Join scholar-yogi John Campbell PhD for an unforgettable week of yoga practice and teachings in the South of France
John will teach daily yoga sessions, meditation, yoga philosophy, and Omid will lead evening yoga nidra sessions. Located in a converted monastery surrounded by the astounding beauty of Verdon Natural Park, the retreat setting offers the perfect opportunity for disconnecting from the stress and distractions of daily life and to reconnect with fun, joy, and serenity.
Enlivened through practice in bodying mind, inspired by the extraordinary, serene beauty of the natural environment, and nourished by delicious vegetarian food, this is a true retreat in every sense of the word. Whether as a beginner or a longtime practitioner, we hope you will join us for the journey.
The retreat
May 25-31 2025 in South Of France
REGISTRATION OPENS: December 14, 2024
EARLY BIRD ENDS: February 1, 2025
REGISTRATION CLOSES: May 1, 2025
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Ashtanga Yoga Classes: Daily yoga classes in the morning with John (10 hours total)
Yoga philosophy and history: Daily yoga philosophy and history, talk and exchange with John (15 hours total)
Yoga Nidra sessions: Daily yoga nidra in the evening with Omid including on the half day of arrival. (6 hours total)
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5 days & 6 nights stay at the Monastere de Segries.
Room options
Single Room (1 single bed)
Double Room (2 single beds)
Triple Room (3 single beds)
Amenities
Bathroom: one in each room
Transportation: Transportation between the Monastary and Nice International Airport on arrival and departure dates can be arranged upon request.
Meals: 3 chef made vegetarian meals per day and refreshments in between meals.- a total of 17 meals will be served including breakfast on the last day before departure at 10:00 AM
Wifi Available
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Discovery Hike: The local Mountain Guide will lead us on a discovery hike in Les Gorges du Verdon nature preserve.
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Manduka Pro light mats (Brand New)
Manduka hand towels (Brand New)
Manduka blankets (Brand New)
Gifts will be provided for use during the retreat and will be given to each participant to take home.
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Single Room | $2,900.00
Double Room | $2,700.00
Triple Room | $2,500.00
Prices displayed are per person and not per room
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DEPOSIT
Deposit of 600 dollars to secure your spot is NON-REFUNDABLE.
The full payment for the retreat is required by May 1st 2025.
Any reservation made after or on May 1st will be subject to a full payment with no deposit.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Refundable in full, up to May 1st, 2025 - MINUS THE NON-REFUNDABLE AMOUNT OF THE DEPOSIT.
Non refundable after May 1st, 2025.
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Flight to France
Passport & Visa requirement
Travel insurance — highly recommended.
Daily Activities
The purpose of the retreat is to provide opportunities for deepening yoga practice and for rest and relaxation. Each day (except the shorter arrival and departure days) will have a morning yoga practice session, a talk on yoga philosophy by John Cmpbell PhD and also ample free time to explore the breathtaking surroundings, to sit quietly in the cloistered gardens, and for recharging privately. Finally, in the evening there will be a yoga nidra session lead by Khorshīd Yoga & Meditation founder, director and retreat host Omid Oloumi.
Ashtanga Yoga
— the inner practice
The retreat works with two contemplative systems, the therapeutic breathing-and-movement methods of Ashtanga Yoga and meditation practices from the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Drawing from these two traditions, the Path of Yoga Retreat offers students the tools for positive body-mind transformation, and insight into how to integrate their experience into their post-retreat lives.
Students learn to work with sequenced poses and pranayama (manipulation of subtle neural energies with breath) as a way to make the body stronger and lighter, the nervous system more toned, and the mind calm and settled. This mode of practice naturally gives rise to contemplative insight and awareness, a state where actual transformation takes place.
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Peace | Illustration by Fariba Azma
yoga nidra
At the end of each day, Omid will lead yoga nidra sessions (except for the departure day).
Yoga nidra, is not just a deep relaxation. It is rather a conscious relaxation. It allows us to access delta brainwaves, which are responsible for the healing and restoration that happens in our bodies during deep sleep. Activating delta brainwaves during yoga nidra allows our minds and bodies to rest while we're awake and fully conscious.
We will experience a state of blissful awareness, effortlessly – melting away stress and tension.
talks on yoga philosophy and history
Yoga is called the “inner science” because working with the physical body and the breath together makes possible awareness of our inner world of subtle emotions, motivations, and self-image. Gaining this kind of self knowledge and sensitivity is said to be the main goal of yoga, where it becomes possible to leave behind addictions and fears, craving and dislikes, and to embrace your best self. On the basis of such self awareness there is no limit to our healing and growth.
