Yia Mas, Amorgós (2026)

31/03/2026

STOP AND SMELL THE GREEK HERBS 🪴 One of our dreamiest afternoons on the summer Greek Grace retreat is spent learning about the magic and healing properties of herbs and flowers.

🏺Yes, we will practice plenty of yoga, but we’d be doing Amorgos a disservice if we also didn’t share its potent sage and special flowers. SAVE YOUR SPOT and join us June 18-25 on retreat to learn more. 🫶🏼🌿

24/03/2026

YOU’RE INVITED to join us for May Magic on Andros, a four-day retreat celebrating nature, spring’s arrival, and wellbeing.🌷🪻🌿 Hosted by Yia Mas and local expert + Andriotissa, .retreats, this long weekend escape unfolds poetically around Protomagia (May 1). Link in bio to save your spot and learn more!

🌷This experience is designed to help you slow down, decompress, and reconnect with nature on the verdant island of Andros.
🌿Think:
-Hikes to waterfalls and through fields of wildflowers
-Gathering flowers and herbs to create wreaths for May 1, alongside a conversation on the significance of the myth of Persephone
-Daily movement and meditation guided by Kristina
-Wine tasting and olive oil tasting at a local winery with stunning vistas
-Nourishing meals from local products (Approved by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist).
-A historic tour of Andros’s stunning seaside Chora
-Slow meals at vetted local tavernas
-Community and inspiring conversation

For three nights, we’ll stay in an historic, restored villa surrounded by groves of lemons, olive trees, and walking trails. Doubles and singles available- inquire directly to book off WeTravel and avoid fees.

Andros is a close, easy ferry from Athens - this is the perfect spring weekend escape for those who need to get out of the city - and if you’re anything like us, you’re dying be outdoors while spring is in bloom.🌷

This season invites us to come out of our winter shells and consider how we want to blossom. Maybe it’s your next creative project, or maybe it’s just a layer of yourself you’ve been wanting to meet. Bring your journal, your watercolors, or simply your being to enjoy during downtime. 🪻Feel like you could use a spring reset, or simply a weekend away from the noise to enjoy nature? Join us.

23/03/2026

Considere these your SAVE THE DATES for two very special seasonal experiences, each deeply rooted in seasonality and the Greek land.

In October, a Google doc and concept that’s been floating in our drive for three years comes to life - we’re taking you to where we’re from. Stay tuned.

And very soon you’ll find out about May 🤭 stay tuned 🌷🪻🌿

20/03/2026

SPRING EQUINOX: Persephone returns - and earth begins to hum. We’re cooking up something special to celebrate this season, stay tuned! 🪻 Photos via .retreats of stunning Andros in spring.

🌷Today may seem like just another day with work and chores, but it’s also the spring equinox and astrological new year. A day of equal light and darkness, where the cosmos reminds that balance always returns. As the wheel turns into a new season we are invited to consider nature’s patterns to better to Know Ourselves and find inner balance. A simple suggestion: take a few deep breaths with dramatic exhales (release that winter stagnation), carve out some time to move your body, and jot down an ideas that have been marinating since winter. Also, do just about anything with flowers. 💐   Spring can be the best, but early spring can also feel anxiety inducing. We are just coming out of our shells, and Persephone is reacclimatizing to all of this sunlight 🤭 Just as the earth thaws slowly to make way for flowing springs, so do we - and the flow may not arrive all at once. I remember when I lived in New York, March never felt like spring. Maybe you’re already feeling it, maybe not. It’s ok if you don’t feel that spring in your step, or are feeling overwhelmed by the massive global changes taking place around us.

Hugs for spring, and cheers to the return of light!

19/03/2026

Our first glimpse of Metsovo years ago felt like stepping into a snow-dusted fairytale. Returning with our Epirus retreat crew to spend time with its people and dive deeper into its culture was simply enchanting. JOIN US TODAY over on where we’re doing a takeover on our Epirus trip, which was a proper journey into a side of Greece many don’t see. Greece in the off-season has our hearts, and we can’t wait to share more!

