I just spent a week at a yoga retreat organised by Aud’étour, with Marie Diel as yoga instructor. What an amazing time!
We had yoga twice a day, with Marie adapting perfectly to our levels (both yoga skills-wise, and energy-wise). Already in one week, I developed quite a bit, and even got a new understanding for basic positions. Do you know what a difference the position of the pinkie finger can make in downward facing dog, for example? I didn’t, but I do now! 🙂 And it does make a difference, I tell you! Marie did not only help us improve the basic positions, but also helped us to challenge ourselves to learn new things. All in a very relaxed and non-competitive way – as one wants it at a yoga retreat!
On many yoga retreats – or in the yoga class at home – you often get to listen to soft, pre-recorded music during class. That’s nice and relaxing… but here we got the real deal! Marie plays beautifully both tibetan bowls and koshi chimes live during relaxation in class, and those who wanted (in fact, that was all of us) even got to experience the mighty vibrations of the tibetan bowls directly on our bellies or heads (!). A very powerful sensation, that stayed with me for quite a while.
Marie did not only generously share her passion for and knowledge of yoga during the week, but as she was our chef, she also shared her love and skills for cooking. She invited us to discover her delicious and varied vegan dishes, and adapted them to our tastes and needs. We had two hands-on cooking lessons, but Marie also often gave us tips regarding both cooking and nutrition during the meals she prepared herself.
The whole week was characterised by relaxation, fun, laughter, calm, sharing and learning. Absolutely wonderful in a beautiful environment in Aude, which we also discovered a bit thanks to Pascale from Aud’étour. She took us around for wine-tasting (how about that on a yoga retreat ;-)) and for sightseeing to gorgeous historical places in the region, and we also did a bit of hiking, which is a favourite for me. Pascale is extremely knowledgeable about the region, and passionately told us about its culture and history – you could tell she was proud of it and happy to live there. (But who wouldn’t be – it is indeed a very beautiful region.)
I can highly recommend the retreat with Marie and Aud’étour, and while I enjoy discovering new retreats, this one might just be the one I would come back for!

Sophie Cavallin