Why attend
Retreats
At the core of this work is connection.
In a world in which we are always rushing, onto the next decision, project, stage of life, or even the next meal without time for acknowledgement, something is missed. We can know life through books and pretend to have lived it, by listing our moments on resumes or documenting them on social media profiles, but nothing beats experiences, felt fully.
Opportunities for deep dives, intimate connection, away from the day to day distractions, now is your chance to integrate practices and embody wisdom in day to day living with supportive guidance and community.
Across the globe & near to home
Come away to the mountains for a weekend of gentle movement, nature, relaxation, and connection. We’ll gather for vineyard hangs, river floats, hot tub soaks, mountain swims, Thai yoga bodywork sessions, and slow mornings with coffee and fresh air.
Highlights include:
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Tubing on the Shanandoah River with Downriver Canoe Company (weather permitting)
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Flat Top Mountain Community Pool Party
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Picnic Lunch at the local vineyard
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Gentle Movement Classes
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Delicious vegetarian food
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Included Thai Yoga Bodywork sessions for individuals
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Hot tub soaking and breathtaking Shenandoah Valley views
Together we’ll cultivate rest, play, and presence through shared meals, community experiences, and plenty of time to unwind at the end of summer. Leave feeling grounded, restored, connected, and deeply nourished by nature and community alike, when new friends become found family.
Book a shared occupancy room at $1095
Book a single occupancy room at $1595
Schedule for each day forthcoming...
Float & Flourish:
Summer Camp for Grown Folx
with Anjali Sunita & Erin Desabla
August 13th - 17th (w/ option to stay the 18th for free time)
Rest, learn, introspect, meditate, restore, and grow during this long weekend retreat filled with daily Yoga, pranayama breathwork, and meditation. Anjali will also introduce you to Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Nutrition, and concepts and practices that integrate into your daily life. Together we will prepare one delicious Ayurvedic vegetarian meal, create homemade natural bath products, and set ourselves up for days that include greater nourishment going forward. Enjoy free time each day to rest and restore alone or in your new found community.
Highlights include:
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Ayurveda 101
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Experiential, sensory experiences that bring this new understanding of Ayurveda to life
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Daily gentle and seasonally based yoga and pranayama practices
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Peter Hess sound bath with Yoga Nidra
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Delicious vegetarian food
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Optional added foot massages/ reflexology or reiki
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Hot tub soaking and breathtaking Shenandoah Valley views
This is a retreat for those longing to attune, restore, and dwell in the quieter layers of being—held by mountains, sky, and shared practice.
Book a shared occupancy room at $995
Book a single occupancy room at $1395
Schedule for each day forthcoming...
Nourish Yoga & Ayurveda Retreat
October 1 - 5th
with Anjali, lovingly supported by Kathy
Nestled in the quiet beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Blue Ridge Soul Song Retreat is an immersive gathering designed to reconnect people with their authentic voice, creative spirit, and sense of belonging through music, movement, storytelling, and shared human expression.
This retreat is for musicians, educators, artists, seekers, and anyone longing to deepen their connection to themselves and others through the healing power of sound and community.
At its heart, this experience is about remembering something ancient and deeply human: that the voice is more than performance — it is medicine, identity, freedom, and soul expression.
Participants will explore:
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Vocal expression and chanting
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Singing and instrument circles and harmonies
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Breathwork and gentle movement
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Creative writing and lyrical storytelling
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Meditation and nature immersion
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Collaborative creativity and musical exploration
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Community connection and shared healing
Through workshops, fireside gatherings, hot tub moments, guided reflection, and collaborative music-making, guests are invited to “free up the spirit” and rediscover the joy that comes from creating together.
Whether you are an experienced performer or someone who has never fully explored or shared your soulful songs before, this space welcomes you exactly as you are.
Participants will be guided through experiential workshops that encourage vulnerability, curiosity, collaboration, and joy. The mountains themselves become part of the process — offering stillness, inspiration, and a return to natural rhythm.
Sample Experiences
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Morning vocal awakening, breathwork, and gentle floor stretching
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Chanting and meditative singing practices
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Song circles under the stars
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Creative writing and lyric workshops
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Guided discussions on purpose, identity, and artistic expression
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Nature walks and reflection time
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Collaborative music creation
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Community meals and shared storytelling
A Space for Everyone
Whether you come to sing, heal, reflect, create, or simply reconnect with yourself, the Blue Ridge Soul Song Retreat offers a supportive environment where every voice matters.
