Yoga Retreat Hour at La Folie Douce

Sessions suitable for beginners or experienced yoga practitioners

featured in Activity reviews Author Rachel Wilson, Meribel Reporter Updated 28 February 2017

Aux Alpes are a new snowga, massage and chalet yoga company who encourage wellbeing through yoga and also provide an alternative activity to do in selected ski resorts.

They hold events such as retreat hours above the clouds and the first of these was held at La Folie Douce in Meribel for which I bought a ticket to attend.

I used to practise yoga when I was a university student but lost touch due to a busy work schedule and moving around a lot from season to season. This gave me the perfect opportunity to get back into it, set in the beautiful surroundings of the three valleys.

The session was suitable for all levels of yoga whether you were complete beginner or regular yoga goer. It was fluid and often challenging. The poses and sequences were clearly explained by the instructor Claire and could be adapted to suit what your body was capable of. She made me feel confident that I was doing the poses safely and correctly. All the instruction was in English.

We did some partner poses that were playful and brought a good atmosphere to the group. At the end of the session we did ‘shavasana’ meditation pose which allowed us to rejuvenate our minds, body and spirit. I did really feel refreshed and felt like my body had had a good, strong workout. The surrounding views were stunning and we were very lucky to have a perfect blue sky day. Looking out to the snow-capped mountains whilst perfecting our poses with the sun on our faces was a special feeling.

There are three outdoor yoga retreat hours happening at La Folie Douce this season. The retreats have a different pricing range as there are additional extras at each event. At the first one, I received a lovely goodie bag that was worth €25. It contained a delicious cereal bar by NOM, a bracelet, necklace, stickers and hand warmers, a nice touch.

The second retreat hour is being held on 15th March 2017 with a live DJ, and it costs £32. The final retreat hour is on 5th April 2017 and is followed by a champagne brunch for £40. There are discounts available for seasonaires too.

Both of the retreats start at 10:00, before the Folie Douce gets busy with lunch goers. You can access it as a pedestrian from Meribel and Courchevel or you can easily ski to it too. It was a perfect warm up for the rest of my day snowboarding and I recommend it for anyone wanting to experience something a little bit different on their ski holiday.

To book a place at the next event at Folie Douce, tickets can be bought on their website.