Yoga for Women Over 40

Yoga was always meant to be an individualised practice, adapted and modified constantly to meet the unique needs of individual bodies as they change from day to day, and over the years. Perhaps nowhere is this change more dramatic than in the perimenopausal and menopausal years of women’s bodies from their 40s onwards, and yet, very few Yoga teachers -- or fitness instructors in general-- adapt the practice to women's bodies as they age. As a result, older women are often stuck in classes that are unable to meet their specific needs, having accepted that hot flashes, mood swings, skin dryness, stiff joints, muscle pain, insomnia and weight gain are simply things they need to put up with, no matter how extreme the discomfort at times.

Over the past 10 years, Sunaina Mathur has been watching her own body change, and adapting her Yoga practice and teaching to accommodate these changes. Through extensive research and debate on the hormonal and physical changes that aging and menopause bring, she has adapted yogic practices of asana, pranayam, chanting, meditation and visualization as healing modalities specifically for women as they transit through these years.

Over this week-long retreat, Sunaina will be working closely with participants, always focused on this body, this day, this moment, this state of mind. Each morning will begin with an asana practice, followed by breakfast, and then a short theory or Pranayam session to understand the ways in which menopause is changing our bodies. After lunch, we will take the afternoons off for rest, journaling, walking, or simply taking the time to connect and speak openly with one another about the ways in which our bodies are changing. We will meet again for a Yoga session before dinner, and then allow the evening to give way to bonfires, stargazing, local music and good food. We will also set aside one whole day for absorption, rest, and community, since the goal is as much to connect with others in a similar life moment as it is to connect with our own bodies.

The hope, overall, is to create an ease with talking openly about this time in our life journeys, validating our own and each others’ experiences, owning the unease we feel-- and then, to rest, recover and together begin a journey of comfort and healing!

No Prior Experience with Yoga necessary! Bring your bodies as they are, illness, or injury, or stiffness, and all, and let us work together towards greater ease and comfort. 

Accommodation 

will be in Swiss-style luxury tents, with British campaign style furniture. All tents have ensuite washrooms that have geysers, hot showers, and private sitouts. 

Aditi Rao from Camp Nomad will be there to coordinate with you for all of your needs, and the staff at Camp Nomad have hosted many all-women groups and been trained in supporting the comfort and safety of solo women travellers. 

Cost

The 7-day Yoga workshops costs Rs. 40,000 per person on twin sharing or Rs 70,000 per person on single occupancy. 

Total cost includes:

• 3 Sessions per day, 2 of Yoga Practice, and one session of conversations to understand our bodies through menopause
• 1 Day for rest, absorption, and optional field trips.
• Accommodation for 6 nights
• All meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 rounds of chai and snacks
• Optional Journaling Prompts each day.
• Optional Guided Mountain Walks each morning
• Special local Himachali feast one night
• Live Himachali Music and Bonfire on one night
• Basic first aid and stationery

Total cost excludes:

• Travel to Gallu from participants’ respective cities
• Additional food, alcohol etc.
• Costs for any optional field trips
• Yoga mats and other personal supplies
• Medical expenses beyond first aid, if needed
• Insurance
• Other Personal Expenses

About the Instructor

Sunaina Mathur has been teaching Yoga for 17 years, and has been working with alternative therapies for over 25 years. She began with an initiation into Reiki and then training till the Master level. Along with that she  trained in clinical Transactional Analysis from ICTA Mumbai as a mode of psychotherapy, followed by training in clinical hypnotherapy from the California Hypnosis Institute. In 2004 she joined Studio Abhyas, the yoga studio of Navtej Johar, and found working with the body and the breath far more effective than any intellectual mode of healing. In 2010, she got her Yoga Teacher's certification from the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram ( KYM), Chennai. Her work now focuses on yoga using Asana, Pranayam, Vedic chanting and visualisation for ongoing wellness. She works with both, groups and individuals, focussing on the mind-breath-body connection.

