Finding Health
Autumn Retreat
at Centro Santillan
Sunday 27th September - Saturday 3rd October 2026
6-night retreat in Malaga, Spain
Welcome to the information and booking pack for this retreat
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Complete the booking form (link below)
2. We will EMAIL YOU to confirm your place & send you payment details. Please don't send money or book flights until confirmed.
3. We will send you a confirmation & then book your flights!
Please indicate if you are willing to share rooms - if not we may not be able to accommodate you as demand for this retreat is already high.
Join Anji for her regular Autumn retreat in Malaga
Join Anji and her team for a six-night retreat in a luxurious mountain setting, with views stretching to the sea.
2026 marks our fifth year at Santillán - and if you've heard guests describe it as a place that stays with you, they're not wrong. Many return year after year. Some things are hard to explain until you've experienced them.
Expect nourishing food, a supportive yoga practice, mountain air, and genuinely good company. But more than that: expect space. Space to pause, to rest, to let the body and mind do what they do best when the noise of daily life falls away - digest, repair, and reset. Not just physically, but at every level.
Yoga, understood properly, is a whole-self science. A practical technology for living - not an escape from life, but a return to it, clearer and more easeful. Anji's approach is rooted in simple wisdom for better health: the understanding that small, consistent practices of breath, movement, rest, nourishment and stillness, compound into lasting change.
You'll leave with more than rest. You'll leave feeling reborn.
In the 2020s, this is exactly what's needed.
"My goal was to see what I could hear when all the noise of our normal lives is dialled down, and I found the time to reflect and relax to be priceless."
VENUE
Our home will be the Santillan Yoga Retreat - regularly voted as one of Europe's top 10 retreat centres. We will have sole use of the whole venue.
Santillan is an Andalusian paradise, surrounded by the silence of the mountain and with wonderful sea views, yet only 25 minutes from Malaga airport. Malaga enjoys the most annual sunshine of any European city.
There are 22 rooms, all with air-conditioning and en-suite and each with a private outdoor space, with views of the gardens, hills or sea.
There is a heated freshwater pool, a padel tennis court and beautiful gardens. There is space - space to walk, to sit, to lie, to look at the stars.
“Overall fantastic retreat - lovely location, excellent food. I felt calmer and stronger. The yoga spaces and equipment really are exceptional”
YOGA
Yoga is a whole-self science, designed to help us live a more easeful life.
Our practice will draw on active Asana (physical postures), Restorative (resting postures), Pranayama (breathwork), and relaxation - alongside a sound bath, discussion time, and an optional journal club. Anji will incorporate Yoga for BackCare: a gentle, practical, and powerful approach to spinal health. Expect to stretch, strengthen, move, hang, breathe - and more.
Two sessions daily, morning and afternoon, 2–2.5 hours each. Santillán is widely regarded as the best-equipped yoga studio in Europe. All props are provided; we'll also use the yoga wall and outdoor space weather permitting.
Anji's teaching is clear, kind, sometimes challenging, and always inclusive. Previous retreaters have spanned different ages and stages, and practices are suitable for mixed-ability groups. She will be joined by an assistant teacher.
Please note: this retreat involves several hours of physical practice daily and is not suitable for absolute beginners or those with serious health concerns. If you have any health issues or pain, please contact us for a conversation before booking.
“The build-up of the practice content over the days was great, thought through very well. It helped increase confidence in our abilities as well. The equipment in the yoga studio made it possible to use props which in online classes are not available for students, e.g. harnesses, ropes.”
“Anji is a truly inspiring yet down-to-Earth yoga teacher who makes challenges, at whatever level, feel achievable. I was surprised how quickly two yoga sessions a day became normal and doable - and how I would miss them when they came to an end.”
MEALS
Food forms a huge part of health and we will eat well, from dinner on the first night to brunch on the last day, all catered by the amazing chef, Javier. Food is mainly vegetarian, but there will be some fish, including a special Paella night. Lunches will be simple fare, fresh salads and soups. Dinners have 3 courses.
