Casa Cuadrau is a home for transformation where, with love and respect, the art of living taught by nature is cultivated.
We bring in all our heart and effort to offer a suitable space for retreat. A home with a warm, honest and safe atmosphere, that can enable us to open our hearts and find an integrated, balanced state.
The word ‘yoga’ means union; union of body, mind and spirit. This is a state of integration of oneself with ‘the whole’, ‘the heart’, ‘the conscience’ and ‘spirit’. The state of Yoga is understood as a tate of pure consciousness and absolute bliss. In this way, Yoga is love, a state of wholeness, harmony, peace and absolute happiness.
The same word is used to define a path that leads us towards that state of integration. Yoga is therefore, an Art of Living.
The Art is the means that enables this integration. The different techniques which help us to observe and explore nature, both inside of and around us. It is about learning from each step that we take on the path of life, slowly, step by step, gradually growing, learning and developing into a state of integration, with ourselves and with everything around us.
Nature is our mother, the great teacher of the Art of Living. Nature shows us the way, allowing us to discover the different obstacles and learning how to overcome them. It is the mother that guides, provides and takes care of her children, constantly.
Casa Cuadrau was born with the purpose of recovering an abandoned house. Our dream has always been to make it into an ecologic space, developed locally and sustainably, to service the health, physical and spiritual wellbeing, the arts and knowledge of the natural environment.
Daniel buys the ruin and starts to put the project into paper and blueprints. The rehabilitation of Casa Cuadrau is planned, aiming to respect the traditional architecture and materials of the area and following ecologic sustainable building guidelines.
The first phase of the renovation project is initiated, running the first ever retreat at Casa Cuadrau. It was a karma yoga retreat to which several friends came to help, move rocks, meditate and walk in the mountains.
The first phase renovation works continue, following bioconstruction principles. There is a team of builders and karma yogis. The renovation works become an opportunity to practice karma yoga. In the morning, meditation and outdoor yoga-asana practice, meals are healthy and during weekends the team goes on hikes.
Daniel travels through India, like every year, on a personal and educational retreat. In an ashram, located in Southern India, he meets Katya, while they are both studying to complete their 500g yoga training.
Katya joins the project, collaborating in communication and marketing tasks. The karma yoga retreats continue, finishing the first renovation phase in the summer.
In August 2012 the Casa Cuadrau doors opened to its first Yoga, Meditation and Hiking retret participants.
In spring, summer and holidays the house is fully functioning as a retreat house. During fall and winter, the renovation work continues, focusing on the second phase, which includes a new yoga shala.
In the summers, guest teachers and facilitators come to offer their workshops and special retreats: James Boag, Boris and Renée Georgiev, Amanda Spring, Marta Reixach, among others.
In January, Katya and Dani travel to India to study with Bharath Shetty and James Boag. In July of that same year, the first Family Week retreat is held and, in September, the first Yoga & Long Trekking Retreat is offered, which includes a night in nature sleeping at the top of a mountain.
During the Easter Week Retreat, the new shala is opened, a space for meditation, yoga and other disciplines.
In September, we celebrated the Yoga, Art, Nature & Drama, Breathing and Object manipulation retreat, with theatre actors and directors Eric de Sarria and Simon T. Rann.
In the fall, together with Global Tea Hut, the first Zen & Tea retreat is held with Wu De, at Casa Cuadrau.
The retreats at Casa Cuadrau continue. The last details to finish the house renovation are completed.
In January, Katya, Dani and Uma travel to India to study and practice yoga with Matthew Sweeney.
The renovation work at Casa Cuadrau is completed! In the fall, the 10th anniversary of Casa Cuadrau is celebrated with an open doors retreat for the entire Sobrarbe community.
In January, Katya, Dani and Uma travel to Taiwan to learn more about Zen and Tea with Wu De. After this, they start offering Tea Ceremonies during the Casa Cuadrau retreats.