Burnout retreat in Sharpham House: sustain yourself through mindfulness
Many of us have experienced burnout and its debilitating effects on the mind and body. This 4-night stress retreat offers practical resources to help nourish you in your daily life and work.
I found it so nourishing and it has cast aside demons and let me see a more positive future...thank you for facilitating my recovery
- stress retreat participant
Prolonged stress can cause feelings of exhaustion, overwhelm, depression or a lack of motivation as well as anxiety over life's demands. The physical effects of burning out can also include insomnia, headaches and migraines or stomach and digestive issues.
This retreat offers a mindful approach to burnout, helping to boost your resilience, support your life's balance and offering strategies to help you manage stress in a more sustainable way.
It takes place in the very special setting of Sharpham House, in the grounds of Grade I-listed Sharpham House, Devon, surrounded by tranquil gardens within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Read on for more details on this retreat and click the Leaders, Schedules and Venue & Directions tabs above for further information.
This burnout & stress retreat is for you if
- You need rest, replenishment, renewal and inspiration
- You've experienced stress or are becoming concerned about the early signs of burn-out
- You tend to drive yourself, resulting in regular feelings of stress, exhaustion, anxiety and overwhelm
- You want to increase your personal resilience and self-care in a safe and supportive setting
- You'd benefit from reflection and connecting to nature and your creativity, far away from the busy-ness of your day-to-day life and work
- You're interested in creatively enquiring into your relationship with your work in the world
- You want to explore how to remain active in your purpose to make the world a better place whilst overcoming cycles of burn-out
- You'd like to meet and learn from others on a similar journey
During this retreat you'll
- Experience a unique synthesis of mindfulness, creative enquiry and nature-connection to enhance your personal resilience, taking on skills and tools to use in your life and work
- Explore your contribution to the world through self-care and self-compassion
- Learn or deepen your experience of how meditation and mindfulness can support your daily life and the balance between ‘being and doing’
- Learn to say NO with a good heart (and a clear conscience)
- Recognise and become familiar with the early signs of burn-out and stress, exploring tools and strategies to avoid repeating the cycle
- Learn how acting from a place of urgency and desperation can be counter-productive to your effectiveness - and explore alternatives
- Share lovingly prepared home-cooked meals
- Have time for personal reflection and exploring your own work-rest balance
Mindfulness in nature at Sharpham
When you experience Sharpham's inspiring and nourishing environment, we hope you'll connect spiritually with the natural world, so you’ll:
- become aware of how we are all part of nature - not artificially separate from it
- pay attention to and appreciate the natural world surrounding us
- explore nature through your senses and your natural creativity
- Tread more lightly on our finite planet, developing a respect and reverence for all living things
Click here to read our ethos and principles
What you need to know
If you decide to stay with us, we’ll send you a list of what you need to bring for this retreat in your Welcome Letter that we send out after you've booked.
You can also find out more about staying with us on our Frequently Asked Questions page, including
- accessibility information
- why we encourage you to come on your own and not with partners or friends
- what the difference is between our retreats
See our Sharpham House Covid-19 measures here
Our food & your dietary needs
The retreat is full-board with delicious home-cooked vegetarian food.
In line with sustainable practices across the Estate, our cooks produce seasonal, vegetarian food for our guests. We source food whenever possible from our kitchen garden and support local food suppliers.
Food allergies & intolerances
Please tell us well in advance of your stay of any food allergies or intolerances you may have.
You can tell us this on the Booking Form via a link we send you in your confirmation email.
Your physical and mental health
Although meditation and mindfulness can be helpful in managing stress, depression and anxiety our retreats might not be suitable if you are experiencing major depression or other clinically diagnosed psychiatric illness such as bipolar disorder, psychosis or current self-harming. Click here for more information and for our booking process.
If you have a medical condition that requires you to have an en-suite room, please contact our Programme Administrator on the number below as these rooms are limited and are bookable on a first-come first-serve basis.
The whole experience has left me with a sense of confidence in my ability to improve my well-being and find more balance
- retreat participant
This retreat is a rich fabric woven of spaciousness, structure and choice.
With that in mind, all of the sessions are optional with the exception of the Morning Group Circle which we ask everyone to attend. Our aim is that you come away with the insights, tools and mindfulness practices that most support you to find balance within yourself, with others and in the world.
