EMBRACE CHANGE

At a beautiful chateau in the Pays de la Loire, you can embrace change with fitness, wellbeing and creative retreats

The Chateau de la Motte Henry, in the Pays de la Loire, France, is the stunning location for a series of premium, all-inclusive retreats promoting health, fitness and wellbeing, and new for 2020, creativity.

Current retreats focus on fitness and wellbeing – the endurance sports programme covers cycling, running and triathlon, while the wellness programme addresses personal fitness, women’s health, injury rehabilitation and luxury pamper breaks. Creative retreats will launch in 2020.

The retreat organisers, Group Evolution, partner with leading professionals to deliver the retreats, each well-respected in their field. All retreats are delivered from the stunning, 19th century, Chateau de la Motte Henry. Set in over 27 acres of glorious woodland grounds, the venue provides luxury accommodation, nutritious and delicious food and drink, relaxing social spaces (both inside and outside) and extensive sports performance facilities.

The chateau is built in the Renaissance style which is so acclaimed across the Loire Valley. Only local materials are used in its construction, such as the abundance of oak obtained from the forests of Bergault and Charnie. The Salon Bois inside the chateau is panelled with this oak and is the only one of its kind in France.

The retreats are unique in that they are tailored to each guest prior to attending allowing the professionals to spend more time coaching and less time analysing. Retreats leave guests relaxed, inspired and on their way to becoming their best.

Each retreat is delivered by experts in their respective fields – they include Olympic medallists, world champions, award winning coaches, and leading therapists and nutritionists. The experience is uniquely tailored to each guest’s goals, their likes and dislikes, and their level of expertise. Time is spent learning about guests so that their personalised experience is impactful, enjoyable and memorable.

All retreats have exclusive use of the chateau, which is conveniently connected to Paris and the UK. The Chateau de la Motte Henry is named after Henry II who stayed in the grounds in the 12th century. The chateau itself has been extensively refurbished to provide the perfect combination of luxury accommodation, high quality leisure facilities and relaxing social spaces.

Recently held was Fitness Revolution a flagship wellness retreat tailored to each guest and delivered by a team of fitness professionals, wellness instructors, nutritionists and therapists. With a holistic focus on mental as well as physical wellbeing, guests benefitted from healthy cooking and mindfulness seminars, daily yoga and meditation classes, expert strength and conditioning assessments and one-to-one, small group and large group training sessions. Guests also found time to relax and use the facilities on the estate. Each individual left the retreat with a greater understanding of how to make lasting improvements to their health and fitness, with practical advice to take home and incorporate into their daily life.

At the beginning of October the chateau saw a Run Well Week hosted by performance coach, Martin Yelling, for runners of all abilities. Daily, ability-based group runs on the trails, towpaths and tracks of the Mayenne region were complemented by one-to-one assessments and small group activities.

Morning and evening stretching classes prepared guests for the day ahead and aid recovery after the running sessions. In the evening, guests attended informative seminars and meet like-minded individuals while learning more about how to improve their performance and prepare their mind and body for their next challenge.

Martin Yelling coaches runners and triathletes of all abilities, from total novices to experienced campaigners, full time professional athletes and celebrity runners such as Eddie Izzard. He is the founder of the UK’s number one running podcast Marathon Talk.

Martin commented: “I’m really excited about hosting the running retreats at the stunning Château le Motte Henry. The retreats are a fabulous way to understand how to improve and enjoy your running, whatever your level. I like to make retreats feel like a holiday, where you spend time doing something you love, meet new friends and finish each day smiling and laughing!”

Coming up this month is Embrace Change from 10th to 14th October, which is open to women over 35, hosted by women, and focuses on women’s health issues. Attendees benefit from nutritional consultations, fitness reviews and an endocrine health check prior to arrival.

These themes are developed during the retreat, during a series of informative seminars, group activities and personal consultations. All this takes place within a safe and inspirational environment where guests can engage with others experiencing similar challenges and take time to relax, re-energise and re-focus.

www.groupevolution.com

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