Inspired by the daily practices that form part of the Stillness in Action method, this series of conscious nature experiences provides time and space for you to slow down, experience the distinctive energies of the natural elements, and connect intimately with nature’s beauty, tranquillity, power, and wisdom.
Everything begins in The Stillpoint, our purposefully-built practice space that is open to the elements and invites us to reconnect with nature and explore new possibilities.
Through a series of simple exercises and movements designed to reawaken your body, the energy present in the group will guide the choice of the natural element to be explored.
You will then embark on two hours of sensory exploration and share the pure joy of being in nature. Return refreshed and reawakened, ready to approach the day in a whole new way.
The element of wood is associated with growth, creativity and self-expression. This is the occasion to really explore what is meant by “forest bathing”: to listen to the trees, feel their resonance and assimilate their sense of longevity and unity. From their roots to their crown, the trees continually connect earth and sky. Together, they create the freshness of the forest air and help humidify the earth, with its verdant green moss covering the rocks and interwoven roots. This forest space reawakens in us a vibrant Spring energy that is full of potential. We will meet with 3 special ancient trees to receive their healing, their wisdom and their invitation.
After your morning experience, enjoy a delicious lunch in our garden restaurant and then continue the experience with a Green Wood Workshop with Elisabeth Beaupere at her atelier in Venosc, or in the gardens of Lauvitel Lodge.
You will further deepen your relationship with wood and you will come away having made your own wooden spatula or wooden spoon. You will spend 3 magnificent hours and will wonder where the time went.
Atelier Bois et Sens
Elisabeth Beaupère
72 rue de la Montagne, Le Courtil, 38520 VENOSC
www.bois-et-sens.com
Tel. 06 82 42 93 51
Tarif: 50€/person (advance reservation required)
The element of earth is related to your sense of stability and serenity, even when everything is spinning around you. Clambering over boulders that rise towards the summit of Malhaubert, we overlook the valleys of the Veneon and the Romanche, that extend like a carpet all the way to the Belledonne mountain range. We can sense to what degree we are infinitely small surrounded by this immensity, and, at the same time how we are connected – a part of it all. It is a game between heaven and earth, between form and space, between the tangible and intangible.
This experience is a brilliant preparation, should you so choose, for one of the 4 via ferrata in the Oisans valleys. It will help you feel more grounded and secure, and you will know how to release your fear when you encounter difficult moves or exposed heights way above the valley floor below you.
Equipment hire:
Sport et Montagne in Bourg d’Oisans (16€ /person) -- Tel.: 04 58 19 00 11
Gîte du Plan du Lac in Saint Christophe en Oisans (16€/person) -- Tel.: 04 76 80 19 19
Should you prefer, you can go with a mountain guide:
Bureau des Guides de l’Oisans (Tarif: 60€ /person) -- Tel.: 04 76 80 42 55
The element of water invites you to enter into a state of fluidity, to recognise your ability to adapt to new and uncertain circumstances. We trace the history of people who claimed this inhospitable territory as their own: small streams traversing the mountain sides, remaining rock walls from clearing the meadows, pathways built for the passage of animals and humans alike. We descend by the ancient pathways to the hamlet of Les Gauchoirs and the Veneon river. The more courageous might stand in the torrent of pure, ice-cold waters, descending from the glaciers of the Ecrins National park. Sitting in meditation on a rock near the water’s edge, it is as if we become part of the elements: water, rock and air.
To take this aquatic experience further, enjoy a delicious lunch at our garden restaurant, then enjoy a beautiful walk to the turbulent confluence where the valleys of the Lavey and the Veneon meet.
Leaving from Champhorent, in the direction of La Bérarde, you descend by an ancient trail, leading to a stone bridge crossing to the meadows beyond. This is a relatively easy hike, which you can do independently or with a guide.
For those that like complete immersion, white water rafting is a great way to enjoy the element of water together.
Contact: Les Eaux Vives of Saint Christophe-en-Oisans
Tarif: from 25 € /person -- Tel.: 04 76 80 23 99
The element of Consciousness, as yet unrecognised as one of the 5 natural elements, is identified as such by Caroline Purkhardt, being equally powerful and significant in the evolution of the planet. Consciousness lies at the centre of the this experience, for which we stay on the Lauvitel Deck or in the Stillpoint Space. With the practices of sitting meditation, as well as moving meditation and partner work (from the martial art of T’ai Chi), we will explore the alignment of mind and body and the power of our own presence. These experiences in the group context are always pertinent and revealing, and potentially transformational.
This experience provides a taster of our more in-depth Stillness in Action Retreats, which combine spiritual and well-being practices with a range of mountain activities.
Both weekend (4 days/3 nights) and week-long experiences (6 days/5 nights) are available at various times throughout the year.
To learn more, visit our Retreats page
or call us on 04 76 80 06 77
