Lower Saxony & Bremen: New trends in the heath – Yoga retreats are in

Lower Saxony & Bremen
New trends in the heath – yoga retreats are in

25.09.2024, 06:07

Years ago, the tourist region of Lüneburg Heath was mainly associated with carriage rides and hikes. Nowadays, the offer also attracts younger people – yoga is really in demand.

Oberhaverbeck (dpa/lni) – The program in the former horse stable on the Stimbekhof in Oberhaverbeck in the middle of the Lüneburg Heath is planned for the entire year 2025. “We are already planning 26/27 for our yoga weekends with various providers,” reports managing director Björn Bohlen. It was his initiative to set up a high-quality, modern floor as a yoga room in a two-story historic stable.

The preservation of historical monuments had to be taken into account in the project covering 160 square meters – the oak wood for the parquet from the region smells good, and in winter the underfloor heating is particularly important. The idea behind it: to appeal to guests for the 27 rooms in the thatched roof ensemble from 1920 near Bispingen not only in the hiking season, but also in the cold months.

In addition, the offer will also be open to interested women from the surrounding area, says Bohlen: “Yoga for the region is a unique selling point and enriches the farm.” Frauke Bleeken from Wintermoor came for a trial lesson including exercises such as downward dog and cobra. “The room alone has a great atmosphere,” says the 41-year-old. The audience is almost exclusively female.

“You can see that a lot is happening, a lot is changing in the heath,” confirms Hamburg yoga teacher Mandy Klees, who regularly offers retreats with up to 20 people from Thursday to Sunday in the nature reserve. The catchment area extends across the whole of northern Germany. “It’s definitely a trend that’s taking place,” says the managing director of Lüneburger Heide GmbH, Ulrich von dem Bruch. The spa town of Bad Bevensen also held yoga in the spa house for the first time – the courses were well received.

Several providers in the Lüneburg Heath – also in the forest

The increased interest in the Indian teaching of mental and physical exercises was also confirmed by the barefoot park in Egestorf. On the hilly terrain south of Hamburg on the A7, the yoga path has been expanded to become a “forest of silence” with various stations for listening, feeling, seeing and smelling. “Just go in, keep your mouth shut and notice what you feel,” is how Kerstin Albers, managing director of the barefoot park, describes the concept.

The nine yoga stations can be explored independently, and various teachers also offered one- to two-hour courses during the season until the end of September. At the last station, a so-called train of thought was designed with folding panels. When opened, a saying and a mirror can be seen.

“It’s like forest bathing,” says Albers. Different temperatures in the forest and different bird chirpings can be discovered in the Park of the Senses. The offers were very well received, even though they are heavily dependent on the weather.