A place to be well - La Roane

30/10/2025

Here’s a link to the latest newsletter from A Place To Be Well -La Roane, where we have been living and running the retreat center for almost a year!

Already! Time flies when you’re having fun. 🥰

Time seems to fly also when you’re very busy and constantly learning. And when we live by a calendar of retreats! 📆 🧘‍♀️ 🖼️

Been planning the next season, which will be starting early February.

We are filling up with a variety of retreats in 2026.

If you want to book a retreat or know someone who would be interested in running a retreat here in the beautiful, tranquil SW of France, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I can hopefully find a week for you in 2026. 🤔 😃

Sharing with you here the latest newsletter from A Place To Be Well -La Roane, where we have been living and running the retreat center for almost a year!

Already! Time flies when you’re having fun. 🥰

Time seems to fly also when you’re very busy and constantly learning. And when we live by a calendar of retreats! 📆 🧘‍♀️ 🖼️

Been planning the next season, which will be starting early February.

We are filling up with a variety of retreats in 2026.

If you want to book a retreat or know someone who would be interested in running a retreat here in the beautiful, tranquil SW of France, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I can hopefully find a week for you in 2026. 🤔 😃

NB: small mistake in the post about Manouk’s Yoga Teacher Training 3 week retreat in March -the starting date is March 15 and it ends on April 5th (Sunday to Sunday).

We are wrapping up this season, as I write this, with a 200 hour yoga teacher training course with Manouk Tideman of the Yoga Therapy Institute. She is returning on 16 March together with Biddy Messchaert and another new group of students. So, if you want to learn to teach yoga, this is a highly rec...

11/10/2025

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Follow her to find out more about her Bach flower remedies, Reflexology, iridologie...follow along the journey!

24/09/2025

Get ready to unleash your creativity! 🎨

Swiss friends and beyond, we're thrilled to introduce you to the talented Katerina, an artist who's passionate about empowering women through art.

🌸 She'll guide you through a journey of self-expression, using watercolour and mixed media techniques.

🍃Immerse yourself in the serene natural surroundings, savour delicious veggie meals, and explore the charming village of Saint Antonin-Noble-Val. 🏞️

Plus, treat yourself to a rejuvenating massage and let go of all worries!

Ready to connect with your inner artist? Look up Katerina on social media and reach out to her at katerinakestemont.ch to reserve your spot.

Don't forget to book before the end of October to receive a 20% discount!

🎁

21/09/2025

Connections -

What do you think when you read that word?

These days, with social media, I think many will think of connections online.

Not you? Real people connections are better, aren’t they? I definitely think that. But often, online connections can lead to in-person meetings. And that’s fun.

At our retreat center, that is one of the things I enjoy the most. Meeting new people. People that I otherwise would probably never get to meet.

We are fortunate to also have a few new clients this year.

We connected online at first, of course. And then, when they arrive here, we get to meet in person. So wonderful!

I’m already looking forward to next year when those new friends come back here for the next retreat!!

There is another type of connection -connection to nature.

That’s the kind of connection that was always more fundamental to me -ever since I was a child. I was never a people person, being an introvert and very shy when I small. I had a few best friends but I always needed time alone too. Like most introverts.

But nature...it’s always here. Waiting for you and allowing you to feel connected without expecting anything in return.

I love standing barefoot on the ground and looking up at the stars at night or being in the forest. 👣🌲

I used to escape to the forest in Sweden when I was a teenager and needed space and time alone. I’d sit on a tree trunk... listening and watching nature.

Now, I am incredibly grateful to have nature all around me.....here 🌲

Here, at A Place To Be Well -La Roane. 🍃

It’s a retreat center in the middle of “nowhere”. 🍃 🍃

That’s incorrect, not “nowhere”. No, in fact, it’s in the middle of everything that’s important and powerful: trees, flowers, insects, butterflies and birds. Etc...

Which kind of connection is most important to you?

📷 ✨ A note about the photos
1) the moon and Venus, that’s a credit to our neighbour Stan -Have you seen the video on our website that he made?
2) those people hugging their knees while lying on the ground in the outdoor yoga space...those are some of the lovely people at our current yoga retreat. They are connected to the earth and to each other. 🍃 🧘‍♀️ ☀️

14/09/2025

Having a good partnership is so important and valuable!

This new adventure of running a retreat center was like a little roller coaster in the beginning. So much new stuff to learn. We had some arguments...And one of the question hanging over us was...who does what?

We had SO much to talk about. We had SO many things to do and learn.

Yes, it all kept us very busy. And, sure, there was some tension in our couple.

Bill (my husband and partner in this endeavour) kept on telling me, “this is your business”, “you’re in charge”. “You’re doing an amazing job”....

But, of course, I also needed him. He has so much more experience in business than I do. I’d consult him for various things.

So it became a bit of a jumble sometimes. Again --who’s in charge of what?

So, we agreed on who does what.

Bill had to let go of taking charge of the business part of running things and leave the decisions to me.

That was a game changer. Suddenly, everything went smoother.

I got to make decisions and tell him what to do.

Or what not to do --for example, you can’t just go and help yourself to the freshly baked croissants in the professional kitchen -- because we have made just enough for the guests!

Yeah, that was a funny moment!

Bill has his own work...he works as a coach.

And in regard to the retreat centre, he also has a whole list of roles that are his too.

As you can see on the back of his t-shirt (a b-day present from our middle son), he’s a busy guy!

And me? Apart form running the retreat center's business side...I also get to sample the different yoga classes!

What a treat!

09/09/2025

Food, delicious fresh food.

Eating healthy has always been so important to me. My mom is a great cook and both my husband and I love eating well.

At our retreat centre A Place To Be Well - La Roane, that is at the core of what is most important.

Our retreat participants know that food is important and they often gasp, followed by oooh and ahhhhs as they approach the menu and see the dishes laid out for lunch or dinner.

Our chefs are amazing. They cook vegetarian, using local, mostly organic and seasonal ingredients.

Putting healthy food into our bodies feeds our body, mind and soul. It’s also beautiful food, so we take lots of photos.

Here are some photos of some of the dishes.
🍃
We have two fig trees. White figs.

Right now, they are producing beautiful fruit.
So, together with some good friends who are visiting us, we have been picking figs, and eating them with almost every meal. Check out these fig photos!

What is your favorite kind of fruit?



03/09/2025

Owning a retreat center is, well, Big.
It’s a lot of work.
But it’s also so rewarding!

Every retreat is different since they are made up of different people. And that is the thing...the retreats are more about the people than the activities they are doing.

We have met some wonderful people here. I love hearing people’s stories and seeing connections being made. We hear laughter around the dinner table late into the night. 😂 🎶

What a joy!

We have also seen the transformation of people who have spent a week together here. Arriving here with what seems like something’s on their mind, something is weighing down on their shoulders. And, by the end of the retreat, the light is shining in their eyes and there is a lightness in their steps. 👣

That is the most beautiful thing.

A friend, who recently was here to help out, repeated several times:
I see now that there is “My life before this place (A Place To Be Well - La Roane) and my life after."

And something else I have heard already several times is that the energy here is special.

Well, for that, you just have to come here and experience being here. Stand on the earth, feel...and listen. 🍃 💞 aplacetobewell.com 🌲