Join us at Gia Retreat Center, nestled among seven acres of private forest adjacent to the Lake Tahoe National Forest, just minutes from historic Nevada City. Surrounded by towering trees, fresh mountain air, and the quiet rhythms of nature, this intimate retreat invites you to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and rediscover what truly matters.

This is a chance to reset your body, calm your nervous system, and reconnect with nature. Through daily yoga, meditation, nourishing meals, forest walks, and meaningful conversation, we’ll create space to slow down, breathe deeply, and return home feeling grounded, refreshed, and inspired.

Limited to just 12 participants, this retreat is designed to foster genuine connection and provide individualized guidance throughout the weekend, where meaningful connections naturally unfold. 

Each day begins and ends with yoga, meditation, and mindful practices led by internationally renowned yoga teacher Joan Hyman, designed to awaken the body, quiet the mind, and cultivate greater presence.

Complementing the yoga experience, Sheila Gonzaga, our special guest life and leadership coach will lead immersive workshops designed to help you reconnect with yourself, trust your inner knowing, reveal your heart's desires, and remember your innate capacity to create.

You'll leave with greater clarity and one inspired step toward the life you're here to create.

Together, movement, meditation, and life coaching create a powerful opportunity for transformation from the inside out.

Between sessions, enjoy the serenity of Gaia Lux's beautifully designed retreat spaces, gather around the fire, relax in nature, savor nourishing meals, and simply allow yourself the gift of slowing down. Whether you're walking among the trees, sharing meaningful conversations, or enjoying quiet reflection, every moment is an invitation to reconnect—with yourself, with community, and with the Earth.

This retreat is perfect for anyone seeking renewal, inspiration, and a deeper connection to both nature and their own inner wisdom.

Join us this Earth Day as we celebrate the healing power of community, mindful living, and the natural world.

Joan Hyman is the lead teacher and organizer of this retreat. She has been leading transformational yoga retreats since 2007 and has taught yoga internationally for over 25 years, creating experiences that blend intelligent movement, meditation, and meaningful connection.

Joan Hyman’s grounded teaching style seamlessly supports her students as they emerge from their practice with the rich and bright energy that yoga has to offer. Joan’s teachings come from an organic and intuitive place, as she draws upon the combined studies of Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga as well as Ayurveda and meditation. An authentic modern-day yogi, Joan's love and devotion show up in her practice and throughout her teaching. You will leave her class feeling transformed and deeply aligned. 

Joan spent fifteen years as a distinguished YogaWorks Senior Teacher before bringing her expertise to Wanderlust as the Director of Teacher Trainings in 2016. Now, with over twenty years experience leading retreats, trainings, and international workshops, Joan travels the globe and teaches online, leading her own signature trainings. She has created The School of Yoga, which is a professional education program, helping students and inspiring teachers to work towards their five hundred hours Yoga Alliance Certification.

A leader in the yoga community, Joan’s open-hearted approach to teaching yoga keeps both her inner spirit and her students continuously evolving. 

Sheila Gonzaga
Life and Leadership Coach

Sheila is a guide for individuals who want to live and lead with greater freedom, intention, and meaning. Her spirit-centered, intuitive approach creates a space for reflective inquiry, helping clients cultivate deeper self-awareness, reconnect with their innate wisdom, and access the creative force already within them.

Whether someone is navigating the demands of leading an organization, growing a business, navigating a career transition, strengthening relationships, or simply seeking a richer sense of well-being and purpose, Sheila's work begins from the inside out. The result is not simply greater clarity, but a deeper trust in themselves and the freedom to create a life that feels authentic, meaningful, and fully their own.

Before becoming a life and leadership coach, Sheila spent more than three decades guiding leaders, organizations, and communities through complex transitions as a communications and public affairs strategist. A longtime student of yoga, meditation, and contemplative practice, she has also devoted years to exploring spirituality, consciousness, and energy medicine. These parallel paths, one rooted in leadership and the external world of organizational change and the other in the inner world of self-discovery, now inform her unique approach to helping others cultivate greater clarity, self-trust, and intention as they create lives and leadership experiences that feel deeply aligned.

7am - Coffee & Tea light snack

8am - Yoga practice led by Joan Hyman, including asana, meditation, and pranayama

10am - Breakfast

11am - 2pm - Guided hike through the forest, rest and relax on the estate and use the jacuzzi, sauna, and cold plunge.

2pm - Lunch

4:30pm -6:00pm - Wind down yoga practice including restoratives and meditation led by Joan and the last day Sheila Gonzaga will lead a transformational life coaching course.

6:30pm - Sunset & Dinner

8pm - Relax in lounge, last night is a sound bath

We will begin with a grounding practice at 5pm, followed by an introduction circle. 

Dinner will be served shortly after along with an orientation.

We will offer two yoga practices with Joan Hyman and an introduction to Sheila Gonzaga, our life coach.

After lunch, enjoy a guided forest hike and options to use the jacuzzi, sauna, and cold plunge or simple relax at the estate.

The schedule will remain the same aside from the guided forest hike.

Sheila will lead the late afternoon session including a transformational life coaching session.

A sound bath will follow dinner.

Yoga will start at 8am - 9am and we will say our goodbyes at breakfast.

Check out is 11am