Founder

A personal journey

I am Tamsin Jardinier, owner and founder of Little French Retreat.

Little French Retreat evolved from a personal journey of coming to terms with loss and finding meaning and purpose again. The house where the retreats began had belonged to my mum. She had bought the property in 2005 to live out her retirement dreams but, two years after purchasing it, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away nine months later.  This is when my life changed. 

 I was living in London at the time, working in management for luxury retail and interiors companies. Losing my mum made me realise I had to redefine my life, so I focused on what brought me joy: yoga, cooking and photography. Eventually these, and the desire to feel close to my mum, led me to relocate to her house in 2013 and begin Little French Retreat – a place where I could help others to find peace and wellbeing. 

I firmly believe that mind, body, nutrition and environment all play equal parts in our wellbeing.  At Little French Retreat I’ve drawn on my experience as a yoga instructor, Ayurvedic cook, coach and interior designer, to lead groups to careful considered venues that are a haven, where all these factors combine to support guests’ all round health. 

I aim to make Yoga and Ayurveda accessible and approachable. I share practices that can be integrated into daily life, not only during the retreat but also after, so that guests leave equipped with the tools and knowledge to be able make a long term shift towards better physical and mental wellbeing. 

Approach to Practice

I teach calm centred yoga based on my knowledge of Traditional Hatha. Yin Yoga and somatics movement. Ancient wisdom with a contemporary approach that follows a steady pace. The practice can be dynamic and strong in a slow way or deeply restorative with an emphasis on deepening the breath to harmonise all physical and emotional centres of the body and provide complete flexion of the spine for balance, providing you the feeling of being grounded yet energised, with a deeper sense of yourself.

Retreat practices are centred on guiding guests into rest, working from the base of the spine upwards to release blocked, held tensions and create an overall sense of deep relaxation.

Weekly classes focus on moving with the seasons and lunar calendar to ; build Fire in winter, feel Calm in summer & stay grounded throughout Autumn. This approach enables us to stay in balance, in tune with nature and our optimal health.

qualifications

YOGA
I hold a 500hr teacher training certificate from Sivananda Yoga Vidya Peetham in Kerala, under the guidance of Swami Govindananda Saraswati. His school promotes the teachings of Sivananda Yoga and it’s five principles of Yoga practice, that originates from a lineage of guru’s that can be traced back 1000 years.

I spend winter months with my teachers, to deepen my knowledge and lead groups to Kerala and the Himalayas, where we experience the magic of the country and birth place of Yoga.

AYURVEDA
I am training under the guidance of David Frawley at the American Institute of Vedic Studies to become an Ayurvedic Life-Style Consultant. A 300hr course of this ancient healing system that originates from India. Ayurveda treats the physical body and its’ ailments and includes psychology and yogic spirituality as a holistic system of healing that considers our entire nature as body, mind and spirit for best health.

FOOD
A self-trained cook with a passion for vegetarian food and natural ingredients, inspired by Ayurvedic principles; that food is energy and medicine for healing. I have cooked in ashrams, on retreats and for supper clubs. For further information on my approach to food and online recipe book please visit HERE

COACH
I work with individuals and creative entrepreneurs as an intuitive coach drawing upon four elements: Conscious Business, The Art of Questions, Aligned Lifestyle & Conscious communication. If you are stuck in life or work and curious to know how you can do more of the work you love, please visit my coaching site HERE

inspiration

SWAMI GOVINDANANDA SARASWATI
They say your teacher appears when the student is ready. I had the fortune of meeting Swami Govindananda on a trip to Kerala in 2013 and have appreciated his guidance since. A true master of energy management and delivering Yogic philosophy in an uncomplicated and practical way to apply to our contemporary western lifestyles. He taught me the benefits of teaching and practicing slowly to feel a deep sense of peace.