Burnout retreat: 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 say no to more stress.

It takes place in the very special setting of The Coach House, in the grounds of Grade I-listed Sharpham House, Devon, surrounded by tranquil gardens within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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 a 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

Facilities in The Coach House

The Grade II-listed Coach House has been sympathetically converted to create accommodation in four wings surrounding a central courtyard.

The Coach House has 18 bedrooms, 12 of which are en-suite. The 6 others share 3 bathrooms, one for each pair of rooms. 

We have an accessible ground-floor bedroom with en-suite bathroom in the Western Wing of The Coach House. Please contact us to book this.

The Eastern Wing features a lounge, library, kitchen and has a contemporary timber-frame extension which serves as a dining room and meditation/meeting space.

The extension has large French doors which open out on to a patio and garden with direct access out on to the south-facing lawns.

Retreatants have the opportunity to explore the estate and the gardens. Not all of the gardens or the estate have disabled access, so do contact us to discuss your needs and what is possible.

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 Coach House Covid-19 measures here

Our food & your dietary needs

We have a fully stocked, mostly organic and vegetarian kitchen. The main meal is at lunch time and is prepared by our cook supported by retreatants. We try to use produce from our gardens as much as possible which retreatants help grow.

We can accommodate gluten-free and/or vegan dietary needs. However, our kitchen is not gluten, dairy nor nut-free. We do not provide gluten-free bread, but you are welcome to bring your own.

Please make sure you include dietary restrictions and any food allergies on your Booking Form. We may need to communicate further with you about specifics. The booking form is sent as a link once you have booked and paid for a retreat.

Our water is provided from our own spring, UV treated and filtered.

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