Over the years, I have said this more times than I can count: People often come to Sansara for the retreat. But they come back for the surf.
The ocean teaches us things that can be difficult to lean anywhere else, patience, humility, timing, commitment and letting go. You paddle out with one plan, and then ocean gives you another. You hesitate, try, fall, laugh, and paddle back out. Little by little, you realize that progress is not always technical. Sometimes it begins when you stop fighting the wave and start meeting it.
We have watched women catch their first wave later in life, move through years of frustration, and arrive focused on standing up, only to leave talking about confidence, patience and trust. That is why, for us, surfing has never only been about surfing.
For more than a decade, we have been developing our surf program by paying attention: to what helps someone feel safe enough to try, what builds confidence in the water, and the difference between simply taking a lesson and truly progressing.
We believe in smaller groups, individual attention and enough time in the water for something meaningful to happen. This year, we took that philosophy further. We stopped asking only how to offer more surf and began asking how to better support the woman doing it.
What prepares her body before she paddles out? What helps her stay calm when everything starts moving quickly? What allows her to recover, return the next day and build on what she learned?
Because progression doesn’t happen only while standing on the board. It is shaped by strength, mobility, nourishment, rest, recovery, confidence and a deeper understanding of the ocean.
This retreat brings all of those pieces together.
This is not about pushing everyone toward the same goal. It is about meeting each woman where she is – and helping her discover what comes next. For one woman, that might mean feeling comfortable in the ocean for the first time. For another, i tmight mean improving her pop-up, reading waves more confidently or moving beyond a plateau. And for someone else, it might simply mean learning to trust herself when hesitation appears. There is no wrong place to begin. Technique matters. But so does learning to breathe when everything feels fast. To trust your body. To notice when you are overthinking. To release the need to control every outcome. To try again without turning every wave into a test.
Again and again, we have watched something shift when women learn alongside other women. There is often less pressure to perform and more room to encourage one another. More laughter after the wipeout. More celebration of the tiney breakthrough that nobody else would notice. One woman paddles out feeling nervous, and another reminds her she can do it. Someone catches the wave she as worked toward all week, and suddenly the entire lineup feels as though it has won. You are still working on your own surfing. But you are not doing it alone. That sense of sisterhood creates room to soften the pressure, stay curious and enjoy the process.
Surf is the heart of the week. Everything around it is designed to support your progression.
The experience will include:
Genevieve Munro will be your retreat leader for the week. She is a yoga educator, retreat leader, and Thai Massage therapist with a deep connection to movement and the ocean. Genevieve discovered surfing as an adult, so she knows what it feels like to begin, to feel unsure, and to keep returning to the water.
This is not a wellness retreat with one surf lesson added. It is a complete progression week, built around the understanding that becoming a stronger surfer involves far more than what happens on the wave.
If you have surfed with us before, this is your invitation to return and go deeper.
If you are newer to surfing, we will meet you exactly where you are. Come for the week. You may find yourself returning for the surf.
August 15 – 17, 2027
Six nights in Cambutal. Five days in the water. An intimate group of 14 women.
Explore the Women’s Surf Retreat
No equipment. No complicated workout.
Just a few movements Teresa recommends to support the strength, stability and mobility surfing asks of the body.
Complete two or three comfortable rounds:
10 squats. Build leg strength to support your pop-up and stance.
8 reverse lunges on each side. Develop balance, stability, and control.
10 incline push-ups. Use a bench, table, or wall to build upper-body strength without making it miserable.
30-second plank. Support the core stability used in paddling and positioning on the board.
8 slow standing rotations on each side. Create movement through the torso and prepare the body to rotate.
Finish with a few slow, intentional breaths. The goal is not to exhaust yourself. It is simply to arrive in the water feeling a little stronger, a little more mobile and ready to play.
The Sansara Annual Retreat Collection is our calendar of signature, in-house retreats-experiences imagined, curated, and hosted by our team for the different seasons of our lives. Each retreat has it’s own purpose and personality, while sharing the elements that make Sansara feel so special: thoughtful movement, nourishing food, ocean, nature, meaningful adventure and enough space to reconnect with yourself and others.
There are different seasons in our lives. Different things we need. Different reasons to step away from our routines for a while.
A Women’s Retreat with Marla Gibson | September 26 – October 2, 2027
At some point, the questions begin to change. For years, they may have sounded like: What needs to get done? Who needs me? What should I do next? The another question begins asking for your attention: What do I want now?
Your Turn is an intimate retreat for women moving through seasons of change or simply wondering what might come next. For six nights, someone else considers the meals, the room, the movement and all the small details.
The ocean never hurries, yet everything unfolds in perfect time…
The question isn’t whether you need space, rest or renewal. It’s when you’ll choose it for yourself.
Whether you’re ready for sunrise yoga, spa bliss, nourishing meals, or an epic surf retreat, we’re here holding space for your journey.