The guiding principle of this retreat is choice: inviting you to experiment in real time with meeting your needs based on self-knowledge, awareness and self-care.
Typical retreat schedule (subject to change)
Day 1: Arrive between 3-5pm for Welcome Meeting at 5.15pm and settling in
| Mornings | Afternoons |
|---|---|
| 7.20am - wake up | 2.15pm - personal / free time |
| 7.50am – meditation | 4.00pm - creative enquiry |
| 8.30am - breakfast / tasks | 5.20pm – meditation |
| 9.50am – movement | 6.00pm - supper |
| 10.45 – morning circle | 8.00pm – evening session and deep relaxation |
| 1.00pm - Lunch | |
Final day: There is a closing meeting at 10.30am, and your departure by 12noon.
The retreat will move into silence each evening from 9pm – 9am and on one full day in each retreat.
Sharpham is a small slice of heaven...it is a much-needed spot of quietness and positive energy and I could not recommend it more
I found it so nourishing and it has cast aside demons and let me see a more positive future...Thank you for facilitating my recovery
The whole experience has left me with a sense of confidence in my ability to improve my well-being and find more balance
One of the most beautiful, nurturing and life-affirming opportunities that I have given myself and shared with others
The creativity of the format was inspiring, surprising, unformulaic and soulful
This was truly food for the soul, and much appreciated
This retreat takes place in the beautiful and historic Grade I-listed Sharpham House set in a Capability Brownian landscape with stunning views over the steeply-wooded River Dart.
Click here for our How to Find Us page on this website.
Click here to view, print or download directions and a map to Sharpham House
Click here view and download walking/cycling directions to Sharpham House
If you have a medical condition that requires you to have an en-suite room, please contact our Programme Administrator on the number below as these rooms are limited and are bookable on a first-come first-served basis.
Just to let you know, we have poor mobile phone coverage – which we see as a virtue. While there is wi-fi in Sharpham House, we encourage you to disconnect from ‘the network’ so you can fully retreat when you’re here.
We are 3 miles from Totnes – famous for its Transition Town movement
We are in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Sustainability
We take sustainability seriously.
All of the hot water and heating in the House is produced by a state-of-the-art biomass woodchip boiler and we have 2 large photo-voltaic solar panel arrays on barn rooftops.
Our gardens are managed organically and we only use bio-degradable cleaning products.
£465 - Standard room, single occupancy, full-board
£525 - Premium room, single occupancy, full-board
£625 - Heritage room, single occupancy, full-board
(see also room types below)
Bursaries
Limited 50% bursaries offering reduced-price retreats are available for those experiencing financial hardship. Please contact the Programme Administrator at least 4 weeks in advance if you wish to apply.
Our bursary fund relies on donations. If you’d like to help another to go on retreat here through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here
Room types
Standard rooms
Our Standard rooms are smaller and cost less, but they’re still cosy and comfy. If you prefer a simpler or less expensive retreat experience, these rooms are for you.
Premium rooms
These are attractive rooms with good views of the stunning countryside that surrounds us. They are comfortable, giving you a restful environment in which to restore.
Heritage rooms
These are our most spacious & historic rooms, helping you deeply rest and rejuvenate in a nourishing and inspiring atmosphere surrounded by artworks and with river views.
Bathrooms
Because Sharpham House is a Grade 1-listed mansion (with limits to the changes we are allowed to make to the building), few bedrooms come with an en-suite bathroom and toilet. There are shared bathrooms on every floor.
If you have a medical condition that requires you to have an en-suite room, please contact our Programme Administrator on the number below as these rooms are limited and are bookable on a first-come first-served basis.
Our accessible rooms
We have an accessible en-suite bedroom The Clare Milne Room – click here for details on how to book this room
Bursaries
Limited bursaries offering reduced-price retreats are available for those experiencing financial hardship. Please contact the Programme Administrator at least 4 weeks in advance if you wish to apply.
