Yia Mas

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Yia Mas Retreats, workshops, and offerings that celebrate Health, Hellenic culture, and community.

CLEANSE YOUR SPACE 🧄 PROTECT YOUR ENERGY 🧿Call it “woo” if you want, but clearing negative energy and blessing home spac...
16/10/2026

CLEANSE YOUR SPACE 🧄 PROTECT YOUR ENERGY 🧿

Call it “woo” if you want, but clearing negative energy and blessing home spaces is ancient heritage across Greek and Balkan cultures. While I love white sage, I recently started burning bay leaves in an effort to connect more with the plants of the region.

🧿 A gentle reminder: Culture and faith aren’t an either/or. From traditional house blessings (agiasmo) to folkloric protections, these rituals have evolved together for centuries. Whether you call a local priest for a blessing or craft your own ritual, Yia Mas is a no-judgment zone. Why not honor whatever brings you peace and protection? 🧿🧿🧿

16/10/2026

NEW PODCAST: THE NEW AGERS HAVE COME FOR GREECE. In this podcast I dive into this trend - and ask IS IT JOE ROGAN’S FAULT?! IYKYK re: The popularity of the Immortality Key and Eleusis. Sorry not sorry, I was feeling spicy when I recorded this a few weeks ago.

Every day I see another “spiritual pilgrimage” or remember your goddess offering. I’m not here to knock it, but I do want to offer some reflection on it, and on the problem that arises when Western spiritual practitioners filter their offerings though a highly individualistic, neoliberal lens. Hint: you’re not the first person to feel a spiritual connection at a sacred site, AND THAT IS THE POINT!!! These were places for collective worship. In addition, I am not saying that ancestry is a MUST for exploring these spiritual traditions, that would be weird and nationalistic. BUT there is a grey area I’m still trying to understand where cultural appropriation meets capitalism. And also, an ancestral connection to the land can’t be ignored - especially if it’s been consciously nurtured by the facilitator. Perhaps I’ll write more on that, another day.

Another major issue I see with this trend is that it bypasses the vibrant, living traditions that have carried forward for generations—traditions that are, frankly, pagan as f*ck. The Anastenaria? The ethimo of the Kalogeros from Kosti? Klidonas? No, these aren’t “Hellenic polytheism” in the sense of worshipping the Twelve Olympians - and no, I am in no way meaning to “attack” anyone who is a hellenic polytheist. Truly, truly, being human is hard enough, worship whatever however you wish.

I want to tread lightly here, because I don’t want to be accused of attacking anyone. I also sell things in Greece. It’s impossible to plan a retreat without feeding and housing people, paying for gas, paying a driver, and making sure those who share their skills are fairly compensated. Saying that people shouldn’t charge for retreats is simply delulu- so no, I’m not attacking that, lest that be misconstrued.

YOU’RE INVITED TO REMEMBER ANCESTRAL WAYS 🧿🏺🌾 join us for the fall edition of The Ancient Greek Mystery School, ANCESTRA...
14/10/2026

YOU’RE INVITED TO REMEMBER ANCESTRAL WAYS 🧿🏺🌾 join us for the fall edition of The Ancient Greek Mystery School, ANCESTRAL WAYS FOR MODERN MYSTICS 🏛️

Throughout 4 classes, we’ll weave a story that takes us through mythic thresholds to the encoded secrets of folk art and the practical remedies of our grandmothers’ kitchens. If you weren’t able to make our ancestral Roots retreat, or simply want to dive deeper into Greek culture and mysticism, this is for you. USE THE CODE RIZES for an early bird discount through October 10 💙

Swipe through the slides to explore the 4 classes:
🌾 Class 1: The Power of Persephone & The Tetraktys of the Hellenic Divine Feminine
🌾 Class 2: The Visual Language of Symbols, Motifs & Women’s Lives with Ariadne Kritonos | Greek Folk Artist and Designer
🌾Class 3: Our Muses: A Deeper Dive into the Women of Greek Mythology with Stacie Zambas Peroulas
🌾Class 4: Practical Magic via Mediterranean Herbs & Yiayia’s Remedies

🧿We begin October 8th! Together, we’ll dive deep into cultural traditions, the stories you weren’t told, and the timeless power of living myth.

All live sessions are recorded if you can’t make them live. 🏺 LINK IN BIO for full course info and to reserve your space in the cohort. Use the code RIZES at checkout for a discount by 10/18!

