Sunday (Arrival day)
- NOTE: You are encouraged to arrive on Sunday and start the retreat from the beginning to get the full benefit of it. However, if your itinerary does not fit with this schedule (arriving earlier or later), please let The FrogS' House know, and they will see what they can do.
- 15:00-18:00: Arrival at a time of your convenience.
- Rooms will be available from 15:00. The FrogS' House will be happy to store your luggage until then if you want to arrive earlier on the day; If the team are not at home at the time of your arrival, a note will be waiting for you on the front door with the code to enter the house and instructions to find your room easily. So you can arrive anytime between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m.
- 18:00-21:00: Welcome evening to introduce The FrogS’ House and the yoga retreat, followed by a welcome finger-buffet dinner, including wine served by the FrogS’ House
Monday
- 08:00-09:30 Yoga
- 09:30-11:00 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace and time for sharing and socialising
- 11:00-18:00 Walking day, including an introduction to the practice of meditation. Following the philosophy of the Buddhist Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, let each one of your steps deepen yourself into the present moment. "Every breath we take, every step we make can be filled with peace, joy and serenity. We just have to awaken, living in the present moment".
- Spring and autumn: this walking day will take place in the surrounding hills called “Baou”, to reach the top of the hill for a shared homemade picnic lunch and a fantastic view over the whole French Riviera and the Southern Alps. Equipment required: The FrogS’ House will provide backpacks with camelback and walking sticks on demand. Each guest will need to bring comfortable shoes (running shoes are a minimum, but quite adequate as well), sunscreen and sunglasses, a hat, and in case of cold weather, a windproof jacket and/or rain mac. Description of the walk: 8 kilometres, +350 meters uphill on a rocky path, -350 meters downhill on a rocky path, 4 hours + picnic lunch at the top.
- Summer: an “aquatic” walk, taking you into a gorge/canyon, to walk along, and sometimes into a river. Waterfalls and freshwater ponds will be the highlights of the day to jump and swim in, a perfect activity during the warmer summer months. Equipment required: same as spring and autumn walk + swimming suits. We can provide you with a towel for bathing. Description of the walk: 5 kilometres -100 meters downhill on a rocky path, +100 meters uphill on a rocky path 2 hours + picnic lunch and swim in the river.
- 18:00-19:00 Guests have free time to rest
- 19:00 Dinner provided by the Frogs’ House, self-service
Tuesday
- 08:00-09:30 Yoga
- 09:30-11:00 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace and time for sharing and socialising
- 11:00-13:00 Free time to relax, meditate at your own rhythm, reserve a massage or wander around the picturesque streets of the village or in the surrounding hills
- 13:00-15:00 Communication workshop based on the “Non-Violent Communication” approach, with a certified professional: introduction
- 15:00-17:00 Tea break / self-service snacks / time to rest
- 17:00-19:00 Blant-based French gastronomy workshop with our chef Noel
- 19:00-22:00 3-course dinner prepared during the gastronomy workshop, including wine
Wednesday
- 09:30-11:00 Yoga
- 11:00-13:00 Homemade brunch on the sunny terrace. Time for sharing and socialising
- 13:00-18:00 Free time to reserve a massage, relax, meditate at your own rhythm, or wander around the picturesque streets of the village or in the surrounding hills, or even to take a trip to the beach
- 18:00-19:00 Yoga and meditation session
- 19:00 Dinner provided by the FrogS’ House, self-service
Thursday
- 08:00-09:30 Yoga and meditation session
- 09:30-11:00 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace and time for sharing and socialising
- 11:00-13:00 Free time to relax, meditate at your own rhythm, reserve a massage or wander around the picturesque streets of the village or in the surrounding hills
- 13:00-15:00 Communication workshop based on the “Non-Violent Communication” approach, with a certified professional: practice
- 15:00-18:00 Tea break / self-service snacks / time to rest
- 18:00-19:00 Yoga and meditation session
- 19:00 Dinner (at your own leisure/expense)
Friday
- 08:00-09:30 Yoga and meditation session
- 09:30-11:00 Homemade breakfast on the sunny terrace and time for sharing and socialising
- 11:00-17:00 Free flow day: to practice what we preach, being present, we leave the activity of this day open, to decide during the week, as we, and the guests, get to know each other and together we feel what we want to do: activities have included: a trip to the beach, visiting the chapel designed by Henri Mattise, visiting Saint-Paul-de-Vence with its art galleries, a silent meditative walk in the village followed by a picnic and dip into the ice-cold waters of a local river, wine-tasting at the local village vineyard, Ziplinging in the local canyon forest (at extra cost) etc.
