15 minutes from Lagos
A yoga retreat in the Algarve
Twice a day, every day
Practice that bookends your whole stay
Yoga at Moinhos Velhos isn’t an add-on to a beach holiday — it’s built into the spine of every retreat. Mornings open with an all-levels practice; evenings close with meditation in the same room. Between the two, the rest of the day has somewhere to rest.
Classes are taught by our resident facilitators — teachers with decades of practice between them — and are designed to work for whoever shows up — first-timers and five-hundred-class veterans alike.
The practice
Morning movement, evening stillness
Morning practice
An all-levels class at 8 am, drawing on more than three decades of teaching in this temple — accessible on your first morning, still rewarding on your hundredth.
Evening meditation
The day closes as it opened, under the temple roof at 7.45 pm — sometimes silent, sometimes guided, and often followed by a fire ceremony.
All levels, genuinely
Teachers pitch every class to whoever's in the room that day. Complete beginners practise beside guests on their tenth retreat, and nobody is made to feel out of place.
The room itself
An open-sided temple above the gardens
The temple sits open on every side, looking straight out over the terraced gardens and the valley beyond — no walls between your practice and the view. Forty pictures of ascended masters line the space, and guests regularly describe it as one of the most settled rooms they’ve ever practised in.
It doubles as the site’s spiritual centre outside class times too — host to the evening fire ceremony and, most weeks, a quiet spot guests return to alone between sessions.
Why pair yoga with fasting
The two practices lean on each other
A juice fast gives the body a rest from digestion; yoga gives it gentle movement and deep breathing to keep things circulating while that rest happens. Guests often say the combination makes each half easier — the fasting deepens the practice, and the practice makes the fasting week pass more comfortably. Neither claims to detoxify anything on its own; together, they simply make for a calmer, more supported week.
There’s also a simpler, more physical reason the two sit well together: gentle movement and slow, deliberate breathing help circulation keep pace while you’re eating less than usual, and many guests say the relaxation that follows a class is what finally lets a busy mind switch off for the day. It’s a relationship the programme has leaned on since 1992, long before “wellness” was a word anyone put on a retreat brochure.
All levels, in practice
What “beginners welcome” actually means here
It’s an easy line for any retreat to write and a harder one to actually deliver. In our temple it means teachers routinely offer two or three variations of the same posture in a single breath, props are simply there rather than requested, and a guest who spends the class seated and breathing is treated exactly the same as one holding a full pose. Classes run most mornings of every retreat, so missing one to rest never means missing the week.
Where you’ll practise
A valley setting, a coastline nearby
The temple sits inside our 16-hectare valley at Cotifo, near Barão de São João — fifteen minutes from Lagos, an hour from Faro Airport, and genuinely quiet once you’re through the gate. Once a week, the whole group heads out together for a trip to one of the Algarve’s beaches, a welcome change of scenery mid-retreat.
Who teaches
Facilitators who live where they teach
Classes are led by our resident team — experienced yoga teachers with decades of combined practice, living on site rather than flying in for the week. You’ll get to know them well beyond the mat, over juices, workshops and the odd shared walk to the reservoir.
Before you book
Questions guests ask about the yoga
A few things worth knowing if the yoga is your main reason for coming, whatever your experience level.
Do I need any yoga experience to join?
No. Classes are built to work for whoever's on their mat that morning — plenty of guests arrive having never attended a single class. Teachers offer modifications throughout, and nobody is corrected in front of the group or made to feel behind.
What if I have an injury or limited mobility?
Mention it to your teacher before the first class and they'll adjust postures accordingly — a bolster, a chair, or simply a different variation. Yoga here is offered as a gentle, supportive practice, not a fitness test, and resting through a posture is always a legitimate option.
Is the evening meditation compulsory?
No session is compulsory. Most guests find they want to be there once they've tried it a couple of times, but our approach is deliberately permissive — you decide each evening how much of the schedule suits you, without any awkwardness for opting out.
Can I do the yoga without the full juice fast?
Yes, through a Wellness Stay — a non-detox option with optional morning yoga classes (around €10 each) alongside full use of the pool, sauna and gardens. It's a popular way to experience the temple and teaching style without committing to a fasting programme.
Investment
From €995 for a full week
Retreats run 7 or 10 nights and include daily yoga and evening meditation as standard — there’s no separate charge for the practice itself. Accommodation ranges from shared twin bell tents to premium singles in the old mill.
Step onto the mat above the valley
Check live availability and reserve your place with a €350 deposit. It takes about five minutes.