Mindfulness Through Singing: uplifting and soulful
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Find harmony on this soul-enhancing retreat that blends meditation and singing.
Things are such that someone lifting a cup or watching the rain, petting a dog or singing, just singing, could be doing as much for this universe as anyone
- Rumi
Singing can be uplifting, soulful and life-enriching. And like mindfulness, singing can bring us into direct contact with our moment-to-moment experience.
You’ll be group singing, learning songs by ear (so you don’t need to read music) and experiencing the incredible acoustics of Sharpham House’s central oval stairwell. No previous experience of singing is required.
Our experienced leaders will help you explore the unique practice of mindful singing as a way of fostering moment-by-moment awareness.
Mindful practice and joyful singing was uplifting, engrossing and restorative in the extreme...mindfulness and singing are a great combination.
Review of our Mindfulness Through Singing retreat, Kindred Spirit magazine - click here to see the whole feature
Read on for more details on this retreat and click the Leaders, Schedules and Venue & Directions tabs above for further information.
A communal and heart-warming retreat
You’ll be learning and singing songs from a rich variety of traditions and genres – from gospel, pop and folk to more devotional chants and songs.
You’ll experience singing in harmony as a meditation, whilst exploring your own voice and self-expression.
This retreat is for you if you:
- Want to experience singing as a resource for well-being
- Begin or further develop your mindfulness practice, using breath, sound and song to explore mind, body & spirit
- Are aged 18 and above
There will be a maximum of 20 participants on this retreat.
Like our other retreats, there will be three 30-minute guided meditation sessions a day.
There are periods of silence on each of our retreats and plenty of free personal time for you to settle into your rejuvenation in Sharpham House.
What you’ll experience on this retreat
During this retreat you’ll:
- experience guided meditation and periods of silence and quiet contemplation
- live in community with like-minded people, sharing experiences and some simple everyday tasks, including the washing-up
- be able to explore our tranquil Capability Brownian parkland and our Grade 2*-listed gardens designed by Percy Cane
- have a single-occupancy room and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself, far from the busy-ness of daily life. Click here to explore our rooms.
- enjoy delicious, healthy, home-cooked vegetarian food that regularly receives rave reviews and have access to 24-hour hot teas, coffee & infusions in our Toasting Room
- be cared for full-board in a Grade I-listed Georgian House surrounded by history and art, with staff looking after you, in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty close to nature, amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart
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 might you bring?
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. But you might consider the following:
- Comfy clothes for meditation, movement and relaxation
- Slippers (we supply some, but you might prefer your own)
- A journal or notepad if you want to write or draw during your time here
- Swimming gear – we have a small pool that’s open in summer. Click here to read more
- Walking boots – we have wonderful footpaths and routes to explore
- Running gear if you’re a jogger. Some participants love to run on the lanes and footpaths near Sharpham
Find out more about staying in Sharpham House on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
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. The Estate's farm tenants produce award-winning wine and cheese as well as organic eggs, meat and vegetables.
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
This retreat is suitable for you if you are new to mindfulness, or seeking to renew or reconnect with your practice.
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 psychiatric illness such as bipolar disorder, psychosis or current self-harming. Click here for more information and for our booking process
We have an accessible en-suite bedroom The Clare Milne Room – click here for details on how to book this room
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.
I really enjoyed the combination of singing and meditation. It was wonderful to be able to sing in such an amazing location - particularly in the stairwell!
Arrive on the first day between 3pm and 5pm
Typical daily programme | |
---|---|
7.30am | Mindfulness meditation |
8.00am | Breakfast |
9.00am | Group meeting |
10.30am-12.00pm | Stretch, breathe, sing |
12.30pm-1.00pm | Walking or sitting meditation |
1.00pm | Lunch |
2.00pm-4.00pm | Optional guided walk or free time |
4.00pm-5.30pm | Singing session |
6.00pm | Supper |
8.15pm | Meditation |
9.00pm | House goes into silence until 8.30am the following day |
Final day - closing circle with departure afterwards by 12noon
It was utterly joyful as waves of sound washed over me and reverberated through me. And it soon dawned on me that singing is mindfulness personified. I was totally in the moment, absorbed in something I loved - the perfect mindful practice. As our voices mingled and swelled, rising to a crescendo in the wonderful acoustics of the domed atrium of Sharpham, it became highly emotional.
Our routine of mindful practice and joyful singing was uplifting, engrossing and restorative in the extreme...mindfulness and singing are a great combination.
Review of our Mindfulness Through Singing retreat in UK/international magazine Kindred Spirit. Read the whole piece here and click here to see more reviews of Sharpham retreats.
I have benefited from being here hugely! it has provided contemplation and peace and inspiration from both teachers and the confidence to sing my heart out.
[What I really liked about the retreat was]...the excellent care and thoughtfulness by all staff...the warmth of everyone I met...the fact I felt I CAN sing (wish I had discovered this a couple of years ago!!). Thank you from my heart.
The combination of mindfulness and singing worked really well...we all said how the place was wonderful, the nature, the building, the delicious food, the friendly atmosphere amongst the staff and all us participants
The Sharpham experience was special in many ways - the place, the people and the event itself. I will come away more positive, invigorated and uplifted
I feel as though I have rediscovered some parts of myself that I had almost lost sight of.
This retreat takes place in the beautiful and historic Grade I-listed Sharpham House set in a Capability Brown-designed 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
£525 - Premium room
£625 - Heritage room
There will be a maximum of 20 guests on this retreat.
All rooms are single occupancy, giving you your own space in which to relax.
If you have a medical condition that requires you to have an en-suite room, please contact the Programme Administrator on the number below as these rooms are limited and are bookable on a first-come first-serve basis.
Book easily and securely online or by phoning 01803 732542
Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy
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

