Slow Down to Smell the Roses Weekend Retreat

​Slow Down to Smell the Roses

​Mindful practices for all aspects of life.

​A weekend to pause, slow down and restore yourself with the best of organic vegetarian food. In a warm and friendly environment, we will be taking time out from the frantic human doing and spending time to nourish the human being.

​We will draw from a variety of mindfulness programmes and teachers – Mindful Self-Compassion, the Work that Reconnects (Joanna Macy), Thich Nhat Hanh, Positive Neuroplasticity (Rick Hanson) and Awakening Joy. 

​The heart of this weekend is about how to care for ourselves and the natural world, which is so obviously under pressure. Often there can be a feeling of helplessness and overwhelm. How can we meet this? The first step is cultivating a sense of appreciation and connection.

​There will be a range of activities such as mindful eating, mindful movement, guided meditations, mindful walking and cooking creatively together using seasonal, organic food and local vegetables from Kyrie Farm.

​Shirley is a gifted and wonderful cook and she has some real treats in store for us like homemade elderflower cordial and rose petal syrup. We will learn how to support our micro biome with healthy foods like homemade pickles, keffir, kombucha and sauerkraut.

​Slowing down in this way allows the chance of enjoying what you are doing, while you are doing it, to become possible. These practices also can serve as anchors in a frantic world.

​Taking time to relax and enjoy the simple everyday experiences that we usually rush through allows us to resource ourselves to meet life more creatively.  When we slow down like this, we can become aware of  the limiting beliefs that can stop us from making more courageous choices in our lives. 

​We are affected deeply by the world around us, however we often under appreciate how we can affect the world.  Mindful practices allows us to see this interconnection and support us in making better choices, for ourselves and the planet. Practicing appreciation and gratitude can perhaps free us from the belief that more is always better. We will also explore  how the practice of fierce self-compassion can support us in responding with kindness, wisdom and courage.

​We have run a number of weekends together and very much look forward to this summer weekend that will have aspects of retreat, for example periods of silence, periods of preparation of vegetables with others in a quiet mindful atmosphere.  This embodiment of seeing, tasting and touching brings mindfulness so much more to life.  Along with this you will be given all the recipes so you can go home with a real understanding and knowledge of very tasty vegetarian food.  

​All are welcome! The weekend is open to beginners as well as people with more experience.