The Yoga Mama Club offers chic yet relaxed yoga breaks for a weekend or a week, in dream locations chosen by founder Sophie Ravier. Meet a Frenchwoman determined to combine yoga, joie de vivre and aesthetics.
Can you tell us how Yoga Mama Club came about?
I’ve been organizing wellness weeks around the themes of yoga and conviviality for 4 years now. I’ve organized around thirty of them now. I moved to the island of Sifnos in Greece 5 years ago, after a career in public relations in Paris and London. I needed something different, and having been a yoga fan for a long time, even before it became fashionable, I wanted to pass on this passion in my own way by combining my skills.
How does Yoga Mama Club differ from other yoga retreats?
First of all, I don’t really like the word “retreat”, I use the term “yoga week” or “yoga week-end”, because what I propose is not introspective or meditative, but imagined in a spirit of openness and exchange. We’re here to do yoga, of course, but also to have fun, to enjoy ourselves in every sense of the word.
What I try to make unique with Yoga Mama Club is in the design of stays around places that I have personally selected and tested, based on my personal favorites and encounters. I’m looking for places that feel like home. That’s why I concentrate mainly on France, Spain and Greece. I usually visit a dozen or so places and select just one in the end. I test each place, I sleep in it… Same approach obviously for the yoga teachers with whom I practice for a long time.
With the explosion of yoga and its offerings, I’m even more demanding about the people I meet, the quality and seriousness of the teaching offered by the partners I decide to work with.
In fact, leaving with Yoga Mama Club is a bit like coming to my home. You’re entering my world, which I’m delighted to share with you. It’s part of my personality, I like meeting people and being with them. That’s probably why I worked in public relations for so long…!
Another original feature of the Mama Club is its urban yoga weekends, breaks in the city where we practice in local studios and discover the best local addresses, in cities such as Amsterdam, Madrid and Barcelona. This year we’re off to Bordeaux at the magnificent Satnam Club, from April 12 to 14.
What are the contents of your stays?
Content depends on destination. Of course, the common thread is always yoga, a discipline that has changed many things for me and that I want to share!
We also include massages and energy treatments, which are an essential part of these rejuvenating weeks.
The key point for me is to share practices and experiences that I find inspiring: inviting an astrologer for a weekend in Ibiza to talk to us about the full moon, offering Gong Bath treatments a few years ago before this was developed, opening everyone up to new themes and disciplines.
Yoga Mama Club also often adds an artistic dimension to the program. During our last weekend in Bégur, the Dali Museum in Cadaques was a magical visit. In Madrid, everyone receives a pass on arrival to visit the city’s major museums…
Of course, in the Mediterranean, boat trips around deserted islands, discovering lost coves and other local spots are always a must…
I always leave a lot of freedom in the agenda, I don’t want everything to be set in stone, because during these moments I insist that everyone listen to their own rhythm and enjoy themselves, concentrating on their needs!
Who is Yoga Mama Club for?
We attract people who look like us… Mostly women, between 35 and 45, in independent professions, with a strong artistic or creative side, married or not, with children or not! Our groups are fairly mixed, with around half French and half other nationalities, although most of our stays are in English.
The Yoga Mama Club operates like a Club! People co-opt each other, invite friends to join the circle and come back every year…
This encourages exchanges and real links between everyone, and that’s really great!
Thanks Sophie!
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Here are the 2019 stays that particularly caught our attention:
Mini Yoga Week in Menorca: April 27 to May 1, 2019 with Anne Francin
At the magnificent Hotel Torralbenc, in a rustic chic atmosphere, to enjoy the mild spring temperatures on this wild island. Anne Francin has designed a program around the elements, in connection with her Prana Vinyasa Yoga teachings.
From 1,450 euros full board (flights not included).
Yoga weekend in Bordeaux: April 12 to 14, 2019 with Adriano Nogueira.
Head for the Satnam Club, a gem of a yoga studio which has just opened, to take classes with a Brazilian teacher Sophie loves. Nights at the trendy Mama Shelter hotel.
From 550 euros (transport not included).
Yoga week in Sifnos (Greece): May 19 to 25 with Veronica Blume
A week of Vinyasa Flow on Sophie’s favorite island, where she has made her home. Local experience guaranteed! Massage, boat trips, beach, relaxation and laughter guaranteed.
From 1750 euros full board (flights not included).
Find all Yoga Mama Club stays on the website: www.sophieravier.com. Don’t forget to mention that you are coming from Luxe Wellness Club 🙂
