Starting day: You can start this course any day of the week and stay as many nights as you like!
Excursions on arrival and departure days are not included, however you are very welcome to join in if your timing allows it (arrival before 10am or departure after 5pm). Cost extra, please consult the organizer.
Transfer: Please book your flight to arrive at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE). Transfer from and to the airport is available upon request (60 EUR /transfer to be shared by number of passengers, +10 EUR extra evenings and WE/public holidays).
Food: During this retreat, you will be served daily organic breakfasts and homemade picnic lunches during Monday and Wednesday excursions.
Tuesday lunch will be included as part of the culinary experience. Thursday and Sunday brunches are included.
All the food provided is local and organic when possible. Please let the organizer know if any specific dietary requirements.
Lunch during the visit of Antibes is extra, at organic and/or local restaurants (10 to 20 EUR/person).
Dinners will be at your own leisure, with a choice of four restaurants within walking distance in St. Jeannet, or take away food from the local shops to organize your own dinner at The Frog House using the big open kitchen, entirely at your disposition.
Yoga: There is no "level" required for the yoga: the invitation during those yoga sessions is to mainly "listen" and "observe" the feeling of the moment, both physically and mentally. So either you have been practicing for a long time or not, it doesn't matter. Beginners or regular practitioners, everyone is welcome: make sure that you are willing to eventually experience a new approach, a new practice, and maybe explore your own being even more…hopefully a better understating of oneself, and of the world, will come out…
Teachers:
Benoit has been practicing yoga and meditation on a regular basis since 2010, soon after he met his actual spiritual teacher, Somasekha. He has graduated from Yoga Nisarga International Training School, based in India, where he traveled to attend the training to become a fully qualified yoga teacher. Yoga Nisarga is certified by Yoga Alliance, the largest nonprofit association representing the yoga community whose mission is to promote and support the integrity and diversity of the teaching of yoga.
Veronique, Carline and Jean, qualified teachers, will assist Benoit to lead the 2 daily sessions. Véronique and Carline, both with their own style, will share Hatha yoga sessions, more or less based on “internal listening”. Jean is a certified Ashtanga teacher, a more dynamic and physical yoga style. They all do their best to guide and listen to everyone’s need and at the same time maintain a harmony in the whole group.
Program: This is the general activities program for a week (depends on your arrival day)
MONDAY:
• 07:30-09:00 Mindfulness Yoga session with Benoît: meditation and Asana
• 09:00-10:30 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace
• 10:30-17:00 Walking day - Spring and Autumn: walking day in the surrounding Hills called Baou, including a guided visit of the village, St Jeannet, before reaching the top of the hill for a shared homemade picnic lunch and a fantastic view over the all French Riviera and the Southern Alps. In Summer: An “aquatic” walk, taking you into a gorge/canyon, to walk along, and sometimes into, a river, La Cagnes. Waterfalls and fresh water ponds will be the highlights of the day to jump and swim, a perfect activity during those warm summer months.
• 19:00-20:15 Mindfulness Yoga session with Benoît: meditation and Asana
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience = possibility to reserve a dinner in “self service” prepared by Corinne
TUESDAY:
• 07:30-09:00 Ashtanga Yoga session with Jean
• 09:00-10:30 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace
• 10:30-15:00 or 15:00-18h30 Cooking session with Corinne or her friend Noel, a professional French chef, in her big open kitchen, using fresh local and organic products, followed by a convivial shared lunch or shared diner
• 19:00-20:15 Hatha yoga session with Carline
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience
WEDNESDAY:
• 07:30-09:00 Mindfulness Yoga session with Benoît: meditation and Asana
• 09:00-10:30 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace
• 10:30-17:00 The perched villages: this day will take you on small roads off the beaten path, and a short walk will lead you to discover the old medieval village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, well known now for the culture of violettes flowers. You will then drive to meet Bruno, a local cheese maker who has settled with his goats in a well preserved and protected area, which offers stunning view over the Cannes bay, to enjoy our homemade picnic lunch combined with cheese sampling. On the way back, you will make a stop at the worldwide famous “Chapelle du Rosaire” in Vence, entirely built up and decorated by famous French artist Henri Matisse (entrance extra), before heading to, if time allows, the local vineyard of St Jeannet for a wine sampling.
• 19:00-20:15 Ashtanga yoga session with Jean
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience
THURSDAY
• 09:00-10:30 Mindfulness Yoga session with Benoît: meditation and Asana, followed by a brunch from 10:30 to 12:30, for a time of sharing on yoga, meditation, or following the inspiration of the moment and the needs of everybody ...
• 12:30-15:00 Free time
• 15:00-18:30 Ashtanga Yoga session with Jean followed by a soundbath: short transfer of 15mns to arrive at Jean’s yoga studio. You will experience one of his relaxing «sound baths»… you just have to let your body be touched and travel with the sounds of Tibetan and cristal bowls, ancient gongs, and other different and original instruments … who knows which effect these almost magical instruments will have on you …
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience
FRIDAY:
• 07:30-09:00 Mindfulness Yoga session with Benoît: meditation and Asana
• 09:00-10:30 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace
• 10:30-17:00 La Côte d’Azur: This day will take you to one of the most beautiful cities on the Côte d’Azur, Antibes, famous for its billionaires’ harbour, and its museum dedicated to Pablo Picasso.You will have lunch in a local restaurant (lunch extra, allow 10 to 20 EUR/pers without drink). Follow the temptation and try a glass of Absinthe in a very original place, or have a stroll in the picturesque streets of the Free commune of Safranier. Leisure timeduring the day to follow your rhythm, to enjoy the best ice cream of the Cote d'Azur, or to go for a swim.
• 19:00-20:15 Hatha yoga session with Véronique
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience
SATURDAY :
Relaxing day
• 07:30-09:00 Hatha Yoga session with Sarah
• 09:00-10:30 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace
Free day to relax and meditate at your own rhythm, or get a massage with FrogS' House professional masseuses, Florence (Californian, oil), Myriam (Shiatsu), Claudia (Californian/oil) or experience a “sound private massage” with Jean’s Tibetan bowls.
For the more active ones, join the treasure hunt organised by our friend Cyrielle to discover/explore Saint Jeannet in the most fun way.
Or explore the area at your own pace. Bus N°55 available to go to the coast or N° 47 to go to Vence - connexion with St Paul de Vence, or book our local taxi driver Jean Jacques.
• 19:00 -20:00 Yoga Nidra with Sarah
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience
SUNDAY:
• 09:00-10:30 "Late" outside yoga session followed with a brunch between 10h30 and 12h, for a time of sharing on yoga, meditation, or following the inspiration of the moment and the needs of everybody ...free massage demonstration by Florence or Myriam during the brunch.
• Rest of the day to relax and meditate at your own rhythm, or get a massage with our professional masseurs, Florence (Californian, oil), Myriam (Shiatsu), Claudia (Californian, oil) or experience a “sound private massage” with Jean’s Tibetan bowls.For the more active ones, join the treasure hunt organised by our friend Cyrielle to discover/explore the streets and legends of Saint Jeannet in the most fun way.
• 19:00-20:15 Hatha Yoga session with Sarah
• 20:00 Dinner at your own convenience