Our bursary fund relies on donations. If you’d like to help another to go on retreat here through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here
All rooms have tea & coffee-making facilities and towels are provided. Click here to see more about our rooms
Rupert Marques
Rupert has practiced in the insight meditation tradition for nearly 25 years in Europe, America and Asia. His primary teachers have been Christina Feldman and Joseph Goldstein. The work of Toni Packer and John Tarrant have also been influential in his practice and teaching. He teaches at various retreat centres in Europe and beyond. For the past 4 years Rupert has lived and worked at Ecodharma, a contemplative retreat community in the Spanish Pyrenees dedicated to exploring the role of the Dharma in the movements for social justice and ecological sustainability. At Ecodharma he directed the Nature based Practice strand of their work that marries contemplative practice with a range of approaches within the field of experiential ecopsychology in a wilderness setting.
Kanada Elizabeth Gorla
Kanada is a leadership & transformational change coach, mentor and facilitator.
With more than 20 years' experience facilitating individuals and groups, Kanada is a long-time meditator and mindfulness practitioner. As a self-employed, single working mum, Kanada has walked the path toward ‘sustaining herself’ as a daily practice.
With her own social business Shine, she helps individuals, teams and organisations to flourish, building personal and collective resilience, well-being, self-leadership and engaged citizenship. Her work as an activist includes launching the Pachamama Alliance Be the Change Symposium in Canada and assisting in training the first group of Be the Change UK.
Kanada is a Senior Associate with Embercombe, a leadership centre where she co-leads The Journey, Catalyst and Speaking out; an Associate with Common Purpose American Express Leadership Academy for emerging leaders in the 3rd sector; and course leader on bi-annual residential programmes with cohorts from On Purpose and Executive On Purpose.
Sophy Banks
Sophy has an eclectic background in many aspects of creating healthy culture for individuals, groups and communities. She teaches at Schumacher college, runs workshops, and offers organisational development and conflict facilitation. Originally trained as an engineer, she has worked as computer systems designer and trainer, psychotherapist, and family constellations practitioner.
In 2005 she moved to Devon and helped to set up Transition Town Totnes (TTT), one of the foremost projects in a movement for positive visioning and action in communities, that has spread to over 40 countries and been tried in thousands of communities in some form. Sophy set up the Heart and Soul group of TTT, and spent 10 years bringing insights from her many inner practices (including meditation, grief tending, mindfulness and nature connection) to the Transition Towns movement. During her time working for Transition she saw many highly skilled people reaching a place of burnout, and has been on that edge herself. It became a central part of her enquiry into how we can create life enhancing, positive culture together – and the reasons we sometimes don’t. She sees that mindfulness is an essential tool for healthy systems, not only for individuals but also in groups and communities.
Sophy was a keen footballer in east London for many years – too old to slide tackle any more she enjoys growing as much food as she can, and still just about gets up the Devon hills on her bike.
Barry Thurgood
For over 10 years, Barry has been guiding meditation groups and coordinating retreats at Lam Rim Buddhist Centre in Bristol, The Sharpham Barn Retreat and also online. He has also worked as the Sharpham Woodland Camp Retreat Manager and is a qualified Integrating Mindfulness & Compassion (CPCAB accredited) teacher.
Barry is inspired by sharing his passion for deepening a sense of connection with ourselves, each other, nature and something bigger than ourselves, all in a spirit of kindness.
Nadia Abdel-Karim
Nadia Abdel-Karim has practised mindfulness and meditation since 2015, influenced primarily by Insight Meditation and Mahayana Buddhist traditions.
As a freelance mental health worker, she spent several years facilitating support groups and offering one-to-one crisis support across London for the mental health charity Mind.
After training as a Mindfulness Practitioner in 2019, she began co-facilitating 8-week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction courses specifically for people experiencing depression and anxiety.
Nadia relocated to Devon to live at The Barn Retreat Centre, where she spent almost two years co-leading meditation retreats. Alongside leading retreats for Sharpham, she works as a Focusing Practitioner and facilitates spaces for people to connect with their grief.
Her journey continues to be guided by her love for exploring and understanding spiritual traditions and practices.
How to book easily and securely:
- online on this page
- by phoning 01803 732542
Ring us or email us on [email protected] if you've got any questions.
Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy.
Do check our Calendar to see and book for our events - or join our mailing list by clicking here to be kept in touch about Sharpham Trust news, retreats & events.