We will journey from pre patriarchal mysticism to the modern days, we won’t sugar coat things, and we hope to ignite your spiritual, embodied, AND intellectual fire, in tandem. GNOSIS is the goal: to embody this knowledge and carry it forward. And so, we’ll close with a circle around the solstice to meditate, set intentions, and share in lively discussion. GUYS I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

KALO MINA 🏺 Καλό μήνα! Welcoming October and our ancestral women’s retreat with a look at the threshing floor. 🌾 Last mo...
01/10/2026

KALO MINA 🏺 Καλό μήνα! Welcoming October and our ancestral women’s retreat with a look at the threshing floor. 🌾 Last month, we hiked to my husband’s family’s ancestral alonistra (threshing floor; here used interchangeably). I’ve always been fascinated by threshing floors, but standing there on those sun-baked stones, I felt an instantaneous connection, joking to myself that nothing brings out my inner pagan quite like an alonistra. We need to host a gathering here in the future!

Slide through to explore how this seemingly simple stone circle became a sacred portal for winter fertility rites, the birthplace of ancient Greek theater and dance, and a key point of connection to our ancestral ways (and literal survival).

Across Greek islands and mountain villages, women wove and stitched protection spells, ancestral lineages, and cultural ...
26/09/2026

Across Greek islands and mountain villages, women wove and stitched protection spells, ancestral lineages, and cultural influences directly into the cloth. If you want to learn more about the WHY and what this language reveals, something is coming. 🧿

And yes, I consider our ancestors artists for this, even if it was “required” “craft.” Keep an eye on this space 🧿

Anyone else?

Cretan pattern

Image from thebenakimuseum 💙 women’s clothing from Pontos.

Cretan embroidery

Cyclades

FDF wearing Kosti, Thrace. Thank you Lindsey 💙

25/09/2026

PODCAST EPISODE 🏺 I BELONG NO WHERE, I BELONG EVERYWHERE: On diaspora longing, nostgalia tripping, why AI ruins the process, and peak internet fetishization of Greece by influencers and brands such as Zara.
 
In this solo episode, filmed in a full emo puddle just few hours after my parents left, I speak to the emotional tug-of-war of growing up in the Greek diaspora. Specifically, I dive into that tricky, bittersweet feeling of belonging to more than one place at once, asking us all to dig deeper than the typical “we’re not American /Australian/whatever enough there and not Greek enough in Greece.” If you’ve ever felt stretched between cultures, homes, or identities, and/or if you’re craving a real conversation about how we relate to land, place, and culture in the digital age, his one might resonate. 💙 AND! Sorry for saying “like” so much - I’m a millennial; it’s a bad habit.

I also muse on how social media is slowly ruining the mystique of Greece by making it “always available” through content, turning the land into an always-on aesthetic and slick marketing tool.

Note! This episode has been fixed: Thanks to my folks who listened when this dropped this earlier this week, I’ve re-uploaded the video so the missing ending has been restored. No clue what happened there…

FINALLY: perhaps it’s called be-longing because we always be longing ;) jokes aside, I invite you to reflect on your relationship with your roots. I think being diaspora and/or severed from ancestral lands correlates with a desire to connect and define oneself by said land. For most of my Greek friends and family, there is no obsession with being Greek or celebrating it - they simply are. They are modern people going about their lives! It almost seems like an “other” ness is required to put all of this on a pedestal… but that’s a conversation for another podcast. Stay tuned…. We’ll flesh it out. 💙🧿

RIP ANNIE DILLARD: and ode to brilliant American writer who accidentally brought Heraclitus into my life. 🏺Annie Dillard...
24/09/2026

RIP ANNIE DILLARD: and ode to brilliant American writer who accidentally brought Heraclitus into my life. 🏺Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which is, IMHO, better than Walden, opens with a quote from the pre Socratic philosopher Heraclitus. I must admit that this is how the philosopher entered my life as a college student: via a book written so poetically and spiritually about nature in, of all places, my home state of Virginia.

🏺I recently saw that Dillard passed and felt the internet didn’t make enough of a fuss over it. I cannot suggest her writing enough. If you love Mary Oliver, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and/or Walt Whitman, Dillard needs to be on your list.

