Founder
A personal journey
I’m Tamsin Jardinier, a teacher, coach, cook, and creative, living in the quiet village of Montesquieu in Southwest France. I came here thirteen years ago, after losing my mother in 2008, returning to the country house she had bought before her illness. What began as a place of refuge gradually became my home and the foundation of Little French Retreat.
Set into the old ramparts of the village, my home is both a working studio and a sanctuary. From here, I teach yoga, host retreats, and coach women who want to move into the next phase of their life with clarity, creativity, and alignment.
My path began in the arts, then moved into leadership roles in luxury retail, before loss led me toward a quieter, more embodied way of living. Through yoga, Ayurveda, creative practice, and honest conversation, I help women restore ease in body and mind, reconnect to what matters, and build lives that feel true.
When I’m not teaching or coaching, I’m making pots, cooking, writing, taking photographs, or walking Edie, my ageing hunting dog along the village paths.
Little French Retreat continues to grow from the same place it began: a desire to live simply, listen deeply, and support others in returning to themselves.
For my creative practices - www.tamsinjardinier.com
Approach to Yoga
My teaching style takes inspiration from the school of Sivananda Yoga, having trained and practiced in this way for many years.
I offer a simple practice that unfolds at a steady pace; slow, strong, and restorative, with a focus on spinal mobility, nervous system balance, and emotional regulation.
Through gentle intentional movements and full-spectrum breath, the practice supports your body’s natural intelligence and opens the way for inner clarity.
Yoga is more than exercise, it is a moment of reconnection, to return to what it means to be yourself, without the layers of tension pulling in all directions, offering you a way to feel both anchored and uplifted, attuned and alive to the present moment.
qualifications
YOGA
I hold a 500-hour teacher training certificate from Sivananda Yoga Vidya Peetham in Kerala, where I studied under the guidance of Swami Govindananda Saraswati. Rooted in an ancient lineage over 1,000 years old, the school follows the classical teachings of Sivananda Yoga and its five foundational principles, blending breath, movement, rest, diet, and meditation as a holistic path to well-being.
Before the pandemic, I spent winters in India to deepen my practice and share the experience with others, leading groups to Kerala and the Himalayas to immerse in the birthplace of Yoga and its transformative spirit. Though I haven’t yet returned, my practice continues to evolve, now enriched by the meditative science of Dr. Joe Dispenza, the introspective stillness of Yin Yoga, and the embodied awareness of Somatic Movement.
AYURVEDA
I am training under the guidance of David Frawley at the American Institute of Vedic Studies to become an Ayurvedic Life-Style Consultant. A 300hr course of this ancient healing system that originates from India. Ayurveda treats the physical body and its’ ailments and includes psychology and yogic spirituality as a holistic system of healing that considers our entire nature as body, mind and spirit for best health.
FOOD
A self-trained cook with a passion for vegetarian food and natural ingredients, inspired by Ayurvedic principles; that food is energy and medicine for healing. I have cooked in ashrams, on retreats and for supper clubs. For further information on my approach to food and online recipe book please visit HERE
inspiration
SWAMI GOVINDANANDA SARASWATI
They say your teacher appears when the student is ready. I had the fortune of meeting Swami Govindananda on a trip to Kerala in 2013 and have appreciated his guidance since. A true master of energy management and delivering Yogic philosophy in an uncomplicated and practical way to apply to our contemporary western lifestyles. He taught me the benefits of teaching and practicing slowly to feel a deep sense of peace.