Why I started Contour Retreats
From the founderI’ve taught Pilates for almost twenty years. I’m also a sommelier, and for most of that time the two were separate lives.
A class is fifty minutes. It’s enough to move well and never quite enough to know the people on the mats beside you. A week is different. You practice together in the morning, spend the day somewhere new, and sit down to dinner with the same people every night. By the end of it, you know each other.
I’ve spent years learning which wine regions are worth the trip and who in them is worth meeting. This is where my two lives finally meet, and I’d love for you to join me.
-Jenna
What matters to usDinner together
Every evening, everyone sits down at the same table. It’s the simplest part of the week and the one guests remember most.
Local experts
A sommelier from down the road, a chef in the villa’s kitchen, an olive oil maker who has spent his life in the groves. Nobody knows the region better, so they’re the ones who share it.
Every detail handled
Transfers, meals, reservations, and the full plan are settled before you board your flight.
Time to yourself
Some afternoons are left open on purpose, for the pool, a nap, or a long walk through the olive trees.
Pilates every morning
A small class with real attention, so you start each day feeling good in your body.
Who joins usThe planners. The ones who usually organize everything for everyone else and want one week where someone has already thought of it all.
The travelers. People with time to finally see the places they’ve been saving, who would rather settle into one beautiful home than spend a week on a tour bus.
The solo guests. Coming on your own is easy here. With fourteen people and dinner together every night, nobody stays a stranger for long.
Your hosts
Jenna Howell
The founderJenna is a Balanced Body Master Instructor who has taught Pilates for almost twenty years and has owned her own studio, Contour Pilates in Atlanta, for eight.
She is also a certified sommelier. She was part of the opening team at Atlas, now a Michelin starred restaurant, and served as Director of Education at the Atlanta Wine School. That is how she knows which regions are worth a week and which producers are worth an afternoon.
On the retreat, she teaches every morning and sits at every dinner. For the tastings, she brings in the local winemakers and sommeliers who know these vineyards best.
Susan Leeder
Lead instructorSusan has been a comprehensively trained Balanced Body Susan is the lead instructor at Contour Pilates and has been a comprehensively trained Balanced Body instructor since 2013. She spent several years studying and working under the master instructors at the Atlanta studio where she trained, and she has continued her education with respected teachers across the Pilates industry ever since.
Susan believes movement is for every body. She teaches with a sharp eye and good intuition, helping each person find the way of moving that feels strongest and most natural to them.
On the retreat, she is in every morning class helping with cues and adjustments, and she co-leads the workshop with Jenna.
Fourteen guests, one week.
Arrive as strangers, leave as friends.Every part of the retreat is built around a small group and time spent together. If that sounds like your kind of trip, start with a short application and Jenna will be in touch personally.
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