Women’s Retirement Retreat in France
For women approaching retirement, newly retired or navigating life after work, with space to reflect on what matters now and what you want from the years ahead.
Retirement is more than leaving work behind. It is a transition into a new way of living.
Athara’s women’s retirement retreat in France is designed for women approaching retirement, newly retired or navigating life after work.
Retirement can bring freedom and possibility, but also questions about identity, purpose, relationships, changing routines and how you want to spend the years ahead.
It can also arrive at a time when something else is shifting. With decades of life experience behind you, and the physical and psychological changes of menopause and post-menopause, this can be a period of greater clarity about yourself, your values and what deserves your time and energy.
There may be wisdom and experience you want to bring into the world differently, through family, community, creativity, leadership, mentoring or contribution. Or you may want to turn some of that attention towards yourself, your own growth, enjoyment and the possibilities you have not yet explored.
This small-group retreat creates dedicated space to consider these questions, away from the demands and routines of everyday life.
Retirement itself is at the heart of the programme.
Through ACT-informed workshops with Seoka Salstrom, PhD, guided reflection, shared conversation, gentle movement, time outdoors and cultural experiences, you will have space to consider what matters to you now and what you want to move towards.
You will do this alongside other women at a similar stage of life, bringing different experiences, questions and perspectives. The opportunity to learn from one another is an important part of the retreat.
This is not about prescribing what a successful next chapter should look like. It is about creating the space to consider what you want yours to be.
Key details at a glance
MEETING POINT | La Taillede, Eastern French Pyrenees, France
NEXT DATE | 5 to 12 November 2026
WHO IT'S FOR | Women approaching retirement, newly retired or navigating life after work. Solo travellers and introverted women are welcome.
GROUP STYLE | An intimate, small-group retreat with facilitated conversation, reflection and shared experiences. The maximum number of participants for this retreat is 9.
FACILITATOR | Seoka Salstrom, PhD, psychologist, coach, educator and co-founder of Athara Adventures.
PRICE | Dependent on room preference. View pricing and availability.
WHAT'S INCLUDED | Accommodation, retreat programme, meals and activities. See what's included.
BOOKING | Book your place directly online.
PAYMENT OPTIONS | Payment plans and multi-currency checkout available.
Next Women’s Retirement Retreat in France
5th to 12th November 2026
Booking Closes: 15th September 2026
There is no pressure to have everything figured out. Your week will combine guided conversation and reflection with shared experiences, time outdoors, good food and plenty of space to simply be.
What your week might look like:
A Warm Welcome
Arrive, settle into La Taillede and begin the week in a relaxed, supportive small-group setting.
Guided Conversations
Facilitated sessions with Seoka, exploring the questions and possibilities that can come with retirement.
Movement & Embodiment
Daily embodied movement, mindfulness, and somatic practices tailored to the women present.
French Culture
Markets, villages, local food and opportunities to experience everyday life in southern France.
Meaningful Conversations
Share perspectives and learn from women who are approaching retirement, newly retired or navigating life after work.
Space for Yourself
Time to read, journal, rest or simply enjoy the peaceful, expansive surroundings of La Taillede.
Nourishing Food
Chef-prepared meals that support wellbeing while celebrating French food culture.
Time Outdoors
Forest and mountain surroundings, gardens, farm animals, terraces and opportunities to step away from everyday routines.
Have a question before booking?
If this retirement retreat feels right for you, you can book your place directly. There is no requirement to arrange a call first.
If you have a question about the retreat, the programme or what to expect, we're very happy to help.
Themes at the heart of the retreat
The retreat focuses explicitly on retirement and later life.
Across the week, there will be opportunities to explore themes including:
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For some women, retirement coincides with another significant transition: children leaving home or needing you differently.
After years in which parenting and family responsibilities may have shaped the rhythm of daily life, an empty nest can bring a mixture of freedom, possibility, loss and uncertainty.
What changes when others need you differently?
What might you want to make more room for now?
The retreat creates space to explore how your relationships and sense of self may be changing alongside retirement.
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There is no single picture of what life in retirement looks like.
You may be single or partnered, have children or not have children. Your relationships, responsibilities and sources of connection may look very different from those of another woman at the same stage of life.
The retreat does not assume a particular family structure or path through life.
Instead, there is space to consider what connection, community, independence and belonging mean to you, and what you want those parts of your life to look like in the years ahead.
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Retirement also opens the door to a more honest conversation about ageing.
