New Year's Retreat

France

The retreat with Geraldine was a truly profound, beautiful and powerful experience. I have been meditating and attending retreats for many years but found this one particularly helpful. What did I love? Staying in a quiet, wild, peaceful haven of nature; eating the most delicious and healthy food prepared with love; doing daily yoga with wonderful teacher Anna; being with like minded souls. But above all, the teachings and meditations with Geraldine who has such wisdom beyond her years, so much insight, clarity, groundedness and humanity. After following the path and meditating for many years, something finally truly clicked about how we create own suffering and can free ourselves. I can’t thank Geraldine enough.

Sara UK

I have just returned home after a beautiful week where i was part of an open mind awareness retreat. I could not have drawn a better picture or written a more perfect story of how that week could have been. The content was so clear and delivered by Geraldine in such a deep compassionate way that my heart grew softer and bigger with each new day. i discovered so much about myself and learnt to open my heart and share. I would like to truly and sincerely encourage anyone searching or needing self love, alone time for inner self, nourishing of the mind, body and spirit, to offer this wonderful gift to yourself. I am so grateful that I did. Thank you to all involved in ensuring such a special experience.

This retreat made connect with my body again, my breath, but also with my insecurities and pains. Géraldine helped me plant a seed to deal differently with them, to speak another language with myself. To stop to seek control and instead give myself the tolerance, trust and love I would give to a loved one. The location is gorgeous, but the most outstanding aspect of this retreat is the integrity, knowledgeability and care of the trainer.

It was a very special week for me. A week that concluded a very special year. More and more I realize the difference between a good spiritual guide/leader and a natural spiritual leader. The natural spiritual leader incorporates the words, the thoughts, and extrapolates it into a body of experience that comes from the heart to reach all hearts, from the body to reach all bodies, from the mind to reach all minds. You are, Geraldine, a natural spiritual leader. And I feel blessed to have had the beautiful opportunity of knowing you, seeing you, and feeling you. As Pema Chadron says: "Nothing ever leaves you untill it teaches you what you need to know". This week with you and the group have helped me immensely to tune my "bodies" and my heart, and to open up to learning more. You contributed a great deal to my path towards liberation and breaking chains. Thank you.

Joining a retreat of meditation and yoga was for me a first experience.
I expected that week to get to know myself, but also to avoid a physical and psychic reaction of overwork. During my 20 years of professional independence, I put myself fully at the service of my clients and I put my couple, my friends and myself after them.
Through meditations I discovered features of my personality that I was not aware of. Géraldine knows very well how to guide through meditations. Her tips made me dive deep inside me. The theoretical part before or after each session helped me to understand my reactions and emotions. Yoga, more energizing in the morning and calmer in the evening, supported me in my request. It's been two weeks since I came back and, against all odds, I still enjoy this positive energy, and most importantly, I learned to respect myself and listen to myself. I can better balance my private and my professional lives.
This retreat has completely changed my life, my perception of what is really important. I cannot thank enough Geraldine and Anna for allowing me to become aware of what really matters to me in my life.

I was also lucky to find myself in a group of wonderful people. A big thank you also to all the participants for their kindness, their tolerances and their love.

A big thank you also to the whole team of the retreat center who, with their smile, their kindness, their wonderful vegetarian cooking makes you feel like being at home. This place is a magical place, away from everything, in the heart of nature ... a real haven of peace and serenity.

MAGIC!!! Although I already did a lot of workshops/courses but the content of this course was new to me and very appealing & inspiring. Geraldine adapted the content and the pace to the group, which was amazing. Beautiful booklet, which makes it easier to treat some themes again later on or at home. The location was absolutely magic. The food was nourishing for body & soul. With so many, so different people Geraldine and the team managed extremely well to have a loving & caring group dynamic. It was heartwarming to connect deeper and I felt really safe. The possibility of having a massage was a gift from heaven! What Geraldine dlV does with her hands is really magical.... I very much enjoyed the yoga classes by Ana, especially the yin yoga. The location were the yoga took place was really amazing, and I enjoyed the energy of sunrise/sunset even more! As I told you before we left, my 3 personal intentions for this retreat at the beginning of the week all came true: connect with others, self care, more clarity about my life goals. I even got a bonus: since I long time I was able to really FEEL again and not to be scared when I feel an emotion coming up... this made me stop smoking finally (I liked to literally burn my emotions before because I was so scared to be overwhelmed). Conclusion: I left Portugal with a radiant heart full of love, compassion, hope and inspiration, for which I am so grateful and A Lotus Seed deserves all the credits for this, THANKS!

