Post- holiday reflections

After an amazing yoga holiday in France

As some of you may already know, I’m just back from a 7-day Yoga holiday in France. This was such a great event that over the past few days, I’ve kept thinking about the factors that made this event so special.

Beautiful hosts

The Yoga holiday took place in La Perdrix, in the Dordogne area of France, about one hour away from Bordeaux. Ingrid and Johnny, the hosts, greatly contributed to the success of this event. I’ve never seen them getting stressed. They prepared delicious food (plant-based + seafood), suggested activities… from paddle boarding to pottery, and visiting the local market. Always with a big smile on their face! The energy of this place is truly magical.

Amazing participants

From day 1, all participants showed a super positive attitude, and even though the venue is an old monastery - and thus beautiful but very challenging for those with balance issues- they were just happy to embrace the whole experience. They always looked at the bright side of everything.

What I found most inspiring is that they all challenged themselves: on and off the yoga mat. It was such a pleasure for me to facilitate the yoga sessions. Everyone worked really hard every single day. I had offered the following class options:

• 60 min dynamic yoga

• 2h30 yoga therapy for MS

• 60 min breathwork/relaxation

• 30 to 45 min of meditation!

I thought people would pick up two or three of these. I was wrong. Nearly everyone attended all the sessions, even though they thought they couldn’t.

Each day, the dynamic yoga session focused on one type of poses such as forward folds, backbends, arm balances… and the yoga therapy session focused on a specific topic such as Stress & Inflammation; Balance; Spasticity & Pain management… We explored and shared different ways to manage these challenges. Whether people live with MS or not (10 out of the 16 participants do), they were really engaged and worked very hard. This led to some inspiring results: better balance, improved posture, stronger legs…

Each time someone improved or overcame fear or self-limiting beliefs, the rest of the group would cheer them on. There was so much support and encouragement. I was really moved by this group. Each and everyone of them has become very dear to me and has inspired me!

An inspiring experience

For many years, I’ve been reluctant to spend my whole energy on yoga. I’ve led a dual professional life as a Learning Designer and as a Yoga therapy facilitator. The main reason was a few self-limiting beliefs: What if one day I cannot do yoga anymore? What if I cannot make a living with yoga?

After spending a week with these incredible people, I made up my mind. It’s time for me to take the plunge and give all my energy to what I love most, ie sharing the benefits of yoga, exercise and breathwork.

I wish to thank every single person who joined this yoga holiday. You’ve inspired me a lot - you’ve also inspired me to offer a new evening class 6 to 7pm (day to be confirmed soon) called Yoga for Incredible Women opened to all with some strengthening followed by yin-inspired poses.

See you on the mat