Moroccan meditation: Stretching out on a yogic break in soothing Berber

Dust clouds sway like ghosts dancing to an inaudible tune across miles of Moroccan dessert.

I’m only 15 minutes south of Marrakech, but the soil’s already darkened to a deep, blood-clot red that clashes violently with the cobalt sky above. Spindly Argan trees feature goats that have clambered into the branches and nibble on the fruit (yes, really), a snapshot of surreal comedy against nature’s stark, beautiful reality.

It’s my first up-close and personal foray into Morocco’s rural centre, despite having fallen head over heels for mad old Marrakech eight years beforehand.

Yoga class outside

Rustic retreat: Lalla Abouch offers yoga courses set in the beautiful Moroccan countryside

There’s something intoxicating about the swirling, jasmine-soaked souks, the thrill of losing yourself in the medina only to wind up on a rooftop drinking pomegranate martinis hours later.

I’ve returned several times since to enjoy the city’s myriad hidden bars, supper clubs and late night lounges. But this time I want a different kind of escapism, one that’s less hedonism, more health.

‘We’ve the perfect place’, Rosena, the Irish founder of Moroccan concierge experts Boutique Souk, assures me before arranging a car to drive me the three-hour journey south into Morocco’s Berber country.

Thirty miles south of the colonial port city of Essaouira, our jeep turns inland, swerves sharply at a junction and turns up an invisible, potholed dirt road through fields of carefully irrigated vegetable patches and chicken coops. A donkey brays ‘hello’ as I clamber out, the only contender to shatter the silent calm of our weekend lodgings.

Named Lalla Abouch after ‘Lady Argan‘ and Morocco’s famous Argan tree, the guesthouse embodies what many ‘boutique’ lodgings strive for yet often fail to achieve. Chic and rustic, it proffers the perfect balance between comfort and style – the home from home I’ll never replicate no matter how many Elle Decoration subscriptions I sign up for.

Plunge pool

Taking the plunge: The refreshing pool is lined with plants and a traditional stone wall

Beaming Lucreiza, the Italian who runs this hideaway, gives me a tour of the farm’s intimate selection of cosy rooms, all located around a bougainvillea-splashed courtyard, before ushering me onto the farm’s charming alfresco terrace for fresh mint and ginger tea.

Terracotta pots trickle fresh water into a plunge pool overlooking acres of lovingly tended vegetable patches, whilst wild tortoises sunbathe lazily in the afternoon rays as kitchen hands gingerly navigate them whilst plucking robust courgettes for the evening meal.

Food is a big draw at Lalla Abouch – so don’t go thinking this is yoga with all the normal detox-wheatgrass-deprivation tags. Lunch, though simple, is lip-smackingly good: home-plucked bitter leaves; creamy local goats cheese; cumin-crusted courgettes, caramelised carrots; a fuchsia pink beetroot dip; wholegrain couscous studded with ruby pomegranate seeds.

Each bite radiates with energy and (forgive the hippy hyperbole) is offered up with love. Lucreiza beams as I eat.

‘We like to give an alkaline, vegetarian diet during the retreats’, she explains. ‘It’s a good for body cleaning and rejuvenation.’

I come away from the meal feeling more satiated than many of my finest dining experiences back in the UK.

Goats in an Argan tree
Lalla Abouch

Unusual sights: Goats love to climb the Argan trees, while Lalla Abouch has plenty of quiet corners for relaxing

Besides intensive, twice daily yoga and meditation sessions lasting two hours a go, Lalla Abouch offers a real (and rare) opportunity to totally unplug from daily life.

As Lucreiza concedes, ‘the natural elements are deep and strong’, so the entire operation of the farm and its retreats has been designed to really embrace the local surrounds – and the produce found within it.

Better still, my experience isn’t marred by the constant checking of Blackberry’s or broadband; connectivity here is slim to none. Sure, it’s a little disconcerting at first, but after several hours our entire party agrees we’re happy for the forced technology amnesty.

