“Let me sit here, on the threshold of two worlds.
Lost in the eloquence of silence”
– Rumi
Scaravelli-inspired Yoga and Creative Inquiry Retreat with Rebecca Brewin and Beatrix Bliss, held within the inspiring architecture and exquisite surroundings of Villa Ossom in the South of France.
This is what our participants had to say after our first retreat, Spine. Spiral. Space.
This retreat was exactly what I needed to restore and deepen into my body and my art practice. It was the most inspiring landscape to land in and be immersed by such incredible hosts and teachers. - Temujen Gunawardena
What a beautiful experience and discovery of space and spirals of body, mind and place - inwardly, outwardly, in the beautiful building that held us and, now several weeks later, still spiralling in and out. - Gemma Mortensen
A threshold is a place where two worlds meet. A doorway, a sense of beyond, a yet-to-be discovered terrain, a crossing over and an opening into something new.
Stepping through a threshold often gives a signal to the body that we will find ourselves 'at sea', out of our depth, or 'in the belly of the whale.' To meet these places in ourselves, with the support and wisdom of others, opens us to deep creativity and integration, and the discovery of a new type of movement and way of seeing.
We might call this 'instatic' rather than 'ecstatic' movement, where we are listening to the language of our inner life, the ground of our being, and learning to trust its more subtle reverberations and prompts.
In body terms this means unravelling, to move from the deeper fascial dimension of the body. Softening, surrendering, elongating and strengthening these more subtle layers, where our sense of self has space to breathe, adapt and change.
Through Scaravelli yoga, meditation, creative practices and ritual, we offer a space to rediscover the intimate and coherent intelligence of our embodiment. We will explore from a space of creative inquiry, the body’s language of movement and stillness, dialogue and silence, nature and image, and how this can help us to touch and get to know the unknown, from a place of stability, depth and understanding.
The realms of the poetic imagination are all part of this landscape. The curved architecture of the house and surrounding views will infuse our daily Yoga practice with the rising sun. In the afternoons we will dive into our creative practice through writing, drawing and dance, with space for you to reflect on or attend to your own creative practice.
Woven into all this will be the exquisite cooking of our chef JC. All JC's meals are prepared intentionally with love and attention to detail, and we will be enjoyed over long lunch breaks by the pool. Our evenings will be spacious and delicious with more dining on the terrace, taking in the sound of cicadas with the setting sun.
Over two of the days of the retreat we will break up our routine and make a pilgrimage to visit the sacred cave pictured, that gives feeling to the experience of being at, and crossing over, a threshold. We will visit the Marc Chagall museum in Nice and let these joyful, colourful works inspire our movement and meditation practice.
We offer this, our second Villa Ossom retreat, as experienced healing practitioners, teachers and artists. Our practice will be anchored at the stunning eco-designed Bliss family home whose curved architecture, rather like a ship, embraces the hills overlooking this beautiful coastline of the Cote d'Azur in the South of France, with accommodation provided a stone's throw away at Villa Saona.
In early summer this region will be bursting with exuberant colour, the weather will be warm for swimming, and we will bathe in the feeling of inner and outer sanctuary, to restore, unfold and refresh our bodies and vision.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Biographies
Rebecca Brewin Movement Practitioner, Artist & Poet
Rebecca is a movement practitioner, artist and poet. She is an experienced Yoga teacher in the approach of Vanda Scaravelli, which she combines with her writing and interest in contemplative education. Her training began in India and continued in London where she also started practising in a centre teaching Christian meditation. During her time as a teacher she has run classes, workshops and retreats in a range of contexts and countries and has developed a deepening understanding of how the body and movement relates to art, language and the poetic imagination. This has also included being part of a team in the early stages of a new meditation retreat centre in France called Bonnevaux Centre for Peace where she has led and helped on various retreats. Her interest is to create spaces where we can constantly rediscover the capacity to re-frame our experience of connection and relationship through grounding, lengthening and moving towards new edges of growth. She currently lives in a beautiful wooden wagon she built with a friend in Somerset, England.
Beatrix Bliss Facilitator, Artist & Healer
Beatrix designs and holds spaces for people to have transformational experiences. She has been facilitating groups internationally for 20 years, psilocybin retreats for the best part of a decade, and acting in founding and leadership capacities for various social enterprises as well as psychedelic retreats companies, who’s retreats have featured in the Times, Guardian and Forbes. She is always developing her toolkit and approach to inner transformation, with nature-connection, ritual, creative-practice, live music and coaching to support her participants. Always learning, she is currently studying Afro-Brazilian musical and spiritual traditions, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and Scaravelli-Inspired Yoga. She loves a good sail on the high seas, but these days you’ll find her navigating the wilds of Dartmoor where lives in a cottage by the River Teign.
Jean-Claude Cook
Jean-Claude was born in Laos from Franco-Vietnamese parents. He grew up in Africa and emigrated to California to pursue studies in film production. His approach to food is influenced by time spent in Shinryu Suzuki’s Tassajara Zen Center and the Movement of Hare Krishna. The multiculturalism of California is also expressed in JC’s meals which can vary from Thai, Greek, French or Brazilian. Preparing food with pure intent with the goal of nourishing one’s body, spirit and mind has always been paramount in the way JC tackles every meal. Jean-Claude is currently managing the WCCM’s kitchen (World Community for Christian Meditation) located in Bonnevaux, France.
For further enquiries contact: rebecca@handtoearth.net or +447896936625