Yia Mas

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Yia Mas

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

03/09/2026

Does anyone else feel like a week of tactile experiences, time in Greek nature, and mindful conversations with women would do a lot for their lives right now?

Join us this October, the perfect shoulder season period in Greece, for Reclaiming Our Roots: a retreat for mindful ancestral connection. We’ll dance, weave, bake bread, walk through greek mountains, learn about honey production, and connect with sacred sites. All retreaters are invited to bring photos, icons, or any objects that connect them with their ancestors for a shared altar we’ll create throughout the week.

It’s also a time for conversation and contemplation - how can we become better future ancestors? What does that look like?

Due to a cancellation we have a couple spots left! If you’re feeling called, I hope you’ll join us. 🧿🏺💙

Image one by Anna Papadopoulou - who we have featured on our blog.

30/08/2026

A NOD TO YIA MAS AT OUR WEDDING ON AMORGOS🏺 An anniversary share! I did not set out to have a Yia Mas wedding in any way, but when we were planning the gifted Psimeni Raki (traditional spiced drink of Amorgos), my brilliant planner Christy Lagiou suggested adding Yia Mas to the tag. And it just made sense…. as most of our followers know, Yia Mas means cheers. Then we said, why not add custom labels to the table wine? 🤭 Somehow our wedding flowers and colors also mimicked the classic Yia Mas greens and peachy earth tones. Thank you again, Christy, for talking me out of the muted whites I initially chose and into something that filled the traditional Cycladic space that is Agia Paraskevi with COLOR.

Just a few shots of the Yia Mas flavored details 🏺🌿 in my feelings looking back on this day, can’t wait to share more about the traditions we honored and,
Most importantly, the love and fun in the air on August 30th.

28/08/2026

NEW YIA MAS! THE PODCAST EPISODE 🧿Greek dance and diaspora dynamics, the magic of inclusivity over “authenticity,” panygiria in the digital age, and supporting Greek women with the brilliant, kind, gorgeous Stacie Zambas Peroulas 🏺

Those who know Stacie know she needs no introduction, but she’s an expert in many regions of Greek song and dance, as well as a driving force behind Hellenic Dance Festival and now National Greek Dance & Cultural Ministry of the GOA 🌿 She’s extremely knowledgeable, too humble, and also one of my very close friends. We’ve collaborated together on our Apokries Experiences and some other magic is in the pipeline.

What a treat to sit down IN PERSON for this conversation! Give it a listen for free on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Call this one of our Diaspora Dialogues - but it’s really so much more!

Video from our 2024 Apokries trip to Skyros 🐴

Metsovo - Apokries 2026

FDF 2023

SKYROS 🐴 because always the horses and horse medicine

25/08/2026

STORYTIME. Ikaria, 2017. I’m trying to dance at a picture perfect panigyri, but people keep rushing the line. No one around me has the steps. I keep getting stepped on (bless those 5 euro closed toe shoes I bought when I arrived). The line is a mess, aside from the first 5 or so dancers in the front. It was not fun.* And mind you, this was years BEFORE dance content blew up on Instagram.

More and more, I have conversations with locals in various locations that they avoid their peak summer panigyria. Just saying.

Some are still amazing, and not all summer panigyria are overrun. Often it’s just a function of space and bigger dance floors - that simple. Nonetheless, you see a lot of cell phones recording (hi lol), and sometimes it feels like an experience people are trying to have for the gram, perhaps even a little extractive. Is there respect for the locals? For the dance and musical traditions? Or is everyone just trying to have an experience they can talk about later or post here.

In an upcoming podcast episode we dive into panigyri culture in the internet age (from MANY angles, NOT just this one, mind you). Will be sharing that conversation with our dear friend later this week!

I know this isn’t the uplifting content people want, but it’s been on my mind for a long time, so it’s what you’ll get. Anyone else?

* fear not, we had plenty of fun at several other panigyria on Ikaria 🤭💙🧿

20/08/2026

HEALING HERBS IN HYDRA 🌿 an offering 🏺

Clear your space, clear your mind. For millennia, our ancestors burned herbs and incense to activate their senses, purify spaces, and connect with the divine (see also: the Greek Orthodox Church, pagan rituals predating the church, folk rituals that evolved through different spiritual eras).

