A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to take part in a day yoga retreat in a beautiful property in Cannes.
The ad on Facebook caught my eye, a combination of a majestic venue and an exciting yoga experience. I signed up and off I went to Cannes on a Sunday morning.
An imposing gate greeted me and led up through a stunning garden to meet my fellow yoga retreat participants, our teachers and our wonderful host, Eleonora.
As we all gathered in the gorgeous room that was going to serve as our yoga studio for the day, we were served some beautiful colorful juices that were provided by none other than our hometown vegan joint, Eqvita.
The crowd was a mix of all nationalities, including Italian, French, Russian, English and a Swedish/Czech (me!). It was inspiring to meet new people who shared the same desire to spend a Sunday doing something good for the mind, body and soul.
Our first class of the day was a strong vinyasa practice – hugely popular in the US, it’s a flowing, dynamic sequence of poses – that was led by @behranyoga who had travelled all the way from Turin to teach our group. Apart from sun salutations and warriors, we also practiced some headstands and core firing exercises like crow and Lolasana.
By the end of the hour, we were all pretty cooked and were glad to enjoy a little resting meditation, what we refer to in yoga as Shavasana.
We were then guided through the spectacular grounds and into the magnificent dining room in the main villa for some lunch.
Quinoa, vegetables and smoked salmon as a main followed by, in typical French style, fromage, which in this case was a cream type cheesed topped with berries and nuts. The final course was a pear dessert that totally hit the spot. It was nice to see bottles of rosé and white wine on the table but they mostly went untouched.
After lunch, we made our way back to our makeshift studio for a Yin yoga class led by Sara (Saraswati) Korbanka. Sara had an unusual childhood, growing up in an Ashram in India but has brought back her wisdom to her native Europe where she now teaches yoga in Antibes.
Yin yoga is very much about relaxing the body and surrendering into poses, a real contrast to the dynamic pre-lunch session. As a very active A-Type personality, Yin yoga is a real challenge for me because it requires me to stop trying to do stuff and to just be.
It’s often the challenging things that we need the most. So instead of resisting, I just do it as I know it will benefit me in more ways than one.
Being able to stay calm and to surrender instead of reaching maximum stress levels in thirty seconds or less is definitely a skill you learn through meditation and Yin yoga.
Once our group was chilled, it was time for our last yoga session of the day: aerial yoga. I had never tried this before but it basically involves doing yoga postures in hammock style “silks” that hang from the ceiling.
We were fortunate enough to practice in the garden so our hammocks were hanging from the trees next to the pool, which made it a pretty epic setting. Our teacher, Nadège, came from Antibes and was absolutely brilliant.
I loved aerial yoga … and everything else we experienced that day. Driving back to Monaco on Sunday evening, I felt as if I had been gone for a week.
To find out about next events please visit the websitewww.eluxom.com/bookings or follow on Facebook contact.eluxom and Instagram eleonora_eluxom. Prices start from 95€ per person/day, all the classes and lunch included.
Article first published September 28, 2017.Maddy is the Founder of Nutrition For Naughty People, aimed at helping individuals find a better balance between the things that keep them healthy and the things that make them happy! Any questions?
mk@nutritionfornaughtypeople.com.
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