For many women, this stage also follows the physical, emotional and psychological changes of menopause and the transition into post-menopausal life. Alongside its challenges, this can bring changing perspectives, greater clarity about what matters and a different relationship with ourselves, our bodies and the expectations we have carried through life.
There can also be a different kind of wisdom that comes from having lived through change, relationships, work, loss, growth and many different seasons of life.
For some women, that may create a desire to contribute in new ways, whether through mentoring, community, creativity, service or simply sharing what they have learnt.
For others, this stage may be less about giving more and more about turning inward, evolving, enjoying life and making room for what feels nourishing or meaningful now.
There is no single right way to live the years ahead.
The aim is not to romanticise ageing, but to talk about it honestly and consider what you want this stage of life to hold.
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What mattered most at 30, 40 or 50 may not be identical to what matters most today.
Through ACT-informed exercises and discussion, you will have opportunities to reconnect with your values and consider what you want to move towards now.
That might involve relationships, creativity, learning, contribution, travel, adventure, deep rest, community or something you have not yet had space to consider.
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For many of us, what we do becomes intertwined with who we are.
After decades of professional life, retirement or changing course can create space to consider your identity beyond your career and reconnect with other parts of yourself that may have had less room while you were working.
This does not mean rejecting or diminishing what came before.
It is about asking what else belongs in the picture now.
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Retirement can challenge familiar ideas about achievement, usefulness and productivity.
Without the structures and goals of work, what gives a day meaning?
What do you want to contribute, share or pass on?
What feels worth your time and energy?
This retirement and purpose retreat creates room to explore what purpose means to you when professional achievement no longer needs to sit at the centre of your life, including what you want to do with the knowledge, experience and wisdom you have accumulated along the way.
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One of the great opportunities of retirement is increased freedom.
But more freedom also means more choice.
What deserves your time now?
What would you like more room for?
And what might you be ready to do less of, to let go of?
The retreat creates space to think about how you want the rhythm of your life to feel, rather than simply how you want to fill your diary.
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Retirement can affect relationships too.
Partnerships may change when daily routines shift. Friendships may evolve. Family expectations may change. You may find yourself reconsidering how much time and energy you want to give to other people, and how much you want to keep for yourself.
The retreat creates space to explore those changing roles and how you want to show up within them.
It also offers something many retreats for women cannot always provide: sustained time with peers who are asking many of the same questions
An ACT-informed retirement retreat
The retreat draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) alongside current psychological science around human flourishing, behaviour change, relationships and living a meaningful life.
ACT is an evidence-based approach that helps us respond to life as it actually is, rather than waiting for uncertainty or difficult thoughts and feelings to disappear. It helps us stay connected to what matters and make intentional choices about how we want to live.
These ideas can be particularly useful during retirement, when familiar roles and structures are shifting and questions about identity, purpose, relationships and what comes next can take on new meaning.
During the retreat, you might explore:
What matters to me now?
What do I want to move towards?
What might I be ready to make more room for?
How can I make choices that reflect my values?
This is not group therapy. It is a psychologically informed retreat centred on reflection, learning, connection and personal growth.
Exploring retirement alongside other women
You will spend time with women who are approaching retirement, newly retired or navigating life after work, each bringing different experiences, questions and perspectives.
There is real value in sharing this transition with people who understand its context. A conversation over dinner, something shared during a workshop or a question raised on a walk may offer a perspective you had not considered.
And your own experience becomes part of that exchange too.
Learning from one another is an important part of the retreat.
Guided by experience, insight and care
Retreat Facilitation
The retreat is facilitated by Seoka Salstrom, PhD, a psychologist, coach and educator with more than two decades of experience supporting women through significant life transitions.
Her work has spanned healthcare, education, community settings and private practice, with a focus on helping people deepen self-understanding, build resilience and make choices aligned with their values and aspirations.
Throughout the week, Seoka will guide conversations, reflective exercises and experiential activities, creating space to step away from the practicalities of retirement and consider the broader questions this stage of life can bring.
Her approach is compassionate, thoughtful, collaborative and she thinks she can be pretty funny. There is no prescribed version of what retirement should look like, and no expectation that you arrive with answers. Instead, the retreat creates space to reflect, ask questions and consider what matters to you now.
Seoka Salstrom, PhD
Psychologist, coach, educator and co-founder of Athara Adventures.
What might you take away?
A stronger sense of what matters to you, what you want to prioritise, and what you want to let go of.
