Raw Food & Yoga Retreat in Palawan: Living Food, Daily Practice, Deep Rest

A day at Bahay Kalipay usually starts around 7am with yoga — gentle, unhurried, suitable whether you've practised for years or never. Breakfast follows: fresh fruit, raw porridge, sometimes raw bread with spreads made in the kitchen that morning. The middle of the day is yours. Some guests sleep, some read in the garden, some take a jeepney into Puerto Princesa to wander the market. Lunch is another raw vegan spread — think zucchini noodles with cashew cream, big salads, raw soups. Afternoon breathwork or a second yoga session, then dinner. Evenings often end with inner dance, a guided session with music that people either love or skip, and that's fine either way.

The Deep Nature Cleanse is the more structured option. It runs 5 to 21 days and includes a colon cleanse protocol alongside the raw food and yoga — psyllium, bentonite, enemas, juices, that sort of thing. It's not a fast in the strict sense; you're eating raw food, just very clean and very simple. It suits people who want to reset their digestion and are happy to follow a programme rather than freestyle.

The Wellness Yoga Program is the softer entry point. Daily yoga, raw food, and quiet, from 3 to 21 days. No cleanse, no protocol, just the rhythm of the place. Most guests do 5 to 7 days.

The one-day Holistic Self-Care Retreat is for travellers already in Palawan who want a single day of yoga, raw meals, and rest without committing to a full stay.

What makes this different from a lot of yoga retreats is that it's been running continuously since 2007 and it's still owned and run by the same people. The kitchen isn't a wellness concept — it's a working raw food kitchen that feeds everyone on site three times a day, and the chefs who cook your meals are the same ones who teach the Living Kitchen course. The garden is real, the pace is genuinely slow, and nothing is choreographed for Instagram.

Daniw leads the Living Kitchen course and is closely involved in the daily running of the retreat. She's been teaching raw food preparation here for years, alongside the resident chefs who cook for guests every day. The course is hands-on: you make the dishes, then you eat them.

What's included

- Raw vegan meals three times daily (breakfast, lunch, dinner) - Daily yoga classes - Breathwork sessions - Inner dance sessions (optional) - Accommodation on site for the duration of your programme - Colon cleanse protocol (Deep Nature Cleanse only) - Garden and communal spaces - Personal response to every inquiry

What's not included

- Flights to and from Puerto Princesa - Airport transfers (can be arranged, not included) - Travel insurance - Excursions and island-hopping trips - Personal expenses - The Living Kitchen raw food chef course (separate booking) - Spa treatments and massage