Mindfulness & Qigong: a 4-night Coach House Retreat

Barry Thurgood - Coach House Manager

Barry has a long term connection with Sharpham - he was a volunteer Retreat Coordinator at The Barn and has lead many retreats in the House and the Woodland Campsite.

He feels a deep connection to the land, especially Dartmoor, and so is delighted to be the Coach House manager with its nature connection ethos. He says "Sharpham has been a big support to me over the years and it is an honour to offer that same support to others".

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.

Caroline Low - Qi Gong Teacher

Caroline Low first encountered the Buddhist Teachings at Gaia House in 2006 whilst she was undergoing treatment for cancer and found them to be a real game changer in her quest to restore health and vitality. Since then she has attended many retreats and has trained as a Buddhist Mindfulness Teacher at Sharpham House with Martin Alyward and Mark Coleman in 2015. 

From 2016 until the present day she has been offering service in Retreat Centres - including Gaia and Sharpham. Her interest in Qigong began whilst pregnant with her Daughter, Chi, now 26, and she has studied in Australia and the UK, and is currently on a Teacher Training Programme with Lee Holden whose Teachers include Mantak Chia amongst other Qigong Masters.

Her wish is to make Qigong more accessible to people of all ages and abilities, to help people de-stress and increase their own internal energy so that they experience more health and harmony in their lives.

Claire Greenland

Claire came to Qigong 25 years ago as a beautiful way to connect to her physical and energy body. It also became helpful in deepening mindfulness meditation, which led her to train as a Community Dharma Teacher with Gaia House. For 28 years Claire worked as a primary school teacher in International Schools, living and working in 6 different cities around the world. The stresses of such a lifestyle were alleviated by the daily practice of powerful and yet simple Qigong movements. This practice combined with mindfulness practice gradually brought her to a different kind of being, a different sense of embodiment and view of the world that comes from a slightly less entangled place. Claire’s Qigong teacher is Max Weier and the forms include Shaolin, Wudang and Taoyin Yangsheng Kung. Her motivation in life is for us all to truly feel at peace within ourselves and trusting in the support of our beautiful planet.

Coach House Coordinators

Our Coach House Coordinators will be co-leading this retreat, providing support and holding the space for your experience with us.

Find out more about the team at The Coach House on this page

Daverick Leggett

Daverick Leggett began studying and practising Qigong in the mid 80’s and has taught Qigong for over three decades. He practises the Hua Gong style which emphasises self healing and includes meditation, various moving and standing practices, sword and animal forms. The essence of this qigong is to open and deepen our connection to life. He began his working life as a smallholder and still grows much of his own food as well as being involved in communal growing projects and conservation management. In the summer he runs camps on Dartmoor with a focus on community building and immersion in the natural world. This reflects his belief in the deep medicine of belonging and connection with nature. Daverick is also a writer with two books on Chinese medicine and two books of poetry to his name. He lives in Dartington, Devon and is in love with the south Devon coast, the river and the moors, landscapes from which much of his poetry emerges.

Jaya Rudgard

Jaya Rudgard is a UK based insight meditation and qigong teacher. She is a member of the teacher council at Gaia House in Devon, and teaches retreats at Gaia House and internationally. As well as spending eight years as a Buddhist nun in the Thai Forest tradition she has been a teacher of MBSR and MBCT and is familiar with both Buddhist and secular approaches to meditation. Movement (yoga, qigong, dance and various outdoor pursuits) has always been an important part of her life. She enjoys practising and teaching qigong and is a qualified Holden Qigong instructor. When she is not busy teaching meditation retreats, Jaya offers qigong teaching online.