Your yoga, your Universe retreat
2nd - 7th August 2024
Reconnect with yourself, nature, and the entire cosmos

Our Retreat

This 5 night retreat will combine a mixture of activities all centred around mindfulness, during the day and the night. Practices will include...

• Zen Meditation
• Yoga and Qigong based in the energy of the season. Mark’s yoga works on the body’s energy meridian lines, which are traditionally associated with different times of year.
• Mindful stargazing at night under the beautiful dark skies of rural France.

No previous experience is required in meditation, yoga, qigong or stargazing! We include a small amount of group silence during the mornings which is a beautiful thing to experience together. Typically the night skies are amazing in this rural area of France, and we have coordinated the retreat around the new moon which will allow the skies to be at their darkest. We are unable however to 100% guarantee clear nights throughout the course, but clouds need not prevent us from practicing mindful stargazing! 

Mark Westmoquette

We're so happy to welcome Dr Mark Westmoquette back to The Farm, having worked together on many beautiful retreats over previous years. Mark has a PhD in Astrophysics and knows his way around the night sky! Mark has been practicing Yoga since 1999, and completed his Zen Yoga teacher training in 2009. He has also been practising Zen under the guidance of Zen master Daizan Skinner Roshi, since 2007. Mark is also the author of three current books on mindful stargazing!

'To me, yoga means the union of seemingly opposite forces/concepts to find what lies beneath and beyond. My classes combine mindful posture and flow routines with varied pacing and intensity. My aim is to help you  strengthen and soften your body and mind, build flexibility, grounding and relaxation.

Additional info:

Accommodation and food is provided throughout your stay, as well as all of the teaching. Your travel to and from the retreat is not included, nor is your insurance.  We would like to keep carbon emissions to a minimum, so if you can lift share or take public transport please do so. However we totally appreciate the convenience of flying, so please consider donating £10 to my Mum's non-profit charity and make a reference  'for tree planting' and we will make sure trees are planted in Malawi - www.africannvision.org.uk

There will be optional excursions throughout the week so please bring additional Euros for extra drinks/food outside of The Farm, chateaux entrance tickets, and any taxi fares. French wine and beer will be available at dinner, although at an extra cost (there is an honesty chart on the fridge which is paid for at the end of your stay). ​

​If you have any questions or wish to book a space on the retreat, please email Sam (venue host):  [email protected] 

Or for queries about the teaching, email Mark (teacher): [email protected]

Mindful Stargazing 

​When was the last time you looked up at the night sky with your whole attention, with wonder and curiosity? Mindful stargazing has nothing to do with star maps, coordinates or science facts. It is the pure, immersive experience of looking up at the night sky with wide-eyed inquisitiveness and wonder. When we look at the night sky like that, instead of the stars seeming cold, distant or irrelevant to our life here on Earth, we can feel more in touch with the cosmos. Rather than just feeling like we're observing it from a distance, we may even start to feel part of our great cosmos. When that happens we realise the night sky is part of our home, here on Earth.

​​Pricing

Shared: £550 per person (either a couple in a private room, or two  sharing a twin bedroom) if booked by the end of March, £620 thereafter. 
Single:  £650 per person for a private bedroom if booked by the end of March, £720 thereafter..

£250 for a 'helping hands' concessionary fee for one person. Contact Sam for more info, only available once course is full. 

The cost includes 5 nights accommodation, three freshly-prepared vegetarian/vegan meals a day, and all yoga/ meditation/ workshops. Yoga mats and meditation cushions are also included.