Crete Retreat:

Pilates& longevity immersion in the Mediterreanean Blue Zone

This isn't just a retreat; it's your personal longevity laboratory.

Immerse yourself in the rhythms of Crete, where centenarians still walk mountain paths and families gather over meals that science now confirms can add years to your life.

Under the guidance of experienced movement instructors and wellness practitioners, you'll learn the precise combination of intelligent exercise - on a Pilates reformer, a foam roller or just the gravitational force and your mind - Mediterranean nutrition, and slow-living practices that make Crete one of the world's Blue Zones.

Explore hidden corners of the mysterious Southern coast, hike ancient paths through archaeological treasures, and experience authentic village life in the Heraklion region. These aren't tourist activities—they're how Cretans have moved, connected, and thrived for generations. Every meal honors the island's legendary Omega-3 rich diet, prepared daily at the Villa Kerasia with ingredients that come from the land around you.

Our local cook creates dishes that taste like tradition and work like medicine. Vegan and vegetarian options celebrate the same ancestral principles.

Deepen your restoration with therapeutic bodywork—deep tissue, athletic, and cupping massage—available throughout your stay.

Leave with more than memories. Leave with a blueprint for living longer, better.

Movement That Matters—For Decades to Come

Your daily practice combines movement precision with Pilates apparatus and props, fascia release and hydration, restorative sessions in the outdoors —not just to feel better for one week, but to move better for life.

This is functional longevity training and lifestyle immersion is based on strengthening the patterns that keep Cretans climbing mountains into their nineties.

Every day at Villa Kerasia, you'll engage in approximately two hours of precision movement work designed specifically for longevity: Pilates fundamentals, fascia release, and restorative practices that address how bodies age.

Our internationally certified instructors (BASI, STOTT, Classical Pilates) begin with a thorough movement audit—assessing your posture, patterns, and potential. From there, they design a personalized training protocol based on your medical history, your goals, and what your body actually needs (not just what you think you want).

Classes are kept intentionally small or offered privately, ensuring you receive the attention required for precise, effective, safe practice. This isn't group fitness. It's individualized longevity programming. Complement your movement practice with massage therapy (deep tissue, athletic, cupping) recommended every other day throughout the week.

This isn't luxury—it's part of the protocol. Fascia release, muscle recovery, and nervous system regulation. This is movement education for the long game. The kind that keeps you hiking, swimming, traveling, and living fully—not just now, but for decades to come.

Cretan breakfasts and hearty family dinners from the freshest organic produce

Every meal at Villa Kerasia is a lesson in longevity—prepared with 100% authentic Cretan ingredients, most grown by your host or sourced from neighboring farms. All fresh. All seasonal. All part of the nutritional blueprint that's kept Cretans thriving into their tenth decade.

Your host's remarkable organic wine accompanies each meal, because this isn't about restriction—it's about the Mediterranean rhythm of food, community, and pleasure that science now confirms extends lifespan.

Why This Diet Works

The Cretan Mediterranean Diet isn't trendy—it's ancient. And it's one of the most thoroughly researched nutritional protocols for longevity on Earth. Rich in Omega-3s, polyphenols, fiber, and compounds we're only beginning to understand, this way of eating has been proven to: support healthy weight throughout life, dramatically reduce heart disease and cancer risk, build robust immune function, enhance cognitive performance and mood

and last but not least combat depression and anxiety naturally.

Our team has spent years researching the healthiest, most authentic dishes of the region—not just the recipes, but the why behind them. Throughout your week, we'll show you how to implement these principles at home, using ingredients available wherever you live.

Meet the Producers

You will visit small-scale farmers, cheesemakers, and winemakers who've preserved ancient methods. Taste what happens when food is grown with integrity: varieties of cheese, wild greens, heirloom legumes—some renowned for Omega-3 richness but virtually unknown outside Crete. Sample locally produced wine and raki. Discover honey-based desserts that satisfy without compromising health.

Cook With Locals

Join hands-on cooking sessions at the Villa, learning Cretan techniques and secrets directly from those who live them. This is culinary anthropology—understanding not just what to eat, but how food connects to place, season, and longevity.

The Bigger Picture

By week's end, you'll recognize what scientists took decades to prove: the Cretan Diet isn't separable from Cretan life. The seasons. The land. The pace. The values. It's a complete system—and Cretans are fighting fiercely to preserve it against industrialization. Their farmers maintain organic practices and ancient agricultural wisdom not for marketing, but for survival of a culture that works. You're witnessing—and learning from—one of humanity's most successful experiments in how to eat for a long, vital life.

The area surrounding Villa Kerasia is rich with secrets—natural trails winding through gorges, archaeological sites untouched by tour buses, villages where daily life hasn't changed in generations, and the warm, impossibly blue waters of the Libyan Sea washing against the wild Southern coast.

We work exclusively with the region's most knowledgeable local guides—people who grew up walking these paths, who know which tavernas the locals actually eat at, who can read the landscape like a story. Together, we design experiences tailored precisely to what draws you: cultural immersion, physical challenge, historical depth, or simply the perfect swimming cove.

