The retreat runs from Sunday 15 to Sunday 22 August 2027, with the teaching programme starting Monday 16 and finishing after lunch on the final Sunday so you can fly out that afternoon. Mornings begin in the Rice Paddy Shala, a large open-air hall with a high ceiling that looks over the rice paddies to the mountains — this is where the group sits at sunrise. Yoga follows at 7.45am, then breakfast at 8.30am, then the day's teaching session at 9.30am.

Each day has its own theme. Tuesday is Know Yourself, looking at a model of the mind and what drives you. Wednesday takes on beliefs and values — why some people feel empowered and others leave things to chance. Thursday is about finding the one or two core patterns holding you back. Friday is about moving forward in a chosen direction, and Saturday is Evolution & Alignment, taking the next step and lining up the rest of your psychology behind it. The final morning is a finishing ceremony where you make a memento of the week.

Afternoons are deliberately loose. On Monday you settle in. Tuesday and Friday are free — the pool, a massage, a bike ride through the rice fields, or coaching if you want it. Wednesday's outing is the Sippa hot springs, ten minutes away, with transport and entry included. Thursday is caves and a ridge-top hike, and Saturday is a trip to a waterfall. Evenings close with meditation at 7.30pm on a different theme each night — mindfulness, love, impermanence, emptiness, flow — and Saturday night is a group sound healing session in the shala.

What separates this from a yoga holiday is the amount of structured teaching. There are six morning sessions and six evening meditations, plus optional one-to-one coaching in the afternoons. Peter Radcliffe has travelled widely studying meditation in various forms and is a qualified coach and NLP trainer; past students describe his teaching as down to earth. He has run these retreats since 2014, mostly in Bali, and this is the first Thailand edition.

Mala Dhara itself is part of the draw. The villas are hand-moulded earthen adobe brick, made on site, and some have no corners at all. There are two yoga shalas: the open-air Rice Paddy Shala and the screened Poolside Shala, which has fans, power and mounted speakers so the programme runs in any weather. August is the green season in northern Thailand — soft, lush and quieter, with brief localised showers rather than all-day rain, and deliberately outside the February to April burning season.

What's included

- Seven nights' accommodation in the room you choose - Three plant-based meals a day, cooked from the organic farm and served in the Kin Dee restaurant - A free traditional Thai massage (unlimited all week for the first 6 to book) - Full access to both yoga shalas, the Rice Paddy Shala and the Poolside Shala - The full Inner Growth teaching and coaching programme with Peter, morning and evening - Daily afternoon tea and fruit break with coffee, tea, fruit and snacks - Two herbal steam nights with fire body scrub, no time limit - Two ice baths in the paddies, for those who want them - A group sound healing session in the shala - Sippa hot springs, with transport and entry - Caves and ridge-top hike, with transport and entry - Trip to a waterfall, with transport and entry - Six bicycles and the saltwater pool, whenever you like

What's not included

- Airfares - Travel insurance - Visa - Anything bought at the bar or spa beyond the massage included in your price - Oil massage upgrade - Additional massages beyond the one included (or beyond unlimited for the first 6)

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