monYOGA : Yoga & Cuisine

Since 2018, yoga and cuisine have been equal partners in the quest for a balanced and healthy lifestyle: mindful movement combined with very tasty vegetarian dishes. So healthy, in fact, that the French croissant is allowed on the breakfast table and should not be missed. The Château de Montgaillard in Gascony, France, is the ideal place to combine holidays, exercise, self-care and pampering.

Fun and enjoyment should not be neglected. The joy of discovering at the end of the week that you feel more stable and upright. That your face has become more radiant. That you have not only brought back a few recipes from France, but also the joy and serenity to revive them at home.

CARMEN HERMELING

Yoga makes me happy,' says Carmen, ever since she discovered it! These breath-centred and conscious movements, the breathing exercises and the meditations make me feel calm and peaceful inside and I am completely at peace with myself. In search of the essence of yoga, she spent a few weeks in an Indian ashram and then decided to do a yoga teacher training course, which she successfully completed in early 2018 after 4 years and over 1,000 hours. As a certified yoga teacher (BDY/EYU), she teaches regularly in France and gives workshops in Germany and France. Since 2019, she is taking part in the SVASTHA yoga therapy training with Dr Günter Niessen.

“I can't imagine my life without yoga, it's no longer just about āsana (physical exercises) and prānāyāma (breathing exercises), but about the possibility to find myself. With yoga, I have a tool that I can always use in the vicissitudes of life, that calms me, gives me strength, supports me, and to which I can always return. There will always be a place for yoga in my life, even if it's just half an hour in the morning.
I also find that with yoga, certain things become less important, I can trust the flow of life more, and my trust in the way things work out increases. In my life, yoga has evolved from deepening and learning āsana, prānāyāma, philosophy and teaching to a tool for personal development.”

In her life before yoga, Carmen was a hotel manager, has a Master's degree in History and French, worked at EXPO 2000 in Hannover, designed the cultural programme for IGA 2003 in Rostock, and most recently managed a concert and subscription office for classical concerts in Hannover.

ÅSA MEUNIER

Born in Sweden, Åsa trained as a chef in top Swedish and Danish restaurants. She has worked at Hotel Brøndrums in Skagen, Denmark, with Erwin Lauterbach at Restaurant Saison in Copenhagen, with Michelin-starred chef Melker Andersson and at Patisserie Crème de la Crème alongside Frédéric Terrible.

When Åsa is cooking, nothing can upset her. She prepares her dishes with a lot of love, detailed knowledge and creativity, which she has gained both from her experience with top Scandinavian chefs and from her adopted country, France. She is particularly adept at blending the flavours of Mediterranean cuisine with components from her Scandinavian homeland.

Åsa herself embodies the combination of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. Her great passion is cycling, to which she devotes much of her time. She places great importance on using organic and local produce and processing it in a way that preserves the nutrients and makes it a feast for the palate and the eyes. She also appreciates a good glass of wine as part of a balanced and happy life.