Life as a Ritual

with Luce, Lela Perez, Daniela Vecchio & a special guest

Life as a Ritual is a retreat that turns everyday gestures into moments of presence: waking, breathing, eating, moving, resting. In the stillness of the Shala Temple, it invites you to slow down, open the heart and bring the sacred back into daily life. It is guided by Luce, Lela Perez and Daniela Vecchio, with a special guest who changes at every edition.

Direction, film and photo: Cristian Arez (@cristian.arez)

Photo diary

Moments of the retreat

A woman in white arranging a flower mandala in the temple
Water poured from a coconut shell over a woman in a petal bath
A woman lying with frangipani flowers on her face
Pouring water from a gourd into the sea at sunset
A face being painted in earth tones during body painting
The chef grilling vegetables over the fire, wrapped in smoke
Group practice under the arches of the temple
A movement practice with a stick in the candlelit temple
Meditating by the fire at night
The circle seen from above in the white room
Two people walking through the stone arch of the Gede ruins
Floating in the turquoise pool under the palms
A circle of people around a bowl of frangipani and candles
The chef picking herbs in the vegetable garden
Lunges in the temple between arches and white columns
A water therapy session in the pool
Flower mandala of rose and frangipani petals on a woven mat
A paintbrush adding colour to painted fingers on a tree root
A healing ritual on a mat beside the pool, surrounded by petals
Wooden bowls full of frangipani flowers
Water covered in red, yellow and white petals
Full moon over the trees at night
Hands in a heart gesture beside a bowl of frangipani and candles
A couple facing the stone arch at the Gede ruins
A bonfire burning on stones in the garden
Hands holding freshly picked herbs
Tomatoes and vegetables being chopped on a wooden board
The chef preparing dinner at an outdoor table at dusk
The chef preparing food by lamplight
Grinding spices with a wooden pestle
Sliced tomatoes with rosemary on a banana leaf
Carrots, cauliflower and vegetables ready for the fire
Cooking vegetables over an open fire at night
Turning vegetables on the grill over glowing embers
The chef tending the fire grill in the garden
A woman preparing an altar with candles and a painted mask
A dancer with a stick performing in the temple at night
Candlelight reflections, softly out of focus
A painted pendant of a deity among ritual objects
Practitioners stretching between the white columns
A teacher with joined hands in front of the group
A man climbing a coconut palm
Climbing the palm trunk barefoot
A painted figure blending into the roots of a great tree
Hands joined in a heart shape
Sitting in a circle on a woven mat with flowers and candles
Hands holding leaves over clay pots at night
Meditating cross-legged beside a bonfire
Hands in a mudra beside the flames
Logs burning in the bonfire
Arms raised in the temple in the morning light
A teacher watching the group practise in the temple
Movement in the temple, in motion blur
Walking practice in the temple, in motion blur
The group in a low lunge on the temple floor
A hand gathering frangipani flowers from the grass
A floating water therapy session seen through leaves
The pool among palm trees during a water therapy session
A therapist cradling a woman's head in the water
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Photos: Cristian Arez (@cristian.arez)

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