Step Away from the Noise and Into Your Practice
There is a limit to what a single yoga class or a weeknight cooking session can accomplish when your days are filled with commutes, notifications, and deadlines. That is why Maya Chen created the Yoga Dining Club Weekend Wellness Retreats: to give you two or three uninterrupted days to slow down, move your body with intention, eat food that genuinely nourishes you, and reconnect with the natural world. Since our first retreat in 2019, we have hosted over forty weekends across three of Southern California's most inspiring landscapes, and the experience continues to evolve based on the feedback and desires of our community.
Each retreat is designed as a complete sensory reset. From the moment you arrive and set down your bags, every element of your experience has been considered, from the herbal welcome drink that greets you to the hand-selected essential oil blend on your pillow. But this is not a passive spa weekend. Our retreats are active, educational, and deeply engaging. You will practice yoga twice daily, visit a working organic farm, prepare meals alongside Maya and her culinary team, hike through wildflower meadows or desert trails, and sit in guided meditation as the sun goes down. By the time you drive home on Sunday afternoon, you carry with you not just a feeling of restoration but concrete skills and practices you can weave into your everyday life.
Our Three Retreat Locations
Ojai Valley: Nestled in the Topatopa Mountains about ninety minutes north of Los Angeles, Ojai has long been a destination for artists, healers, and seekers. Our Ojai retreats are held at a boutique ranch property surrounded by citrus groves and lavender fields. The yoga shala is an open-air pavilion with views of the valley, and the teaching kitchen opens directly onto an herb garden where you will pick fresh rosemary, basil, and sage for your meals. Ojai retreats run year-round, though autumn and spring are particularly magical when the valley is bathed in golden light.
Malibu Coast: For those who feel most alive near the ocean, our Malibu retreats take place at a private hillside estate overlooking the Pacific. Morning yoga is practiced on a terrace with the sound of waves below, and afternoon excursions include tide pool walks and coastal trail hikes. The kitchen facilities here are restaurant-grade, and the sunset dinners served al fresco above the ocean are often described by participants as among the most memorable meals of their lives. Malibu retreats are offered from April through October to take advantage of the mild coastal weather.
Joshua Tree: The stark, surreal beauty of the high desert provides a profoundly different retreat experience. Our Joshua Tree compound features individual cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows framing boulder formations and ancient Joshua trees. The silence of the desert creates a natural container for introspection, and the night sky, free from city light pollution, adds an element of wonder that participants frequently mention in their reflections. Morning yoga in the cool desert air, followed by a hike through Hidden Valley, followed by a cooking class using desert-adapted ingredients like prickly pear and mesquite, makes for a weekend unlike any other. Joshua Tree retreats are scheduled from October through April to avoid the intense summer heat.
A Typical Retreat Day
While every retreat has its own rhythm and no two days are exactly alike, here is a sense of what a typical day looks like so you can imagine yourself in the experience:
The day begins at six-thirty in the morning with optional silent meditation for early risers. At seven, Maya leads a seventy-five-minute yoga session that blends vinyasa flow with longer-held restorative postures, designed to awaken the body gently and set an intention for the day. After practice, you sit down to a leisurely plant-based breakfast featuring seasonal fruit, homemade granola, warm porridge with adaptogenic toppings, and freshly pressed juice or herbal tea.
Mid-morning is devoted to a farm visit or nature excursion. In Ojai, this might mean walking through a biodynamic avocado orchard and picking ingredients for lunch. In Malibu, you might explore a coastal permaculture garden. In Joshua Tree, a guided desert botany walk reveals the surprising abundance of edible and medicinal plants thriving in the arid landscape. These excursions are not just scenic; they are educational, connecting you to the origins of your food in a visceral, first-hand way.
Late morning transitions into a hands-on cooking class, where you prepare lunch together using ingredients gathered or inspired by the morning's outing. Maya demonstrates techniques while sharing the nutritional and Ayurvedic context behind each dish. Lunch is served family-style and is followed by a two-hour free period for rest, journaling, reading, swimming, or simply sitting quietly in nature.
The afternoon features a workshop or creative activity. Past offerings have included natural dyeing with plant pigments, gratitude journaling circles, sound healing sessions, and discussions about building sustainable wellness habits at home. These sessions are optional but consistently well-attended because they offer something unexpected and enriching.
An evening yoga session at four-thirty focuses on deep stretching, yin postures, and breathwork to wind down the active part of the day. This is followed by the communal dinner, the culinary highlight of the retreat. Each evening meal is a multi-course plant-based tasting menu prepared by Maya and her team, often featuring a theme tied to the location and season. After dinner, there is a guided meditation or a community sharing circle around a fire, followed by free time and an early, restful bedtime.
Retreat Themes
We offer four rotating themes throughout the year, each shaping the yoga sequences, cooking menus, workshops, and overall atmosphere of the weekend:
Detox and Restore: Held in January and early spring, this retreat focuses on cleansing and renewal. The menu emphasizes light, easily digestible foods such as kitchari, green juices, and brothy soups. Yoga sessions incorporate twisting sequences and breathwork designed to support the body's natural detoxification processes. This retreat is popular with participants who want a gentle reset after the holiday season.