- 18:00-21:00 Farewell dinner of the retreat, including wine. Sometimes we play hilarious games, sometimes we dance, and sometimes we mingle and chat, but we always have a lot of fun and celebrate the week we have spent together and the connections that have been made.
Saturday
- 09:30-10:30 Closing ceremony of the retreat
- 10:30-12:00 Homemade Brunch on the sunny terrace and check out
Note
Please note that rooms should be freed by 12:00 to allow cleaning for the next retreat. The FrogS' House will be happy to store your luggage if you would like to leave later on in the day. It may also be possible to extend your stay if required; please ask a member of the team.
Language
The FrogS' House have chosen to have a primary social language of either English or French on different weeks. They find this makes socialising easier for the guests. But all members of The FrogS’ House team are bilingual and very happy to translate for you if you are not able to join them on a week where the language of your choice is the primary language. In fact, they increasingly, have guests who want to practice their second language, be it French or English, by coming to a yoga retreat in the language they are learning. What better way to practice? The primary language only applies to socialising and mingling; the yoga sessions, workshops, excursions and all other led activity is done in both languages on the weeks when there is a mix of francophone and anglophone guests.
The primary social language is English for retreats in the first two weeks of the month, and French for the last two.
Philosophy
The FrogS' House have created a program that lasts for a whole week in order to offer their guests enough time to find the perfect balance between the yoga sessions, excursions, shared moments with the teachers and with other guests, as well as time on their own: this is why you are encouraged to arrive on Sunday and start the retreat from the beginning with everyone else to feel the natural progression of the programme and get its full benefit.
However, if your itinerary does not fit with this schedule (arriving earlier or later), please let The FrogS' House know, and they will see what they can do. On occasion, they are also able to let the guests stay one extra night after the retreat has finished, to just rest before their onward journey or return home. Please ask.
For guests who are unable to come to a week-long retreat, The FrogS' House may on occasion, be able to offer shorter alternatives. Again, please ask them and they’ll see what they can do.
There is no "level" required here: the invitation during our yoga sessions is to listen and observe the feeling of the moment, both physically and mentally. So whether or not you have been practicing for a long time, it doesn't matter. Beginners or regular practitioners, everyone is welcome. Bring with you an openness to experiencing a new approach, a new practice, and a willingness to explore your own being deep. The FrogS' House will offer you some tools and support you through your own exploration. A better understanding of yourself, and of the world, will, they hope, follow.
Benoit and Pily, between them, lead most of the yoga and meditation sessions of the week.
Benoit is inspired by the French spiritual teacher Jean Klein and his practice of Kashmir Yoga which is a meditative yoga that allows you to delve deeply into subtle feelings, both physically and energetically. To do so, you have to first turn the internal voice that constantly makes comments, criticises, and judges, into an observer, and let yourself become totally open to the here and now, to the proposition of the moment, to what is happening in your own body and your own mind; and let it be, through simple, but profound, observation. In brief, the yoga he likes to share is that of Being, not of Doing.
Pily’s aim is to embody our philosophy in her classes. She observes and listens to the guests throughout the week and tailors each class, using the combination of the yoga styles and disciplines in which she is trained, to create a bespoke session, every time. Her background in psychology draws her to the healing power of yoga.
Carline leads Hatha yoga sessions based on “internal listening”.
Jean is a certified teacher of Ashtanga, a more dynamic and physical yoga style, Yin Yoga, a more meditative style, as well as a practitioner of Tibetan sound healing, which he sometimes offers after Yin Yoga in class.
They all do their best to guide and listen to everyone’s needs and at the same time maintain harmony in the whole group.
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