Welcome, beautiful soul!
Thank you so much for being here. This is Katrina Paraskevopoulos, Eyia Retreats’ Founder. I’m excited to share our first blog post and give you a detailed story of the birth of this company.
The Eyia Retreats concept originated many years ago when I knew that I wanted to find a way to combine my passion for sharing Greek culture & love of the beautiful sea with wellness & healing. Being Greek-American, I was fortunate to spend summers in Greece visiting my family. Through the years, I have found immense peace and healing there. It’s truly my “happy place.” When I visualize a peaceful place during a meditation or when I’m trying to fall asleep, I’m always transported to the tiny pebble beach in the town where my family lives. I visualize the little waves gently coming up on the shore. After meeting my partner, Alex, in 2014, my love for Greece grew even deeper. During the time we spent together traveling to different towns and islands and spending valuable time with our families, I healed. My food fears, obsession with exercise, and difficulty relaxing and embracing a slow pace of life were healed in Greece.
Through the years, I’ve contemplated various ideas for how I can share my passions and what I’ve learned with others. I realized that hosting retreats would provide an opportunity to share with others the journey to peace, bliss and healing that I experienced in Greece. I set to work on planning my first retreat in 2019, and the seeds of something bigger were officially planted.
My first retreat in Milos was booked, so Alex and I flew to Greece a few weeks before the retreat was scheduled to begin. We took a short trip to the island, Naxos. We were sitting on the patio of a small family-run room rental dreaming up names for this potential future retreat company. We had just finished a day at the beach and a wonderful lunch of fresh fish, fresh fried potatoes, Xoriatiki, a Greek village salad, and a little white wine. We were relaxing outside watching the sea and he was helping me brainstorm interesting spins on Greek-English words, Greek translations of English words, and ancient Greek words.
I had a long, growing list in my journal. I’d written words such as: holistic, whole person, pure, harmony, spirit, flow, healing, life well-lived, nature, spirit of life, bliss, and splendor.
We discussed the meaning of the Greek Goddess Hygieia, the Goddess of Health. The Greek Goddess Hygieia was associated with prevention of illness and focused on how one can live a long and happy life. I loved this concept because of my passion for holistic health and wellness. To simplify the spelling and pronunciation, I developed “Eyia,” (pronounced ee-yaa).
On a Greek island, Eyia Retreats was born.
Once we returned to our family in Varkiza (southern suburb of Athens), the entire vision poured out of me. In one day, I had a mission and vision statement, a ton of retreat concepts & ideas, and overall felt so inspired. I was about to host my first ever retreat in Milos, one of my favorite islands. Even though it was my first, I felt like I had done hundreds before. It just felt right. The paths my life had taken to this point put me in the perfect position to curate and co-host the most amazing retreat experience.
I took off to Milos and had the best time of my life with our incredible retreaters. It was inspiring to see how much someone could change after only one week of time. Our retreat participants had a chance to connect to their spirit. They got to play. They got to move their bodies and try new things. They got to experience the wonderful balance of the Mediterranean lifestyle. They got to connect with each other. We all felt so positive and uplifted by the planned experiences each day and by each other. I knew in the deepest part of my soul that this is what I am meant to do.
Our mission is to educate, inspire, and support people to care for their body, mind, and soul and come back to their true self through self-discovery and whole-body rejuvenation in the healing energy of Greece. It’s important to us that we support the beautiful nature & sea and give back to the people in Greece. Our retreats have various ways of supporting locals and preserving nature.
Our retreats bring together amazing teachers and healers with people who are ready for a life-changing experience in Greece.
Eyia Retreats go beyond the retreat itself. It truly is about igniting something inside of you. Our retreats can ignite a sense of wonder, drive, or passion in you. They can give you feelings of inspiration, healing, and peace. They can reveal something new within you that you can continue to discover and develop as time goes on. Our retreats open your eyes to a new lifestyle and way of thinking that truly inspires you to LIVE this one life of yours. Our retreats are about connection. You have the opportunity to connect with amazing people from all over the world who are bonded by a shared experience. The community during and after the retreat is so special and what makes each retreat so unique. The right people are called to the right retreat each and every time.
Our retreats have a wide range of themes and focus areas but all center around whole-person well-being. There is a retreat for you if you’re a traveler, go-getter or busy-bee who needs a break, a dreamer, an adventure seeker, a parent who needs ‘me’ time, a person who loves a guided experience, someone who wants to dive into one area of wellness or skill, someone who wants that big permission slip to relax and truly take time off just for you, someone with Greece on their bucket list, someone who loves connecting with new people, someone who wants a different experience than the ‘textbook’ Greek vacation, someone who loves or wants to dive into yoga, meditation & movement, or someone who loves personal discovery, self-care, & personal-development.
Our retreats help you cultivate feelings of inspiration, calmness, happiness, inner peace, motivation, clarity, and support. They give you permission to dream, let go, believe in yourself, indulge in luxury & self-care, and live your best. They melt away all worries and leave you uplifted and ready to approach your life with a new lens.
I can truly go on and on about how our retreats are life-changing. If you’re interested in learning more, you’re invited to check out our available retreats or send us a message through our contact page.
Through this blog, you will find various posts on wellness practices, Greek culture, Greek food, Greek travel, tips on self-care & mindset, and inspirational shares.
If you made it until the end, thank you for being here. I hope you will join us one day for a retreat that is calling you.
With love,
Katrina