Drawing on scholarly expertise and practical experience, John will lecture on a range of topics related to the nature and history of yoga. He will also address key questions concerning the purpose and goals of yoga practice, such as how to integrate yoga experience into the rest of life, and through yoga how to achieve maximum benefit for myself and for others.
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Growth | Illustration by Fariba Azma
hiking in Les Gorges du Verdon
The retreat setting is in the glorious Monastère de Ségriès set in the incomparable beauty of Les Gorges du Verdon nature preserve.
As a special treat, there will be a guided tour of the surrounding mountains with a local mountain guide and expert of that region.
nourishing the body & mind
A unique menu of delicious vegetarian dishes, designed by an in-house French chef, specifically for this retreat, using fresh locally grown ingredients.
Meals will be served three times a day except for arrival and departure days (one meal)
Refreshments will be also available throughout the day.
Daily Schedule
Arrival Day May 25
Check-in from 3:00 PM
Opening circle 5:00 PM
orientation with John & Omid
Dinner 6:00 PM
Evening Yoga Nidra 7:00- 8:00 PM
Deep relaxation with Omid
The Week May 26 to May 30
Sunrise Session 7:00– 9:0o AM
Ashtanga yoga, conscious breathing, healing practice with John
Breakfast 9:00– 10:00 AM
Morning Session 10:00 am – 1:00 PM
Inspiration and inquiry, philosophy, meditation with John
Lunch 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Free Time 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Discovery hike around the Monastery
Dinner 5:30– 6:30 PM
Evening Session 6:45 – 8:00 pm
Q&A with John and yoga nidra (conscious relaxation) with Omid
Departure Day May 31
Ashtanga yoga 7:00- 9:00 AM
Conscious breathing, healing practice with John
Closing circle 9:00- 10:00 AM
Final thoughts and Q&A with John and Omid
Brunch 10:00 AM
Check-out by 11:30 AM
Daily schedule might be subject to change
featured SCHOLAR-YOGI teacher
John R.B. Campbell PhD
John R.B. Campbell is a translator, editor, and researcher of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. He is currently working on a multi-volume translation of Indian and Tibetan commentaries on the Guhyasamaja Tantra, a key Buddhist tantric scripture. The first volume of that project, translated with co-translator Robert Thurman, was published in 2020 as The Esoteric Community Tantra by Vajradhara with the Illuminating Lamp by Chandrakirti, published by Wisdom Press.
A Fulbright scholar, he holds a PhD in Religion and Buddhist Studies from Columbia University, and has taught at Columbia University.. He served as the founding director of the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia, where he oversaw the introduction of contemplative methodologies into the Arts and Sciences curriculum, and the integration of yoga and meditation throughout the university system. He later served as director of South Asian Collections for the Asian Legacy Library, where, from 2018—2021 he ran projects for locating, digitizing, and cataloging rare and endangered text collections in Nepal, India, and Mongolia.
In addition to his longtime study and practice of Tibetan Buddhist, he has for thirty years been practitioner and teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. A native New Yorker, he now lives with his wife, three children, and a number of cats and dogs in Newburgh, New York.
teacher & organizer
omid oloumi
Omid Oloumi, is the founder and director of Khorshīd, a boutique yoga and meditation studio in Huntington, New York.
Raised in France, with Persian heritage, she first practiced Ashtanga Yoga in New York, with John Campbell PhD, before going on to study with other senior teachers, including Eddie Stern and Richard Freeman.
Omid is an experienced teacher of yoga nidra, mindful hatha flow, loving-kindness and mindfulness meditation. She draws inspiration from Zen and Tibetan Buddhist lineages, having studied with, among others, Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chödrön and Robert Thurman.
She has also immersed herself in studying Sanskrit and yoga philosophy, with teachers including Zoë Slatoff PhD, Georg Feuerstein and Daniel Simpson.
Omid believes that through the transformational tools of mindful movement, yoga nidra, meditation, pranayama, philosophy and self-inquiry; we may access the silence and the profound truth residing within our hearts.
The location
Monastère de Ségriès
South of France
Monastère de Ségriès, Route de Riez, 04360, Moustiers-Ste-Marie
Retreat Booking
Sign up opens December 14
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Illustrations by Fariba Azma • Photographs provided by Monastère de Ségriès
