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About the weekendThis bank holiday weekend yoga retreat offers you an opportunity to step out of your everyday life and find the space and strength to develop new ideas and ideals.
The retreat takes place in my peaceful rural yoga studio just outside Milverton, near Taunton, Somerset. The venue is surrounded by fields and woods, with walks from the doorstep offering extensive views over the Quantock hills. It offers the perfect space to get away from it all and think more freely.
Yoga practice
Over the course of the weekend, we will work with a variety of active yoga exercises. You will learn how to stretch and open your body in a free and liberating way. Whether you are new to yoga or have some previous experience, the aim will be to improve your practice. We will work in a detailed way with the various positions, so that you get a thorough understanding of how to do them. You will receive individual help in overcoming difficulties with the positions and learning how to form them correctly.
Regular practice of yoga over a few days can have an astonishing effect on our health. Not only do we become stronger and more flexible, but the entire energy in the body can flow more freely. Our organs and immune system function more efficiently and we feel calm, energised and alert all at once. Whatever your level, you will be encouraged to expand your potential one step further. In doing this you experience new strength and energy.
Beyond the physical
In joining the bank holiday weekend yoga retreat you step away from your busy life and spend four days in a tranquil rural environment. This will naturally help your mind with its busy chatter and unwanted thoughts and feelings to calm down. In the space created, some deeper, inspiring content can then provide a stimulus for new inner growth.
Beyond the physical benefits of the yoga poses, we will explore the personal strengths we can develop, and the deeper spiritual meanings of the poses. As a basis for this we work with inspiring words that open up new depth and meaning in the movements. You develop a sense of how each movement can encourage qualities within us which help our development in life.
In addition to the physical practice, various so-called “soul-exercises” can awaken our deeper, more subtle senses and open up a more expanded view of life. These include calm observation of nature, or our own body or breath, or some inspiring words. With this expanded view, we become able to think more clearly and create new, more wide-reaching ideas for the future.
The social aspect also plays a huge role on these weekends. Discussions do not enter into the private, personal sphere, but explore some profound life principles meaningful to all of humanity. These kinds of discussions lead to a warm feeling of connection between people without being exclusive.
My aim is that you both unwind and recharge, taking home with you some new insights and an expanded perspective. I do not see yoga as an isolated practice, but as something that feeds into the whole of life. Each of us can weave deeper spiritual content into our life in our own individual way.
You can read more about my approach to yoga here. My main inspiration comes from the work of the German spiritual teacher Heinz Grill.
Bank Holiday Weekend Yoga Retreat: Daily Schedule
The programme includes a lot of yoga practise, punctuated by talks and discussions. There is also an optional walk over the hills and fields on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The breaks for drinks and meals offer you an opportunity to relax in the gardens and get to know other participants. The evening sessions include some recapping on the themes explored during the day. A soul exercise might also be practised then, and/or some singing (or just listening!). On the Saturday evening you will be treated to a bed time story with story-teller Jan!
Here is an approximate schedule, not set in stone. It can be adapted according to the needs of the day.
Friday
2 pm – Arrival and welcome drink
2.30 – 5.30 pm Yoga workshop
6 pm – Dinner
7 – 8 pm Evening session
Saturday
10 am – 1 pm: Yoga workshop (theory and practice)
1 pm: Light lunch of soup with locally baked sourdough bread
2.30 pm: Country walk
5.30 pm: Dinner
7 – 8 pm: Story telling and singing
Sunday
10 am – 1 pm: Yoga workshop (theory and practice)
1 pm: Light lunch
2 pm: Departure
Food
During the retreat you will be provided with a light lunch of local Somerset produce, including locally baked sourdough bread, and a delicious, nutritious cooked evening meal. All food will be vegetarian, organic wholefoods, artistically prepared with thoughtful attention. You can have breakfast at your B&B, or if you choose to camp here then a self service breakfast can be provided upon request. Let me know if you have and special dietary requirements and I am very happy to cater for them.
The place
Extons Barn is a barn conversion set in rural Somerset, surrounded by fields and woodland. Not another house is in sight. The light and airy yoga studio in build in the garden next to the house, but if the weather is nice we often practice outside. There are ample off-the-beaten track walks straight from the venue with stunning views over rolling hills. Many visitors comment how their heads feel clearer the minute they step out of the car!
Travel
Extons Barn, Milverton, Somerset, TA4 1RG
Extons Barn is 20 minutes drive from Taunton. You can download Directions to Extons Barn here. The nearest train station is Taunton, and the journey from London Paddington takes 2 hours. There are also coaches from London and Bristol to Taunton and Wellington with National Express, Berries and Stagecoach Falcon. We can collect you from Taunton or Wellington if you come by train or coach. There is also a taxi service with Ace Taxis, 01823 332211.
Accommodation (full details and images are on the website).
Choose from the following options (see below for costs):
Double room with ensuite shower in private house in Milverton (1 mile from retreat).
Stay in a family home (with small, friendly dog) in the local, ancient village of Milverton. Breakfast is provided. This house is within walking distance of the retreat (20 minutes, including a steep hill!). There is a pub and a shop in the village.
£100 for two nights B&B
Single room, shared bathroom, in private house in Wiveliscombe (3 miles from retreat)
Stay in a small single room in a private home in Wiveliscombe with shared bathroom. A self service breakfast of cereal and toast is provided. You are within walking distance of the farmers market on Saturday morning.
£60 for 2 nights B&B.
Double room, shared bathroom, in character 17th century house (1 mile from retreat)
Two double rooms are available in this exquisite, character 17th century private home, just outside the sleepy rural village of Fitzhead. Please note that there is a large, friendly dog at this venue. Breakfast is provided, with foods of your choice (order before you come and your host will buy what you ask for). If both rooms are taken then guests will need to share the same bathroom. Transport will be provided to and from the retreat (or it is a 1 mile walk down a country lane).
Cost £140 for 2 nights B&B
Large country house on the edge of Milverton (2 miles from retreat)
Choose between two double rooms in this large country house which has its own outdoor swimming pool, tennis court and an exquisite “shell house”.
Large double room with ensuite bathroom, £150 for 2 nights including breakfast.
Attic room with own separate bathroom, £80 for 2 nights B&B.
Book the retreat only and find your own accommodation:
There are many B&B’s in the area which you will find online. Some examples are:
1. Halse: The New Inn https://www.newinnhalse.com/ (2 miles from retreat venue)
2. Chipley: https://www.chipleyescapes.co.uk/ (2.8 miles from retreat venue)
3. Hillfarrnce: https://www.theanchorinn.net/ (3.5 miles from retreat venue)
Costs
Retreat cost: £169 including dinner or Friday and Saturday, and lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
Retreat + B&B (single room with shared bathroom in Wiveliscombe, 3 miles from retreat): £229
Retreat + B&B (attic room with own separate bathroom, edge of Milverton, 2 miles from retreat); £249
Retreat + B&B (ensuite room in Milverton, 1 mile from retreat): £269
Retreat + B&B (shared bathroom in 17th century character house, 1 mile from retreat): £309
Retreat + B&B (large double room, ensuite , edge of Milverton, 2 miles from retreat): £319
How to book
To find out more or book a place please Email Karen [email protected].
A 25% deposit is requested by BACS upon booking. I will send you the bank details by email. The remaining amount is payable 7 days before the start of the course.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Yoga in Somerset, L & F Maddock & Son, Taunton, TA4 2SX, United Kingdom,Taunton, Somerset
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