Would you like to learn how to teach Mindfulness and Meditation with Horses?
The Mindfulness and Meditation with Horses Teacher Training 5-day retreat is based on equine-facilitated mindfulness and meditation, which will firstly enable you to rest, relax and recharge your batteries.
Secondly, it will teach you how to help your friends, family and clients to manage and minimise the detrimental effects of stress on their mental and physical health, by spiritually connecting with your horses in an enriching, compelling, and transformational way.
On successful completion of the Meditation with Horses Teacher Training, you will receive a Certificate of Completion and 3 CPD points.
By popular demand, these retreats will now also include two short Camino de Santiago walks: 11km on Day 2 and 10 km on Day 4, to help you absorb and process what you have learned during the theoretical and practical sessions of our unique Mindfulness and Meditation with Horses Teacher Training.
Equine-facilitated mindfulness and equine-guided mindfulness meditation can empower you and your clients to
- find a simpler and more direct path to inner peace
- compassionately accept yourself and appreciate your unique talents and abilities
- free yourself from immobilizing fear
- believe in yourself so that you can make the changes you want to make in your life
- build strong, long-lasting relationships
- discover simple techniques to easily and effectively deal with stressful situations
So seize this exceptional opportunity to spend a few nights here in the sun-drenched south of France to learn from a medical doctor who has been practising and teaching equine-facilitated mindfulness and equine-guided mindfulness meditation for more than a decade.
A warm welcome awaits you amidst the Saint-Mont and Cotes de Gascogne vineyards in the southwest of France.
Mindfulness and Meditation (non-training) with Horses Retreat
Your retreat leader Dr Margaretha Montagu
Dr Margaretha Montagu, the author of Mindfulness and Meditation Options – featuring Equine-guided Meditation, has two decades’ experience as a medical doctor and more than a decade’s experience in hosting Connect with Horses Mindfulness and Meditation retreats. If you are impressed by qualifications, this is what she has got: MBChB, MRCGP, MedHypnotherapyDip, Counselling Cert, EAGALA Cert, Life Coaching Cert. and NLP Master Pract Cert….but as she says, “What makes me an exceptional retreat leader, is not my qualifications, but the experience I gained leading the Connect with Horses retreats, and living with horses 24/7, since 2005.
During this retreat, I will share with you everything I know about Equine-guided Meditation and Equine-facilitated Mindfulness and show you, step-by-step, how you too can teach mindfulness and meditation with the help of your horses, even if you know nothing about either mindfulness or meditation.”
Who will most benefit from this retreat:
- Anyone who wants to know more about mindfulness and meditation with horses.
- Anyone who wants to use mindfulness and meditation with horses to help friends, family and clients.
- Anyone with a horse-orientated business who would like to earn additional income
- Anyone who always wanted to walk part of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela
Guestimonials
(from the Mindfulness and Meditation with Horses Retreats)
Thank you so much for allowing me into your home for the last few days. Your kindness, patience and generosity have touched me deeply. The time that Belle, Aurore and Tess let me spend with them and the lessons they taught me have been truly healing and extremely cathartic. You have created something really unique and magic here and I am in awe of the power of it. May it always bring you as much peace and fulfillment as it did me. With deep gratitude, A Campbell
I really needed the time to find myself again. After a few days there I started sleeping better, I feel more relaxed and I am dealing with my pain in a better way. Margarita was the best, she’s extremely accurate in what she does, great instincts. Definitely an experience that we should all have. Now I want to take my friend as well. I cannot express in here how much I learned about me and how to handle situations in my job. L Ramirez
An authentic French Farmhouse
La Maison Meraki huddles in the middle of a sunny clearing in the heart of a great and ancient forest, like a little old lady gathering her shawl around her bony shoulders. She has been here for at least 200 years, from her elevated position she looks out over the treetops to the mighty Pyrenées mountains. Who knows who has ventured over her threshold, maybe D’Artagnan himself, the chateau where he was born is only a few kilometres away. Yes, this is indeed Gascony, land not only of milk and honey but also of divine wines, persillade, garbure, foie gras, cèpes, duck confit…all less than two hour’s drive southeast of Bordeaux.
Maison Meraki has her back to the sunset, where the cold winds and weather come from in the winter. The house is U-shaped, with a central, secluded courtyard, where lavender perfumes the air in the summer. There are two guest bedrooms downstairs, each opening onto its own patio where guests can sit and soak up the sun with a cool drink and a good book. There is a third bedroom upstairs, with glorious views of the surrounding woods, meadows, vineyards and sunflower fields.
