Personal Yoga Residency
Simplicity, Silence, and Self-Directed Practice at Awake Space Château de Montcuquet.
This is an invitation to step into a personal retreat held in a deeply natural, quietly powerful space.
Yoga, meditation, mantra, energetic healing, shamanic journeying, and sound work—are available throughout your stay. Your retreat, however, remains your own. You are free to shape your days as you wish, with gentle guidance available should you want support in creating a rhythm that feels aligned.
Rather than a structured training, the experience is intentionally spacious. There is time here to withdraw, to recalibrate, and to simply be—without pressure, expectation, or agenda.
Stays are flexible. You may come for a few days or remain longer, shaping the experience in a way that feels right for you.
For those who feel called, contact us to apply and receive further details, including pricing and availability.
Letter from the Founder
Over the past year, we quietly marked ten years of the school’s existence. What began in a small living room in Leith, Edinburgh has unfolded across many forms—from those early days, to a residential farmhouse in Coudures, and now to the space we hold at Château de Montcuquet in Lautrec. Along the way, we have had the privilege of training and graduating teachers who now share this work across Europe and beyond.
In the broader landscape, yoga in the West has continued to evolve. Some of these developments have been valuable. A deeper understanding of biomechanics and anatomy has contributed to safer, more adaptable approaches to asana. At the same time, there have been shifts that feel less aligned—moments where the essence of the practice becomes obscured by presentation, performance, or commercial framing.
This tension is perhaps most visible in the way the word “retreat” is now used. Traditionally, a retreat implied a genuine withdrawal—a stepping back from the demands and noise of daily life in order to rest, reflect, and return to something essential. Increasingly, the term has come to describe something closer to a curated holiday, structured around group activity and social experience.
We find ourselves drawn in a different direction.
What continues to feel meaningful is a return to simplicity: space for quiet, for solitude, and for self-directed practice. A place where nothing is required, nothing is performed, and very little is prescribed. A place where one can step out of momentum and allow a more natural rhythm to emerge.
In this spirit, we are beginning to open the space at the château in a quieter way.
Alongside our existing trainings, a small number of places are now available for those who wish to stay for a period of personal retreat. These stays are not structured programmes. There is no fixed schedule to follow and no expectation to participate in group activity. Instead, the emphasis is on autonomy—time for independent practice, rest, reading, walking, and reflection.
The environment itself offers a gentle container: nature, silence, and a simple daily rhythm. For those who wish, a small number of optional classes or shared practices may be offered during the week—yoga, meditation, or quiet study—but always without obligation.
Stays can range from a few days to several weeks, depending on availability and the nature of each individual’s intention.
This is not a retreat in the conventional sense, nor is it an ashram in the traditional form. It is something quieter, less defined—a place to live simply for a time, and to remain close to practice without distraction or expectation.
Over the coming years, this direction will continue to take shape more fully as a Yoga Residency. For now, we are allowing it to develop gradually and in direct response to those who feel drawn to this way of being.
Those who sense a resonance with this approach are welcome to get in touch directly.
much love,
Sunshine Ross
"Magic !"
An unforgettable retreat masterfully performed by Sunshine Ross who instilled in me the values of yoga in a gentle and at the same time designated way. A group on a human scale which allowed us to get to know each other more personally. Everything was perfect, the rhythm of the weeks, the class, the material supports, the quality of Sunshine's teachings and above all her kindness, her professionalism and her passion for teaching yoga which inspired us a lot. It went too fast! I recommend ths training with eyes closed.
- Clarisse D.
"Human Training"
This training has given me so much more than I expected! Magical encounters, interesting and captivating lessons. I'm going home with a desire to continue learning and sharing even stronger! THANK YOU 🙏
- Geraldine T.
The Essentials
Please choose to book with us directly and not third party websites.
Getting Here
We are able to pick you up from Castres Train station. Don't hesitate to coordinate your arrival with us.
Flying
Castres Mazamet airport(DCM) - Paris
Our nearest airport is conveniently 20 minutes away by car - Castres Mazamet, daily flights from Paris Orly typically leave and return 3 times per day.
Toulouse Blagnac airport(TLS)
Located just over 1 hour from the Chateau is Toulouse Blagnac airport
Direct flights from these UK airports - London Heathrow/Gatwick/Stansted, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh
Many other cities have direct flights including - Dublin, Amsterdam, Madrid, Lisbon, Frankfurt and Brussels
Carcassonne airport (CCF)
This nearby airport is just under 1hr 20minutes from the chateau by road, regular direct flights from London Stansted, Manchester, Brussels, Dublin, and Porto on budget airlines make this a great option.
Trains
The best way to arrive by train is from Toulouse Matabiau train station. A bus leaves the airport every 20 mins (9.00 euro) it takes around 30 minutes to the train station.
Regular trains depart to Castres from fares as low as 10.00 euro one way and takes between 1hr - 1.30hr.