Creative Flow: Offered in late spring and summer, this retreat celebrates the connection between creativity and movement. In addition to yoga and cooking, the schedule includes expressive arts workshops such as plein air watercolor painting, free-form journaling, and collaborative mural projects. The menu is vibrant and colorful, emphasizing raw preparations, edible flowers, and dishes that are as visually stunning as they are nutritious.
Couples Wellness: Available as a special Valentine's weekend in February and again in early fall, this retreat is designed for partners who want to deepen their connection through shared wellness experiences. Partner yoga, collaborative cooking challenges, and communication workshops create a weekend that many couples describe as more impactful than traditional therapy. The menu includes dishes designed for shared plates and intimate dining, and the accommodation is configured for couples.
Seasonal Renewal: Aligned with the equinoxes and solstices, these retreats use the turning of the seasons as a framework for reflection and intention-setting. The Ayurvedic principles of seasonal eating are woven throughout the menu, and yoga sessions are adapted to the qualities of the current season. The autumn retreat, for example, emphasizes grounding postures and warming, earthy dishes, while the summer solstice retreat features invigorating flows and cooling, hydrating foods.
Pricing and What Is Included
Weekend retreat pricing ranges from four hundred fifty to eight hundred fifty dollars per person, depending on the location, duration, and accommodation type. A standard two-night, two-day retreat in Ojai with shared accommodation starts at four hundred fifty dollars. Malibu retreats, which include the premium coastal venue, begin at five hundred fifty dollars. Joshua Tree three-day retreats start at six hundred fifty dollars. Private room upgrades are available at each location for an additional one hundred to two hundred dollars, depending on availability.
The price includes accommodation for all nights, every meal from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch, all yoga sessions, cooking classes, guided excursions, workshop materials, a welcome gift bag with locally made wellness products, and a printed booklet of recipes and practices from the weekend. Transportation to and from the retreat location is not included, though we coordinate carpools from our Los Angeles studio for every retreat. Optional add-ons such as private yoga sessions, massage treatments, and astrology readings are available for an additional fee and can be booked in advance.
Early bird pricing is available for registrations made eight or more weeks before the retreat date, typically saving seventy-five to one hundred dollars. Returning retreat participants receive a loyalty discount of ten percent, and groups of three or more booking together receive a group rate. Payment plans are available for all retreats, allowing you to split the cost into two or three installments.
What Our Retreat Guests Say
I attended the autumn Seasonal Renewal retreat in Ojai and it was the most grounding experience of my year. Practicing yoga in an open-air pavilion surrounded by citrus trees, then walking to an herb garden to pick ingredients for lunch, made me feel connected to the earth in a way I had completely lost living in the city. I have already registered for the spring retreat.
My wife and I did the Couples Wellness retreat in Malibu for our anniversary, and it exceeded every expectation. The partner yoga sessions brought us closer physically and emotionally, the sunset dinners overlooking the Pacific were extraordinary, and Maya's warmth made us feel like honored guests rather than customers. We are making it an annual tradition.
I went to the Joshua Tree Detox and Restore retreat alone, which felt brave for me, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed. The desert silence, the stargazing after dinner, and the community sharing circles gave me space to process a difficult year. I left with three new friendships, a shelf of fermented foods, and a sense of clarity I had been chasing for months.
Frequently Asked Questions
The retreat price covers accommodation for all nights, every meal from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch, daily yoga sessions, cooking classes, guided nature excursions, workshop materials, a welcome gift bag with locally sourced wellness products, and a printed booklet of recipes and practices. Transportation to the location and optional add-ons like massage or private yoga sessions are not included but can be arranged.
Not at all. Our retreats welcome practitioners of every level, from absolute beginners to advanced yogis. Maya and her team offer modifications for every posture, and the atmosphere is one of personal exploration rather than performance. Many first-time retreat guests tell us it was the ideal environment to begin or deepen their practice without any pressure or judgment.
Accommodation varies by location. In Ojai, we stay at a boutique ranch with shared and private casitas surrounded by gardens. In Malibu, the venue is a hillside estate with ocean-view rooms. Joshua Tree retreats use a desert compound with individual cabins. Shared rooms are the standard option included in the base price, with private room upgrades available for an additional one hundred to two hundred dollars depending on the venue and availability.
Absolutely, and roughly sixty percent of our guests come alone. The retreat schedule includes both group activities and ample free time for solitude, so you can be as social or as private as you wish. Solo travelers opting for shared accommodation are paired with a compatible roommate. Many lasting friendships have formed between solo guests who met at our retreats.
Cancellations made thirty or more days before the retreat start date receive a full refund minus a seventy-five dollar administrative fee. Between fifteen and twenty-nine days out, you receive a fifty percent refund or full credit toward a future retreat. Within fourteen days, no monetary refund is available, but you may transfer your spot to another person or receive a credit valid for twelve months. We strongly recommend travel insurance for any non-refundable bookings.
Detailed driving directions and GPS coordinates are provided upon registration. For Ojai and Malibu retreats, we organize an optional carpool from our Los Angeles studio for a small contribution toward fuel costs. Joshua Tree retreats include a suggested caravan departure point in Pasadena. If you are flying in from out of state, we recommend arriving at LAX and renting a car, and we are happy to help coordinate ride-sharing with other out-of-town guests.
Your Next Retreat Awaits
Step away from the routine and into a weekend of yoga, nourishing food, and natural beauty at one of our Southern California retreat locations.
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