Hiking expeditions. E-biking through ancient agricultural terroirs. Village encounters. Southern coast explorations. Each is crafted to your interests and arranged at the best rates through our long-standing relationships—you get insider access without the tourist premium..

A week in the Blue Zones lab check here

Nestled in the village of Vlahiana at 580 meters elevation, Villa Kerasia sits at the southeastern foot of Mount Psiloritis—amphitheatrically positioned with sweeping views across vineyards, olive groves, and the Cretan valleys where traditional life persists. Just 15-20 km from Heraklion city, yet worlds away in pace and purpose.

This beautifully restored 1883 traditional stone house has been transformed into an intimate retreat of just seven rooms and suites—your base for a week of longevity immersion.

Your Host Babis doesn't just welcome guests—he shares a way of life. He cultivates his own organic vineyard, produces exceptional wine, honey, raki, and olive oil on the property. Every meal features his harvest. Every conversation reveals generations of Cretan wisdom. His warmth and attention to detail have earned Villa Kerasia its reputation as a place where guests become friends.

The Setting

The Pool

Our L-shaped pool (50m²) serves multiple purposes: morning laps, aqua Pilates sessions, or simply water movemement playtime. The integrated Jacuzzi supports muscle recovery and fascia release work. Surrounded by gardens with mountain and valley views, pomegranate and other fruit trees.

The Grounds
Private gardens spaces, ancient trails leading to Byzantine churches, the E4 International Mountain Track is nearby. This is walking country—where movement happens naturally, not on treadmills.

Digital Detox Support
Free WiFi is available throughout. However, we strongly encourage disconnection during your immersion. Let your nervous system experience what it's like to be off-grid while fully supported.

Important to Know

Upper floor is not suitable for guests with mobility challenges (authentic stone architecture with stairs), so accommodation is recommended at ground floor

Pets welcome on request (no extra charges)

Languages: Greek, English, German

Private parking available

What's included at the Villa:

✓ Traditional Cretan Breakfast Daily – organic, seasonal, from Babis's land and bio culture
✓ Omega-3 Rich Dinners – prepared with locally grown ingredients such as olive oil made by the host and/or local sourcing. Dinners happen either at the Villa or in a village close by, at one of the family owned small tavernas with ancestral cousine

✓ One bottle of Babis organic wine to enjoy at your convenience, mezes with bio raki drinks

✓ Herbal teas from the region to enjoy any time of the day
✓ Daily Housekeeping – your space stays restorative and clean
✓ Dining as a family– Greek family style at a shared table (community = longevity)
✓ Pool, Jacuzzi & Pilates Garden Access – for movement, restoration, contemplation

✓ Pilates apparatus and props, including mats
✓ Sunbeds, Umbrellas, Towels & Linens – all provided

✓ Bicycles provided for village exploration

Accommodation: Seven Unique Rooms

Each room preserves the villa's original proportions and character. All include en-suite bathrooms, comfortable beds, tables and chairs, mini-fridge, and satellite TV (though we hope you won't use it).

Cristina Mosora (Retreat Coordinator/ Pilates instructor)

Cristina is a certified BASI Pilates instructor and studio owner. She founded UP Pilates on the island of Cyprus, in 2015 with a strong belief in the healing power of Pilates. Cristina has years long experience in the organisation of international events, workshops and conferences. She will be teaching all the apparatus classes during the retreat and will be assisting the guests throughout the entire duration of their stay at the Villa.

She speaks English, Greek, Romanian, Spanish.

Babis (Villa Kerasia Host, bio wine maker, story-teller)

Babis is our lovely host at the Villa Kerasia. He owns and manages the Villa for more than 15 years and has been commended for his hospitality and personalized service to visitors from all over the world. He will be glad to make your stay at the Villa an exquisite experience. Babis has his own wine, raiki, honey and olive oil organic production. You will taste from all his organic production. He speaks excellent English and German and is a fantastic story teller!

Theodore Tarkazikis (Pilates instructor/ Movement Therapist)

Theodore is teaching Pilates for more than 20 years in Greece and abroad. He is certified both in Stott and BASI Pilates Styles (Oxford/UK and Athens/GR) and is a graduate of the University of Physical Education and Sports in Thessaloniki, GR. Throughout his career, Theodore has worked closely with many Master Teachers worldwide (Alan Herdman, Richard Orbach) He believes that Pilates is more than a fitness regime, but a powerful healing method that has the potential to quickly restore balance in our daily stressful lives. Theodore has been working with individuals with severe injuries and has successfully contributed to the rehabilitation of many clients of all ages and health conditions. He conducts workshops and seminars regularly in Greece, and will be teaching at our retreat in Crete. Theodore is fluent in English and Italian.

George Portokalakis (Hospitality expert and Cretan Diet researcher)

George had been involved in the travel industry for more than 50 years, having lived all his life in Crete. He founded the exclusive Porto Club Foodie tours and hosted travellers from around the world. He had been a researcher of the Cretan Diet and had been sharing his life long experience of Greece and Cretan culture, food and lifestyle with guests of our retreats as well. He passed away early in 2024 and we will be cherishing his dear memory and what he has done for the Crete Retreat team forever.