After a 2h30 drive from my home, I finally arrive at the Moulin des Bouillons, in the Perche. The domain is splendid, all in pond and forest. The laptop does not work, but do not panic, reassure the owners, a telephone is available in the living room if necessary. And wifi also available in the main house.
Installation in the rooms, with rustic and warm decoration. It smells of wood fire and the countryside, a bit like finding an old family home for the holidays. I immediately feel good here, in my place.
First hatha yoga practice, in a room heated by stove (and hair). It's not easy to ignore others during asanas (postures), even with my eyes closed, but I quickly let myself be carried away by relaxation, guided by the benevolent voice of Diane Duhamel, our teacher for this weekend.
First dinner at the Moulin, with all the participants of the course. Pumpkin and ginger soup, vegetarian couscous, orange salad, pistachios, medjool dates and orange blossom… This vegetarian menu rich in flavors surprises many! Little by little, we timidly get to know each other around the long communal table. Two participants came as a couple (mister following madam), others solo, or with girlfriends. Most are beginners, like me. Reassuring.
Before falling asleep, I review some basic postures in the yoga magazine that I took with me...
Despite the recommendations to stay on an empty stomach before the practice that awaits us, I go to the kitchen to make myself some tea and eat a clementine.
The session begins with a series of kriyas, exercises that purify the digestive and respiratory systems, and continues with a warming yoga practice, welcome on this icy Saturday, interspersed with a new tea and dried fruit break. Salutation to the sun, dynamic practice of postures... I somehow manage to keep up with the general rhythm and particularly enjoy the guided meditation that closes the morning session.
It's brunch time. I appreciate each food as if I had not eaten for days, without being very hungry but with real pleasure and attention to flavors. It must also be said that everything is good here!
Then it's time for the vegetarian cooking workshop with Caroline, the mistress of the place, who gives lots of advice, and doesn't hesitate to open her cupboards to show her favorite ingredients. A real moment of sharing!
Then, a one-hour walk in the 120 hectares of the estate. At sunset, the colors on the ferns and the last foliage are magnificent. We don't really get over it:cell phone in my pocket, I look for the network and take advantage of a favorable corner to call my loved ones and check my voicemail, almost in secret...
Tonight is a yoga nidra (deep relaxation) session, a first for me. My biggest difficulty? The writing exercise proposed by Diane who explains to us that self-study is part of yoga. I want to "go to a better version of myself", but I did not expect such a type of exercise! To find my sankalpa (="intention" in Sanskrit), this little phrase that we will place on our practice as a small seed, a direction of life, a good intention for ourselves, we must first list everything that slows us down, blocks us, then find the common point to all these fears, and above all the antidote, the positive phrase that will bring us confidence. We each close our notebook and go for a lying meditation, guided by the voice of Diane. We hear here and there a few snores and the continuous hum of the stove. If the session brings me a deep letting go, it is impossible to fall asleep afterwards at night… Is it the fault of the full moon? To the sankalpa that continues to resonate within me? I end up falling asleep without finding the answer...
When I wake up, when I'm not really hungry, I crack on a leftover biscuit left in my luggage and it is "weighted" with this breakfast that I start a new session of purifying kryas, followed by asanas and guided meditation.
After another hearty and tasty brunch, I left the Moulin with regret without having time to attend the last workshop, devoted to the discovery of essential oils. But Diane will take care to send me three personalized samples along with instructions on how to use them properly. They will prolong the benefits of the internship for a long time at home...
The mix between the benevolent and warm welcome of the hosts, the magic of the place, the practice of yoga, the breathing exercises and the partial absence of network brings a real letting go. A great beginner, I dreaded this first collective course, for fear of the judgment of others, but also of pain. To my surprise, I will have few aches on the way back. Just the sadness of having closed the doors of the "mill of happiness" so quickly...
With Zen&Go, from €345 for 3 days/2 n in a shared double room, full board, from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch with drinks, yoga lessons, vegetarian cooking workshop and transfers from the train station included. Massages possible on site, with supplement.
