Elemental Yoga Flow & Dance
with Malaika MaVeena Darville
RetreatsIshti Yoga and Dance with Malaika Maveena Darville
Malaika offers Elemental ISHTA Yoga, a flowing practice that draws from Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda. The first week explores yoga through the five elements, while the second focuses on chakras.
Every other afternoon, you will join her 5Elements Dance Activation, free, ecstatic dance sessions that embody yoga philosophy in movement. Classes also include pranayama, meditation, and visualisation, creating a balance between strength, alignment, and spiritual connection. This retreat is joyful, grounding, and suitable for all levels.
Malaika Darville at Ulpotha
What's included:
Accommodation on a twin-sharing basis in comfortable beautifully designed adobe huts open to the surrounding nature
Yoga classes twice daily (No yoga on Thursday afternoons and Sunday mornings)
A yoga-friendly breakfast and two sumptuous vegetarian meals, plus snacks, juices, and teas
Indulge in a free massage/week from one of our visiting therapists
Transport for 1 excursion (half or full day) per week to nearby cultural heritage sites (entrance fees not included)
A Typical day at Ulpotha:
07:00 - 07:30: Tea and fruit
07:30 - 09:00: Yoga
09:00-09:30: Breakfast
09:45-12:30: Massages/Ayurveda/ swimming/relaxing
12:30-13:30: Lunch
14:00-16:00: Massages/Ayurveda/swimming/relaxing
16:00 - 17:00: Tea and snacks
17:00 - 18:30 Yoga/Meditation/Sunset walks
19:00 - 20:00: Dinner
Transport to and from Ulpotha and travel insurance is not included.
Ayurveda treatments are not included in the price, please see prices on our booking page.
Your Teachers & Therapists
Malaika MaVeena Darville
Yoga TeacherOriginally from Canada and now based in Bali, Malaika teaches and dances around the world. She brings long experience on and off the mat to support real self-transformation.
A qualified ISHTA teacher, Water Dance practitioner and African dance performer, she is the creatrix of 5Elements Dance Activation, a dynamic, shamanic-inspired movement journey that works with earth, water, fire, air and spirit. With more than 12 years as a bodyworker and many years as a spiritual healer, Malaika helps you find flow, grace and ease around old injuries. Her teaching lives in nature as much as in the shala, and holds yoga as a marriage of mind, body and spirit.
You will practise Elemental ISHTA Yoga that blends classical teachings with a modern, personal approach. Expect clear attention to flow, alignment and body awareness so you can move with respect for your own needs. On alternate afternoons, you will explore free ecstatic dance, using great world music to let go, reconnect and discover how movement can deepen meditation.
What you will experience with Malaika
Pranayama and simple visualisation to settle and clarify the mind
Daily asana to stretch, strengthen and balance the body
Week one: Hatha flow based on the elements
Week two: practices that connect yoga with the chakra system
Daily dance with 5Elements Dance Activation and Ecstatic Dance
Meditation to nurture compassion for yourself and others
Eva Thomas
Visiting TherapistEver since Eva was a young girl, growing up in Germany, she was utterly passionate about movement and dancing. She danced not just with her body but with her whole spirit and became interested in traditional healing methods from a young age.
