7-Day Silence-Yoga-Detox Retreat

Welcome to the silence.

In a world that seems louder, busier and more demanding by the minute, silence is the new gold; scarce, valuable and ultimately unaffordable. Only silence brings you back to where you long for the most: the original ground of existence of your soul. Do you remember the time that your life was carefree? That you look at the sky and you realize how beautiful life is? A time when you do not have to do anything to be happy and to feel alive? Silence brings you there. In silence you remember once again that everything you have been striving for has always been present. All love, joy, beauty, happiness, freedom, strength and wisdom have never left you. They have always been there, have travelled with you constantly, directly behind your busy thoughts. Return to this place of silence and give your original qualities and powers oxygen and space to roam again.

Tijn and Juno have been organizing silent retreats for decades and have become very experienced in creating a safe and healing environment. Silence brings you back to your original source and safe haven. But the beauty of silence is also that it allows your shadow aspects to become conscious. You carry them for the most part with you unconsciously, however they slow you down. They create noise, emotions, fear and unrest.

The retreats we organise are gentle and relaxed and thereby facilitate deep transformation. You do not have to sit in painful positions for hours, you do not have to do anything during the deliberately planned me-time. Over the years, they discovered that consciously being in silence together creates a basis for a transformative experience. You can be completely yourself in the company of others who are too. Social masks fall away and hearts truly open.

The only three people talking are Juno, Tijn and Daphne during the guided meditations and yoga classes. In the daily inspiration class  Tijn shares stories, techniques, methods and experiences that help you remember your true self. Due to the international nature of this retreat, the language spoken by your silent guides, is English. The participants do not speak the entire week. Many people who have attended our retreats speak of ‘before’ and ‘after’ the retreat, it is a life-changing experience.
We also share ways to keep the silence alive when the retreat has finished. More and more people are discovering today that only a few minutes of regular meditation makes a meaningful difference in work, relationships, health and happiness. We all know the feeling of flow: life is then effortless and magical. Silence brings you back to that place of flow.

Mandali Retreat Center.

Mandali is a beautiful retreat centre, located high on the mountains at the edge of Lake Orta, in northern Italy. Only one hour from Milan. It is a ‘not for profit’ centre, built by the Mandali Foundation. Mandali comes from the Sanskrit Mandala, which means circle, connection and community. The architecture is inspired by nearby medieval Italian villages. Due to the high location and the use of natural and local materials, such as marble and old wood, the centre breathes a serene and magical atmosphere.

The centre offers room for 60 guests in beautiful rooms with a view of the lake or the garden. The buildings consist of tastefully furnished rooms and apartments with pure materials and earthy colours. In the main building is the restaurant with terrace, where a delicious vegetarian meal is prepared three times a day. No alcohol is served to provide maximum support for the detox and transformation process. Besides the yoga and meditation room there is also a quiet room. On the quiet terrace cozy corners with lounge beds and bean bags are arranged to retreat and enjoy the breath-taking view in silence.

To support the relaxation and activation of body and mind, a lot of attention has been paid to the design and layout of the spa, with a sauna, steam bath, a swimming pool with views over the mountains and an outdoor jacuzzi overlooking the lake. At the spa you can book various massages and treatments.
The jewel of Mandali is the temple in the heart of the estate. With the large temple room below and the beautiful Maria Dome above, illuminated by a handmade glass chandelier from Venice.

Program

(please not that the program/content/timetable may change during corona measures or limitations to group sizes and activities)

Day of Arrival.

• 18:00 – 19:00 Diner.
• 19:00 – 20:00 Introduction.
• 20:00-20:30 Meditation.

Consecutive days.

• 07:30 – 08:30 Ashtanga Yoga (all)
• 08:45 – 09:15 Meditation (all)
• 09:15 – 10:15 Breakfast.
• 10:15 – 11:15 Inspiration class (all)
• 11:15 – 12:30 Me-Time.
• 12:30 – 13.00 Silent Meditation. (all)
• 13:00 – 14:30 Lunch + siesta.
• 14:30 – 16:30 Silent walk (optional) on day 2-4-6, on 3&5 Me Time
• 16:30-17:00 Me Time 
• 17:00-18:30 Yin Yoga (all)
• 18:45 – 19:15 Meditation. (all)
• 19:15 – Diner

Day of departure.

• 08:00 – 08:30 Meditation. (all)
• 09:00 – 10:00 Breakfast and checking out of your room.
• 10:00 – 12:00 Closing and Sharing. (all)

After the introduction on the day of arrival the silence is ushered in, after which the participants no longer speak during the retreat.
Every morning you start with an Ashtanga yoga class and meditation. After breakfast you make a silent walk if you feel like it after which you will have a conscious, silent Me-Time in which you make yourself receptive to be inspired and use the tools provided during the teachings. Before lunch there is again a joint meditation and after lunch a nice long siesta.

