Yoga retreat · Ahangama · Sri Lanka
A yoga retreat in Sri Lanka, with the ocean five minutes away
Yoga at Sunshinestories is not an add-on. It is half of the week. Our open-air shala sits in the jungle garden of a hundred-year-old villa in Ahangama, and classes are built to match the surf: mobility and breathwork before you paddle out, slow yin and restorative in the afternoon when your shoulders have had enough.
Everything is included in the same all-inclusive surf & yoga week — 975 EUR per person, Sunday to Sunday, year-round.
Find your flow, on and off the water
Yoga is woven into every day here — morning practice before the first surf, and a slower restorative session in the afternoon once the salt has dried. Ten sessions across the week, all included.
In the shala we welcome first-timers with open arms as well as avid yogis who want to break a sweat. Our surf-yoga is built around what your body actually does in the water: mobility for paddling, breath for hold-downs, and the balance that makes pop-ups effortless.
Expect vinyasa flows, surf-specific mobility, yin, pranayama and guided meditation with experienced teachers. Classes are open to complete beginners and to long-time practitioners, and you are always free to skip a session and stay in the pool instead.
What a day of yoga looks like
Mornings start gently. You roll out your mat in the open-air shala while the garden wakes up around you — palms overhead, birds in the frangipani trees, warm air off the Indian Ocean. The first practice of the day is made to prepare you for the water: dynamic vinyasa to wake the body up, shoulder and thoracic mobility for paddling, and breathwork that steadies you before you paddle out.
Afternoons are for slowing down. After hours in the sun and surf, the body wants something different — long-held yin poses, deep hip openers, restorative postures with bolsters, and guided meditation or yoga nidra to close the day. It is the perfect counterweight to surfing, and the reason our guests leave the week feeling looser and stronger rather than beaten up.
The shala: our jungle yoga space
The shala is the heart of the retreat — an open-sided practice space set into the tropical garden of our hundred-year-old Dutch colonial villa. There is no glass and no air conditioning: just a roof overhead, a breeze through the palms, and the sounds of the jungle while you move and breathe.
Mats, blocks, straps and bolsters are all provided, so you can travel light. Classes are kept small, which means real hands-on attention from the teacher whether it is your first downward dog or your thousandth.
Why yoga and surfing belong together
Surfing asks a lot of the body: paddling power, a fast pop-up, balance on an unstable surface, and calm under water when a set holds you down. Yoga gives you exactly those tools. A week of combining the two does more for your surfing than twice the time in the water alone — you paddle stronger, move more freely, breathe slower and recover faster between sessions.
And beyond the physical, the two practices share the same headspace: presence, patience and play. That is what a surf and yoga retreat in Sri Lanka is really about — not just surfing, not just yoga, but a combination. A lifestyle retreat.
Yoga retreat questions, answered
Do I need yoga experience to join the retreat?
None at all. Most of our guests have never done yoga before they arrive, or have only tried a class or two. Our teachers welcome complete beginners with open arms, and every class offers easier and harder variations so avid yogis still break a sweat. You are also always free to skip a session and stay in the pool instead.
How many yoga classes are included?
Ten sessions across the week, all included in the all-inclusive price: energising morning practice before the first surf, and slower restorative sessions in the afternoon once the salt has dried. Think vinyasa flows, surf-specific mobility, yin, pranayama breathwork and guided meditation.
What is surf-yoga?
Surf-yoga is built around what your body actually does in the water: mobility for paddling, breath training for hold-downs, and the balance and hip work that make pop-ups effortless. It is one of the reasons our guests progress so quickly on their boards during the week.
Can I join just for the yoga, without surfing?
Yes. Plenty of guests come primarily for the yoga retreat and surf less, or not at all. The week is yours to shape — yoga, pool, massage, exploring Ahangama — and the price and inclusions stay the same.
Where do the yoga classes take place?
In our open-air shala, tucked into the jungle garden of a hundred-year-old Dutch colonial villa in Ahangama, on Sri Lanka's south coast. You practise surrounded by palms, birdsong and warm tropical air — the ocean is a five-minute walk away.
Keep exploring
See the surf camp and surf coaching, get to know Ahangama, or check rooms and prices.