Yoga / Rolf Movement Retreat 2026

Learning to Move With More of Myself

A Wisdom Embodied Yoga and Meditation Retreat

06 – 11 OCT 2026

location: Bonnevaux, Marçay 86370, Nouvelle Acquitaine, France

Please see here for prices and how to book. bonnevauxwccm.org

24 places are bookable in single and double rooms (most en-suite)

Wisdom is not knowing more, it is knowing with more of your self.

This retreat is for beginning and ongoing yoga students and for those interested in deepening their movement practice, but who may not have done any yoga before. It is also for those who are curious about the relationship between our embodiment and meditation practice.

The movement teaching style will combine the ancient practice of Yoga Asana with Rolf Movement and other contemporary movement research modalities.  Some sessions will be offered for those wishing to deepen an ongoing movement practice.

As we spend time, over the five days, in silence, moving, and meditating together, we will explore the dynamics of rest, recovery and repair as wisdom skills, what it means to be “wired for connection” to self, other and Spirit, and what our embodied relationship is to creation.

‘Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.’
– Wisdom 6.12

With that in mind, we will explore the meaning of questions like:

How can I deepen a movement/yoga practice that nourishes my health and sense of wholeness?

What are some of the tools for contemplative living?

What is the relationship between wisdom, creation and embodiment?

What can be meant by wholeness, transformation, integration and repair? What is trauma, and can it be healed?

Who is my neighbour? How do we love and serve our neighbour?

*******

Each day there will be Meditation, Lectio Divina and Yoga / Rolf MovementTM sessions and suitable instruction will be provided on all.

We will use the standing and balancing poses in yoga as a frame to understand how the other yoga poses develop. We will use movement theory, anatomy and art to explore principles like “ground and space,” “midline”, “posture as a potential for action,” and “spirals,” to name some. Standing up tall will provide the springboard for looking at walking and standing poses; as well as the sitting poses, back-bending, twisting and spiralling movements.

We will also look at ‘the hearth’ of our embodiment — our autonomic nervous system — and how it works closely with the heart and face to bring us out of protecting ourselves and into connection with others and the creation we are intimately part of.

Each day we will enter a contemplative rhythm – the morning will be in gentle silence from the first meditation session till lunch with conversation opening up into the afternoon and evening. There will be 3 Meditation sessions, Lectio Divina – a quiet reflective time with texts from the Wisdom tradition and Yoga/ Rolf MovementTM sessions. Ample time will be given for discussion and journaling. Tracking insights from our practice sessions will be encouraged so please bring a notebook, coloured pens or pencils to explore this way of working. There will be time for rest and walks in the beautiful woods of Bonnevaux and its landscape of rolling hills, ancient trees and waves of vibrant birdsong.

Bonnevaux is an interfaith Christian community living in the spirit of Saint Benedict and his monastic tradition and its liturgy. Through the practice of meditation, the community is open to all people in search of a spiritual path for healing self, the world and peace.

General outline of a retreat day

Please find below a general outline of how a typical day could unfold, keeping in mind some possible flexibility with regard to the needs of the group

We will spend, per day, roughly:

**6.5 hours yoga/ rolf movement practice, theory & discussion

— of which 4.5 to 5 moving

2 hours meditation

2 hours of wisdom text & liturgy

Mornings will be held in a gentle silence through to and including lunch

Schedule

7:00 meditation

7:45 meditation & morning prayer

8:45 breakfast

**9:30- 12:00 movement practice, theory & discussion

— short coffee/ tea break included

12:15 meditation + midday prayer

13:00 lunch

**14:30 – 17:45 movement practice, theory & discussion

— short coffee/ tea break included

18:00 meditation + evening prayer

19:30 dinner

**20:15 winding down; practice, theory & discussion