I renovated Maison Meraki slowly, with infinite care. I have respected its humble origins and kept it dans son jus, comfortable but unpretentious, so if you want to experience unadulterated French farm life, this is the retreat for you. If you are looking for 8 days in a luxurious chateau, it is not.
Savourer la Vie – la Cuisine de chez Margaretha
Our food is simple but delicious and we aim to feed your body as well and as generously as your mind. This is a celebration of the wonderful variety of fresh local produce available from our garden as well as from the local weekly fresh food markets.
In the morning we serve a copious brunch buffet, consisting of cereal, fruit, bread, confiture, honey, milk, yoghurt, typical cheeses and patés of the region. Tea and coffee are available from early, and throughout the day. You can also make sandwiches and take some fruit/yoghurt with you, to eat during your walk.
Dinner is served early and consists of a wholesome, hot homemade soup, a healthy and hearty main course, often vegetarian and often heavily influenced by the cuisine of our Spanish neighbours, followed by something sweet, if required.
We have one meal at a local restaurant to help regenerate the local economy post-COVID. The cost of this meal is not included.
Slow and Sustainable Tourism in the Southwest of France
It is important to me that the retreats I offer, do as little damage to the environment as possible, while at the same time contributing to the local community’s economy. I feel more like the custodian than the owner of this property – I feel extremely privileged to live here. As its custodian, my intention is to look after Maison Meraki to the very best of my ability and to preserve it for generations to come. In the meantime, I share the exceptional natural beauty, the rich cultural heritage and the nurturing tranquillity of this open- and warmhearted house with my guests without harming the natural environment and helping environmentally aware local producers at the same time.
In only a few other places you will find all the ingredients of a perfect retreat combined with such abundance as in Gascony: fabulous food, outstanding wine, generous people and the breathtaking beauty of the Pyrenées mountains, meandering rivers, bottomless lakes and fortified medieval villages perched on hilltops.
Your Investment
Make an investment in yourself and your future by attending this unique Meditation with Horses Teacher Training retreat for 1999€ pp. in a private room. If you are two friends travelling together, double room occupancy is available at 1499€ pp in a double room.
Included:
- Transfer to and from Nogaro to the retreat venue
- 5 days/4 nights accommodation in a single room
- Brunch and dinner, with access to tea, coffee, chocolat chaud and French patisserie 24/7
- Transport during the retreat, including pick-ups and drop-offs at the start and end of Camino walks
NOT included:
- Transport costs to Nogaro, the village closest to the Esprit Meraki retreat venue
- Dinner on Day 3 or 4 – we eat in a family-owned restaurant to stimulate the economic growth of the region post-COVID – cost 15-30 euro pp, depending on your choices
- Alcoholic drinks
- Personal Health Insurance and/or Travel Insurance (we highly recommend insurance cover in case you need to cancel)
- A variety of massages (subject to availability)
So seize this exceptional opportunity to spend a few nights here NOW…an open-armed and a two-kisses-on-each-cheek welcome awaits you amidst the Armagnac, Saint Mont and Cotes de Gascogne vineyards in the sun-blessed southwest of France.
Ready to make a reservation for a Meditation with Horses Teacher Training retreat? To pay your deposit and secure your booking – there are only a small number of these retreats per year – please contact us with the dates of the week that suits you at welcome2gascony@gmail.com to inquire about availability.
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Cancellation Policy
Deposit
To secure your booking, a non-refundable 25% deposit is required. As the group is very small, only a paid deposit will guarantee your attendance. If your retreat is fully booked, you will be offered a place on the waiting list. Your deposit is transferable to another person for the retreat you booked, subject to approval.
Final Payment
The balance of payment is due 30 days prior to the start of your retreat. Reservations made less than 30 days before the retreat starts, must be paid in full. Please note: Due to the extensive and expensive preparation that goes into each of these retreats, I cannot offer refunds, so I highly recommend that you purchase adequate travel insurance to cover any unanticipated changes in your travel plans. Any cancellation made in writing less than 30 days before the retreat starts, or once the retreat has started, will result in a total loss of funds. Depending on availability, you can choose to transfer your booking to another date without incurring any additional fees, within the same calendar year.
I reserve the right to cancel the retreat if it is not meeting the retreat minimum (if I do so your deposit is refunded in full). I reserve the right to determine if you are a good fit for this retreat (if not, your deposit will be refunded in full). I reserve the right to cancel the retreat for personal reasons (if I do so your deposit/full payment will be refunded in full).
This cancellation policy is firm therefore please do not make any travel arrangements until you receive your registration confirmation.
Please read our terms and conditions