🏔️ As for Metsovo, woodsmoke in the air paired perfectly with local wine and tsipouro, learning about the Vlach way of life, slow meals, and movement to the rhythm of the town’s music and traditions.

We asked for winter mountain magic and oh, how Metsovo understood the assignment 🤭

18/03/2026

Is it possible to have the benefits of a village in modern life? Here’s our take on how to take the best of Greek-village living to foster greater belonging and well-being.

A few thoughts beyond the images: there’s been a lot of discourse about the “village” this year online. While it’s already old news by fast-moving instagram standards, we proudly do not ascribe to said standards :) It’s something that’s been on my mind for a long time, and will remain there long after the internet moves on to the next buzzy wellness trend. Our ancestors’ practices inspired this whole thing, after all.

A few notes on the ‘modern’ village. Despite how we may nostalgically glamorize them, small village life tends to come with heaps of problems. We won’t analyze those today, but gossip, restraining social norms, and the behaviors that often arise in closed societies are something few of us have actually lived. How cool is it to think that you can try to create your own village? It won’t be perfect (life never is or was), but you can give it a try to create a greater sense of rootedness in your life, as well as forging stronger relationships - we hope!

Statistically, we know many people are lonely and struggle with mental heath, perhaps changing our lifestyle can help.

So I’ll ask again: Is it possible to make the best of the freedoms afforded by modern life AND incorporate ancestral practices? Is it even possible outside the context of living in an actual village? In 2026? Who’s to say? What a time to be alive. :)

17/03/2026

ABOUT OUR FOUNDER 🏺 Hi, I’m Kristina, the founder of Yia Mas. Our last intro post was in 2022 so here we go: I’m a writer, researcher, movement teacher (yoga meditation, Greek dance), creative, and mother. I studied history at the University of Virginia where I also took a lot of courses in art history, anthropology and philosophy - Yia Mas reflects that. As a yoga and meditation teacher, I have a 200-hour RYT, 100-hour meditation teacher training with Nalanda Institute of Contemplative Science, and am Katonah Yoga Certified. My work and research bridges the gap between our increasingly digital realities and tactile experiences, aiming to help people live more joyful, mindful, creative lives. I hope to complete a masters when life allows! I’m NOT the most comfortable having my photo taken or about posting “lifestyle content.” Here are some photos of me in my habitat - leading our trips and exploring Greece for retreat research on Amorgos, Hydra, Serifos, Tinos, and more :) I recently traded life in NYC for more time in Amorgos and Athens.

I am both probably more woo woo than I present, but in tandem am a believer in science science, research, and critical thinking. What a cool time to be alive when we can save lives with science and also have the sovereignty to live our spiritual lives on our terms.

Yia Mas marries my Greek diaspora upbringing with ongoing research on philosophy, dance, design, and culture. My curiosity and appreciation for self-inquiry inspire Yia Mas’s mission to share Greek folk remedies and ancient traditions - AND promote Greece beyond the usual diaspora narrative. From our brand colors which highlight the terra cottas and olive greens of the Greek countryside (yes, we also love the Greek blue) to trips focused on local experiences and conscious, slow travel, including many trips in the off season!

Yia Mas also has amazing collaborators and independent contractors without whom we’d be far less interesting! But for the most part, I do the multi-hyphenate entrepreneurial job of writing, creating, (co)planning, and creative directing everything you see here.

Say hi! I’d love to meet you!

13/03/2026

SKYROS APOKRIES EXPERIENCE 🌷Looking back at one of our cultural small group trips with - and finding it hard to believe this was two years ago. Oh, the bells!

🌷Apokries fell later that year, and the weather + flowers were fully showing off.

We’ve already got Apokries 2027 on the brain 🤭 as well as some more spring adventures. Stay tuned.

12/03/2026

WILDFLOWER SEASON IN GREECE.🪻🌼🌷Can you feel it? The spring stirring? Persephone is preparing her return, and we’ve got Greek wildflowers on the brain, as well as the ancient stories that make their presence even sweeter.

This is one of our favorite times of year here. While it’s not warm enough for the beach bar set, it’s *perfect* for those interested in hiking, herbs, cultural activities, and visiting sacred sites. (Join us for that, sometime?)

