About us
In yoga everything is real: dreams, fantasies, thoughts, emotions. In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, this is called satvada.
How our retreats are different: a note about our approach and teaching
We're all about small, supportive groups; characterful, comfortable venues with a splash of luxury; a relaxed schedule; tasty, plentiful food; and plenty of free time for rest and relaxation. No detox or boot-camps in sight (we have nothing against them - just not our thing!). While our teachers hail from a number of different styles and traditions (and have often themselves been exposed to a mix of different influences), they have certain qualities in common: an open, mindful and inclusive approach to teaching, that - even in the more expressive, fast-moving dynamic classes - draws heavily on alignment and safety.
Experience: our background as wellbeing specialists, and Lucia's background as a yoga and health writer, has meant we have been lucky enough to experience many different retreats. We have also reviewed many different hotels and retreat centres, and Lucia has contributed to a range of travel/wellbeing books, magazines and websites - including Body & Soul escapes, Natural Health Magazine, Rough Guides and our own Yoga Abode. After years of experiencing other people's retreats, we have a sound idea about what we think works, and what doesn't. We know this is subjective - but still, we aim to turn this hands-on experience to your advantage.
Small groups: although there are exceptions (for example, some of our Hotel Tigmi Morocco retreats), we usually cap numbers at 14 guests. This allows for a high teacher:student ratio, and plenty of individual attention. However, most of our Escapes are smaller than this - and if the group is a little larger than 15 guests, we pledge to have two teachers in attendance.
Accessibility: most of our retreats (perhaps apart from our day retreats) are suitable for total yoga beginners, and older people, as well as more experienced students. During some retreats, in order to keep things as open as possible, we run different classes for different levels of experience.
We're all about small, supportive groups; characterful, comfortable venues with a splash of luxury; a relaxed schedule; tasty, plentiful food; and plenty of free time for rest and relaxation. No detox or boot-camps in sight (we have nothing against them - just not our thing!). While our teachers hail from a number of different styles and traditions (and have often themselves been exposed to a mix of different influences), they have certain qualities in common: an open, mindful and inclusive approach to teaching, that - even in the more expressive, fast-moving dynamic classes - draws heavily on alignment and safety.
Accessibility: most of our retreats (perhaps apart from our day retreats) are suitable for total yoga beginners, and older people, as well as more experienced students. During some retreats, in order to keep things as open as possible, we run different classes for different levels of experience.
Hand-picked venues: we go out of our way to find venue that will contribute to the experience of getting away from it all. We aim for more unusual venues that are full of character, yet still very comfortable; some are very luxurious. Large, super-comfy beds, high quality bed linen and extra little touches are high on our priority list. When we do hire larger, less intimate venues, we do so because we have found other aspects to be outstanding.
Food on our retreats
Food: good food is essential to health and vitality, and we aim to provide only the best food on retreat. Mostly, this will be vegetarian, tasty and plentiful. Detox retreats can be effective - but, apart from running the odd 'detox and restore' day retreat, they're not really our thing! For example, afternoon tea and cake is served on our Suffolk retreats, and a three course evening meal is served on our Morocco retreats. Our approach is: as with everything in life, diet is all about balance.
Food: good food is essential to health and vitality, and we aim to provide only the best food on retreat. Mostly, this will be vegetarian, tasty and plentiful. Detox retreats can be effective - but, apart from running the odd 'detox and restore' day retreat, they're not really our thing! For example, afternoon tea and cake is served on our Suffolk retreats, and a three course evening meal is served on our Morocco retreats. Our approach is: as with everything in life, diet is all about balance.