During this retreat, you will be guided by Vidya Gastaldon in practicing Yoga according to the Kashmiri tradition, in which you freely and consciously explore the body’s movements, carried by the energy of the breath. You will connect to the power of silence and through it learn to become more aware of how your body, mind and emotions interact. In observing yourself  without judgment, you will meet and own your limits and resistances, thus allowing for an intense experience of the present moment.

The afternoons will be devoted to drawing mirror portraits in small groups.

Both practices reflect on our relationship to borders and connections. Those with the ‘other’ for the portrait, those with ‘space’ for the yoga practices. When we allow our minds’ and eyes’ perceptions to unfold, we change our conscious and sensible relationship with the environment.

Vidya Gastaldon was born in 1974 in an Ashram in France. At the age of 20, she was introduced to the fundamental Yoga practices (Raja Yoga) and began to passionately read the sacred texts of India, which would later guide her artistic work. In 2001, she graduated as a teacher of Hatha Yoga at the Soluna Yoga School in Geneva. There she met Mathieu Richter, who directed her towards the Kashmiri practice. She began to follow this tradition as taught by Eric Baret, a disciple of Jean Klein. 

Her approach to the practice is profoundly tactile, visual, and sensual, as is her artistic creation. 
 
Vidya is also a widely acclaimed artist and art teacher (at the HEAD in Geneva). Her artwork is both mystical and earthy. Her landscapes portray the macrocosm as well as its swarming cellular constitution. Each composition contains many layers of consciousness which are constantly shifting and changing. In this sacred, sensual, humorous and sometimes provocative universe, she gives birth to new beliefs free from any form of domination. 

Yoga and drawing practices will be conducted in English and French. All ages and levels of yoga practice are welcome, including beginners. No artistic prerequisites or academic knowledge are required.