Yoga - Breathwork - Herbalism - Story Telling
What if midlife wasn't something to get through, but a chance to come back to yourself?
A four-night gathering in the French countryside for women navigating perimenopause, menopause and the strange, liberating years that can come with it.
Come and slow down. Get out of your usual routine. Spend time in nature, move your body, eat good food, laugh, talk properly, sleep, dance, sit around a fire — and have some space to think about what you actually want from the next chapter.
Embers & Bloom · 2–6 September · South-West France
[ COME WITH US ]
Maybe you've reached the point where something has to change.
You've spent years being busy, capable and needed. Work, children, relationships, ageing parents, keeping the house running, remembering everyone's birthdays, making the plans, getting everyone where they need to be.
And somewhere underneath all of that, you've started to wonder:
Where am I in all this?
Maybe your body doesn't feel quite like your own anymore. Maybe your energy has changed. Maybe you're sleeping badly, feeling more emotional than usual, or suddenly finding things that you used to tolerate completely unbearable. Or perhaps nothing is particularly wrong - you just have a growing feeling that you don't want to spend the next ten years living the same way.
You don't necessarily need a new life but you might just need some space to work out what you want from the one you've got.
You don't need another project.
You've probably spent enough of your life trying to improve yourself by eating better, exercising, working harder, being a better mother/partner, whilst trying to also keep everyone else happy and stay positive.
And now there are endless messages about how to cope with menopause - Another supplement, another protocol, another expert telling you what your hormones are doing.
We're not interested in overloading you further
But we are interested in taking the load off you.
Embers & Bloom is somewhere you can step out of all of that overwhelm for a few days.
You don't have to arrive with any goals or achievements, you don't even have to know exactly what you're looking for.
Come as you are - all of you is welcome.
Imagine having four days where nobody needs anything from you.
You wake up in the woods.
Coffee outside.
You wander down to breakfast, move your body because it feels good rather than a challenge to get fit.
You spend the afternoon talking, lounging in a jacuzzi, reading or lying in a hammock.
You learn something fabulous & hopeful about the menopause years.
You eat dinner with women you've only just met and somehow end up talking about things you haven't talked about with your friends in years.
Later, there's a fire.
Maybe some Music and maybe some dancing.
Maybe a ridiculous conversation at midnight.
And for once, you aren't rushing home.
Why Choose This Retreat Over Any Other?
Embers & Bloom isn't another wellness retreat telling women how to optimise themselves. We're part of a growing movement to change the way menopause is understood - moving away from shame, silence and the idea that ageing means becoming less.
We want women to have better information, more choice, more connection and a much bigger idea of what this next chapter can be.
YOGA & MOVEMENT
Gentle practices to reconnect with your body and move in ways that feel good.
BREATHWORK
Exploring the relationship between breathing, stress, energy and how you feel.
HERBALISM
Practical plant wisdom and a chance to learn more about herbs traditionally associated with women's health.
VOICE & CREATIVITY
Singing, expression and playful ways of getting out of your head & into your body.
Nature - woodland walks, swimming, sitting outside and time alone.
STORYTELLING
Stories and conversations about women, ageing, change and the things we leave behind.
FIRE & MUSIC
Because a retreat without a good evening around a fire wouldn't be much fun.
And there is also something we take very seriously: doing absolutely nothing.
And then there's TALBÉROU
A wild, handmade corner of South-West France surrounded by woodland, meadow and big open skies.
You'll sleep under canvas in yurts or in dormitories, eat outside, wander through the trees, soak in the wood-fired Wild Spa, sit around fires and fall asleep to the sounds of the countryside.
There are hammocks, beautiful gardens, an outdoor living roof kitchen, a roundhouse, an outdoor cinema and plenty of places to disappear with a book.
It's beautiful, but it isn't polished.
It's real, earthy, slightly wild and very far away from your normal Tuesday.
You'll be held by women who know their stuff
Niki is the host of Embers & Bloom at Talbérou and the vision holder for Second Spring Collective.
Niki brings together breathwork, yoga, nature connection and eco-psychology to support women through the changes of midlife.
Niki is particularly interested in what happens when the old ways of living no longer quite fit, and how menopause can become a time to slow down, listen to the body and rethink what you want from the years ahead.
Her sessions are gentle, grounded and practical, with plenty of space to breathe, move, reflect and simply be.
She brings together traditional herbal knowledge with a contemporary understanding of hormones, the nervous system and the changing body - offering practical ways to explore how plants, food, rhythm and everyday rituals might support you through menopause.
Her approach is informative rather than prescriptive: helping you understand your options and become more confident in knowing what works for your own body.