All meals are buffet-style, hot drinks & fresh water are included and there is an honesty bar with soft & alcoholic drinks. We eat at communal tables with seating inside, outside and under cover.
There will always be fruit, bread & hot drinks available (self-served) – including in the early morning prior to practice.
A TYPICAL DAY
Our programme builds day by day as we explore, enquire, and come to understand our bodies and minds more deeply. Practices will be varied - sometimes serious, sometimes playful, always useful.
Morning practice begins around 8am, followed by a late breakfast at 10.30. The rest of the day is yours: swim, walk in the hills, lounge, sleep, read, gaze at the view, or simply breathe it all in. A hand-picked team of therapists offers daily treatments - massage, sound healing, and more.
Optional activities may include an extra session at the yoga wall, a cookery lesson, or an afternoon excursion depending on weather and group. But a retreat is just that - a retreat. We won't overfill your day.
Evening yoga begins around 5pm: slower, quieter, focused on depth and relaxation. Breathing and meditation feature daily, morning and evening.
“What a great retreat! A lovely group of people, delicious vegetarian food & a perfect location. The yoga was a lovely combination of challenging and relaxing. Anji’s warmth, skill and enthusiasm made me look forward to every class. She is an outstanding teacher and communicator. Can’t wait for the next one!”
TRAVEL
Centro Santillan is 36 km east of Malaga. The closest international airport is AGP (Malaga) and serviced by a large number of airlines from many countries.
We will arrange a taxi transfer for you: fee ~ €70 each way for a regular passenger car, which may take up to 4 people (depending on luggage). Cash paid directly to the driver. We will allocate guests to shared taxis closer to the time.
Arrive Sunday 27th September at Santillan from 3.30pm & depart Saturday 3rd October by midday. First class will be on Sunday evening around 5pm.
TREATMENTS & EXCURSIONS
A range of hand-picked therapists are on site daily (payable locally in Euros) and we will help you choose the right one for your needs. Having a treatment on retreat adds to the renewal of your body & mind - we highly recommend taking a treatment.
Malaga is a beautiful port city, with a Picasso Museum, shopping and fabulous Spanish cuisine, and it's close to other cities in southern Spain.
At previous retreats, some guests chose to spend an extra night in the city before or after the retreat. On booking, we will share more information about excursions
ROOMS
Santillán is a traditional Spanish-style hotel, lovingly refurbished by its family owners with care and character. All rooms are ensuite, air-conditioned, and beautifully appointed in a warm, homely style - recently updated with new beds.
Sea-View Twin Suites
The best view at Santillán - and the most space. Recently refurbished with divided sleeping areas, new beds, and private outdoor terraces overlooking the sea. These rooms are genuinely beautiful, and sharing one costs less than you'd think.
Don't have a travel companion? No problem! Anji will match you with someone great.
From £1,599pp
Garden Rooms - Single Occupancy
Intimate, peaceful, yours alone. Garden views, en-suite, air-conditioned. Limited availability.
From £2,099pp
Not travelling with anyone? Don't let that stop you. Anji knows her community well and is happy to help match you with a like-minded roommate. Just indicate this on the booking form and she'll be in touch personally.
Know someone who needs this as much as you do? The sea-view rooms are best enjoyed shared - and it's kinder on the wallet too.
“I loved the time and space that the retreat with Anji gave for reflecting and noticing things about body and mind. I came home having had lots of thoughts about the path I’d like to be following, and the changes I’d like to make as well as seeing how regular yoga practice can be the grounding anchor that I need, which was a revelation as I hadn't felt that before.
It wouldn’t have happened without Anji’s teaching - I feel very grateful for that – and I can’t wait to see what happens on the next retreat"”
PRICE
Single Room | Shared Twin Room | |
|---|---|---|
Retreat price | £2,099 - £2,200 | £1,599 - £1,650 |
Booking fee (non-refundable) | £1,100 | £900 |
To secure your place, a deposit of £500 is due at booking, with the remainder of the booking fee payable by 31st July 2026. Bookings made after this date require the full booking fee upfront. The balance is payable in Euros by card or cash on arrival.
