Opening the heart

A twelve days yoga and mediation silent retreat
in Equilibre, Colbun, Chile

November 24th to December 5th 2025

Undisturbed calmness and clarity of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion toward suffering, delight in the virtuous and equanimity toward the wicked.
The yoga sutras of Patanjali, 1-33

On this twelve day silent retreat, we will explore the four qualities of the heart: metta (friendliness), karuna (compassion), mudita (appreciative joy) and uppeka (equanimity) referred to in the quote above, and which are known in Buddhism as the Brahma-viharas (divine abodes).
Through a balanced practice of Sati Yoga, we will learn to develop these qualities in order to meet whatever life brings with openness, compassion, joy and clarity.
The Brahma-viharas are a four-fold attitude that we can bring into all our relationships.
Our daily relationships bring to the fore our own darkness and expose our wrong views about ourselves and the world. Hence, they are a tremendous help for self-knowledge and a fertile ground for cultivating these qualities. By withdrawing from these relationships into noble silence (see below) we can reflect, and prepare the ground for this cultivation.
The four elements of Satiyoga: ethics, asana (posture), pranayama (breathwork) and meditation will provide the foundation and structure for this journey together.
Sessions will involve creative explorations of postural practice, integrative breath work, talks and guided meditations, allowing for the theme of the retreat to be explored from various angles.
This retreat is open to everyone with a keen interest for self-knowledge and some experience of yoga or mediation practice. However, in order to ensure that participants are ready to practice in silence for an extended period of time, you will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about yourself and your motivations. We reserve the right to refuse any booking, or may contact you to discuss yours further.

Silence

This retreat is held in noble silence.
This means that participants only talk to the teacher (during group classes or individual interviews) but do not communicate with each others nor with the outside world from the morning of day 2 to the morning of day 11.
In a word full on noise, silence is a powerful tool to bring the mind closer to the beautiful and quiet stillness that we cultivate through yoga. Silence provides an opportunity to develop a new relationship with ourselves and the world. Rather than simply being a gap to be filled, it can become a space in which our innate wisdom can show itself. Free from the usual distractions that stimulate (and often unbalance) the mind, we can begin to experience a different dimension to life, one that was hiding there all along, but that we could not hear because of all the noise.
Thus, bringing silence into our practice gives it another dimension, allowing us to delve deeper into our experience and to touch parts of ourselves that we habitually ignore.
You will be asked to put your phones on airplane mode and won’t have access to the Internet for the duration of the retreat (we will pass on emergency call if need be). Please plan accordingly.

Silence is the language of God
Everything else is poor translation (Rumi)

Location

Equilibre Maule is a horse farm at the foot of the Andes, four hours South of Santiago.
The cabanas in which you will be staying are surrounded by nature, with streams and a river running through the property.
There are options for either individual or shared accommodation, which you can choose when booking.
This exceptionally quiet location close to nature is conductive to the type of practice we will be doing on the retreat.
The weather at this time of the year (late spring) is usually warm and sunny, without being too hot.

Getting there

Equilibre Maule is located in Colbun, close to the town of Linares, in Southern Chile.
Linares is 4 hours by bus from the capital, Santiago, which has regular flights to most European and American cities. Buses in Chile are reliable, cheap and very comfortable, and there are several buses from Santiago to Linares every day. See Rome2rio.com for more details.
From Linares, a 30 mn / $15 taxi ride will take you to Equilibre.

Food

Three delicious vegetarian meals, with vegan option, will be provided every day.
Local or organic produces are used as much as possible.

Daily schedule

7.00 am sitting meditation
7.45 am morning yoga session (asanas)
9.00 am breakfast followed by karma yoga or free time
10.00 practice in nature or with horses
11.00 walking and sitting meditation
13.00 lunch, followed by karma yoga or free time
14.30 walking and sitting meditation, individual interviews with teacher from day 3
16.30 pm guided meditation
17.15 pm afternoon yoga session (pranayama)
18.30 pm light supper, followed by karma yoga or free time
20.00 pm evening talk followed by sitting meditation

The teacher

Kantika (Christophe) has been studying and practising yoga since 1994. He trained in a number of different hatha yoga styles (mostly Iyengar, ashtanga vinyasa, Atma vikasana, and yin) and now teaches Sati yoga, a balanced practice which incorporate sun salutations, yoga postures, pranayama (yogic breathing) as well as meditation.
His quest for a more balanced practice led him early on in his yoga journey to study the teachings of Buddhism, whose practices of ethics, mindfulness and meditation he found to complement and enrich his hatha yoga practice. He now incorporates in his teaching mindfulness of breathing and loving kindness meditation from the Buddhist tradition. He regularly does silent practice retreats under the guidance of more experienced teachers.
Kantika is certified by the Independent Yoga Network as a senior (1000 hours) teacher and teacher trainer and, having taught more than 5000 hours, as a “yoga elder”. He has been running workshops and retreats all over the world for over 25 years.
Fun fact : Kantika is also a very experienced offshore sailor. He has sailed across the Atlantic several times (once single-handed) and even to Antarctica !

Cost of the retreat, donation economy

The cost of food and accommodation on the retreat is payable directly to Equilibre and depends on the type of accommodation you are choosing:

• single accommodation (either a single room in a shared cabana or a small individual cabana): 790 euros
• shared twin room in a shared cabana: 640 euros.

These prices cover food and accommodation, for the retreat, as well as administration costs, but do not include a teaching fee since teaching on this course is by donation.
On the last day of the course, you will be invited to support Kantika’s work by anonymously placing whatever money you feel moved to give in the donation box provided or by making a donation by credit card (through Paypal). This is the Donation economy.
By turning on its head the capitalist assumption that everything has a price, the Donation economy is an attempt at building a new economical paradigm in which you can take what you need and give what you can. Rather than entering into a provider / consumer relationship, you are invited on this retreat to enter, in a spirit of generosity, into an economic relationship which contribute towards a culture of sharing.
Some kinds of knowledge cannot be bought or sold, but can only be freely given. So whatever money you may donate at the end of the course should not be seen as payment for what you got, but rather as a token of gratitude and as a way to support the teacher in a lifestyle that enables him to share his knowledge of yoga and meditation with others.
You may choose other ways to express gratitude. If your financial circumstances are such that you cannot give much, remember that a heartfelt “Thank Yyou” note will probably be worth a lot more than a 50 euros note. In time of doubt, reading it may encourage Kantika to continue doing what he loves doing.

Highlights

• Learn daily asana, pranayama and mediation routines
• 3 delicious vegetarian meals every day with vegan options
• Immerse yourself in a world of peace and tranquillity for 12 days
• Unlimited access to teas and infusions
• 11 nights accommodation
• Teaching is not included, this is by donation

Bookings

First, please complete the booking form here

Contact Equilibre Maule directly to confirm your booking and pay a deposit