WHEN - October 2-6 2026 · with Clare Maddalena, LushTums Founder

I want to tell you about something I'm genuinely excited about. This October, I'll be teaching on a retreat in the French Pyrenees — and I think some of you need to be there.

Not because I'm supposed to say that. Because I mean it.

The retreat is called Soul of the Pyrenees. It runs from 2nd to 6th October 2026 at La Taillede — an ancient Catalan farmhouse sitting at 950 metres in the Pyrénées-Orientales, with forest on one side and views stretching all the way to the Mediterranean on the other. And it's exactly the kind of retreat I wish someone had pointed me towards years ago.

I'll be leading the somatic movement and yoga nidra sessions. The wider programme — vinyasa, guided walks, evening meditation — is led by Alistair Crompton, who has been running mountain retreats for over a decade and knows these mountains like his own backyard.

Together, I think we've built something quite special.

What Actually Happens on a Yoga Retreat in the Pyrenees?

I get asked this a lot, especially by people who've never done one before. "Is it just yoga classes?" Not quite. A good retreat is a container — a sustained environment where something can actually shift, rather than just the brief settling you get in a single class before ordinary life rushes back in.

Here's how the days flow at Soul of the Pyrenees:

‍ ‍ Morning: Vinyasa Flow Yoga

The day opens with an hour of vinyasa — breath and movement linked together in a way that, at its best, quietens the thinking mind far more effectively than any amount of trying to be present. Beginners are held carefully; people with an established practice find room to go deeper. Nobody is left navigating alone.

Afternoon: Somatic Movement (That's My Bit)

This is where I come in. Somatic movement is something I've been weaving into my teaching for years — it's slower and more exploratory than vinyasa, guided by sensation rather than performance, and it has a way of unlocking things that stronger physical practices can't quite reach. If you've never encountered it, I promise it will surprise you. Many people find it becomes the thing they didn't know they needed.

This alternates with restorative yoga: long, supported holds that ask nothing of you except to let go. After days of active movement in mountain air, these sessions have a depth that's hard to describe until you've been in one.

Evening: Yoga Nidra and Meditation

I lead the yoga nidra sessions. Nidra — sometimes called yogic sleep — is a guided practice of moving through layers of consciousness while staying aware. Research points to significant nervous system restoration; one hour is often said to offer the equivalent of several hours of sleep. For most people, it becomes the session they look forward to most.

Evening meditation draws from compassion-based Buddhist traditions — grounding, heart-opening and entirely accessible, whatever your relationship to spirituality.

"The real shift on a retreat doesn't happen in the yoga room. It happens in the in-between moments — at the long lunch table, on the walk, somewhere around the second morning when your body finally stops bracing."

Who Is This Retreat For?

I want to be honest with you about this, because the most common thing I hear from women considering a retreat is some version of: "I'm not sure I'm ready" or "I'd love to but I don't really do yoga."

Soul of the Pyrenees is not a retreat for advanced practitioners. It is for anyone who feels the need to slow down properly — not just for a weekend, but for five days. Anyone who suspects their nervous system could do with some genuine rest. Anyone curious about somatic movement, yoga nidra or meditation but hasn't known where to start.

It is also for women who have been pouring into other people — their children, their work, their families — and who have quietly stopped asking what they actually need. This retreat is an answer to that question.

Maximum twelve participants. Which means genuine attention, real conversation and the space to actually arrive, rather than just pass through.

Why the Pyrenees? Why October?

There are yoga retreats in Bali, in Portugal, across Europe. I've taught at quite a few of them. The Pyrenees are different. They're ancient and unhurried and largely undiscovered — they don't perform for you the way more polished destinations do. And that quality of simply being is, in my experience, exactly what a yoga retreat needs beneath it.

October is the Pyrenees at their most quietly spectacular. The summer crowds are gone. The air cools and clarifies. The light turns golden in a way that photographers and painters have been chasing for centuries. It is, without question, the most beautiful season to be there.

La Taillede itself — the farmhouse — is exceptional. The yoga space is open to the mountain air, held by stone walls and panoramic silence. Every meal across the five days is plant-based, organic and locally sourced. Long, unhurried breakfasts. Family-style dinners. Food that nourishes rather than just fuels.

What Does It Cost?

Full retreat pricing is €1,395 per person in a twin room, or €1,750 for a private room. All accommodation, meals, daily yoga, guided walks and evening sessions are included. A €200 reduction is currently being offered, and a €500 deposit secures your place.

Twelve places. October 2026. I genuinely think they'll go.‍