The Mat Movement is the collaboration of Collette and Pete. Two wanderers and writers who share a gift for taking care of people and bringing them together through yoga, food and wellness.
Travelling the world, we hunted out the perfect venues to host our soulful yoga journeys in Bali, Europe and India. Luxurious, elegant properties built with love by inspirational people who have poured heart and soul into making them like nowhere else.
Along the way we’ve filmed online classes and expanded Pete’s portfolio of incredible vegan and vegetarian food. He regularly updates the website with new recipes and inventions and you can learn more about what we cook and teach below.
The story of The Mat Movement began in Collette’s little flat in Leeds a few years ago. Every Friday night she would teach yoga to a group of friends while Pete prepared something nourishing in the kitchen. There would be tea and wine and all the good things that come from happy people sharing sweet space and time together.
Our first retreat was simply a way to bring more of these beautiful souls together and have more of the same yoga goodness. So we hosted 16 friends at a cosy, converted barn in the Peak District, England. Since then, our retreats have grown from that same place of family and connection and continue to be an experience where everyone is welcome.
We hold a very safe space and offer lightness, rest and inspiration. Our intention is to create the conditions where you can reconnect to yourself and the world around you with an increased awareness, greater ease and an overall feeling of wellbeing.
Pete on food…
There is nothing more rewarding than looking after you on retreat. It warms my heart. Look, that’s me, there – smiling in the kitchen. Part of the magic of our retreats is the teamwork. Collette has the yoga covered. I have the kitchen covered. Between us, we look after you through your retreat journey.
We offer an incredibly fresh, uplifting, colourful, considered and nutritious plant-based menu. It varies greatly from day to day to leave you satisfied, inspired and excited about tomorrow. I’m happy when you’re happy – so it’s an absolute pleasure to fill the table with food to make you smile.
Cooling iced teas. Fresh, exciting, vitamin-packed juices and smoothies. Abundant, inspiring, colourful salads. Warming, wholesome, thoughtful, tasty mains and the odd sweet treat here and there. The food is balanced to compliment the yoga journey and to optimise your health.
We’ve included some retreat recipes for you to try here on the website in the ‘RECIPES’ section. We’ll add more as we go. We’ve also included an example menu from our Tres Posh Retreat in Ibiza so you’ve a sense of what we’d love to serve you if you decide to come along.
Collette on yoga…
To move into stillness and dive into the unseen realms of reality is what calls to me. It’s what brings me to my mat each day, invites me to meditation and inspires me to teach. To share the practices, wisdom and resources that I have been gifted by my teachers so others can experience the fullness of themselves and the world around them. My intention is to empower people through yoga so they can rise up and be guided more deeply by their purpose and truth.
My path has led me to train with some of the yoga world’s most inspirational light beings, including Sianna Sherman, Leila Sadeghee, Bridget Luff, Tara Judelle, Elena Brower and Ana Forrest. I am endlessly grateful for their love and knowledge and weave their teachings into my classes.
I create a safe space for my students before pouring soulful, thematic sequences into their bodies, taking them on a journey towards a peak pose that embodies the intention. Fluid, liberating and technical, I often sequence to music, dancing on the breath for an immersive experience. One that seeks to bring students into an acute awareness of the dynamic stillness that is inside them and all around them. Inviting them into their own greatness and offering resources to manage daily life, while having some fun along the way.
The Mat Movement 