I have had a number of messages with questions about this retreat this May in Devon so, in this video, I hopefully speak to those.

The most important thing is, you do not have to be an olympic meditator. This is suitable for all levels. The intention of the retreat is that this is a purposeful reconnection with yourself and the natural world and you are not being forced to be silent. There will be moments where we can come together and share our experiences and those things that come up in the practice. Ultimately, this is how we learn.

Yet, sitting quietly like many of our practices together, can over time give way to a much deeper silence and you only need to touch that to know it is there, all the time, waiting for you.

This retreat will become the journey within, in a safe and guided space. The most divine and most sacred thing is you so remember, you are the thing to be discovered.

WHEN

3pm Tuesday 14th May to 11am Saturday 18th May 2024

This retreat is created for those who are interested in exploring Meditation and the true intention of a retreat.

In our time together, we will be exploring the wild and free practice of sitting out in nature, where we commit to staying steady in the natural world for longer and longer periods of time.

You will not be restricted to sitting in one posture (you can sit, you can lay down and even take moments to stand up and stretch), nor will you be restricted to being outside as we have a beautiful practice space, yet wherever we find ourselves, we will set up our space and remain there for the duration of each sitting practice.

We will start with an hour and over our time together, build up the length of out sit.  

At the beginning of each day, we will gather and I will share the technique for that day. There will be opportunity for everyone to meet with me privately every day. In the evening there will be a mostly silent Yin Yoga practice with a dharma talk threaded in parts during practice. There will be a common room space for those who wish to talk to gather.

For some of you this might sound intense and it is, yet this is actually the most wonderful way in which to engage with your body, your breath, your mind and nature’s ability to support the efforts held within your own practice. We set up our container as we always do and we are encouraged to focus our awareness on the natural world both inwardly and outwardly. 

The techniques will be simple with the intention to explore seeing, feeling and listening all the while encouraging us to experience the movements of our breath, the movements of our own minds and the movements all around us over longer and longer periods of time.

The Coach House at The Sharpham Trust in Devon is a wonderful place to do this work. This is an intimate and comfortable venue with space for everyone to have their own bedroom.

Our food is homegrown vegan / vegetarian seasonal food with the produce from Sharpham’s own organic garden or sourced from local suppliers such a Riverford and Sharpham cheese. Drinking water at Sharpham is provided from a spring.

Building our community, you will be asked to be involved in everyday tasks by contributing to tidying the kitchen and dining room after meals, washing up and those of you who wish, can even help the kitchen prepare vegetables.

THE COACH HOUSE
The Coach House is a beautifully converted 18th century stable block set in the stunning scenery of Sharpham House in Devon on the banks of the River Dart.

Meals are served in the wonderful light filled timber framed extension and there is also a small library where participants can meet with either myself or each other during the day. The Coach House has its own walled garden, a patio and you will also have access to the wider gardens of Sharpham House including the woodland garden, lawns, orchards and the open air swimming pool. 

There are extensive private walking routes around the estate if you wish to take your practice into walking Meditation.

WHAT TO EXPECT

We arrive from 3pm on Tuesday with time to settle before a gentle Yin practice. You can enjoy some delicious food, connect with each other before we embrace silence from when we retire to our own rooms.

The daily schedule for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be much the same, beginning with a silent sit before breakfast. In the morning I will frame the practice instructions for the day and then we will move our practice outside for the morning.

After lunch, the afternoon is a period for exploring practice further, or you can of course go for a walk, swim in the outdoor pool or indeed rest. There will be an appointment schedule hung in the main dinning area for those wishing to book a time to meet with me in private.

Late afternoon we will have a long Yin practice to stretch out our bodies, hearts and minds. You will have opportunity each evening after supper, to come together in the main hall to discuss any issues that may have arisen during your practice. This is optional and for those wishing to remain in silence for the duration of your stay, you are completely free to do so. I will encourage as much as possible remaining in the space of quiet.

Yin Yoga practices will be quieter than normal and long moments of silence. Meals will taken in silence so we can be respectful of other's wish for complete silence throughout their time on retreat. I am suggesting light's out after 9.30pm although you are free to go for a night walk within the grounds.

This is a nature practice and this is the UK so be prepared for all weather conditions and temperatures. Bring with you appropriate clothing - waterproofs, jumper, hat, blanket, shawl, boots and whatever you feel you will need to embrace nature during your sitting practice. I will bring my Meditation cushion and it will be wrapped in a bin-liner!

I will provide bolsters, bricks and blocks for Yoga and the centre does have Yoga mats although I recommend you bring your own.

To remind you, you will be expected to contribute to clearing up after meals, washing up and you will need to strip your bed at the end of your stay and re-make you bed with the cleans bedding provided. 

In this way, you can see that this is no ordinary retreat…

I am not one for rules as you know by now however, I suggest in order to truly feel the benefits of this silent retreat, that you leave your phone with me during your stay and leave your books and journals at home. You can give your family a number to call in case of an emergency and focus yourself on the immediacy of each moment.

Something happens in retreat that does not happen in the studio, which is that you experience a way of being human where the natural world, the life around you, and the life within you, the weather, the season cycles, become much more felt and experienced in your body, in your mind.

This is where the door opens, it opens from inside and opens to a level of experience that we have all been looking for, longing for, yet rarely get to experience in everyday life.

We don’t touch our own freedom, we touch this vast open empty space of our being and from this we can begin to experience the energy that we actually are. It is called coming home as we enter into who we really are..