(No availability) 7 Days Wellness and Mindfulness Retreat in Bassac, Charente

The retreat takes place on site from Sunday July 26 ( 6:00 p.m.) to Saturday August 1 (11:00 a.m.). The meditative practice times are held over five days, from Monday July 27 to Friday July 31.

Accommodation and meals are taken on site, in a privileged historical and bucolic environment, and with a simple and family welcome.

What is "mindfulness"?

Mindfulness is a natural ability that is to focus your attention on the present moment, and welcome, with curiosity and without judgment, all thoughts, feelings and emotions that arise. This aptitude is cultivated in particular through meditation: “Meditating is neither more nor less than being a witness to what is happening within us! ". The most recent scientific studies show that the practice of meditation, which is akin to a form of mental training, helps to modify the activity of the brain and to transform its structure.

Practicing "mindfulness" allows you to better regulate stress and emotions, improve your focus, cultivate hindsight and detachment for more peaceful decision making, and deepen your capacity for empathy and compassion to pacify your relationships.

" Mindfulness" and MBSR:

MBSR ( Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction ), or “ mindfulness-based stress reduction ”, is the name given by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn to the program he has now been offering since 1979 within the CFM (Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society) in the United States. Inspired by ancestral practices of Zen meditation and yoga, it is an educational process of training around meditative exercises (body sweep, meditation around breathing, conscious exercises inspired by yoga, meditative walking, etc.). The MBSR program is currently experiencing strong development in France: it is recommended by the Haute Autorité de Santé to prevent burnout .

The retreat is based on the MBSR ( Mindful Based Stress Reduction ) Program. The latter, which usually takes the form of workshops over eight weeks, is offered here in a residential format and over seven days. The exercises offered are identical or similar. And in addition to the benefits of integrating a meditative practice into one's daily life, you will appreciate the depth of a more time-focused approach.

Cope more calmly with the annoying situations of everyday life, overcome the feeling of anxiety and ruminations, cultivate focus, develop emotional balance to go through life's accidents more calmly, and improve your feeling of wellness and health, etc. So many benefits that the practice of mindfulness allows to tame.

Just how are these seven days planned?

Program:

• Each day includes six hours of workshops around formal guided meditation exercises (practice then debriefing).
• The rest of the day, free time is available for individual practice or any other personal activity.
• Books related to meditative practice are available on site.
• Friendly sharing and discussion moments are planned in the evening (on request, short excursions around the abbey, educational games, films or conferences).

Content of the workshops:

• Guided formal meditation exercises (lying, sitting, walking meditation, yoga-inspired movements, etc.)
• Regulated exchanges in a non- judgmental and benevolent atmosphere, to enrich everyone's practice
• Audio records are available to guide participants in their daily work after the retreat
• Informal meditation exercises are also suggested
• “Voice and meditation” workshops are given à la carte by the lyric singer Sébastien OBRECHT, present among the participants

What you will enjoy during the seven days:

• A supporting and structuring methodological framework for concretely experiencing the virtues of "mindfulness" meditation
• A small group (maximum twelve people) promoting the sharing and exchange of practices in an open and benevolent spirit
• Additional resources to go further: paper and digital booklet, audio supports (guided meditations to practice between workshops), bibliographic advice, etc.
• An opening on neighboring disciplines or close to meditation (yoga, singing, etc.)
• A privileged meditative practice space, in an emblematic and inspiring place, in a quiet and "green" area

To take full advantage of this retreat time

This course was conceived as a retreat, a few days during which you can also take a step back from your everyday life, in order to return thereafter with new strength. To get the most out of this retreat, suggest to your relatives and friends that they let you fully experience it, and without necessarily trying to contact you during these seven days.

Nestled in the heart of the Charente vineyards, somewhere between Angoulême and Cognac, the Abbey of Bassac , a large Benedictine site, has gone through a thousand years of history now written in stone.

Gothic, baroque and classical styles come together harmoniously, recalling the alternation of painful episodes and glorious moments: a magnificent metaphor for the landscapes explored during meditative practice.

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• 6 nights accommodation
• Every meal
• Organization and leading of the retreat
• Material
• 6 hours of daily workshop around formal guided meditation exercises
• Friendly sharing and discussion time in the evening
• Books related to meditative practice available

• Transportation

• A reservation requires a deposit of 16.94% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.