queer people – where what comes up can be explored and shared without having to translate or explain yourself. That’s what makes doing this work at Qasa so rare and powerful.

By the end, something subtle but undeniable shifts. Not because you set out to change — but because you finally see yourself from somewhere new.

Who It’s For & Why People Come

For beginning and experienced practitioners alike. This is a rejuvenating retreat, not a certification— ideal for anyone who wants to know their own nature and feel more at home in themselves.

This retreat is for you if you’re ready to:

• Take a real vacation — to rest, nourish yourself, and be in queer community without an agenda.
• Reconnect with a body that’s felt neglected or sluggish lately — to feel strong, open, and awake again, without power yoga or pressure.
• Explore the deeper layers of self through the five koshas — the physical, energetic, mental, intuitive, and bliss bodies.
• Experience a space where queer identity and spiritual practice aren’t separate, but woven together.
• Let go of feeling like an outsider in wellness spaces, and step into true belonging.
• Deepen a daily practice of yoga, meditation, and self-awareness — without the workload of a training.
• Learn practical tools from yoga and Ayurveda that support real, lived change.
• Recognize how you carry your beliefs in your posture — and reconsider what no longer serves you.
• Feel held in a community that honors both where you are and who you’re becoming.
• Embody the truth: “I accept what is, and I trust that it can evolve.”

What to Expect

The Experience: Your shoulders drop an inch you didn’t know they were holding. Somewhere between the mat and the jungle air, your body remembers how to just be.

It’s the stretch of stillness at the end of a long practice — muscles warm and used, sweat cooling on your skin, the teacher’s voice dropping to almost nothing. Around you, a room full of queer men breathing in the same slow rhythm, close enough to hear, far enough that you’re still alone with your own body. Outside, the jungle doesn’t pause for you — birds calling, leaves shifting somewhere in the canopy, the day going on exactly as it would without you here. And still, for once, you don’t feel behind it, or outside of it, or waiting for permission to belong to it.

You’ve spent years learning how to hold yourself together in rooms that didn’t feel safe enough to let go in. Here, nobody’s watching for that. The effort you walked in with loosens slowly — in your jaw, your low back, the place behind your sternum you didn’t know you were guarding. Nothing dramatic happens. You just, for a few long minutes, stop performing. Something quieter than relief moves through you instead. And somewhere in that stillness, almost without noticing, your own narrative shifts: from “Do I belong here?” to “I was always part of this.”

Schedule Overview

Days here move with a balance of structure and spaciousness — full mornings, open middles, and gentle evenings.

You’ll wake with the jungle. Mornings open with an energizing practice to strengthen and lengthen the body, followed by a nourishing, chef-prepared breakfast shared in community. Then the day opens wide: the hours until mid-afternoon are yours — to rest, immerse in nature, join an optional waterfall excursion, or do nothing at all, with a leisurely lunch somewhere in the middle. In the cooler light of the afternoon, we gather again for a grounded practice with just the right amount of philosophy — restorative yoga, meditation, sound healing, and reflection on the day’s theme. Dinner comes as the jungle cools and everyone returns to the table together. And in the evenings, the space is built for connection rather than curriculum: game nights and sing-alongs, dancing, bonfires, and song circles, massage exchanges, and the occasional optional sensuality workshop.

Program Highlights (all optional)

• Two daily practices — an energizing morning flow and a slower, restorative evening session of meditation and sound healing.
• Depth without homework — a guided dive into the five koshas, the four paths of yoga, and Ayurveda, led by a teacher of 30+ years.
• A queer-centered approach — to yoga and spirituality that includes your body, your desires, and your identity, with space to explore what comes up among a community that understands the queer experience.
• Spacious rest — optional excursions, waterfall visits, and plenty of genuinely unstructured time to do nothing at all.
• Evenings for connection — games, bonfires, dance, sound healing, and an optional sensuality workshop, built for community, not curriculum.
• Real belonging — a grounded community rooted in authenticity, rejuvenation, and being seen exactly as you are.

Investment & Logistics

• Duration: 7 days, 6 nights (Sunday, March 7 – Saturday, March 13, 2027)
• Group Size: Maximum 28 for depth and connection.
• Accommodation and investment:
  • Shared Four-Bed Jungle Cabin — $2,700 per person
  • Shared Twin Jungle Cabin — $3,300 per person
  • Private King Cabin — $3,450 per person
  • Private Deluxe Cabin — $3,750 per person

Financial support: Limited assistance may be available for participants experiencing financial hardship. Supporting documentation may be requested. Contact welcome@qasa.house for information.

Included: Guided practices, facilitator support, six nights of accommodation, chef-prepared meals and tropical beverages, scheduled ground transportation, preparation resources, integration support, and access to the Qasa community.

Spice Level: 1 chili (Low): While sexuality may come up in discussion, sexual touch will not be explored in facilitated sessions.  Participants are welcome to engage consensual sexual connection with others, excluding the facilitators, in alignment with our community agreements.

Travel Logistics: Check out our travel and packing guide for more information

Please Note: This is a yoga vacation, not a teacher training—no certification or continuing education hours are offered 

Your Retreat Includes

• Luxury jungle accommodation
• Chef-prepared meals and tropical beverages
• Two daily yoga, meditation, and embodiment practices
• All workshops and facilitated programming
• Waterfall excursion and nature experiences
• Airport transportation
• Pre-retreat preparation resources
• Access to the Qasa community after the retreat