A trained journalist with a passion for research, she translates the science of breathing into practical tools for anxiety, sleep, fatigue and the hormonal changes of midlife. Her work creates space to slow down, reconnect with yourself and find a greater sense of steadiness and confidence during a time of change.
Anne works with voice, movement, somatics and bodywork, helping women reconnect with their bodies, their voices and their own sense of vitality.
With over ten years’ experience in women’s yoga, psychosomatics, bodywork, voice liberation and ritual, her approach brings together female physiology, embodied practice and a little mystery. At Embers & Bloom she will lead a voice liberation workshop and offer a limited number of optional individual bodywork sessions, creating space for expression, rest and deeper integration.
What might you want now?
✧
Menopause can be a surprisingly good time to start asking questions you haven't had much time or reason to ask before.
What do I want?
What do I enjoy?
What have I stopped doing?
What am I no longer willing to put up with?
What would I do if I wasn't worrying quite so much about everyone else's expectations?
And what parts of myself have been waiting patiently underneath all the responsibility?
Four Nights in a modern Yurt, Bell Tent or Dorm - a sanctuary with valley views, private terraces, cozy space for evening stargazing and morning coffees.
All-Inclusive Meals - local, seasonal and specially sourced ingredients that support menopause.
Wild Spa Access - wood-fired hot tub with soft LED glow, hammock nooks, and starry-night evenings for total relaxation.
Outdoor Cinema - In the large open barn
Private Sacred Roundhouse - timber sanctuary for stillness, reflection, or simply being together.
The Schedule:
Arrival at 5pm on the 2nd September
Daily Rhythm
Breakfast 7:30
Start time: 8:30 Yoga
9:30 Breathworks Practice
Lunch: 1pm
Start time 2:30pm (last day 2pm) Herbal Wisdom/Voice & Body Activation/Story Telling
5:30 Yoga Class
Close 6pm
Dinner 7:15pm
8:30pm - Optional Fireside Stories & Songs
Quiet time 10:30pm
Depart at 11am on the 23 May
Timberframe Roundhouse - handcrafted sanctuary with living roof and central hearth
Organic Gardens - fresh, seasonal produce grown on-site.
Free-Roaming Chickens - colorful, curious birds in a permaculture habitat.
Earthship Showers - bathe under the sky in natural earth and glass bottle designs.
Cob Pizza Oven - wood-fired meals baked outdoors under the stars.
A living-roof outdoor kitchen that blends seamlessly with nature, nourishing both body and soul.
You can also…
Tune into the night’s soundtrack of crickets, frogs, owls and nightjars.
Discover wild orchids blooming on the prairie’s edge.
Marvel at the unpolluted nightsky and milkway
Walk the ancient Compostelle pilgrimage route, rich with story and soul.
Meet the Women Supporting the Gathering
Niki Taylor - Breathwork, Yoga & Nature-based Process
Niki is the founder and land steward of Talbérou and hosts Embers & Bone by guiding breathwork, gentle yoga and nature-based reflective practices that support women through meaningful life transitions.
Her work draws from eco-psychology, traditional yoga, nature connection mentoring and body-based therapeutic practices. She trained in Hatha and Kundalini yoga in Rishikesh in 2015 and holds qualifications in holistic massage, aromatherapy and Reiki, alongside a diploma in Eco-Psychology, NVC and studies in the 8 Shields approach to human development through relationship with the natural world. She is currently training as a breathworks facilitator with the Air School of Breath.
Her approach is rooted in the understanding that environments can support psychological and physiological change. She has been mentored by Rebecca Card, whose approach draws from the Animas Valley Institute, and has studied myth with Martin Shaw. These perspectives inform the retreat’s gentle recognition of menopause as a meaningful life threshold. Her work is particularly interested in how life transitions invite a reorganisation of identity, priorities and energy, and how being in relationship with the land can support this process in a grounded and embodied way.
Nicola Bradshaw - Medical Herbalist & Plant Wisdom
Nicola joins Embers & Bone as the principal herbal practitioner, sharing over twenty years of experience working with medicinal plants and their relationship to physical, emotional and hormonal health.
She is a qualified Medical Herbalist (BSc Hons, MNIMH) trained in clinical herbal medicine, botany, anatomy and physiology, and is currently continuing studies in functional immunology. For the past twelve years she has worked with Neal’s Yard Remedies, leading the Herbal Tincture Unit producing organic extracts grown on Soil Association certified land. Nicola is also a herbal researcher with Herbal Reality, contributing to educational resources that examine how medicinal plants can support human health.
Her work bridges traditional plant knowledge with contemporary understanding of the nervous, endocrine and immune systems. She has practised in clinical, community and educational settings, and previously worked in psychology and harm reduction supporting vulnerable adults.