Over the past decade, Sunaina's work has extended to using yoga as a tool for rehabilitation and for therapeutic purposes with people recovering from injuries or surgeries, pre and post-natal yoga, yoga for people afflicted with mental illness and/or addiction and athletes in training . While she stays true to the KYM fundamentals of yoga practice in its attention to breath and co ordinating all Asanas with the breath, she also use techniques borrowed from Pilates, dance and Somatics to improve focus on alignment and the movement of breath within the body. She has also been working specifically on researching and developing Yogic practices to support women through menopause and beyond. 

Getting to Camp Nomad

Once you have registered for the workshop, we will create a Whatsapp group for you to meet other participants and support you in planning your travel together. In general, here are the easiest ways to reach Camp Nomad:

By Air: Fly to Chandigarh Airport, and take a taxi from there (approx 3.5 - 4 hours).

By Rail: Take a train to Chandigarh or Kalka, and a taxi from there. Travel time is similar from both places, about 3.5 - 4 hours.

By Bus: Take a Volvo to Shimla, and a can from there to Camp (approximately 45 minutes)

By Road: Follow the Google Map below, and take the Mashobraa-Bekhalti Road at Kufri Fun World, then look for Camp on your right after about 3.5 km. The drive from Delhi will take approx 8 hours, 3.5-4 hours form Chandigarh, and 45 minutes from Shimla.

Schedule

Day 1

2:00 PM - 4 PM: Arrivals: Amit from Camp Nomad will coordinate with you to in case you need help figuring out transportation from Shimla or Chandigarh. If you drive from Delhi or take the morning Kalka Shatabdi, you can comfortably make it to Camp Nomad before 4 PM. If you were already in Shimla the previous night, you can head to Gallu after lunch and just use the extra time to settle into camp or go for a walk nearby.

4:00 - 5:00 - Chai and Snacks

5:00 - 7:30: Once everyone has settled in, we gather as a large group to introduce ourselves, walk you through the camp space, and go over the schedule for the upcoming days. We will also generate a list of first agreements — a set of principles that will guide our time together and help create and sustain a space that is simultaneously safe, challenging, and nurturing for everyone.  

8:00: We end the day with dinner and a bonfire, leaving you to have an early night or to stay up late watching the stars.

Day 2

7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch the sunrise.

8:00 - 9:00: Our first Yoga session of the week will start out gently, giving you time to get used to the altitude and how your body reacts to it. 

9:00 - 11:00: Return from your Yoga session to a hot breakfast and time to get ready for your day.

11:00 - 1:00: The group will gather for a conversation with Sunaina Mathur about the themes of the retreat and the ways in which Yoga can support women in their perimenopausal and menopausal years.

1:00 - 4:00: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to read, go for walks, or get some rest. There will always be a journaling prompt as well if you would like to use it in your time off. 

4:00 - 4:30: Come back together for a quick cup of tea before we begin the second Yoga session of the day. 

4:30 - 6:30: Our second session of the day will be gentle, with an easy meditative practice.

7:30 - 9:30: Gather around the bonfire for soup, dinner, and lively conversation. As always, you are free to retire early for the night or stay up late stargazing. 

Day 3

7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch the sunrise.

8:00 - 9:00: Gather in the Baithak for our morning Yoga session. 

9:00 - 11:00: Return from your Yoga session to a hot breakfast and time to get ready for your day.

11:00 - 1:00: The group will gather for a conversation with Sunaina Mathur about the themes of the retreat and the ways in which Yoga can support women in their perimenopausal and menopausal years.

1:00 - 4:00: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to read, go for walks, or get some rest. There will always be a journaling prompt as well if you would like to use it in your time off. 

4:00 - 4:30: Come back together for a quick cup of tea before we begin the second Yoga session of the day. 

4:30 - 6:30: Our second session of the day will be gentle, with an easy meditative practice.

7:30 - 9:30: Gather around the bonfire for soup, dinner, and lively conversation. As always, you are free to retire early for the night or stay up late stargazing. 

Day 4

7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch the sunrise.

8:00 - 9:00: Gather in the Baithak for our morning Yoga session. 

9:00 - 11:00: Return from your Yoga session to a hot breakfast and time to get ready for your day.

