What if you gave yourself a week to slow down, listen to what vibrates within you, and find a space for expression? The Soul Sanctuary retreat invites you for seven days into the heart of the Ardèche forest with Isabelle (Hangala) and me. On the agenda: handpan, movement, meditation, introspection, and personal and spiritual development practices, in a group of eleven people maximum. Here is everything you need to know about the 2027 editions.
The essentials
- Two dates in 2027: April 16 to 22 and October 10 to 16.
- Location: Domaine du Taillé, in the heart of the Ardèche forest.
- Duration: 7 days and 6 nights in one place.
- Group: 11 participants maximum.
- Languages: in French and English.
- Rate: from €555 to €650 depending on the booking phase, accommodation and meals extra.
- No experience with the handpan or music is necessary: a handpan is provided for everyone.
What is the Soul Sanctuary retreat?
Soul Sanctuary is a week to step out of the automatic rhythm, return to the body, and listen to what is really happening inside you. Handpan, movement, meditation, introspection, and personal and spiritual development practices complement each other to create a coherent path of exploration.
You have nothing to achieve or become. You are invited to slow down, feel, experiment, and let a more authentic way of living your life emerge.
Here, your sensitivity is not an obstacle: it becomes a doorway for listening, creation, and presence. A superpower.
Isabelle and Warren
Is this retreat for you?
Soul Sanctuary is for those who feel the call for a deep break, a space for creation, and a more conscious encounter with themselves. It is for you if:
- you need to slow down and step away from an overloaded daily life;
- you want to transform your sensitivity, or hypersensitivity, into a resource rather than an overload;
- you are looking to calm your nervous system and learn tools for your daily life;
- you wish to find more presence in your body and in your choices;
- sound, the handpan, meditation, or spiritual, energetic, symbolic, and shamanic practices attract you;
- you want to express what words aren’t always enough to say;
- you are looking for a human experience without competition or judgment;
- you feel the call of nature, sound, and silence.
The retreat doesn’t give you a ready-made answer: it helps you create the space in which your own can appear.
The five pillars of Soul Sanctuary
Each practice opens a different door. Together, they connect the body, sound, consciousness, symbolism, and the collective.
Handpan and expression
Exploring sound as an intuitive language and transforming your feelings and emotions into music.
Body and movement
Returning to sensations through gentle and conscious physical practices.
Meditation and presence
Cultivating silence, attention, and a more stable relationship with the present moment.
Introspection and archetypes
Observing your inner narratives and meeting different facets of yourself to learn to know yourself better.
Sound journeys and shamanic ceremonies
Experiencing guided journeys with the drum and handpan, around cacao and other sacred plants, in an explicit and respectful setting. To learn more about these practices, read my articles on shamanic journeying and the shamanic drum.
A week designed as an initiatory journey
The retreat follows a gentle progression:
- Arriving: gradually leaving the outside rhythm, meeting the place, the group, and the intention.
- Anchoring: returning to the body, the breath, and sensations to establish a stable presence.
- Exploring: entering into musical, meditative, symbolic, and sound practices.
- Expressing: allowing more space for creativity, sharing, and what wishes to be transformed.
- Integrating: connecting insights to daily life and preparing for the return.
The program adapts to the rhythm of the group and includes time for yourself and rest.
The handpan, a language for what cannot be said
The handpan naturally invites us to slow down, listen, and respond. During the retreat, it becomes a space for expression where gesture, rhythm, and emotion meet, without seeking performance:
- listening to resonances, silences, and the quality of presence;
- touching the instrument with a more conscious relationship between gesture and sound;
- improvising simple phrases based on your feelings;
- playing together and entering into a musical dialogue with the group.
The goal isn’t to play perfectly, but to play from a truer place. If you are discovering the instrument, read What is a handpan? and the handpan, a vibrational portal.
Domaine du Taillé, in the heart of the Ardèche forest
Domaine du Taillé offers a calm and enveloping environment, conducive to withdrawal, walking, silence, and presence. Its forest invites you to slow down and find a simple contact with the living world.
The practices take place in a villa with unique architecture, whose shape evokes a handpan. Some even see it as a spaceship, taking us into another dimension for a week out of time.
Meals are vegetarian, prepared on-site by an exceptional team of chefs who are an integral part of the experience. Gluten and lactose intolerances, as well as other allergies, are taken into account if reported in advance. Accommodation and catering are provided on-site and billed separately, directly by the Domaine.
A circle of 11 people maximum
The group is intentionally limited so that we are truly available, can adjust the proposals, and respect everyone’s rhythm. The circle is based on listening, respect, confidentiality, and consent: you remain free to ask a question, request an adaptation, or not participate in a proposal.
Who leads the retreat?
Isabelle (Hangala) is a handpan player and certified coach specializing in hypersensitivity. She helps people better understand their perception of the world and transform this sensitivity into a resource, by linking music, meditation, mindfulness, body awareness, and stress management.
Warren Shanti, that’s me: artist, handpan teacher, facilitator of immersive experiences, and shamanic practitioner. I create spaces where sound, movement, introspection, and symbolic practices support a return to oneself. To know more about me, read my journey.
Dates and rates for the Soul Sanctuary 2027 retreat
- Spring edition: April 16 to 22, 2027.
- Autumn edition: October 10 to 16, 2027.
Three rates follow one another according to the order of bookings:
- Early bird 1: €555 for the first 2 people registered;
- Early bird 2: €600 for the next 3 registrations;
- Normal rate: €650 for the last 6 spots.
The rate covers the guidance, activities, and all tools and consumables for the week, such as sacred cacao. Your spot is confirmed by a deposit of €300; the balance is paid at the latest on the first day of the retreat. Payment in up to three installments at no extra cost is possible upon request: everything is explained in my article on paying in installments. Accommodation and catering are paid directly to Domaine du Taillé.
Cancellation conditions
- up to 90 days before: full refund;
- between 89 and 60 days before: the deposit is kept;
- less than 60 days before: no refund, except in cases of justified force majeure;
- your spot can be transferred to another person, upon agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I already need to play the handpan?
No. The handpan sessions are guided and focused on listening and expression, not on performance. We start from the basics: no experience with the instrument or music is necessary.
Should I bring my own instrument?
No, we provide a handpan for each participant. If you already have your own, you can bring it.
Is the retreat bilingual?
Yes. It is guided in French and English depending on the participants present: Isabelle and I are bilingual.
Are dietary requirements taken into account?
Meals are vegetarian. Needs related to gluten and lactose, as well as other allergies or intolerances, are taken into account if reported in advance.
How many people participate?
Eleven maximum, to preserve the intimacy of the group and the quality of our exchanges.
Reserve your spot
Seven days to slow down, listen, create, and share in an intimate setting in the heart of Ardèche. Take the time to feel the call, then reserve your spot among the eleven participants. Have a question before signing up? Write to us.
