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Sustaining Ourselves: breaking free from burn-out
Burn-out:
"A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations" – Ayala Pines and Elliot Aronson
Many of us have experienced tiredness, exhaustion and burn-out - especially those of us dedicated to a particular cause.
Sustaining Ourselves is a retreat where you can reflect and gain practical resources to help nourish you in your daily life and work.
This 4-night programme is for anyone driven by a strong sense of purpose to make the world a better place. You might be a social or environmental activist or campaigner, a care-giver or someone in the helping professions in the service of others.
This retreat takes place in the very special setting of Grade 1-listed Sharpham House in South Devon, surrounded by tranquil gardens within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The programme is for you if...
- You need rest, replenishment, renewal and inspiration.
- You've experienced 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 4-night programme you will...
- 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.
The course is for all adults aged 18 and above and all we ask is that you bring an open curiosity to exploring these issues. Please note that this course might not be suitable if you are experiencing major depression or other serious and clinically diagnosed psychiatric illness. Click here for more information and for our booking process.
If you know of someone who would benefit from this opportunity you can also gift a place on the programme.
Accomodation and venue
This retreat takes place in the beautiful and historic Grade 1-listed Sharpham House set in a Capability Brown-designed landscape with stunning views over the steeply-wooded River Dart. The retreat is full-board with delicious home-cooked vegetarian food.
Our food & your dietary needs
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.
We are used to accommodating a wide range of dietary needs including wheat-free, diary-free, vegan. Please indicate on your booking form if you have a dietary need. The booking form is sent as a link once you have booked and paid for a retreat.
Sustainability
All of the hot water and heating in the House is produced by a state-of-the-art bio-mass woodchip boiler and we have 2 large photo-voltaic arrays on barn rooftops. Our gardens are managed organically and we only use bio-degradable cleaning products.
Sample Day Flow - Sustaining Ourselves
Note: Sustaining Ourselves 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.
Day 1: Arrive between 4-5pm for welcoming talk and settling in
Typica day
7.15 wake-up bell (silence until 9.50)
8.00 Early Bird Moving Mindfulness
8.30 Breakfast & tasks
9.50 Guided Meditation
10.30 Tea
10.45 Group Circle & Explore Theme
12.30 Personal time or 1-1 mentoring
13.00 Lunch & tasks
14.15 Guided walk or personal time
15.45 Creative Enquiry
17.15 Tea
17.30 Sitting Meditation
18.00 Dinner, tasks & personal time
20.00 Mindfulness - sitting practice, exploration & deep relaxation
21.00 Personal time
Final day: depart 11.45am
Sharpham is a small slice of heaven...it is a much-nneded spot of quietness and positive energy and I could not recommend it more.
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
Sharpham House, South Wing and Trust Office
Sharpham House
Ashprington
Totnes
South Devon TQ9 7UT
Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, South Devon, TQ9 7UT. Details below and link to google maps here
By Car
Sharpham Estate is three miles outside Totnes on the edge of Ashprington village. From the A38/Devon Expressway take the Totnes/Buckfastleigh exit. On arriving in Totnes, at the first traffic lights, turn right onto the A381 towards Kingsbridge. Half a mile outside Totnes turn left to Ashprington (about two miles). On reaching Ashprington village turn left up the hill and onto the Sharpham Estate. Follow the road downhill until you get to three way junction and follow sign along the middle road to the front of the house for reception and to drop off your bags.
By Train
Getting to Totnes by train:
Frequent direct trains run from London, Birmingham, and the North. The cost can be very reasonable if booked in advance – see www.thetrainline.com The journey time by train is less than three hours from London Paddington (First Great Western) and under four hours from London Waterloo (South West Trains).
Trains to Totnes are on the Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance lines. Totnes railway station is a 5-10 mins walk from the town.
