Pilates & Wellness Retreats
Retreat, re-set & restore...
This retreat is about giving yourself some space: time to slow down, reconnect with your body and mind, and reset. You stay surrounded by nature at an award-winning boutique resort in Chiang Mai, slow right down, and move mindfully in classes led by Ruth, who has been teaching for more than 25 years.
Expect Pilates and movement twice a day, plus a choice of extras: Pilates in the pool, sound meditation, a bike ride through the local countryside, a gua sha facial massage workshop, and an outing to an outdoor spa for Thai herbal steam and an ice bath. And more besides!
Every class works for every level, and even in a full group Ruth makes sure each person gets their own guidance.
About Ruth
Ruth has taught Pilates and movement for more than 25 years. She first found Pilates as a ballet student at the Royal Academy of Dance in London, where she saw how much it does to keep the body healthy and prevent injury.
After moving to Hong Kong in 1998 to teach ballet, she trained with Polestar and spent 7 years at the Isofit Pilates studio, learning from visiting specialists in Pilates, Gyrotonics and physiotherapy. In 2006 she founded RH+Studio, running pop-up Pilates classes for schools, universities and studios across Central and Wanchai. For more than 15 years she also taught staff at Hong Kong University, including classes for its work-life balance programme.
Since opening her virtual studio in 2019, Ruth teaches every class online and hosts a retreat in Chiang Mai every few months. She is caring and very detailed, and makes sure every person in a group class gets their own corrections. People often say it feels like a private class.
What's included in the Retreat?
Not included in Retreat price
The four days
We begin on Friday at 3pm with a welcome drink, introductions and a walk around the resort. In the early evening a gentle wind-down Pilates session stretches out the travel tension, and then it’s time for a healthy Thai dinner together.
Every morning opens with an early Pilates class with Ruth, then breakfast outdoors at the Tamarind Sala, which takes its name from the grand tamarind tree beside it. Mid-morning brings an extra activity, such as a facial massage workshop, time with a holistic health coach or a mindful doodling hour. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons there is a small-group sound meditation after lunch; the rest of the afternoon is yours. Read or swim by the pool, book a traditional treatment at the resort spa, or relax in the lovely café set inside a restored tobacco barn. The day closes with a restorative Pilates class in the early evening and dinner at Po Liang Bistro.
Our last full day is an outing to a local day spa, booked just for our group, for Thai herbal steam and cold immersion. Guided breathwork helps anyone who wants to try the ice bath, and a beautiful saltwater pool is there for dipping and floating. A healthy lunch, small snacks and cool drinks are served through the day.
Kaomai Lanna Resort
Kaomai Lanna is a boutique hotel with award-winning design and also a heritage site, which makes it a really special place for a retreat. It has won the Chiang Mai Design Award and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Its guest rooms were once 36 tobacco-curing barns from the height of Thailand’s tobacco trade. The wide, green grounds lie in a tropical garden on the road from Chiang Mai city to Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain, and are home to more than 50 bird species and hundreds of kinds of plants.
Accommodation
Rooms are styled in a modern Lanna look, furnished with colonial-era antique wood pieces the owner collected in Myanmar (Burma). Pick a Single Deluxe room, or a Shared Deluxe room if you are coming with a friend. Every room is a little different. Some have antique wooden beds, others a simple but very comfortable mattress on a raised platform.
Bathrobes, basic toiletries, a hair dryer, and bath and pool towels are all provided. You might even see a squirrel or two from your window!
Food!
This isn’t a detox retreat! You’ll eat fresh, healthy Thai food, cooked with care by the Kaomai Lanna kitchen from produce grown in their garden. Each meal comes with a salad and a house-made dressing (last time: black sesame or mulberry). We have even enjoyed tamarind juice from the resort’s own tree, and butterfly pea and lime made with flowers from the garden.
Other dishes on the menu include fresh vegetable spring rolls with peanut dip; tofu and vegetable green curry; tamarind chicken with rice (using tamarind from the resort’s tree); khao soi, the Northern Thai noodle soup; fish and ginger stir-fry; and mango sticky rice for dessert (Ruth’s favourite), plus plenty more.
Have a dietary requirement? Just let us know and it can be catered for.
Retreat Price options
- CNY Feb Retreat1st Nov 2025
- May Retreat2nd Feb 2026
- August Retreat10th April 2026
- October oOOMA Retreat1st July 2026
- Nov/Dec retreat1st August 2026
*Flights not included.
In their words
We're all on a journey, and I joined Ruth's May 23 retreat knowing I really needed some 'me' time. I got so much from it - regular Pilates sessions (my favourite was Pilates in the pool), a wonderful resort and delicious Thai food, solo bike rides around the surrounding countryside, and best of all a lovely supportive group of people each of whom I learned something special from. I'll be joining again! - Rachael Guan Hong Kong
Your vivid and rhythmic instruction brought a mix of tranquility and mobility throughout the mind and body. Your passion in sharing Pilates and connecting with all of you shines along the way. - Chloe Po Hong Kong
Ruth, thanks for organising this retreat. The Pilates classes were great, your instructions and demonstrations were easy to follow, even for somebody like me with less experience. It helped to soothe my sore muscles and sleep better at night. Without doubt, this was one of my best and most memorable trips ever. - Maggie Tse Hong Kong
Book your retreat experience now!
Re-Treat yourself & re-set
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