The retreat will draw on the inspiration of Padmasambhava, Tantric Guru, who was invited to Tibet to transform the deeper, more unruly forces of the mind. Padmasambhava is seen to be both a historical and mythic figure within Buddhism. He was a renowned Yogi, Dharma Teacher, Shaman, and Healer. 

We will bring Padmasambhava to life through talks and Buddhist devotional practice. Through meditation, silence, and ritual we will explore both the energetic and receptive elements of his teaching. 

On the basis of mindfulness and metta, and with the support of silence and ritual, we will explore the practice of ‘just sitting’ where we open to direct experience and the heart of awareness.

For more information, read the retreat information sheet. 

On this retreat we will be exploring some of the core principles of Buddhism and meditation. In particular, how the Buddha’s clarity on the human condition can bring more meaning, richness and purpose to our lives. The teaching will seek to keep things simple and direct, so practical and relevant to the challenges of modern life in the west. 

Often what is taught on secular mindfulness courses derives from Buddhism, but without Buddhist ethical and wisdom teachings. This retreat restores mindfulness practice to its original Buddhist setting - alongside a course in mindfulness, the Buddhist path to freedom will also be outlined. A path that requires appreciative mindfulness and also ethical considerations, meditations and the contemplation of conditionality - how our lives are interconnected with all life, with everything. 

Over the course of the retreat you will learn two main meditation practices - the mindfulness of breathing and the metta bhavana (loving kindness). These practices help us develop calm, positive and alert states of mind. We also teach practical ways to help you cope with states of anxiety and reduce distraction. 

Central to the Buddha’s teachings is the importance of developing body awareness. During the retreat, we will be practising ways of becoming more embodied, both on the meditation cushion and in our everyday lives. Each day we will engage in some light body work or movement activity. 

Time on retreat gives an ideal space to experience ourselves differently and bring new fresh perspectives to our lives. 

For more information, read the retreat information sheet. 

These retreats are an excellent short introduction to Buddhism and Meditation. We will cover an introduction to two traditional Buddhist meditations: the mindfulness of breathing and the development of loving kindness (metta bhavana). We will also introduce some key elements of the Buddhist tradition. As well as giving a grounding in the basic principles of Buddhism and meditation, these retreats are an ideal reflective situation in which to take a fresh look at ourselves.

These retreats are suitable for complete beginners to meditation as well as being an ideal refresher for those who already have some experience.

For more information read the retreat information sheet.

Our human heart holds both our suffering and our joy. And our hearts are also universal, boundless and full of love.

On this retreat we will be invited to open to our hearts qualities and learn to sit with self-blessing, strengthening our capacity to open and meet ourselves and the world. We will focus on embodied meditations that will lead us into the hidden depths and treasures that lie in our hearts; and explore the heart opening potential of living for a week in spiritual community with like-minded people. The approach to teaching will be practical and direct, with meditation, poetry, simple ritual, movement and time in nature. We will have plenty of time to reflect and just to be, free from all the pressures and demands of our ordinary lives.

This retreat is suitable for complete beginners as well as being an ideal refresher for those who already have some experience.

For more information, read the retreat information sheet.

This meditation retreat explores the mandala of Buddhist heart practices, the four Brahma Viharas - metta, karuna, mudita and upekkha. Each of these has a meditation practice, and after a weekend grounding ourselves with mindfulness, we will spend a day with each of these practices and qualities.  

Mettā bhāvanā is for loving kindness, karunā bhāvanā is for compassion, muditā bhāvanā is for sympathetic joy. Finally upekkhā bhāvanā is for serenity, that all-embracing insightful love. Along the way, we learn to distinguish between selfish love and pure metta, between sentimental pity and true compassion, between sympathetic joy and mere merriment, between cold indifference and the spacious loving serenity of upekkhā bhāvanā. 

Practicing these meditations can help us to work skillfully with our emotional states, to move beyond fear into courage, beyond hatred into compassion, beyond habitual old views into insightful new perspectives.

The retreat is suitable for people who have been on retreat before and have a regular meditation practice. These retreat will be conducted mostly in silence, and will normally have between 5 and 7 hours a day of sitting meditation. For more information, read the retreat information sheet. 

These retreats combine introductory meditation teaching with a blend of traditional yoga and contemporary approaches to embodied movement.  This playful synthesis of body based approaches to wellbeing (through meditation and movement) in the peaceful and beautiful environment of the retreat can help restore physical and mental vitality and balance in our lives.

We will cover an introduction to two traditional Buddhist meditations as well as give a solid introduction to the principles of meditation.  We will also be exploring some traditional Buddhist teachings to get a flavour of how these might be relevant to our modern lives.  

No previous experience of meditation, yoga or embodied movement is assumed so these retreats are suitable for complete beginners, but they are also a good refresher for those who already have some experience.

For more information read the retreat information sheet.