Relax and Renew for the New Year with Mark Stephens and Friends
Amid the swirling and auspicious energies of the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and New Years, this all-inclusive retreat invites you to immerse yourself in Haramara’s natural and optimal setting for renewal and transformation.
The Daily Yoga Program
As with everything, this is a set of offerings, not requirements, leaving it up to you how you enjoy your time on retreat.
- Sunrise Pranayama and Meditation 7am to 8am.
Each successive day, we explore going gradually further with a variety of traditional yogic breathing practices. (While Mark has been teaching pranayama for nearly 30 years, he just finished writing Breathing: The Art and Science of Pranayama.) - Dynamic Morning Practice (10am – 12pm).
This “all levels” Vinyasa Flow style class is equally accessible and engaging to all levels of experience and conditions. Each class incorporates pranayama and meditation. - Mid-Day Mini-Workshops and Tune-Ups (2pm to 4pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
Topics based on your interests and requests. Examples from past years include refining the sun salutations, standing pose basics, hand and wrist care, handstands, hip openers, and modifications for pregnancy, osteoporosis, and other special conditions. - Yin/Restorative Late Afternoon Practice (5pm – 6:30pm)
Purely on the floor with cushions, blankets, and a soothing afternoon breeze, here we simply and utterly let go. What might you let go of? Come explore! - After-Dinner Yoga Salons (8pm – 9pm)
What is yoga? How does postural yoga relate to consciousness? How might I more consciously cultivate clarity and congruence in my life? What is tantra? What’s the difference between yoga and tantra, and what do they share? What about yoga and…politics?! Yoga and religion? Yoga and your family? Your work?
This retreat is about far more than yoga – it’s about you and how you might best move farther along in making your life better in every way.
Just like most yoga classes, retreats invariably have a beautifully diverse group of students/guests, from young to old, new to highly experienced, physically fit to not-so-fit, spiritual seekers to those just looking to relax, renew, and have fun. One of Mark’s cultivated gifts is meaningfully engaging with every guest and being supportive of each individual’s conditions, intentions, and best experiences.
Haramara is just outside the picturesque town of Sayulita, Mexico (about a 25-minute walk, or 5 minutes by taxi). Sayulita is bustling with energy at this time of year, with shops, restaurants, good surfing and other attractions/distractions. As you can see on the Haramara website, there are also an array of both on-site and off-site activities and excursions, including spa services, an on-site sweat lodge, snorkeling, whale watching, jungle hikes, surf tours, archeological visits, and much more.
Packages include:
- 8 days, 7 nights with all yoga classes, workshops, and food.
- 7 nights of accommodation in charming casitas that keep you in the rhythms of nature.
- Three yoga classes on each full day (two class on the arrival day and one on the departure day).
- Three evening yoga satsang/salon sessions for conversations about whatever you wish in the yoga realm.
- Onsite spa services (massage, facials, and other healing treatments have an additional cost).
- Arrangement of special activities and excursions.
Pricing:
- Women’s Group Casita: $1,900 early bird, $2,400 full price
- Quadruple Occupancy: $2,100 early bird, $2,600 full price
- Triple Occupancy: $2,300 early bird, $$2,800 full price
- Double Occupancy: $2,600 early bird, $3,100 full price
- Single Occupancy: $3,750 early bird, $4,250 full price
Pricing Specials:
$500 Discount for Early Bird Registration (by September 1, 2025). Payment plan options available.
Type of Retreat: Yoga
Style of Yoga: Vinyasa Flow
Additional Information, Questions & Registration:
Contact Name: Mark Stephens
Contact Email: mark@markstephensyoga.com
Contact Phone Number: 8313313955
Online Registration: https://www.markstephensyoga.com/haramara2025
Website: https://www.markstephensyoga.com
About the Instructor:
California native Mark Stephens is passionately devoted to sharing yoga as a personal practice for making every moment of one’s life better – healthier, clearer, and altogether more playful and joyful.
Practicing yoga since 1991 and teaching since 1996, Mark has trained thousands of yoga teachers worldwide. Described by Yoga Journal as “the teacher’s teacher,” he is the author of Teaching Yoga, Yoga Sequencing Yoga Adjustments, Yoga Therapy, and Yoga for Better Sleep; he recently finished writing, Breathing: The Art and Science of Pranayama (forthcoming, Inner Traditions, 2026).
With a broad and deep background in Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Vinyasa Flow, tantra, restorative yoga, yoga therapy, biomechanics, kinesiology, traditional yoga philosophies, and modern philosophies of being and consciousness, Mark brings an eclectic perspective to the practice that’s all about making yoga more accessible, sustainable, and deeply transformational.
In his spare time, Mark enjoys daydreaming, hiking, kayaking, working on machinery, building things, gardening, orcharding, cooking, more hiking, traveling, and playing with just about everything. He’s currently learning to play guitar.