Mindful Yoga & Meditation Summer Retreat on Sweden's Koster Islands Coast

The retreat is built around Mindful Yoga, a gentle, therapeutic movement style that Jonathan Weber introduced in 2015 and has been teaching internationally since. Sessions pair the physical practice with mindfulness and self-compassion meditation, drawn from his training in MBSR and MBCT. The aim isn't fitness or flexibility milestones — it's bringing the body and mind back to a resting state and building tools for managing stress and emotional reactivity once you're home.

A typical weekday looks like this: 7:30–8:30 meditation and movement, 8:30–9:30 silent breakfast, 10:00–12:00 Mindful Yoga and mindfulness teaching, 12:30–13:30 lunch, then personal time until 17:00. The late afternoon brings a practice session that may include walking meditation and group sharing or reflection, dinner at 18:30, and an evening session at 19:30 with a theme-based teaching followed by deep relaxation — sometimes chanting, singing bowls, meditation or restorative yoga. Sunday is arrival day with an orientation meeting after dinner; Saturday closes with a morning session and lunch before departure at 13:30.

The free afternoons are a real part of the design, not filler. Bikes and canoes are available for use, there's a sauna, and the surrounding islands are good for walking and swimming. You're on the Swedish west coast near the Koster islands, a summer destination with clean water and long daylight hours in July.

What sets this apart from a general yoga holiday is the teaching depth and the length of the daily practice blocks. Two hours of guided Mindful Yoga every morning plus a 90-minute evening session is a substantial amount of contact time, and Jonathan's background — co-developing Norway's first Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training, teaching mindfulness and compassion meditation since 2006 — means the instruction is grounded in clinical and Buddhist practice rather than fitness trends.

Rooms are simple. The farm has been a retreat and healing centre for over six decades, and the accommodations reflect that: cottages and houses of varying standards, all with shared bathrooms regardless of room type. Some rooms are in the main building, some in newer cottages with modern standards. It's rustic and quiet, and guests who want hotel polish should know that going in. The food is vegetarian, organic where possible, and served three times a day.

What's included

- 6 nights' lodging at Gullnäsgården - 3 daily vegetarian meals made with organic ingredients - Teacher fees for all classes - Course material - Use of bikes - Use of canoes - Use of sauna

What's not included

- Course fee of 3,000 SEK (paid separately from lodging) - Travel to and from Strömstad/Gullnäsgården - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Airport or station transfers