Every morning during the inspirational class, Tijn shares insights and techniques that you can use during the retreat to calm down your mind, be grounded and let your energy flow freely. You will also be provided with tools that you can use to deal with what presents in your consciousness. In addition to the guided meditations and guidance during the yoga classes, this is the only moment when the guides speak, the participants are silent all week. You end each day with a Yin Yoga class and meditation.After breakfast on the day of departure, we break the silence after which there is room to give words to your experiences.

Meditation and Yoga.
In this retreat you practice yoga under the guidance of Daphne Luttger as a traditional preparation for meditation. In the morning we do an Ashtanga practice, in the afternoon Yin yoga. Both yoga and meditation do not contain a performance or competition element, making the lessons suitable for all levels.

Detox & Nutrition.
During the retreat you eat inspired, medicinal food that will make your system sing, relax and detox. You do not eat meat, dairy, bread and sugar and do not drink coffee. All products are of biological quality. Detoxing is not the same as fasting. The meals are buffet style and there is plenty of food, if you need a lot or extra energy.

Your guides

Tijn Touber is an author, musician and meditation teacher. He is the founder of the Lois Lane pop group, but retired fourteen years after this musical adventure to focus on consciousness development. In this period, he started giving trainings to, among others, the Amsterdam police, drug delinquents in the Bijlmerbajes and pop festivals such as Lowlands. He wrote several books about it and is much in demand as a speaker because he knows how to translate ‘complicated’ spiritual matters into the everyday world of experience. Tijn now has 6 books to his name, writes columns, interviews and stories for Ode and Happinez.

Juno Burger is an energetic therapist, teacher, author and speaker and published his book The Invitation about the dynamics of awareness and the compassionate heart. He consciously uses the time with himself, the people he meets and the places where he comes to find out where he can broaden, be even more compassionate. In the course of the years he has become more and more available for the diversity of life itself. This availability is what he offers you. An energetic space in which tension can discharge so that energy in you can flow more freely. With this ‘bandwidth’ he can feel and be with a huge diversity of energies of people, spaces and situations.

Daphne Luttger’s search in the outside world has brought her to her inner world. In 2008 she decided to follow the Astanga Yoga Teacher Training with Johan Noorloos and Marcel van de Vis Heil. This decision turned out to be very important to her. She continued with advanced training with the help of Anat Geiger. Daphne has completed further workshops and training with David Swenson, Anthony Carlisi, Ross Rayburn, Mark Holzman and Martin Kirk, Kino Macgregor, Eddie Stern, Paul Dalaghan and her beloved teachers Paul and Suzee Grilley and Sarah and Ty Powers. In September 2015 she graduated as a Holistic Health Coach at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York and in December 2016 she completed the 60-hour Ayurvedic Nutrition course with Coen van der Kroon.

Massages & Spa.
During your stay in Mandali you can use the facilities of the Mandali Body Care Center including the swimming pool, the outdoor jacuzzi from which you can see Lago D’orta, the sauna and the steam bath. Massages and other treatments can be booked locally at the reception of Mandali for an additional fee.

Room prices.
All prices are per person per week, including VAT, accommodation, food and drinks, excluding flight, transport to and from Mandali and massages.

• Twin-Share Garden View: double room with two single beds: € 1495.
• Twin-Share Lake View: double room with two single beds: € 1545.
• Single Garden View: single room: € 1595.
• Single Lake View: single room: € 1695.
• Premium Twin Share Lake View: luxurious, extra spacious double room with two extra large single beds: € 1695.
• Premium Single Lake View: luxury, extra spacious double room with copper bath on the balcony overlooking the lake: € 1895.

(Spread) Payment and cancellation.
Payment in installments without interest is possible: the deposit upon booking is €500 and is non-refundable. The remaining amount is paid in 3 equal installments. For more information about payment in installments, email juno@junoburger.com. Any costs for international bank payments will be borne by the customer.

Retreat cancellation policy:
The deposit upon booking is €500 and is non-refundable, whether you pay in installments or in one go.
In case of cancellation:

• Up to 6 months before the start of the retreat: 100% of the remaining amount. (room rate – / – € 500 deposit).
• Between 3 and 6 months before the start of the retreat: 50% of the remaining amount (room rate – / – € 500 deposit).
• Less than 3 months before the start of the retreat: 0% of the remaining amount (room rate – / – € 500 deposit).

Travel to and from Mandali
You can fly to Milan Malpensa which is about an hour’s drive from Mandali. Mandali has an agreement with a local taxi company where you can share a taxi or mini-van with a group of fellow travellers. The costs are €160 * for a taxi that can be shared with three people or €200 * for a mini-van that can be shared with 8 people (* one way). Please note that this service only applies to Milan Malpensa and not to the other airports in Milan!