🌿We love burning something, like Livani or bay leaves, to transmute and release uncomfortable feelings. Sometimes it’s not that deep, it just grounds you and connects you a bit more to yourself and to the land.

🏺Why not try this today: instead of trying to solve and muscle through your problems in your mind, light a candle or smudge something and envision giving it up. Watch it go up in smoke, metaphorically and literally. Notice how this feels. Accept that our human brains don’t have all the answers, and let doubt burn away.

🌿Smudging herbs captured by us on film a couple summer ago outside Jeff Koons’ now iconic Apollo on Hydra

12/08/2026

YIA MAS! The podcast is LIVE 🧿⏺️🏺Welcome to our new space for longer-form conversations with our brilliant friends and collaborators, as well as solo episodes - more on that below.

She’s not perfect, and there’s no intro music yet. For now, we’re excited to simply release this into the world and fine tune as we go. You can listen into our first two episodes now on Spotify and YouTube, AD FREE and for free 🧿

A few things you can expect from these transmissions:
🧿 A combination of solo episodes and engaging guests
🧿 Diaspora Dialogues on a broad range of topics, even the difficult ones
🧿 Travel in Greece: insights, tips, and more
🧿 Rants and reflections on the state of the wellness industry, social media, AI, and, well, the world. Yes, things unrelated to Greece or Greek stuff!
🧿 Actual practical episodes on how to live better as inspired by Greece’s land, ancient wisdom, and folk practices (aka the entire ethos of Yia Mas since 2018).

We recorded an incredible episode on Greek Folk Magic in the digital age with our friend and guest teacher nikokatos. Niko is an educator and cultural researcher who learned folk practices directly from his grandparents. He has also guest taught several amazing classes on the mati and folk magic for our online classes. This is a treat to listen to and a great way to kick off our guests.

LISTEN NOW FOR FREE! And please follow the show 🏺 I am notoriously bad at asking for support, so here we are. 💙

08/08/2026

Lion’s Gate Portal 🤝 Ancient Greek Lions

In esoteric circles, many refer to today as the Lion’s Gate. While it’s not technically an ancient concept, this date marks the alignment of Sirius (the brightest star in the sky) with Earth, the Sun (in the zodiac sign of Leo), and Orion’s Belt. The Ancient Egyptians marked today for the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, an astronomical event that coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River.

🦁In modern esoteric, new age, and astrological circles, it’s been combined with numerology, using the connection of August 8th (8/8) to mark the day as energetically potent.

What does it all mean? Does it mean nothing? Is it a great excuse to ponder the mystery of the night sky, as well as the beautiful symbolism of Lions throughout ancient history? Sure :)

Lion’s Terrace on the island of Delos, an important ancient sacred site located near modern day Mykonos. The lions were a dedication to Apollo from the Naxians.

The literal Lion’s Gate at Mycenae, the grand entrance to the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae.

Close up of Lion on Delos, the mythical birthplace of Artemis and Apollo.

Close up with more Delian lions.

07/08/2026

FOR THE LOVE OF GREEK ALTARS AND ALL THINGS HOLY. Our photos from across Greece plus a vintage gem, locations include Serifos, Pelion, Tinos, and our village Lidoriki.

From the Ancient Greeks through Christianity, ours is a highly visual spiritual language. There are reminders everywhere - locations of car accidents, little altars, small churches dotting the countryside.

Sacred spaces are designed to give us a feeling of awe, be in the angles of light, scents (straight to the amygdala baby), transportive images, and sounds. Greece is full of them. While typically much smaller than the cathedrals found around the rest of Europe, I love the combination of village simplicity and unique Byzantine era art found around our country. Symbols abound, and it’s always humbling to stumble upon Tamata and other offerings that have been left by people seeking divine intervention and aid.

Maybe this inspires you to pause and light a candle or incense this weekend ✨💙

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http://www.yia-mas.com/

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