I attended the April retreat in Portugal, and it was just everything I had hoped it would be. I had a truly nourishing week full of compassion and selfcompassion, in an amazingly beatiful nature location, filled with silence, nature sounds and beautiful views. An amazing team cooked delicious and healthy food for us, Geraldine guided us into meditations that helped me break down important barriers towards myself. All of this in a very natural fluent way. I experienced a lot of freedom to follow my own rhythm, to be silent when wanted, to engage in group activities when wanted. It was actually pure joy to me, even though sometimes I was processing deep grief. The pictures and movies on the website give a true representation of the retreat as it is. I would say, if it appeals to you, take your chance, it is really worth it!

An amazing week, that will remain forever in my soul, spirit & heart. Extraordinary organization and content, from practice to theory, meditation, yoga, delightful food in a beautiful place. I have learned so much about myself as an individual, whilst being part of a fantastic diverse group of people coming from all part of Europe. Thank you so much A Lotus Seed, and thank you Geraldine for being such a kind, loving, knowledgeable and compassionate person. I would definitely recommend anyone still hesitating in joining one of your retreat to go for it!​

This retreat was life changing for me. I met beautiful souls and minds including mine :) Geraldine and the entire team were doing an exceptional job at making us feel comfortable. Food was amazing healthy. I can recommend this experience to everyone who is seeking a deeper connection.​

Having avoided being confronted with myself and my feelings for most of my life this week was exactly what I needed and maybe subconsciously looked for: A week of bliss yet intensive work on myself. The retreat was excellent in every way from beginning till end: the organization, the duration, the remote location in a stunning environment, the delicious and nutritious food, the daily meditation and reflection sessions with Geraldine, the daily yoga sessions with Anna’s soothing voice, the option to get a Reiki massage as well as the love and care from all the people at the retreat center and in the group. I came with the idea to take a week off for some relaxation, slowing down and disconnecting from my daily life, including the Internet. I returned more connected to myself and with the realization that I can create my own “safe haven”. I had hoped to find answers to questions I never really dared to ask and left with insights about myself that go beyond these questions. I learned to accept myself the way I am and that this is not the same as not trying to improve and grow every day. Thank you for everyone, who helped, guided or just surrounded me during this journey! It would have not been possible without you.

"I learned that mindfulness is not something dreamy, but hands-on, intense and impactful. I learned to embrace both my focus and my distractions, to accept what the moment brings without judgment. I found new directions in life but more importantly I rediscovered myself in so many ways. I see myself with much more focus now than I have ever done before. That is the biggest gift I received”

The meditation week has started a whole process inside me. My awareness increased. I'm noticing more my emotions and thoughts. I learned giving space to emotions and experienced the usefulness of it. I learned to find peace!

I had the feeling no words could describe how I had experienced my first mindfulness retreat. After the retreat I actually physically felt my heart had grown and I'm accepting my thoughts and feelings with more openness and gentleness. I'm very grateful for this experience!! 

I had the most wonderful week in Portugal. I came with a troubled mind and left a happier person with a lot of clear insights and tools, not only to deal with difficult feelings, but also to better appreciate the beautiful moments. This week opened up my mind and my heart. I have met some beautiful people and the combination of morning yoga, mindfulness sessions and time to relax and let everything sink in is really nice. Also the beautiful location and the tasty food make this week absolutely recommendable.

On my first retreat, I enjoyed the space of breathing, the strength of feeling & acceptance, the freedom of being, the joy of silence, the beauty of nature, the experience of self-compassion… I feel very grateful for it. Thank you for making me discover the mindfull path of meditation and teach me that above the mountain there is a sky that represents gentleness & kindness!