About us
Small, supportive groups; relaxed schedule; great, plentiful food: how our retreats are different!
Small groups:
we usually cap numbers on our retreats to 14 guests. This allows for a
high teacher:student ratio, and plenty of individual attention. However, most of our Escapes are smaller than this - and if the group is larger than 12 guests, we pledge to have two teachers looking after the group.
Accessibility: most of
our retreats (perhaps apart from our day retreats) are suitable for total yoga beginners, and older people, as well as more
experienced students. During some retreats, in order to keep things as open as possible, we run different classes for different levels of experience.
Hand-picked venues:
we go out of our way to find venue that will contribute to the experience of getting
away from it all. We stay away from buildings with an impersonal, institutional feel, preferring more intimate, unusual venues that are full of character, yet still very comfortable, and 'boutique' in feel. Large, super-comfy beds, high quality bed linen and extra little touches are important to us - and, we think, also to you.
Experience: our background as wellbeing specialists, and Lucia's background as a yoga and health writer, has meant we have been lucky enough to experience many different retreats. After years of experiencing other people's retreats, we have a pretty sound idea about what we think works, and what doesn't work so well. We know this is subjective - but still, we aim to turn this hands-on experience to your advantage.
Our teachers
Our teachers have been selected for their sensitivity,
enthusiasm and knowledge. We only work with teachers who we personally
know and trust.Jodie Merrick, who co-teaches our popular day retreats, completed her Yoga Alliance 200 hour Teacher Training certificate in 2006, and has since studied yoga all over the world, and with teachers such as Seane Corn. Jodie teaches with energy and enthusiasm, encouraging her students to find their highest potential, regardless of their age or ability.
Shamash Alidina: Shamash is one the UK’s leading professional mindfulness trainers and coaches. He is international bestselling author of ‘Mindfulness For Dummies' and has been featured on TV, and in newspapers, magazines, and radio shows internationally. Shamash trained to be a Mindfulness Teacher with the Centre of Mindfulness at Bangor University and has trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn, as well as attending retreats with the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the world's foremost teachers and practitioners of mindfulness. Shamash is co-teaching our mindfulness and yoga weekend retreat in March 2012.