This personal discovery of Heraclitus was one of the earliest seeds planted for Yia Mas. I read it around the same time I read the Tao Te Ching, and it was one of many small “aha” moments revealing that a lot of what I was seeking in Eastern philosophies and spirituality could also be found right there in my own lineage and culture. I just had to dig deeper and broaden my POV.

I loved learning that in 2001 Dillard retired from teaching at Wesleyan, and in 2007 she decided to stop working entirely. She was tired and wanted to spend the rest of her time reading, painting, and enjoying life. “I’m tired,” she told New York magazine. “I worked so hard all my life, and all I want to do now is read.” Highly, highly relatable, Annie. 🫠🥹

Most of the writing is longer than IG-friendly quotes. But I’m sharing a few snippets here. Dillard’s ability to zoom in and out of macro/micro perspectives is extremely wise and, frankly, very psychedelic.

Sending gratitude to Annie’s body of work, a smooth passage to her spirit, and wishes that she may rest well on the other side. 💙🌾 First two images are from the Fokida region which we will visit on our upcoming October retreat - beyond excited to reconnect with my ancestral lands. Next is Andros, then Ikaria, and finally, Milos. All are places where I’ve felt profound, consciousness shifting connection to nature.

You’re invited: OUR 5th GREEK GRACE RETREAT IN THE CYCLADES 🌊 🧿 Registration is live to join lulu soni and Χριστίνα Jul...
23/09/2026

You’re invited: OUR 5th GREEK GRACE RETREAT IN THE CYCLADES 🌊 🧿 Registration is live to join lulu soni and Χριστίνα July 24–31, 2027 for a week of peak summer practice and joy.

We can’t wait to return to Amorgos (also Kristina’s summer home), where your days will include movement and breath practices, taking it “siga siga,” dreamy dips in the Aegean, local culture, and, as always, an incredible crew.

☀️This retreat is timed with Leo Season: the season of the heart, of expression, and feeling very alive. Expect joy, playfulness, and a deep nervous system reset.

Throughout our week together, we will weave daily movement practices with the land and pace of island life:
🏺Intentional movement: Daily yoga, Somatics, Katonah Yoga®, breathwork, Greek dance, all in open-air shalas overlooking the sea.
🏺Ancient paths: Walks through historic villages and along stone trails to a cliffside monastery hanging over the Aegean.
🏺Culture: Greek cuisine, exploring Aegean herbs, and local festivities and traditions.
🏺Shared meals: Long, unhurried meals of fresh Greek/Mediterranean food.
🏺The Big Blue: Amorgos feels raw and timeless. Swim in the waters that inspired the cult French film Le Grand Bleu.

Note for teachers: Lulu andK ristina are certified Katonah Yoga® teachers; all yoga practices are bankable towards your certification hours.

🐚EARLY BIRD PRICING IS LIVE 🐚This retreat sells out every year. Give yourself yourself something to look forward to and take $200 off: use code EARLYBIRD for (valid through October 15).

You know the deal! Link in bio for more details and inclusions, room options, and to reserve your spot.

Photo 4 by past retreater Tory Rust 💙🧿

Ancient wisdom ⚖️ modern applications. We are welcoming the fall equinox by juxtaposing some of our favorite ancient thi...
22/09/2026

Ancient wisdom ⚖️ modern applications. We are welcoming the fall equinox by juxtaposing some of our favorite ancient thinkers with relatively modern perspectives.

🏺We think a lot about how to find balance between timeless wisdom and how to live in our increasingly digital, fast-paced world. As the equinox is a seasonal threshold and a time where the light is balanced; I see it as an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been *and* where we want to be. It’s also the beginning of Libra ♎️ Season! No coincidence that Libra’s symbol is a scale, and the sign is associated with justice, balance, and harmony.

after many years of teaching, a workshop literally called “Ancient Wisdom, Modern Wellness,” it’s fun to visually pair the old with the new.

Swipe through to explore the pairings 🌾🧿

21/09/2026

Ζωντανό σύμβολο της λαϊκής γαστρονομικής αλλά και χειροτεχνικής κληρονομιάς των Κυκλάδων, ο Βαγγέλης Μενδρινός μαγειρεύει κάθε χρόνο σχεδόν 5.000 μερίδες πατατάτο στο πανηγύρι της Αγίας Παρασκευής στην Αμοργό.
Δείτε το άρθρο στον σύνδεσμο: t.ly/MooMC

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