Nicola’s approach supports women to understand how plant medicine, rhythm and daily practices can strengthen resilience and vitality during periods of transition, helping restore confidence in the body’s capacity to rebalance.
Nicola will offer a small number of individual sessions for those who feel called to receive more personalised support. These are arranged privately and sit outside the group schedule.
Anne Saana Saya - Voice Activation & Somatics
Anne joins Embers & Bone by hosting a psycho-somatic voice liberation workshop and optional bodywork sessions to support your integration during the retreat.
She’s a guardian of nature’s cycles and has over 10 years of experience in women’s yoga, psychosomatics, bodywork, voice liberation and ritual.
She’s cultivated a grounded presence and deep knowledge where science, female physiology and mystery lead together.
Her spaces focus on sacred regeneration & rest for women in all stages of life, supporting you to tap into the frequency needed to tend to your current experience and recreate yourself anew.
To welcome the medicine that lays within each female threshold, deep presence, somatic truth and consent have become her work’s grounding pillars. Anne guides you into the depths of your own psyche, body and soul - whether it’s through using her wisdom of somatics, voice, touch or ritual - so that you can confidently ride the waves of life’s experiences, take its fruits and inner stand the energetics at play, so that you can actually start enjoying this female experience.
Let’s unravel the dark mysteries of life together and let it take you towards the deepest revelations of love.
Anne will be available for a limited number of individual sessions during the gathering. These can be arranged privately and are offered separately from the main programme.
Daisy O'Clee - Rebirthing Breathwork Facilitator
Daisy is passionate about supporting women through the challenges and transitions of perimenopause and beyond.
Having trained in Rebirthing Breathwork and the Buteyko Method, she combines science with embodied tools to help women navigate symptoms such as anxiety, sleep disruption, fatigue and hormonal shifts.
She helps women understand how breathing patterns change during this time, and how restoring functional breathing can have a powerful impact on both physical and emotional wellbeing.
A trained journalist by trade, Daisy loves researching breathwork and translating complex science into accessible, practical tools.
She sees midlife as a pivotal moment - a time when many women begin to reassess their identity and purpose. Through gentle yet powerful Rebirthing Breathwork, she supports women to reconnect with themselves, build inner confidence and find steadiness during what can often feel like a tumultuous phase of life.
Exchange:
£575 (€665) in Full
Complete in full or in three instalments:
• Deposit £190/€220
• Second installment £190/€220
• Final installment £195/€226
Two supported places available. Please contact Niki at niki@talberou.fr
It is extremely easy to travel from these airports, jump on a train to Penne (via Agen). Sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful French scenery. Taxi can be arranged from the station, which is ten minutes drive from Talbérou.
From Bergerac you will need an Airport transfer arranging for an extra fee, as there are no trains from there.
- Yes. While the gathering is designed to be immersive and soulfully curated, we know some guests may wish to explore the surrounding beauty. From medieval villages and farmers’ markets to kayaking or wild swimming in rivers & lakes and vineyard strolls, we’ll happily provide recommendations tailored to your interests
Not at all. Everything is an invitation - you go at your own pace. This time is all for you. The gathering is designed to be spacious and slow.
Some decent walking shoes, swimwear, sunglasses & hat (you will be sent a list in your welcome back)
You'll get away with bringing next to nothing, which will save you paying for extra luggage on the flight.The gathering is specifically tailored for women going through peri-menopause and menopause
Everything is optional. It is important that you speak your boundaries. All the practices are done safely and with consent.
Yes there is a fridge in the outdoor kitchen to store your own food or medicines.
Not at all! But the area is safe and you can enjoy the natural beauty without any worries.
Yes and with a small discount - you will need to provide your own bedding.
There hopefully won't be so many as we will be coming out of the high season but bring protection, just in case.
Because spaces are limited, all payments are non-refundable - securing your spot guarantees you an unforgettable, carefully curated experience.
That said, we offer flexible options:
You can transfer your booking to another person at any time at no extra cost - perfect if a friend or family member would love this experience instead.
You may transfer your booking to a later retreat date (one time) if requested at least 45 days before the retreat, giving plenty of advance notice to plan.
With less than 30 days’ notice, transfers aren’t possible as preparations will already be in place, ensuring everything is perfectly ready for your arrival.
And in the unlikely event that we need to cancel for any reason - illness or unforeseen issues, you’ll receive a full refund or the option to transfer to another date, so your investment is always protected.
Our approach ensures your experience is secure, flexible, and stress-free.
We encourage digital detox during the retreat, but Wi-Fi is available around the site if needed.