Who We Are

We’re Carrie Hoffman and Zach Minnich, the couple behind Bigger Life Adventures. We share a love of world travel, yoga, conscious living, food, and healing in nature: so in 2018 we started hosting plant-based, alcohol-free yoga retreats around the world. Today, our trips and yoga trainings blend trauma-informed yoga, vegan menus, and purposeful adventure in places like Monteverde, Costa Rica and Catalina Island, California. Our retreats welcome people in recovery, the sober-curious, and anyone simply wanting a cleansing yoga retreat, no labels required.

“We’re all each other’s teachers.”

Authentic community is the heart of our work. We learn as much from our guests as they do from us on the mat, around the dinner table, and out on the trail. Keep reading to learn more about us and our team and what we stand for!

Browse Adventure Retreats & Upcoming Offerings

Trauma informed yoga retreat team at Bigger Life Adventures

What We Believe 

You don’t have to be “in recovery” to want an alcohol-free space or to feel better in your body. Many guests come because social drinking stopped feeling good, or they just want clarity, deeper sleep, and real connection. Choosing an alcohol free retreat or sober yoga retreat isn’t about a label, it’s about prioritizing your well-being while exploring the world with sober travel groups that get it.

Carrie Hoffman Bigger Life Adventures School of Yoga

Carrie Hoffman

Trauma-Informed E-RYT500, BLA School of Yoga Founder & Lead Trainer, Ayurvedic Health Counselor, WFR

Carrie’s been practicing yoga for 14 years and teaching for 8. Yoga helped her quit drinking and reconnect with her higher self after years of addiction, and now she teaches trauma-informed, recovery-aware classes that meet people where they are: on retreat, in treatment facilities, schools, and institutions. She’s an 800-hour Ayurvedic Health Counselor and offers private Ayurveda consults and workshops. After teaching and leading on other 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings, Carrie created the curriculum and founded Bigger Life Adventures School of Yoga in 2026. She’s also an outdoor guide, writer, and travel lover. Off the mat she loves: trail running and hiking, potlucks with friends, chocolatey desserts, and petting everyone’s dogs.

Check out Carrie’s musings on Substack

Training highlights:

• Teaching Yin Yoga (Bernie Clark & Diana Batts)
• RYT500 (Lakshmi Rising, Dr. Liz Lindh)
• RYT200 (Quantum Yoga, Lara Baumann)
• Trauma-informed yoga & teaching yoga to youth (Prison Yoga Project, Yoga Ed.)
• Ayurvedic Health Counselor (800 hours) – Joyful Belly
• Wilderness First Responder (NOLS)
• Permitted Day-Hiking Guide, Grand Canyon NP

Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher Yoga Alliance continuing education provider

Zach guide and co founder of Bigger Life Adventures retreats

Zach Minnich (aka “Zachalicious”)

Vegan Chef, Holistic Nutritionist, Reiki Master, WFR

Zach is our plant-based chef and Holistic Nutritionist: equally obsessed with from-scratch salsas, authentic Mexican flavors (made vegan), and “fruit hunting” around the world. His first cookbook, Plants on Plates (2024), features the kind of vibrant, approachable meals we serve on retreat. Zach was the master mind and master builder behind Grand Canyon Eco Retreat, where we hosted guests from all over the world for 5 years. He offers Reiki sessions, plays piano/guitar, rock climbs, and is now building our sustainable off-grid tiny house in Northern Arizona. He’s also the founder of our annual alcohol-free Burning Man camp, Not a Cult.

Training highlights:

• Reiki Master
• Holistic Nutrition
• Wilderness First Responder (NOLS)
• Permitted Day-Hiking Guide, Grand Canyon NP

LaTesha Charbonnet, yoga teacher in New Orleans May 2026 yoga retreat Bigger Life Adventures

LaTesha Charbonnet Gonzales

Trauma-Informed RYT200, Thailand Retreat Co-Teacher

LaTesha is a certified yoga teacher, retreat host, and proud New Orleans native. A linguist by trade, she’s spent 15+ years curating cultural and language immersion experiences for international visitors. A mother of two and a multi-time alumna of Bigger Life Adventures retreats, LaTesha now brings her heart-centered teaching and soulful roots into wellness spaces and events including many studios in her hometown and BLA’s Thailand retreat! She’s passionate about weaving spirituality, culture, and holistic healing into every retreat she leads.

Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher

Trauma informed yoga retreat team member

Selena G. Aragón

Photographer, Plant-Based Food Creator, Herbalist, Costa Rica Retreat Sous Chef

Selena is a photographer, plant-based chef, and herbalist who supports our Costa Rica retreats. Her Mesoamerican herbalism training informs her nourishing meals and drinks, created with empathy and care. As a visual storyteller, her photography captures authentic moments of nature and people with dignity and beauty. A long-time yoga practitioner, Selena finds balance through challenge and presence, and brings that grounded energy into both the kitchen and the retreat community.