With no one to tweet or CC, I instead sink into an indulgent afternoon of reading in the farm’s huge hammock, slung beneath the boughs of the Argan tree. I doze, stirring only when the attention seeking donkey’s comical eey-awww or Lucreiza’s quiet, smiling kitchen hands water the fragrant herb garden. I’ve done no yoga yet, but I can already see why Moroccan specialists Boutique Souk thought they’d ‘struck gold’ when stumbling upon the farm.

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At four, our group heads to the back of the farm for our first outdoor yoga session. A selection of accouterments – blocks, ropes, mats, rugs and even handmade lavender eye bags made by Lucreiza’s staff – await us, as does our twinkly eyed instructor, Lisa.

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Lisa exudes the kind of calm, energised confidence that comes (I imagine) from practising and teaching Iyengar yoga internationally for over 15 years. She guides us into an afternoon meditation, encouraging us to focus on our breath as birds caw overhead and bees work the final fragments of pollen from flowers facing an inevitable autumn decline.

The meditation lasts half an hour. Focussing on your breath and not a thousand other things is harder than I thought.

‘Be an observer of your mind’, Lisa coaxes. ‘Let the thoughts flow through rather than attaching to them; it’s a wonderful trick to avoid getting upset about stuff back home.’

It’s already hard to imagine ‘home’, such is the all-consuming cocoon of Lucreiza’s domain.

Twilight meditation

From dawn ’til dusk: Twilight meditations complete the day’s activities

Post-meditation, Lisa ratchets things up considerably, stretching my limbs – and concentration – beyond what I thought possible. ‘If it tingles, you know you’re doing something right.’ I wince as my hamstring seizes. Lisa catches me and affirms, ‘acknowledge the pain, but don’t attach yourself to it.’

Easier said than done. After an hour and a half of contortions and even a bonifide headstand – who knew! – we finish with a twilight meditation, eyes opening just in time to see the full moon rise over the crest of a hill.

More meditation kicks off our second day – early. I can’t help but spy the hammock – will Lisa notice if I slip into it as still as a corpse? Underfoot, nutty shells of old Argan fruits release aromas that stir the stomach and make me wonder if I can last until breakfast.

In true yogic conduct, no food should be taken before practice and our fennel and potato soup the night before seems a long time ago. But I will myself to focus and find my limbs soon relax into the postures.

Lisa is military in her precision and encouraging in her approach, pushing us like no other yoga teacher I’ve encountered. But when you’re holding poses for as long as 12 minutes at a time, I soon learn this holistic equivalent of a personal trainer is key to maintaining stamina.

As we finish our final posture in an elevated plank, something that requires equal parts coordination, breathing and balance, she reminds us, ‘don’t worry guys, the next part of your day is going to be all about pleasure!’

Indeed it is. As we return from the morning’s yoga, the farm’s brunch is laid out like a buffet for the Buddha. Carafes of beetroot, apple and ginger juice sit beside thick, nut-studded Bircher muesli, newly-leavened bread and homegrown fig jams rub shoulders with coriander couscous and fava dips, earthenware bowls of giant roasted vegetables and softly cooked lentils find space next to bulging wheat berries drizzled with homemade Argan oil. We look on in stunned, appreciative silence.

Then the donkey brays, as if in approval, or maybe in prayer? Either way, if you ever find yourself at Lalla Abouch, you’ll discover there’s plenty to be thankful for.

Travel Facts

Lalla Abouch offers retreats from March 8-12, May 3-7, September 27-October 1 and November 8-12.

Rates start from £600 per person* including return airport transfers from Marrakech to Lalla Abouch, full-board accommodation with vegetarian cuisine, six yoga sessions, one complimentary massage per person and more massages on request (for an additional cost). Accommodation is based on two sharing. Single supplement applies.

Book the Lalla Abouch Yoga Retreat through bespoke Marrakech travel company Boutique Souk – www.boutiquesouk.com.

BoutiqueSouk can also extend the yoga retreat into a longer trip including a stay in Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains.

easyjet (www.easyJet.com) flies to Marrakesh from London Gatwick and Manchester. Prices one way start from £34.99 and include all taxes (prices may vary).