Included: 6 nights accommodation - full yoga programme (9-10 sessions) - 3 meals daily - sound bath - use of all studio facilities and equipment - wifi, tea, coffee and drinking water.
Not included: Flights - transfers to/from the venue (approx. €70 each way, shared per vehicle) - excursions - massage treatments - travel insurance.
Travel insurance is required for this activity holiday. Please ensure you are covered before booking.
BOOKING
Places are limited - Santillán has just 21 rooms, and this retreat is popular! Single occupancy rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; if these are taken, we will offer you a sea-view shared room instead.
To secure your place, complete the booking form below. Please do not book flights until we have confirmed your room - we will be in touch promptly.
For any questions, email us at [email protected] - or copy Anji directly at [email protected].
Your place is confirmed only once your booking fee has been received.
"This was my second-ever retreat, both with Anji at Santillan, and it was another amazing trip, with new and different experiences. Even though our group was broad in age and yoga knowledge, with a range of reasons for being there, we were brought together by Anji’s inclusive, skilful and caring teaching."
Meet Anji
Anji Gopal M.Ost, BSc (Hons) is an osteopath, yoga teacher, corporate wellness speaker, podcaster, and back pain expert. But perhaps the simplest way to describe her is this: she is someone who has lived everything she teaches - and who has spent years finding the words to pass it on.
A former banker, Anji knows what it means to run hard at life. She has worked in the NHS and private practice, stood on corporate stages, sat behind microphones, and quietly built one of the most devoted wellness communities in the UK. Her forthcoming book, Simple Wisdom for Better Health, is the distillation of all of it - years of clinical knowledge, philosophical inquiry, and hard-won personal experience, made accessible for the rest of us.
Her teaching sits at the intersection of the ancient and the evidenced. Vedic philosophy and modern science. Movement and stillness. Rigour and ease. She works with people of all ages and starting points, and her students consistently report not just feeling better - but understanding themselves differently.
This is her fifth year bringing guests to Santillán. The retreat has grown every year, and so has she. Those who have been before will notice the difference. Those coming for the first time are in for something they won't easily forget.
Warm, wise, and genuinely invested in every person in the room - Anji is the reason people come back.
FAQ
What is a yoga retreat?
A yoga retreat is the gift of time. Time to explore your practice, to let its benefits settle into body and mind. Time to rest, reflect, and renew - and to remember who you are when life slows down.
Will everyone be a yoga expert?
Not at all. If you've taken a class with Anji, you'll know her teaching attracts a wonderful range of normal people. Whether you're relatively new to yoga or have decades of practice - at the end of the day, we are all students. Anji welcomes anyone with an enquiring mind. Just bring yourself - no special kit or experience required.
I'm travelling alone - will that be strange?
It's actually very common. Retreat groups are naturally warm and welcoming, but time alone is equally valued here. You are entirely the boss of how much you interact - or don't.
Four and a half hours of yoga a day - is that a lot?
A 60-75 minute class often flies by and leaves you wanting more. Think of each session not as a workout to get through, but as a long mountain walk - unhurried, exploratory, with time to go deep. Most people find the rhythm settles within a day.
I have some health concerns - will I be able to manage?
You'll complete a health questionnaire before arrival, and Anji encourages a conversation before booking if you have any concerns. Modifications are always offered, and listening to your own body is considered advanced practice here. Rest is always an option - and never a failure. With an assistant in the room, guidance will be on hand.
Will Anji offer health advice as an osteopath?
Anji's teaching is focused on finding health through yoga - including Yoga for BackCare, therapeutic sequences, and a broader exploration of what wellbeing means. Modifications will be offered throughout. However, nothing on the retreat constitutes individual treatment or clinical recommendations. Anji will not be offering private consultations during the retreat itself. If you feel it would be beneficial to book a session with her prior to the retreat for 1:1 advice then please do.
How big will the group be?
We anticipate 25-30 retreaters and have the whole of Santillán to ourselves. The studio comfortably holds 35 so there is always plenty of space.
What do I need to bring?
Very little. All yoga equipment is provided - Santillán is exceptionally well-equipped. A full packing list will be sent on booking.