Swipe to learn more about the storytelling of some of the flowers you’ll see in Greece and the Mediterranean. We hope this adds some meaning to your spring strolls!

11/03/2026

An ode to dancing Bafra, Pontos at the magical with Enosis 🌹

Bafra was rewarding on so many levels. These dances are not the popular Pontiaka you’re used to seeing at Glendia and even performances. Physically demanding, musically fascinating, and my first time singing in Turkophone, I loved learning and performing this suite. It has a LOT of energy and we had fun on stage.
This set speaks to the multicultural history of various Hellenic/ Christian peoples and is a *valuable* history lesson unto itself. Thank you to .garofalis and Chrysa for teaching me! I feel extremely grateful that circumstances aligned to compete at HDF this year with my hometown church in Virginia. 🫶🏼 and BIG shoutout to dancing Pontic with Eurovision winner klavdiaitiz!
 🧿About the set: Enosis presented dance and songs from the region of BAFRA in western Pontos. The Greeks of BAFRA identified themselves as Orthodox Christians although they were primarily Turkophone/Turkish speakers during certain parts of history. Tradition states that at some point possibly in the 18th century, the people of the region were given a choice by one of the local AGAs or Pashas: to either convert to Islam, or to speak Turkish. To lose their native language of Greek was their last alternative to death. The people of far western PONTOS were subjugated under Turkish rule for a much longer period Than most of Pontus, which fell to the Ottomans. This is a form of cultural genocide, which the people of the region were subjugated to and ultimately also under an ethnic genocide from the period of 1914 through 1922 where they were either killed or forced to exile to Greece. Enosis honored the people in the traditions of the region by presenting their dances, as well as their songs and their traditional language of Turkish.

Thank you for the videos of our final karsilamas - visit the HDF website or YouTube for Sunday’s competition to see this energetic, culturally rich set.

10/03/2026

Last Saturday was fun so we’re thinking to make this a regular thing? See you March 14 YOGA in the lovely Trocadero park in Palaio Faliro 🫶🏼 Bring your body and your mat! 10 AM - all levels- class will be an hour-ish.

🧿 10 euros suggested donation

🌿The park is also great for kids to play, and there’s a playground nearby.

DM to be added to the WhatsApp group!

08/03/2026

AN ODE TO THE DIVINE MOTHER for 🌾

🌾 Demeter pictured with her grain, taken from a past visit to the archaeological museum in Syracuse, Sicily. If you’ve ever attended one of our workshops on the Persephone Myth, you know how much we love Persephone and Demeter.

🌿The name “Dimitra” is derived from “Demeter,” meaning “earth mother” - “Ge” for earth and “meter” for mother. In these sculptures she carries her signature stalk of grain, as she presided over crops, grains, and the harvest, tethering humans to our survival needs (a good harvest was a life or death matter for our ancestors… and us, too).

🌿 The final slide captures a mother’s love in the Neolithic era, and it just really gets to me: Clay Neolithic mother figurine dated to 4800-4500 BC from Thessaly, via National Archaeological Museum. From “The female figure is shown seated on a stool gently holding and suckling an infant in her arms. The child partly hides its face in her mother’s bosom, whereas one of its hands rests on her right breast and the other embraces her back. The arms of the nursing mother encircle the child’s body fixing it to a breastfeeding position. The clay craftsman captured with artistic acumen the primordial moment in a woman’s life when she feeds the child from her body, thereby assuming the role which later nature is about to play, a role associated with divinity. The spiral arrangement of the arms in the tender embrace between the mother and the infant reflects the act of breastfeeding. The image remains undisturbed despite the absence of the added head of the mother. The repetition of the spiral on the body of the two figures establishes a connection between them, possibly indicating their same gender, and their relation, that they are in fact mother and daughter.”

Yia Mas

31/03/2026

24/03/2026

23/03/2026

20/03/2026

19/03/2026

18/03/2026

17/03/2026

13/03/2026

12/03/2026

11/03/2026

10/03/2026

08/03/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Yia Mas