11:00 - 7:30 : In the tradition of the Shavasana, we are taking the day off for rest and absorption today. If you would like to head out for a hike or into Shimla, let us know in advance, and we will organise it. We are also happy to help plan a picnic in the forest, a gentle guided walk, or whatever else you would like to do on your day off. Of course, you are more than welcome to just spend the day lounging in a hammock or sleeping in!

7:30 - 9:30: We close our day of rest and rejuvenation with live Himachali folk music around the bonfire! 

Day 5

7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch the sunrise.

8:00 - 9:00: After our day of rest, we resume our Yoga sessions with out morning practice in the Baithak. 

9:00 - 11:00: Return from your Yoga session to a hot breakfast and time to get ready for your day.

11:00 - 1:00: The group will gather for a conversation about the themes of the retreat and the ways in which Yoga can support women in their perimenopausal and menopausal years.

1:00 - 4:00: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to read, go for walks, or get some rest. There will always be a journaling prompt as well if you would like to use it in your time off. 

4:00 - 4:30: Come back together for a quick cup of tea before we begin the second Yoga session of the day. 

4:30 - 6:30: Our second session of the day will be gentle, with an easy meditative practice.

7:30 - 9:30: Gather around the bonfire for soup, dinner, and lively conversation. As always, you are free to retire early for the night or stay up late stargazing. 

Day 6

7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch the sunrise.

8:00 - 9:00: After our day of rest, we resume our Yoga sessions with out morning practice in the Baithak. 

9:00 - 11:00: Return from your Yoga session to a hot breakfast and time to get ready for your day.

11:00 - 1:00: As this is our last full day together, we will move towards tying together the themes of this retreat and thinking about how we might carry some of these practices back into our everyday lives at home. 

1:00 - 4:00: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to read, go for walks, or get some rest. There will always be a journaling prompt as well if you would like to use it in your time off. 

4:00 - 4:30: Come back together for a quick cup of tea before we begin the second Yoga session of the day. 

4:30 - 6:30: Our closing Yoga session of the retreat will be gentle, giving you practices and ideas you can take home with you.

7:30 - 9:30: Gather around the bonfire for one last time. As a special treat, we will offer you a 7 dish traditional Himachali feast from the district of Chamba to close out our time together.  

Day 7

7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy our last morning together with tea and spectacular valley views— and if you haven’t yet woken up for the sunrise, today would be a good day to do so!

8:00 - 9:00: We meet for a closing circle, during which we throw a ball of twine around the room, thank each other, and close our time together with hugs and photographs.

9:00 - 11:00: Enjoy some breakfast, pack your things, share one last cup of tea, hug each other again, and begin the journeys back to Shimla or Kalka in time to catch the Shatabdi, the toy train, or the overnight Volvos. In case you would like to stay another night before heading home, do speak to Amit beforehand: he may be able to host you for another night if you book in advance.

Cancellation Policy

In case you need to cancel for some reason after you have paid, the Cancellation policy will be:

More than 4 weeks before Day 1 of Camp: 90% refund

3 - 4 weeks  before Day 1 of Camp: 50 % refund

2 - 3 weeks before Day 1 of Camp: 25% refund

Less than 2 weeks before Day 1 of Camp: No refund. The only exception to this rule is cancellations due to a medical emergency or a positive COVID result; in this case, please provide us a copy of your test report, and we will make a full refund.

Trip Disclaimer

• We will have a basic first aid kit at camp, as well as a nursing assistant on standby for medical emergencies. However, if you have any known medical conditions or allergies, please carry your medication with you as there are no chemists in the immediate vicinity of Camp Nomad. Further, in case any participant requires medical attention beyond what can be provided at Camp, we will help organise transport to the nearest hospital. All extra medical and transportation expenses will be borne by the participant.
• In keeping with travelling sustainably, please minimise plastic use and ensure you do not litter in the natural areas.
• If for any reason you have to leave the trip early, you will not be entitled to a refund. We will not be liable for any expenses incurred to you as a result. However we will do our best to help make all arrangements for you to return to Shimla or your final destination at the earliest.
• If the behaviour of any participant is likely to cause distress or harm to themselves, our staff or other team members, we reserve the right to terminate their trip at any time and they will have to make their own arrangements; we will not be liable for any expenses incurred as a result.