Retreats

Explore Relax Restore Heal

with Susan Desmarais

2011 Yoga Holiday Schedule

“Susan is a teacher with unique knowledge, style and energy. She is authentic. She establishes trust and comfort. She sees each student’s journey and teaches a yoga suitable for everyone!! Her combination of a sharp mind, strong physique and soft heart has forever made her one of the most important and special teachers I have ever had the honour to meet. Thank you!”

-Annie (Stockholm, Sweden)

“Here is why Susan Desmarais is a great teacher: She inspires you to reach for goals you didn't know you could reach, and she helps you to reach them. At her Kikuchi Yoga Retreat in Umbria, she led thoughtfully organized sessions, each with a leading idea or thread, all tying to the larger theme of the week: our need to balance striving and effort with receptivity and flow. The group that Susan assembled was wonderful to work with, and to share conversations and delicious meals with. The retreat will certainly be a highlight of my year.”

-Michael (San Francisco, USA)

“I must have been building up some good karma to have earned a week’s practice with Susan. She has the empathy that the nervous student needs. She also has a great teaching technique, a wonderful laugh and a huge heart. If you have the chance to work with her, grab it with both hands.”

-Jane (London, UK)

Susan's approach to teaching is very firm and very tender. The result is that people in her retreat experience, in mind and in body, ripple at the edges of courage and fear, trust and the unknown. My body and heart were, and are, extremely grateful!

-Jill (New York, USA)

“My first yoga retreat, but certainly not my last...excellent food, time to relax by the pool, and time to get lost in a good book. A great journey. I was inspired and impressed by Susan’s energy, professionalism, and all she shared with us. She is a brilliant yogi, but more importantly, an excellent teacher with the ability to reach out and challenge everyone at different levels.”

-Rikke (Copenhagen, Denmark)

“Susan cares, and this is what it’s all about. She is a seasoned yogi, a hard working professional, an inspired teacher and a life companion. Her retreats are hidden gems that have made a marked difference in my life. I have attended two of her retreats already and I will surely be going back again! I had a great time and I returned home happier and stronger. I would recommend her retreats to anyone who wants to go the extra mile in their yoga practice.”

-Valeria (Milano, Italia)

“My practice has been transformed from spending just one week with Susan at her Summer Yoga Immersion Retreat. I’ve been practising for many years, and this is the first time I have had my practice improved upon and inspired so intensely.”

-Karen (London, UK)

“Susan guides you through the yoga with direct and precise directions, which were incrediby helpful as I worked my way into many new and challenging poses. Each session was an exercise in trust (in ourselves), in letting go, and opening up mentally and physically. It will be difficult to follow up her skills and abilities as a teacher.”

-Bobbi (Seattle, USA)

“I finally took the plunge and decided to go on a yoga retreat...as soon as I arrived Susan made me feel very relaxed and part of the group. We had an amazing week, and I felt my yoga improved a lot. With Susan's breathing techniques, I managed to do some challenging poses which I never thought I'd be able to do. I can't wait to join her on another retreat...”

-Becky (Cornwall, UK)

“Susan really got everyone’s Yogic FIRE started - this made our muscles burn, our skin glow, and got our hearts wide open. A lasting inspiration.”

-Daisy (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

“I am getting so much more out of my Yoga since attending your workshop. Your instructions were so precise and logical, I now follow them (albeit in my head) during my practice. Thanks for getting me to practice Yoga correctly and also for working so hard during the re-treat to make it intense and interesting with a great big feel-good factor (hence overcoming my attention span issues).

You put so much into your teaching, you should be very proud.

-Colin (London, UK)

"Susan is an inspirational teacher. She challenges you to find your limits and then extend them--you find yourself doing things you never imagined you could achieve. A yoga retreat with Susan is also fun:there is plenty of room for laughter and good cheer."

-Adam (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

"Susan's retreat at the beautiful serene Locanada in Umbria made for one of the most enjoyable, healthy and relaxing weeks I've had. Susan's teaching style is light and fluid, challenging and strong, but most of all fun and inspiring. There are no 'passengers' in Susan's classes; both the most humble of beginners and adept of yogis will gain from her instruction. The setting for the classes is simply stunning, and the excellent food, genial and stylish ambience and accommodation at the Locanda surely draws repeat students. The best summary of my experience is to say that I tell so many people to go, and want to go back myself – it's that simple!"

-Liagh (Dublin, Ireland)

“The retreat gave me lots of things. I feel so relaxed, happy and full of love.”

-Anna (Stockholm, Sweden)

"Susan is unique. Her teaching style shows her profound understanding of yoga, in a place where east-meets- west. One can learn so much at her enjoyable, fantastic retreats."

-Chrystel (Merano, Italia)

Susan is a unique blend of Eastern and Western culture and she blends them both with panache, style and grace. She is a very radiant, very “rooted” Lotus.

-The Group (International)

Susan's yoga retreat in Tuscany was so much more than I had anticipated. She is an incredibly talented and accomplished yoga instructor. Susan quickly assessed the wide range of ability present in the group and designed her classes to support all of us, regardless of our level and experience. Personally, I grew tremendously both in my yoga ability and spiritual awareness. Susan encouraged me to take risks and personally assisted and encouraged me to work slightly out of my comfort zone. I left the retreat relaxed, refreshed and a much better yoga practitioner than the beginning of the retreat just a week earlier!

-Susan (The Hague, Holland)

“I yearn for the lovely and special retreat which I deeply enjoyed. My heart is still wide open thanks to your wonderful teaching and precious concern for all of us. I will never forget the kind healing of your hands touching my shoulders while lying in savasana”

-Chris (Antwerp, Belgium)

“Susan has the gift to make me humble and turn inside every time I work with her. She is fun, wacky, and quite humourous, yet she holds this place of self-discovery with compassion and sweetness. Thanks for being the teacher that you are.”

-Marieluise (Zurich, Switzerland)

“Susan's teaching skills enabled me to go beyond my normal physical limits. Teaching us how to help others was a bonus. Her ability to create dynamic group energy made everyone feel welcome and part of something special.”

-June Yvonne (Palermo, Italia)

"I appreciate Susan's teaching skills - she leads, guides, assists and encourages - challenging us at our individual levels. The retreat setting is a tranquil space to grow and deepen your practice. Connect with yourself. Connect with others. Connect with the universal."

-Carla (The Hague, Holland)

“As a beginner yogi with very little experience of yoga, I completely immersed myself in a yogic lifestyle whilst on the Easter retreat. Susan is a truly inspirational teacher and I loved the partner work as it enabled me to learn from others and develop my own yoga practice confidently. Throughout the whole week there was a real sense of group ethos and strength - all of us working together towards one common goal. I had a fantastic time and this experience has motivated me to join my own yoga group back home.”

-Sarah (Brighton, United Kingdom)

“I could feel the magic that ran through the group. I know each of us will bring home something very special, maybe even life changing.”

-Elizabeth (Roma, Italia)

Testimonials

TURKEY (Bodrum / Göltürkbükü, Paradise Bay