Sharing a taxi from Totnes train station
We are committed to reducing the impact of cars arriving on the estate and want to avoid lot’s of taxi’s turning up at the same time with single passengers. Our taxi share arrangement is with Happy Cabs 01803 55 92 92 and it takes 10 minutes to get to Sharpham from the Totnes train station
To join a taxi share:
- Book your taxi in advance on the above number stating date, time of arrival and leaving your phone number.
- Happy Cabs will then meet you at the station with a board saying Sharpham Trust and the names of people to share the taxi (if others are arriving at the same time)
- You then divide the costs with your fellow travellers making it cheaper for you!
For Sharpham House Retreats - to increase the chance of sharing a cab we recommend you take the 13.05 from London arriving at Totnes train station 15.54
Other Taxi Numbers below:
Local taxi cabs, in no particular order or preference:
•Castle Cabs 01803 868686
• B J Taxis 01803 840940
• AP Taxi Co 01803 840404​
On Foot or Cycle from Totnes
From the railway station (walking 55-75mins, cycling 35mins)
To reach Sharpham House by foot or cycle, first find the cycle path and a public footpath from Totnes to Ashprington (2.5 miles). Out of Totnes station drive, turn left at main road, crossing over at pedestrian lights. At Morrison's petrol station take road straight on into 'Town'. (You'll soon walk past Morrison's supermarket on left.) Keep going straight on over mini roundabout. At Job Centre Plus, the road swings right into St Katharine's Way but you go straight on, passing the Job Centre to your right. When the road bears left around the back of the Steam Packet Inn on your left, you turn right (signposted 'National Cycle Network 28'), uphill for 30 metres to a sign for footpath/cycle route to Ashprington. Follow this route now until after two miles you reach the stone pillars on the Sharpham Estate drive. Turn left and it is then an easy walk downhill on the footpath that runs alongside the road. This road snakes down and continues on to the Vineyard and the Bathing House.
By Coach
The journey time by National Express coach is just over six hours from London, (Victoria Coach Station, Departures Hall) and the route travels via Heathrow Airport, (Central Bus Station). The coach is the 501 - Route Exeter, Torbay to Heathrow Airport and London.
2018:
£375 Standard room
£425 Premium room
£450 Heritage room
Book easily and securely online or by phoning 01803 732542 or emailing us
We a limited number of 50% bursaries available for those experiencing financial hardship (on a first come first served basis). Please contact the Programme Administrator in advance if you wish to apply.
Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy
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Lynne Holmes.
Lynne is a Counsellor/Gestalt Psychotherapist, Mindfulness teacher, Supervisor and Assessor.
She has worked in the helping professions since 1976 and has seen the impact of burnout in colleagues and in herself. She initially trained as a nurse then Health Visitor while also training as a Gestalt Psychotherapist at Metanoia in London in the early 1990’s. It was at this time she became interested in Meditation and trained in Mindfulness in 2008 with Professor Mark Williams, then subsequently with Becca Crane and Professor Willem Kuyken. Lynne adheres to the UK guidelines for practicing teachers and therefore has a daily meditation practice and attends her own personal retreats as a way of nourishing herself.
Lynne is passionate about care for the carers and has worked as a Therapist with NHS staff suffering from burn-out and stress. She co-ran a Mindfulness course within the hospital for staff suffering from stress. She believes that people need to connect with their innate “being” through meditation and the natural world to ignite their passionate heart. Walking barefoot in the wet grass is one of her Mindfulness delights!
Ollie Frame
Ollie Frame has been co-leading yoga and meditation retreats for over five years. Trained in Mindfulness with Bangor University and the University of Exeter, he runs 8-week courses for members of the public as well as courses for teachers and students within schools and colleges. Ollie also works as an Integrative counsellor and has a particular interest in Psychosynthesis, depth psychology and inner journeying. Within the world of mindfulness, he is especially enthusiastic about self compassion, metta meditation and other heart-based approaches.
Kanada Elizabeth Gorla - Sustaining Ourselves leader
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.
How to book easily and securely:
- online on this page
- by phoning 01803 732542
- or by emailing us on [email protected]
Ring us or email 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.
