Gayatri Retreat

Join us for a six-day retreat dedicated to the ancient and powerful Gayatri mantra and its yantra – an invocation of solar wisdom, clarity, and inner illumination. We will awaken together a new cycle of clarity and purpose in the warm light of late-summer Tuscany. Our journey will culminate on Gayatri Jayanti (28 August), the annual sacred day honouring the mantra itself, creating a natural peak of intention, renewal and celebration.

The retreat is led by Antarshuddhi.

Gayatri – Wisdom and Illumination

Gayatri (Gāyatrī) or Savitri (Sāvitrī) Mantra found, in Ṛgveda III.62.10, is one of the most frequently recited texts in human history and holds a central place in the Indian spiritual and philosophical traditions. Over time, its significance has grown so profoundly that the mantra has not only been personified as the “Mother of the Vedas” but has also come to be revered as a goddess embodying wisdom and illumination. Today, the Gayatri Mantra is also one of the most well-known and cherished mantras in the West.

Gayatri is traditionally associated with the Sun – our source of life, energy, and light, and the central force of our solar system. The year 2026 is a number-one year (2+0+2+6), which in Vedic numerology and astrology (Jyotiṣa) corresponds to the solar principle. This makes it an especially auspicious moment to consciously engage with the energy of the Sun and the Gayatri Mantra, carrying this impulse into our life as support for removing ignorance, gaining mental clarity, and progressing both spiritually and in any new beginnings we wish to initiate in the year ahead.

Creating Your Own Gayatri Yantra and Mandala

During these six days, we will immerse ourselves in practice, study, creation, and reflection. Each morning begins with guided mantra recitation, yoga and meditation practice, allowing us to experience the Gayatri’s power firsthand and invite its light into our mind, heart, and awareness on multiple levels.

Alongside the mantra and its sacred vibration, we will engage in the meditative act of embodying the mantra’s energy by bringing sound into form through the creation of the Gayatri yantra and a corresponding mandala radiating around it. As colour is an expression of light, you will have the opportunity to paint your yantra and mandala and highlight their radiance using a wash technique that adds an additional subtle sense of illumination. This personal act of creation becomes a tangible anchor for our sadhana (spiritual practice) – a bridge between inner transformation and outer expression.

As the retreat progresses, our practice will build towards 28th August, culminating in the celebration of Gayatri Jayanti, the sacred day honouring the mantra and its illuminating energy.

Yantra and Mantra: Expanding Consciousness

A yantra is a sacred geometric form, representing the manifested energy of a mantra. Together, they form a powerful sadhana, where the mantra embodies the essence, and the yantra serves as its physical vessel. Through drawing, painting, and chanting, we bridge the microcosm and macrocosm, aligning our inner world with the universal. Just as Gayatri embodies spiritual wisdom and illumination, the yantra and mantra guide us to expand consciousness, focus the mind, awaken creative power, and support our spiritual journey of transformation.

The Retreat

Living in the quiet retreat centre of Grempoli, surrounded by olive groves, rolling hills, and open skies, you’ll enjoy comfortable Tuscan accommodations and nourishing organic vegetarian meals prepared with ingredients sourced directly from the garden. In the warmth of mid-year, we settle into a peaceful rhythm of practice, communal living, reflection, and restorative stillness. Together, we honour Gayatri with respect and gratitude, nurturing intentions for clarity, renewal, and transformation as the cycle of the year unfolds.

Who Is This Retreat For?

This retreat is designed for anyone seeking more than a weekend escape – for those who wish to realign themselves mid-year, reconnect with purpose, cultivate inner clarity, embrace creative expression, and mark a meaningful point of transition with awareness and intention.

The Retreat Includes

• daily 90 minutes asana, pranayama and meditation class
• yoga nidra sessions
• karma yoga and periods of silence (mouna)
• daily mantra chanting practice
• exploring the principles of sacred geometry
• drawing and painting of yantra
• exploring the use of colour and the wash-painting-technique
• evening sessions on the terrace, including kirtan and havan (fire ceremony)
• a half day off halfway through with local walk.

All sessions are fully guided, and upon booking you will receive the list of materials you will need to bring.

No prior experience or knowledge of drawing and painting is required, just an open heart and a willingness to explore.

Language: English

When:

The retreat will begin at 5pm on Sunday 23rd August, it will conclude with lunch at 1pm on Saturday, 29th August.

We recommend arriving between 1pm and 4pm on the 23rd August to give yourself ample time to settle in before the program begins.

We kindly ask that you plan your arrival and departure times carefully to ensure full participation in the program. Transportation to the train station will not be available before the conclusion of the retreat at 1 pm on 29th August.

Cost of Retreat:

Early Bird Rate up to 30th April:
Double € 980 / Single € 1.080 (there are only two single rooms available)
After 30th April:
Double € 1.080 / Single € 1.180
Bathroom facilities are shared.
Maximum participants: 12

Concession rates are available, and payment in instalments can also be arranged. Please just send us a message and we will find a way.

The fee covers 6 nights of accommodation in a beautiful single or double room with a shared bathroom, 3 healthy, organic meals per day, local transport for pick-up and drop-off, all tuition and classes, and some materials.

For bookings, please, fill in Grempoli’s contact form.