While generous and humble professionals are welcome, you do not need to be a professional musician.
You only need a willingness to explore, listen, and express.
Come discover the song beneath the noise.
Come reconnect with your authentic voice. Bring your inner voice, outward.
Come experience the healing creative power of community through music in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
About Scott Paynter
Scott Paynter, co-founder and frontman of the internationally known reggae band Jah Works, brings more than three decades of musical experience, cultural exploration, and heartfelt community connection to the Blue Ridge Soul Song Retreat.
Known for his soulful voice, conscious lyrics, and uplifting presence, Scott has dedicated much of his life to using music as a bridge between people, cultures, and inner transformation. Through years of performing, songwriting, and collaborating with musicians around the world, he has developed a deep understanding of the healing and unifying power of rhythm, voice, and authentic expression.
Scott’s work extends beyond the stage. His passion lies in helping others reconnect with their own creative spirit — encouraging people to discover confidence, purpose, and freedom through song, storytelling, and shared musical experiences.His approach is grounded, uplifting, and deeply human
About Anjali Sunita
Anjali Sunita, founder of Village Life Wellness, is a traditional wellness guide, vocalist, and facilitator whose work centers on healing through breath, sound, presence, and authentic human connection.
With a background in breathwork, meditation, theater, and North Indian classical music, Anjali brings a deeply grounded and soulful approach to personal transformation and creative expression. Her practice weaves together ancient vocal traditions, mindful breathing techniques, and intuitive facilitation to help individuals reconnect with their inner voice, emotional clarity, and natural state of balance.
At the Blue Ridge Soul Song Retreat, Anjali guides participants through breath-centered practices, vocal exploration, meditation, and collaborative healing experiences that support both personal growth and collective connection.
Her intention is simple yet profound:
to help people rediscover the wisdom already living within themselves through breath, music, and shared presence.
Book a shared occupancy room at $995
Book a single occupancy room at $1495
Blue Ridge Soul Song Retreat: A Retreat for self expression, healing, and community through music.
When we step into a more conscious relationship to our food, drink, breath, and movement, our lives become like a living prayer and open up in new ways.
Join Anjali Sunita & Daya Nimidas for an opportunity to turn unconscious patterns into conscious daily choices. This is a completely unique retreat unlike any other in this world, that will open the door to nature's abundant medicine and open your intuition to the abundant healing possibilities within your arms reach.
Anjali and Daya create a sacred opportunity for you to cleanse, nourish, connect, and become a more intentional. You will learn daily rituals to keep your body and mind clear enough to make real changes in your life. Change begins within and Anjali and Daya have planned a perfect container for you to cleanse, nourish, and connect more deeply with your own true nature.
This retreat functions as a light cleanse. We will eat very simple and specific Andean and Ayurvedic cuisine for cleansing like quinoa soups, fruits, oatmeals, steamed vegetables, and kitchari along with Ayurvedic and Andean herbal teas, in order to give relative rest to the digestive system. We will learn about the plants that assist us.
We will lighten the burdens of body and mind through:
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yoga
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meditation,
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nature therapies,
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prayer,
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song,
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sweat lodge,
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sauna
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and Ayurvedic self care rituals.
The retreat also functions as a wisdom sharing opportunity to learn some of the shared philosophy of practices indigenous to India (yoga & Ayurveda) and Peru. The philosophies shared provide resources for how to balance with the qualities of the natural world and ways to honor Her.
Unlike many extreme cleanses, this cleanse will be a palatable experience with many tools that you can integrate easily and take home.
Anjali Sunita is an Ayurvedic practitioner with Indian and North American roots who practices with a dual focus on tradition & accessibility. www.villagelifewellness.com Daya Nimidas is a Peruvian yoga teacher, the founder of Andean Yoga and has been living in the Sacred Valley for the past 13 years.
