• Circle ceremony: There will be an opening and a closing circle (the only two things that we ask everyone to be at) and plenty of time to check in throughout the retreat
• Yoga: Womb, Kundalini, Somatic Hatha, Restorative and Yoga Nidra.
• Pranayama, Meditation
• Chanting: Kirtan, Mantra, Celestial Meditations, and more
• Dancing

Your investment for the weekend includes tuition, accommodation (twin or single rooms available) and all meals.

Triple room: £435
(Early Bird £395 until 4th Sept)

Twin room: £470
(Early Bird £430 until 4th Sept)

Single room: £520
(Early Bird £480 until 4th Sept)

FULLY BOOKED

join the waiting list below

Payment plan available to suit you
Please email us yoga@theyogahall.co.uk

“Thank you two for the wonderful Shelter and Haven you created at Braziers Park. It was something different to everyone who attended but harmonious and overlapping in our every need. You catered for us in tiny details and made it seem effortless and seamless. From my personal viewpoint, it was an affirmation and a chance to “check in” with the heart through the breath and YOGA in its entirety. I felt a new path of exploration in the MOON CYCLE awaits and revisiting the old remains a touchpoint and a comfort.”

“Enormous and heartfelt thanks for the weekend retreat. It couldn’t have been more crafted and sincere… Having had two quiet and reflective days at home, I feel the word to describe best is REPLENISHED. None of us could have known how we would manage and cope with a pandemic and lockdown, and whilst I felt proud and privileged to support loved ones and the community, I was definitely DEPLETED. You gave me the unlimited grace and kindness to go deep and heal. My love and gratitude to you both.”

By Milly Hartley, inspired by Lou and Laura’s Lake District Yoga Retreat, May 2024

Belong

Retreat, I said to my family.
I’m going away,
This time for 5 days,
To retreat, I said.
And I did.

Welcome, they said to our group,
Welcome to time for you:
To retreat from your daily life and routines,
And jobs and tech, and people and pets.
The pushing and pulling and rushing around
And demands from the outside world.
Welcome here, they said
And I was.

Dance, she said
Let’s dance!
Let’s dance to The Four Directions
Back, forth, right, left…
North, South, East, West.
Dance, she said.
And I did.
And it felt good, and I felt strong.
And we danced to The Four Directions.

Remember your ancestors, she said
Let’s honour our mothers, and maternal line
Going back in herstory
Back down the line,
To remember the women who came before us.
And we lay down
And she drummed
And we honoured and thanked the women we came from
And felt them all around.

Walk, they said, let’s walk.
So we packed our lunches, made with love,
And swimsuits and floats and hats and gloves
And set off through the hills, past the handkerchief tree
and down to the lake, as still as can be
And walked and talked and had fun on the way.
Walk they said, and we did.

Swim, they said, Let’s swim
Let’s go to the lake and jump in
Let the mountains hold you and the water cleanse you
As you paddle and splash and wade right in
And I swam in the lake,
In the cold, deep water
And it felt blissful
And I felt wide awake
And I let the water of life lift me up.
Swim, they said, and we did.

Yoga, she said, lean in.
Lean into the floor, supporting your back
Lean into the ground holding your bones
Lean into Mother Earth below you.
And I leaned in
And I stretched
And I breathed
And the tears came
And the tears went
And the body shook
And my heart ached.
And I let go of something I no longer needed to hold in my body,
Things I no longer needed to hold on my own.
Lean in she said, and I did.

Sing, she said,
Let’s sing.
Let’s drum and sing as we sit by the fire
And the smoke smells so good
And the songs feel so right.
And I sang.
And my head lifted up and my heart opened out
And I felt connected, and joyful and free
And I felt the songs join us with glee
As we sang and we smiled and we all played along
And the group joined together, singing as one.
Sing, she said,
And we did.

And I felt loved
And I felt safe
And nourished and held and fed and cared for
And rested
And I began to feel stronger again
As I Reconnected

To my body and heart and to feeling free
Connected to nature, the lakes and the trees
Opened up to my ancestors, in new ancient ways
Connected to self, over these soulful days.

Connected to us, seeing us shine
Connected as one, to the divine
Connected to LOVE on this retreat
And it felt so good, such a treat!
It felt good to connect
It feels good to connect
Belong,
They said
And we do.

Lou Stanion

Motivated by a desire to calm her mind, Lou’s interest in yoga started in 2004. In 2006 she qualified as a Yoga teacher in India, trained by the Sivananda Organisation. Her teaching has its foundations in time spent with Faustomaria Dorelli at the Innergy Yoga Centre in London. Part of a dynamic yogic Sangha (community), and alongside this working in a busy commercial role promoting African Safaris, Lou gained a lived understanding of how to integrate yoga into daily life. It was at Innergy that her love of singing was re-kindled and monthly chanting (either in London or St Albans) became a regular part of her life.

Since then she has qualified to teach Womb Yoga & Total Yoga Nidra with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, Kundalini Yoga with Har Nal Kaur at Amrit Nam Sarovar and Restorative Yoga with Judith Lasater and Teen Yoga with Charlotta Martinus

She has studied with and been inspired by Angela Farmer, Donna Farhi, John Stirk, Sarah Powers and Chinnamasta Stiles.

Later in 2013 Lou undertook Shadow Work training with John & Nicola Kurk. This led her to the ‘Women in Power’ programme, an initiation that unearths and honours buried aspects of the feminine soul and psyche.

In 2015 Lou met Alexandra Pope, co-founder of Red School, whilst attending one of her menopause weekends. Just on the cusp of menopause herself, this inspired her to join the 2016 Woman’s Quest Apprenticeship, a radically new approach to leadership training for women. In 2017 she trained as a Menstrual Medicine Circle Facilitator and Red School Menstruality Mentor, working one to one with women to access the gold hidden within their menstrual and, post-menopause, their seasonal cycles.

And in early 2019 she completed a 600-hour Yoga Therapy & Mindfulness Training with Heather Mason at The Minded Institute and offers 1-2-1 Yoga and Yoga Therapy. In 2023, Lou was both tutor and student on the world’s only psychotherapy course specifically tailored to yoga therapists, Integrative Yoga Psychotherapy (IYP). This pioneering masters course (level 7) has been uniquely created for seasoned yoga therapists to draw on their extensive therapeutic knowledge and to become dually qualified as accredited psychotherapists, significantly increasing their scope of practice.

Also in 2023 Lou trained in Somatic Supervision with Shaura Hall, a course tailormade for body-based professionals to support others in their field. It is a uniquely somatic approach to supervision.  She is part of the supervisory team at Minded for both the Yoga Therapy and Integrative Yoga Psychotherapy diplomas.

Lou is a certified Trauma Resilience Embodied Yoga (TREY) teacher and Internal Family Systems Practitioner (Level 1 & 2 trained). Internal Family Systems is an integrative approach to individual psychotherapy with spirituality at its core.

Lou has completed all three levels of the self-mastery course The Masters’ Way, The Path of the One Heart Level 1 and The Harmonisers Level 1. This year she is taking the

Path of the One Heart Level 2 (The Scribes) and The Harmonisers Level 2.

She is also a member of the Mentors of Love & Wisdom, a not-for-profit organization made up of individuals from all around the world, who have made a commitment to hold open their divine channel and share the keys and wisdom they receive with humanity.