Greater clarity
Insights from women navigating retirement and later life in different ways.
New perspectives
A greater ability to move forwards without needing everything to feel resolved.
Confidence in uncertainty
Meaningful relationships with women at a similar stage of life, and fresh perspective on what comes next.
Connection and possibility
What’s included and pricing
Everything you need for the core retreat experience is brought together across the week, with time and space to make the experience your own.
What’s included
Seven nights’ accommodation at La Taillede in the Eastern French Pyrenees
Retirement-focused sessions facilitated by Seoka Salstrom, PhD
Guided reflection and experiential activities
Shared group conversations and peer learning
Time for personal reflection, rest and connection
Chef-prepared meals with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients with thoughtful accommodation for all dietary requirements
Guided hiking/walking experiences (optional)
Local cultural experiences such as a visit to a French market
Daily gentle movement designed for you
Women’s health and post-menopause conversation with Laura Duncan, MD https://www.reclaimmenopause.com/
Bookbinding and/or watercolor workshop
Mountain view hot tub & pool and indoor sauna & cold plunge
Transport to and from Barcelona Airport
Detailed packing list and travel/cultural tips
2-3 pre-retreat Zoom orientation meetings
Ongoing planning support leading up to the retreat
Optional pre-trip fitness guidance
Optional post-retreat online community and reunion/s]
Pricing and booking
5th to 12th November 2026
Prices from €4,240 - €5,290 per person
Pricing varies depending on your choice of room, with single/shared accommodation options available and is inclusive of VAT/Taxes.
Payment plans and multi-currency checkout are available.
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No. The retreat is suitable for women approaching retirement as well as women who are already retired.
The important thing is that the questions and possibilities associated with retirement feel relevant to you.
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Not quite. And you don’t have to call yourself a senior.
There are wellbeing elements within the retreat, including movement, nature, rest and shared meals, but the central focus is your chosen life at this stage of life and internal barriers to that life and working with an experienced psychologist who is both compassionate and science-based The workshops and conversations explicitly explore identity, purpose, relationships, values, ageing and what you want from this stage of life.
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The retreat is designed specifically for women in and around retirement age.
Part of the value comes from spending sustained time with peers who bring their own perspectives and experience of this stage of life.
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Yes, although this is more structured and reflective than a traditional holiday.
It combines time away in France with workshops, group discussion, movement, nature, cultural experiences and space for personal reflection.
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The programme is aimed at women around retirement age, but Athara’s language focuses on life stage rather than defining participants primarily as “senior citizens”.
If retirement is relevant to your life and the themes of the retreat resonate with you, the retreat may be a good fit.
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No.
The retreat is psychologically informed and incorporates principles from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, but it is not group therapy.
Retreat FAQS
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Yes. Women are very welcome to attend alone.
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No. You choose what you want to contribute. There are opportunities for conversation and reflection, but no expectation that you share more than feels comfortable.
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No.
If the retreat feels right for you, you can book your place directly, and then Seoka will schedule a meeting with you to get to know you and how she and the group can support your intentions.
If you have questions before deciding, you are very welcome to contact us.
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As a French company, Athara Adventures is required to list and process payments in euros (€).
If you prefer to pay in USD, simply select USD as your preferred currency during checkout. The equivalent amount in U.S. dollars will be displayed automatically using the current exchange rate at the time of booking.
If you are paying from the U.S., we recommend selecting USD during checkout. This can help you avoid additional foreign transaction fees from your credit card provider and may provide a more favourable exchange rate than the one offered by your card issuer.
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The retreat price shown on our website already includes the mandatory 20% French tax, so this will not be added as an additional charge during checkout.
If you choose to pay by credit card, you will see a small service fee at checkout. This is the payment processing fee.
You are also welcome to pay by bank transfer if you would prefer to avoid the credit card service fee.
Using a credit card may still be worthwhile if your card offers cashback or travel rewards. For example, if your card offers 5% cashback and the service fee is 3%, paying by card may still provide a net benefit.
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Your total will be clearly displayed at checkout before you complete your booking.
If you are paying in USD, this will reflect the current exchange rate at the time of booking.
If you're unsure what a particular fee or charge means, look for the small information (ⓘ) icon beside the item during checkout. Clicking or hovering over it will usually provide additional details.
Ready to explore what comes next?
If this retreat feels right for you, you can book your place directly. If you have a question before deciding, we’re very happy to help.
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