CALA · 2026 SEASON
Five-day mornings in the mountains.
A small lodge, fifteen people, one teacher. Asana before breakfast, slow afternoons by the water, real food from the kitchen garden. Spring, summer, and autumn retreats in the English Lake District.
The lodge.
Cala is an 1890s stone farmhouse half a mile up a single-track lane in the Lake District. The yoga shala was added in 2018 — pine floors, a wood stove in the corner, eight tall windows looking east into the fells.
We keep the place small on purpose. Fifteen people, max. One teacher. Long meals at one table. No phones at meals — we ask, and people do it without much fuss.
A small place, on purpose.
15
Guests max
Every retreat. We don't scale.
12
Retreats per year
Spring through autumn.
19
Years teaching
Your teacher, Maya Okonkwo.
4.9 / 5
Guest rating
Across 240 verified reviews.
What we practice.
Slow vinyasa most mornings — strong enough to wake the body, gentle enough that you can come back to it for fifty years. Restorative + pranayama in the late afternoon.
All levels welcome. We mean it. About a third of our guests each season are in their first year of practice; another third have been on the mat for over twenty. The pacing is built so both ends of that room have a useful day.
No chanting. No special outfits. No outsourced wellness add-ons. Just the practice and the room.
A typical day at Cala.
The shape of it — bring a book.
- 1
06:45 — Tea in the shala
Optional, no pressure. Black tea, herbal, hot water and lemon. Eight tall windows facing east — sometimes the sun does what you came for.
- 2
07:00 — Pranayama + slow vinyasa
75 minutes. Strong but not heroic. Maya teaches every session herself.
- 3
09:00 — Breakfast
Long, quiet, plant-forward, from the kitchen garden when we can. The best meal of the retreat, ask anyone.
- 4
10:30 — Open afternoon
Walk in the fells, swim in the tarn, read by the wood stove, sleep. The point is the gap.
- 5
16:30 — Restorative + pranayama
75 minutes. Soft. The kind of practice your nervous system has been quietly asking for.
- 6
18:30 — Dinner
One table. Candles. Conversation if you want it, quiet if you don't.
The lodge in pictures.
Eight months a year, this is the room you wake up in.
2026 retreats.
Five nights, ten sessions, all meals, all the tea you can drink. Tuesday afternoon arrival → Sunday morning departure.
Shared room
Twin or triple in the main house. Best for guests who don't mind a roommate.
- Linen sheets, view of fells or tarn
- All meals + tea/coffee
- 10 yoga sessions over 5 days
- Welcome and farewell circle
Most popular
Single room
Twelve singles across the main house. Most popular tier — usually first to sell out.
- Private room, linen sheets
- Fell or tarn view
- All meals + tea/coffee
- 10 yoga sessions, 5 days
- Welcome and farewell circle
Private cabin
Three small cabins across the garden. For couples, close friends, or anyone who really wants their own front door.
- Stand-alone cabin, en-suite
- Wood stove + small front porch
- Dog-friendly (tell us when you book)
- All meals + 10 yoga sessions
What guests come home saying.
I arrived intending to think about my career and didn't think about it once until the train home. By then I'd already decided.
Helen B.
Summer 2025 guest
Smallest, quietest, most thoughtful retreat I've been to. Maya's teaching is the calmest authority I've sat under.
Pablo R.
Returning guest, 3rd retreat
The food alone would justify the trip. Add the practice, the room, the views, the not-checking-my-phone — best week of the year.
Kate M.
Autumn 2025 guest
Before you book.
About a third of our guests each season are in their first year of practice. Maya teaches with this in mind. Every pose has options, nothing is performance, and you'll never be the only person new to it in the room.
If you're genuinely uncertain, we'll send you a 25-minute primer video before you arrive. That's enough.
Press / mentions
- The Guardian Travel
- Conde Nast Traveller
- Yoga Magazine UK
- Country Living
Reserve your spot for 2026.
Most retreats sell out 4-8 weeks ahead. Single rooms go first. Email us with the dates that work and we'll come back same-day with availability.