Will Evans
Will has been meditating in various Buddhist and Non-Dual traditions for a decade, guided by a spirit of exploration and experimentation and a sense of wonder and possibility. He mostly finds his home in the Insight Meditation tradition. In 2019 he trained as a mindfulness teacher with the Mindfulness Training Institute under Martin Aylward and Mark Coleman, and in 2020 he joined the team at the Barn Retreat, where he spent over a year facilitating both online and in-person retreats. He has a passion for helping people find approaches and relationships to meditation that work for them, with the view that meditation practice is not a fixed path but a vast landscape to explore.

Jo Gosling
Jo has over 30 years’ experience in the NHS, initially as a Macmillan nurse in cancer care then, as a Clinical Psychologist. She has a longstanding mindfulness practice and has undergone extensive training with teachers from Bangor and Exeter Universities.
She has regular mentoring and attends silent meditation retreats to deepen her practice. As a freelance mindfulness teacher she has delivered numerous MBCT groups for people with recurrent depression at the Mood Disorders Centre, University of Exeter and been supervisor to trainee mindfulness teachers.
A personal health crisis, combined with training to teach Mindful Self-Compassion (with Chris Germer and Kristin Neff) led to a change of direction in life and she has completed an MA in Fine Art. A natural follow-on was to combine the two areas of mindfulness and creativity, in the form of retreats and workshops.
Jo is an Ecstatic Dance Facilitator and is embarking on further training in ‘Visual Medicine’ for therapeutic practice.

Emily Roblyn
Emily is an experienced voice teacher and performer. She has been running community choirs for over 10 years and belongs to the Natural Voice Practitioners Network. She has been exploring "embodied presence" and mindfulness through the 'Movement of Being' work in Devon for the last 5 years, and has used singing as a meditation throughout her life. She is passionate about sharing her love of music and its potential for supporting connection to ourselves and each other.

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.

Ethan Pollock
Ethan has been supporting retreats and mindfulness groups for over a decade. He spent five years training at Plum Village with the internationally recognised Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and currently offers retreats and classes on mindfulness and buddhism at meditation centers and local groups around the UK. His teaching helps people touch more calm and ease in their everyday lives by bringing awareness and appreciation to simple daily activities, retreatants especially love his guided meditations!
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.