Residential Yoga and Meditation Retreats in the Laurentian Mountains, Quebec

Each day follows the same shape. You get up for morning yoga and meditation, eat a vegetarian breakfast, and then join whatever afternoon programme that week's retreat is built around. In the evening there is satsang — chanting, a talk and meditation — before the day ends. The hours in between are unscheduled, and most people use them for the forest trails, the lake, reading or resting.

What separates this from a one-off yoga holiday is the length of the operation and the consistency of the teaching. The camp has run since 1962 and every retreat is led by teachers in the Sivananda tradition, working from the classical teachings of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda. The daily format does not change from week to week, so you can book a weekend, a week, or a themed programme and know what your days will look like.

The themed weeks are where the range shows. A week might be built around bringing your hatha yoga practice to the next level, around pranayama and prana, around the mysteries of Sanskrit, around a kitchari detox, or around meditation and silence. There are also programmes on aging gracefully, yoga and osteopathy, yoga and vitality, and spiritual practice for busy people. Holiday periods have their own retreats: Thanksgiving, Halloween, The Magic of Christmas and New Year's Sadhana.

The setting is the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, with forest trails on the property and a lake for swimming. Accommodation is on site and room options vary by retreat and season, so the individual retreat page is where you check what is available and what it costs. Meals are vegetarian and included, cooked according to yogic principles.

All levels are welcome and most retreats have no prerequisites. The camp states that its retreats are open to everyone, from complete beginners to experienced practitioners, and that most welcome participants of all ages and experience levels. You register through the individual retreat page for the dates you want.

What's included

- Daily yoga and meditation sessions - Vegetarian meals - Accommodation on site - Evening satsang (chanting, talk and meditation) - Access to the retreat's scheduled programmes - Use of the grounds, forest trails and lake

What's not included

- Travel to and from the camp - Travel insurance - Personal toiletries and personal expenses - Items listed in your registration confirmation that you are asked to bring - Any individual retreat inclusions that vary from the standard programme