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 works as an integrative therapist, mindfulness teacher and retreat leader. Trained in Mindfulness-based approaches with the University of Exeter, he runs 8-week courses for the general public, for teachers and students in schools and colleges, and for various other client groups on behalf of Devon County Council. Having completed additional training in Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL), he is especially enthusiastic about self compassion, Metta meditation and other heart-based approaches within the world of mindfulness. Ollie also works as a Polarity therapist and an integrative counsellor, with a particular interest in Psychosynthesis, depth psychology and inner journeying.

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.