This retreat is for beginning and ongoing yoga students and for those interested in deepening their movement practice, but who may not have done any yoga before. It is also for those who are curious about the relationship between our embodiment and meditation practice.
As we spend time, over the five days, in silence, moving, and meditating together, we will explore the dynamics of rest, recovery and repair as wisdom skills, what it means to be “wired for connection” to self, other and Spirit, and what our embodied relationship is to creation.
Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
Wisdom 6.12
With that in mind, we will explore the meaning of questions like:
How can I deepen a movement/yoga practice that nourishes my health and sense of wholeness?
What are some of the tools for contemplative living?
What is the relationship between wisdom, creation and embodiment?
What can be meant by wholeness, transformation, integration and repair? What is trauma, and can it be healed?
Who is my neighbour? How do we love and serve our neighbour?
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Each day there will be Meditation, Lectio Divina and Yoga / Rolf MovementTM sessions and suitable instruction will be provided on all.
We will use the standing and balancing poses in yoga as a frame to understand how the other yoga poses develop. We will use movement theory, anatomy and art to explore principles like “ground and space,” “midline”, “posture as a potential for action,” and “spirals,” to name some. Standing up tall will provide the springboard for looking at walking and standing poses; as well as the sitting poses, back-bending, twisting and spiralling movements.
We will also look at ‘the hearth’ of our embodiment — our autonomic nervous system — and how it works closely with the heart and face to bring us out of protecting ourselves and into connection with others and the creation we are intimately part of.
Each day we will enter a contemplative rhythm – the morning will be in gentle silence from the first meditation session till lunch with conversation opening up into the afternoon and evening. There will be 3 Meditation sessions, Lectio Divina – a quiet reflective time with texts from the Wisdom tradition and Yoga/ Rolf MovementTM sessions. Ample time will be given for discussion and journaling. Tracking insights from our practice sessions will be encouraged so please bring a notebook, coloured pens or pencils to explore this way of working. There will be time for rest and walks in the beautiful woods of Bonnevaux and its landscape of rolling hills, ancient trees and waves of vibrant birdsong.
Bonnevaux is an interfaith Christian community living in the spirit of Saint Benedict and his monastic tradition and its liturgy. Through the practice of meditation, the community is open to all people in search of a spiritual path for healing self, the world, and peace.
This event takes place at Bonnevaux and offers an opportunity to discover the rich cultural and historical French and European heritage of the 12th-century Abbaye de Bonnevaux, as well as to explore the varied and natural beauty of the land which we cultivate as a model of ecological responsibility.
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Speakers
Leader
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Giovanni Felicioni
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Giovanni Felicioni’s professional career spans more than 30 years as a bodyworker, movement instructor and therapist in London and Europe. He studied yoga with visionary and pioneer Mary Stewart (Vanda Scaravelli) and regularly taught on her London-based Yoga Teacher Training. He is a certified Advanced Rolfer®, a Rolf Movement™ practitioner and has served on the faculty of the Rolf Institute since 2000. Over many years, Giovanni taught for Independent Dance, founded in London by Siobhan Davies, Gill Clarke and Fiona Milward. He taught the Masters in Creative Practice at Trinity Laban, run by Independent Dance and Siobhan Davies Dance. He was also a contributor at the government-funded PAL, Movement and Meaning Laboratories, led by Gill Clark and Susan Benn. In 2012 he founded the British Academy of Rolfing in London. Most importantly, these 30 years of personal research into the relationship between touch, movement, awareness and contemplation led him to over two decades of study with movement scientist Hubert Godard during Hubert's development of Tonic Function. Giovanni’s work is Polyvagaly informed. Giovanni is a Benedictine Oblate. He was instrumental in the founding of Bonnevaux Centre for Peace, (France, 2018), the international home of the WCCM. He has been involved with the WCCM since its inception, has served on its Guiding Board and in other capacities over the years.
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Schedule
Wisdom Embodied
Yoga, Rolf Movement and Meditation Retreat
| Arrival | Tuesday 4 November 2025, check-in: 13h30 – 15h30 |
| Departure | Sunday 9 November 2025, after lunch (14h00) |
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Contribution (per person)
| Single room with ensuite bathroom | 950€ |
| Single room with shared bathroom | 800€ |
| Shared twin room with ensuite bathroom | 600€ |
The prices reflect the need to achieve self sufficiency. Therefore if you’re able to give a little more we would be very grateful. Please, click here to donate.
If you need a concession please let us know. We do not turn anybody away for lack of resources. Please, click the email address <contact@bonnevauxabp.com> to contact us.
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Dietary Information
At Bonnevaux, we aim for healthy, well-rounded, and nutritious meals. Please indicate your meal preference (non-vegetarian, vegetarian) below within the registration process.
* Unfortunately, we cannot cater to specific intolerances and allergies — we do not have the team or facilities for this. Please also be aware that traces of allergens (e.g. nuts) may be found in the food at Bonnevaux.
* We are committed to balancing protein, carbohydrates, fats and fiber from organic meat, plant-based proteins, vegetables, un-processed carbs, grains, legumes and fruit.
* Gluten and Lactose intolerance: we cannot create individually tailored meals. Should the main course at lunch contain your intolerance, you can always choose from the vegetables on offer and rice (plus non-gluten bread). The salad and soup bar in the evening will offer you a variety to balance out and complement what you have eaten for breakfast and lunch.
* Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at: contact@bonnevauxabp.com.
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Registration
Cancellation
— Please ensure you have travel insurance in place as we cannot refund cancelled travel for any reason.
— If you cancel your Bonnevaux booking up to 30 days before the event starts, you will be refunded the full cost of the event. Cancellations occurring within 30 days of the event start will be offered a voucher for a future event. Bonnevaux reserves the right to cancel events at any point – cancellations occurring within 30 days prior to the event start date will be subject to the voucher refund policy only.
Membership Fee ** – 10€
Membership fee is paid once per year, valid from Jan – Dec.
** by French law you must be a ‘member‘ of the charity (association ABP) Abbaye de Bonnevaux – Centre Pour la Paix in order to participate at an on-the-ground event at Bonnevaux – 86370 Marçay, France.
Membership is non-binding. It simply means that you are invited to attend the annual general meeting if you wish and that you may receive information about our events during the year.
The Abbey of Bonnevaux is the spiritual home of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) which includes a Conference and Retreat Centre dedicated to peace. The on-the-ground activities of the Abbey are organized under the responsibility of l’Association Abbaye de Bonnevaux – Centre pour le Paix (ABP). The Association, which is governed by the French law of 1st July 1901, is registered in Poitiers under the reference RNA: W863007299.
Address : Bonnevaux, 86370 Marçay, France.
Phone number : 06 33 43 71 71 / 06 61 96 57 74.
José Pype (President of the Association); Giovanni Felicioni (Associate Director and Programme Manager)
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