Every day includes
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2 sessions with Anjali or Daya each day
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Time to rest or roam
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Pranayama, Yoga, & Meditation
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Thai Massage or Ayurvedic bodywork
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Ayurvedic and Andean Wisdom Sharing
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Cleansing food
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Nature Therapies
This retreat will take place at a private retreat centre outside of Pisac Peru in the Sacred Valley of the southern Alps. Just the changing light on the mountains is breathtaking as you are held inside their embrace on all sides. A powerful vortex for growth and change, meet yourself at the "belly button" of the world and watch the growth unfold.
HAMPI: A seasonal cleanse through the wisdom of Ayurveda & Andean Yoga in the Sacred Valley of Peru
Next Retreat Date TBD
VIBRATE! Yoga & Ayurveda Retreat on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand.
Next Dates: TBD
This retreat is a truly unique and once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world through the lenses of Ayurveda & Yoga and to immerse in pristine nature. From the stunning sanctuary of the mountaintop to a seaside town of Whitianga, this retreat offers you a 1 week sensory experience of the stunningly beautiful and serene Coromandel Peninsula, a very special area on New Zealand's North Island.
This retreat is not only about the great vistas. It is about actual connection to land, plants, and common substances in your environment, and learning natural lifestyle medicines and practices. It's for those who believe in living their practices in all ways.
Sample Retreat Schedule:
Day 1:
Arrive to Thames, the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula and settle into your rooms chez Anjali. We will enjoy meals, a nature walk with photos (weather pending with a swimming hole), sunset practice and good sleep.
Day 2:
After a leisurely morning practice (outside weather pending) and a light breakfast, we will be joined by Jamie Watson, indigenous leader and practitioner of Rongoa, the Maori system of holistic medicine who will take us for a journey into the forest. Walks with Jamie are not a tourist adventure; they are a chance to drop into the land, story, and community of plants that exist around us. This is an absolute treat that no other international retreat provides and we are absolutely blessed to experience a slice of Aotearoa (New Zealand) with Jamie. We will leave our cameras at home and drop into the meditation of the experience. Jamie may also offer us another form of healing practice.
Day 3:
After breakfast, we will ride up the gorgeous coromandel coast, into the hills and ranges, to Mana Retreat Center where we will drop deeper into Ayurveda & Yoga, experiencing one of the most gorgeous sanctuaries to Mother Nature/ Papatuanuku that I have personally ever seen. We will enjoy freshly prepared lunch with the Mana team as well and return to Thames by sunset.
Day 4-7:
We travel to Whitianga. Part two of the retreat begins where we experience a vastly different landscape of beaches, seaside community, and and bush walks. Activities in and around Whitianga include:
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soaking in natural hot springs
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perhaps a trip to a local honey stall
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epic walks
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waterfall and ocean swimming
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and a sunset sail
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We will continue to integrate Ayurvedic self care practices and yoga each day, while enjoying simple and delicious meals cooked by our retreat cook, Erin, and also a dinner out.
February 3rd, we will make the drive back to Auckland where you can stay, fly out, or continue your journey around New Zealand.
Cost:
The total cost of the retreat (not including airfare & days that you come in advance to get acclimated to the timezone) is $3,000.
Please note: We require that everyone enter New Zealand by at least 3 days early and will suggest hotels in Auckland so that you can do a little touring around and most importantly fully move through the jet lag before we begin the retreat. (Costs not included in the retreat fee). To waste the time at the retreat with low energy of jet lag would really impact your experience and the energy of the group. Please come to the start of the retreat acclimated.
We will all have private room accomodation.
If interested in an upcoming retreat in New Zealand, email villagelifewellness@gmail.com
Our Students Say
When you take a yoga class with Anjali Sunita it doesn’t take long to realize you’re in the company of a master, someone who cares about her students’ well-being and expertly leads the class through many helpful poses and patterns.
I really appreciate the focus she places on clearly telling and
showing us how to move, and she does so in a seamless and very personable way. I’m so impressed by how remarkably well-versed she is in yoga’s historical and spiritual contexts, and yet with all the experience she has, week-to-week she consistently teaches with the care of someone leading their
first class ever.
All of the people I’ve ever taken Anjali’s course with clearly recognize how
intelligent, perceptive, kind and good-natured she is. Her classes offer a great blend of rigor and pleasure.
- Don Berger, lecturer John's Hopkin's University