Sydney Jansma Kleis yoga teacher

Sydney Jansma Kleis

Trauma-Informed E-RYT500, YACEP, YTT Co-Teacher

Sydney is a trauma-informed yoga teacher and was Bigger Life Adventures’ very first intern back in 2022. She has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and teaching for half a decade. Sydney’s love for dance and movement naturally flowed over to her love for yoga asana, but slowly learning breathwork, meditation, and practicing yoga’s ethical principles is what propelled her recovery from disordered eating. Yoga for recovery resonates deeply with Sydney and influences her trauma-informed, exploratory style of teaching. When she is not practicing or teaching, you can find Sydney trail running, thru-hiking around the world, or cuddling with a cat enjoying one or her “granny hobbies”.

Training highlights:

• RYT200 (Funky Buddha Yoga)
• RYT300 (Mindful School of Yoga)
• Yoga Nidra Certified (Santosha Yoga)
• Chair Yoga Certified (Inspire Movement Coaching)

Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacherYoga Alliance continuing education provider

Our Story (The Short Version)

We met in Ohio, chased big dreams, and eventually chose a life of adventure over hangovers. After seasons working in the hospitality industry, backpacking Latin America, and studying yoga in Sri Lanka, we hosted our first retreat campout in SoCal (2018). In 2019 we opened our own property, Grand Canyon Eco Retreat, and kept expanding Bigger Life Adventures to new destinations. Nearly 100 trips later, hundreds of guests have joined us for alcohol free retreats that mix nature, community, and joyful yogic discipline. About 60% of our guests return for another trip with us, and many of them come back over and over again, proof that community works.

Want the long version? Grab tea and read our full stories here.

Retreat guides supporting a sober group experience

What Makes Our Retreats Different

• Alcohol-free by design: space to feel everything clearly. No pressure, just presence. Real fun, no hangovers!

• Trauma-informed yoga: accessible, consent-forward, and beginner-friendly.

• Vegan, Ayurvedic menus: vibrant, hearty, and easy to recreate at home.

• Adventure with purpose: hikes, canopy tours, waterfalls, stargazing. We provide adventure retreats that balance play with rest.

• Real community: small groups, circle time, honest conversations, and support that lasts beyond the retreat itself. All past retreat guests are welcome to our monthly online Satsanga on the last Monday of every month.

See Dates & Availability 

Is This Just For “Sober” People?

Nope. We host sober retreats and alcohol free retreats because this setup supports healing, clarity, and connection for everyone. Come as you are: in recovery, curious, or simply ready to travel without alcohol. You’ll find sober travel logistics are simpler, mornings are brighter, and friendships are deeper.

 Why Alcohol-Free? 

Read more Sober Travel Stories Here

Where We Host 

• Monteverde, Costa Rica – cloud forest calm, tree climbing, river plunging, cacao, wildlife walks
• Catalina Island, California  – a supported backpacking trip challenge on the Trans Catalina Trail
• Chiang Mai, Thailand – meditation class with Thai monks, waterfall hike, Elephant sanctuary, and the most incredible plant-based Thai food
• Lake Atitlán, Guatemala – a recovery-friendly plant medicine retreat with experienced facilitators, volcano vibes, and integration support
• Rocky Mountains, Colorado– mountain stillness, high-altitude hiking, hot springs, and yoga at the roof of the world
• Yucatán, Mexico– ancient Mayan ruins, cenote swims, jungle stillness, and a culture steeped in ceremony and color

Check the Retreats page for upcoming locations and dates.

Looking for a cleansing yoga retreat or vegan yoga retreat in Costa Rica?
Doors to the Wild Self: Monteverde, Costa Rica Yoga Retreat

Travel Booking Assistance

Need help connecting flights or planning pre/post-retreat days? We’ll share routes, shuttles, and trusted local stays so your adventure travel is smooth.

Ask us a question here or book a free Discovery Call with Carrie.

Podcasts, Press & Features

Catch us on: Our own Bigger Life Adventures Podcast • Yoga Solutions • Alcohol Tipping Point • The Outdoor Entrepreneur • Nature Untold • Guides Gone Wild • Grounded in Maine • Tarin It Up • LoTech & Wild • RePod It!
 Read features: NamaStay Sober • The Mirror • Voyage Phoenix • Shoutout Arizona • Hostelling International • Arizona Daily Sun • SFGate •  Matador Network • Carrie’s Substack

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Ready for a Bigger Life?

If you’re feeling the nudge, join us! You don’t have to be broken to want to heal.

See Upcoming Retreats →  Reserve Your Spot Today 

Thailand yoga retreat at Suan Sati