WINTER RETREAT in rural France

A Learning Exploration in Dialogue Inquiry & Mindbody Dance

DATES: 4th – 8th December 2024
VENUE: “La Maison” Retreat Centre
LOCATION: Bourgogne – Rural France

Our Program

This international program welcomes you to a unique combination of movement, dance, group inquiry & journaling. A cosmopolitan opportunity to dive deeper into our everyday lives; a moment for like-minded relationship with others, quiet time, walking in beautiful natural surroundings and meeting new friends.

All meals are vegetarian, homemade and use local products adding healthy nourishment to our exploration.

We welcome friends of all ages and from anywhere across the globe 🙂

As this is an international retreat program, English will be the main language spoken during the workshop alongside French, Dutch & German.

Program Theme:

“Can The Heart Be Healed?”

The heart’s capacity for lightness, affection, intelligence and love has been weighed down by problems of stress, work, anxiety and issues of relationship in daily living. Is the heart’s energy and life force bruised by an impression of hurt that has perhaps never healed?

The modern world collectively is full of problems and now mother earth is apparently no less wounded. As we are cut off from Nature, so are we cut off from our own more hidden natures. How can we hope for healing when we have no actual connection with what needs to heal? What is it to be sensitive and self aware of our bodies, our minds, our relationships, and the world around us?

Our workshop proposes that we give our hearts fully to the active exploration of this theme – bringing together creative group dialogue, self reflection, body work and relationship as one movement of investigation.

Our intention is an inquiry into fundamental change in ourselves.

“In a totally harmonious human being there is harmony between mind, heart and body.” J.Krishnamurti

Price of the Retreat

Standard price: € 550 based on a shared room (2 people). Single room: + €50 depending on availability (contact us).

In case of financial difficulties, partial time unavailability, handicap, please contact us for a solution.

Program Schedule

Wednesday 4th December – Arrivals & Settling in

5.30 – Opening introduction

6pm – Getting to know each other and opening exchanges together

7.30pm – Dinner

Daily schedule during the retreat

8.00am – Breakfast

9.30am – Quiet morning walk and/or K Short Video 20mins

10.30 to 12.30 – Self reflective Inquiry Circle with Jackie

1pm – Lunch

2.30pm Winter walk (sunset 4.45pm)

Hot drink time

5pm – Mindbody Dance movement with Jaap

Free time and/or journaling or informal inquiry between friends

7.30pm – Dinner

Sunday 8th December – Departure after lunch

Program Information for Participants

Journaling – Participants will be encouraged to keep a daily inquiry diary throughout the retreat, so that journaling can also be part of our active self inquiry.

Items to bring – A simple journal, comfortable clothes for movement and shoes/ boots for rural conditions (muddy, wet etc), warm cosy wear for dialogue.

WiFi – internet connection is available at La Maison

Facilitators

Jaap Van Manen

Jaap is a theologian, dance teacher and life coach. He has developed his own approach called Dance Coaching: a life inquiry with dance as its means. He wrote two Dutch books about this: Dance Coaching – personal development through physical and mental expression; and Dancing Towards Your Essence – being aware in movement and connection. He also trained other trainers, coaches, therapists and teachers in this approach, from which he retired in 2018. Nowadays he divides his time between Holland and Spain.

Jackie McInley

Jackie founded and ran a residential retreat centre in southern France, called Open Door but now spends her time organising online and in-person inquiry events, internationally.

She does not follow any spiritual teachings but is deeply interested in the investigative talks & dialogues of J.Krishnamurti as a mirror to an ongoing inner inquiry.

Important note about facilitation in our program

The joint program of activities offered during our Mind-body Winter Retreat, will be presented by the two facilitators listed above.

While it is evident from the Facilitator Bios that they have real experience in their particular fields – they do not wish to be seen and related to as experts or authorities in the inquiry.

It must be very clear that they both are – together with the participants in the group – completely involved in this exploration of mind-body which is also very much ongoing in their own, everyday lives.

This unique, open & participatory facilitation, may help generate a genuine atmosphere of learning together. Whether this creativity and deeper exploration can occur, is up to each one of us to find out for ourselves…