Marin & Natali 

Hello dear Traveler! 

We are Marin and Natali, your hosts. We are also founders and owners of the Five Elements Retreat Center. Together with Marin’s family and our friends, we have been leading yoga and adventure retreats since 2017. Marin shares the knowledge and contributes more to the meditation and adventure aspects of the program. Natali's creative nature expresses itself through food, nutrition, and yoga. Together, we keep writing our story. 

It is the story of Love and Wisdom. We met by the grace of the universe. 

We were completely different persons. One of us was a mystic ready to become a "hermit" and the other one was a model ready to go to Hollywood. At least, it seemed so. 

As always, life had other plans. We knew we were in front of a big challenge. Through Love and the Five Elements wisdom, our relationship started to bloom in growth, support, and loving inspiration. Now, our story inspires many beautiful souls that are in search of harmony in relationships or a more fulfilled life. 

When that magical moment happened to us, many doors opened and one of them was to start sharing our stories on the retreats.  

Our story can be beautifully explained with the language of Five Elements, and once you understand it you will see your own life and situations from another perspective. You will start to recognize the wisdom of Nature in everything. 

The most interesting part is how we actually met and that was pure destiny, but perhaps now it's your destiny to hear this story.

Both of us love to be in Nature, meet wonderful people, and show them the beauty of nature within us and around us. We feel especially blessed receiving a message from them, after they return home, that the beauty and wisdom experienced here opened up their perspective of life and enriched their experience.

We invest love and care in our program because we want to give back to life what we receive from it.

Both of us are dedicated yoga teachers with years of experience. Marin has been studying and teaching yoga and meditation for more than 20 years. Natali is a dedicated physiotherapist and masseuse, a certified yoga instructor in Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Yin but practicing and leading many different styles as well.

Expertise in adventure tours came through our own passion and appreciation of the language of nature. 

Marin

“Wisdom of the Five Elements comes really to life when infused in practice and direct experience. This is why I do and love the program we share with you. 

When I was younger I was addicted to adrenaline because it gave me the intensity of liveliness.

For many years I worked as a windsurfing instructor and adventure guide and practiced many outdoor activities because I was in constant search of action.

When I started with meditation I began to experience the intensity of life just being in Nature. 

One meditation specifically transformed my life completely taking me on a spiritual journey. I dedicated my life to mysticism, through different spiritual practices including yoga. 

For many years I was traveling the world exploring and deepening my spiritual knowledge. Also, I continued to practice those adventure activities.

Now not rushing for adrenaline anymore, I enjoyed doing it slowly and felt the connection with Nature.

Finally, these two passions of spirituality & adventure merged together when Nature started to speak to me and gave me her wisdom through the language of the Five Elements. Yes, it is the knowledge that is the base of almost all esoteric teachings including yoga. However, I didn't learn it from books. I learned from my experiences, meditations, contemplations, and insights. Only after that I started to research this topic from all traditions.
The fruit of that dedication were two books about the Five Elements, both published in Croatian and English. 
The program later was designed to transmit knowledge through experience. This is why we designed this program to give you the taste of understanding and direct experience. You learn about and explore the Elements from your own experience while enjoying it. This is something you can't forget. 

But what is this wisdom about? Why do I want to share it with you?

First of all, when I discovered it I realised that I didn't live to the full potential of my life. Once I started to implement the wisdom of the elements to my character, my life greatly improved. 

I realised that it is the most simple, yet the most powerful understanding to access your own wisdom. Through insight, the change is natural and spontaneous not forced. 

I will share my story about how it impacted my job and relationship and how this knowledge is now transforming many lives, and I have no doubt in some way it will yours too. 

Thanks to this wisdom, I did some things that I would never do without them, and because of that, I'm where I am now meeting so many nice people from all over the world, working with friends and my partner Natali, the love of my life. 

Hope you will come to meet our team, to discover the beauty of the place where we live and be open to the possibility that this experience may really transform your life!

Natali 

As you may have guessed, I am the Hollywood girl in our story. That was my dream: covers of the magazines and stage lights. The desire haunted me and produced results. I ended up in the fashion and beauty industry, shooting covers. What I realised was that through modelling I wanted to express my creativity, beauty of the liveliness of motion, and stillness. And that I can do that everywhere with anything. 

Being a sporty person, with an interest in body and nutrition, I was led to physiotherapy. It was something I immediately connected with. Specialising in the massage therapy field I opened a small business for body treatments and got to share my passion, care and creativity. Constant upgrade of knowledge both of business and bodywork field was a good channel for my creative ambition. 

I believe we all experience a moment in life when we have to be brave and true to ourselves by admitting, even though all is good on the surface, something is missing. In my case, I was an emotional disaster. 

My heart opened up to change even without knowing what that change might be. Then Yoga entered my life. I felt immediately nourished by its beautiful philosophy and meditations. 

The physical aspect of yoga taught me much about listening to my own body, and sometimes the lesson of gentleness came from overdoing or pushing too hard. 

Yoga was just the beginning of my transformation and at the end of my TTC road took me to Marin’s doors. 

He became my friend and teacher before he became my partner. It took me some time to open my eyes and truly appreciate what life has offered me. 

When it happened it was so familiar and true, it was something that I was seeking all my life, I was immediately in love. 

His vision, mission, and passion became mine and there was no doubt but just surrender to the flow of unconditional love.

I was all the opposite from him, like yin & yang (fire & water). I brought passion into his life and he brought the love into mine. It took us some time to meet in the middle but with faith and strong feelings in our hearts, trust and patience we made all of this come alive. 

Creating Five Elements Yoga & Adventure retreats

It was a little bit like being thrown in the fire. Suddenly I was doing yoga and living yoga, yoga became my life.

I was adding so many new skills which already existed somewhere in me. Also discovered how much I enjoy cooking. Not only in the creative aspect of it but the care and nourishment it provides. The way nature cares for us.  

Every retreat is my personal retreat, every element is my teacher and guide. 

Retreats are designed to bring aliveness back to body, mind, and soul, and it’s amazing to see our guests receiving, each in their own unique way, the wisdom of nature. 

I love to be with people and enjoy a good glass of wine.

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