Dive straight in with a refreshing wild swim in the river Thames as we wake.

Revived from the waters we will stream into a morning yoga practice. We start with an invigorating cannaveda yoga session, fusing mantra, tantra and hatha yoga, curated to integrate yogic philosophy into embodied practice, leaving one in bliss. Movement and breath accompanied by live musicians to harmonise your rhythm and end in grounding meditation.

On our return from the woodland we reclaim the ancient wisdom of breath as a conduit for joy and connection in the intimacy of breath. As a vehicle for lifeforce energy, and as a tool to enter into the depths of the heart. With this awareness, we playfully explore the breath as an instrument for healing and inspiration. Expect breathing meditation, fun partner exercises and the amplification of heart connection.

We pause for lunch and some free time to enjoy the stillness of the surrounding nature.

After lunch we will walk into the welcome green of the forest. Enjoy reconnecting with the divine life force in this space of vitality, using the Japanese art of forest bathing. Rest in the tranquil vibrance of the tree-biome, teeming with life and serenely peaceful, restorative in its rich essence, blessed with bountiful prana, and a fertile ground for meditation and deep spirit work.

In a dappled woodland clearing we embark on a wild plant journey and tap into the ways of our ancestors. Let your senses be guided into connection with the resident wild plants found on the lands around you, and find a new way to look at what lies beneath your feet. Weaving celtic herbalism and ceremony we will honour the medicine that lives and surrounds us.

Restore your physical body with a nourishing dinner before we enter into our evening fire ceremony. Expect to break through your boundaries and face your inner strength as we use the elemental force of fire to nurture our inner flames.

Later in the evening we welcome another group of players to lead us in music, song and rejoicing, holding space for us to integrate and process the energy clearing which has happened during the day.

Another unique opportunity to experience the cleansing water of the Thames, as we wild swim when we wake.

The morning cannaveda yoga practice will inspire the body to move and awaken through a sound, movement, and self massage sensory journey with live acoustic musical accompaniment.

After breakfast we join the company of our resident ancient trees in meditation with the oaks. Tap into the universal flow of energy that moves from earth to sky and back again through these timeless and serene beings. We use meditation, breath and profound inner inquiry to crystallise our divine path, and connect with our golden thread of purpose which joins us from life to life.

We will have lunch together, then gather for our closing circle to bring complete fullness to the retreat weekend.

We expect the closing circle to end around 4pm, and you will be invited to pack down your belongings and begin your journeys back to your homes, resting in the freshness of your new self.

Karen Buckland

Karen's nourishing love of nurturing through food is born from  a deep sense of care and compassion for the planet, and a desire to nurture and protect it and its inhabitants, which has persisted since her childhood. She discovered a passion for creating and serving beautiful, wholesome and heartfelt food as a way to serve the planet through promoting the use of sustainable, plant based ingredients and to serve people through providing them with joyful, nutritious meals.

Her passion for plant based food has manifested in over ten years in the catering industry in a variety of different cookery disciplines, from cafes and restaurants, catering for festivals, events and retreats, making and selling wholesale products, making raw chocolates, cakes and patisserie, performing live cookery demos at trade shows and food fairs and leading workshops and classes for a diverse range of participants.

Karen will provide us with delicious and nutritious, lovingly and creatively prepared meals based on Ayurvedic principals throughout our retreat.

Here is Karen's personal website: https://plantbasedpirate.com/

Dmitry Glazkov 

Dmitry is a Yoga & Ayurveda teacher and author of unique programs on meditation and self development.

Dmitry has been giving workshops on breathing techniques and Yoga for over 8 years, and is fascinated with the healing and power of transformation these techniques offer to humanity. He is a dedicated daily practitioner and qualified to teach Hatha Yoga and Kundalini Yoga.

"During the retreat I’ll be guiding you through the ways to connect to the embodied stillness of the trees and meditate, methods of breath control and effective techniques of deep concentration to rewire the mind and enjoy the serenity. There will be group guided meditation session and also time for individual meditations with magical oaks which found their home at Hardwick.

I believe that each of us has a seed of enlighten nature within and we need a personalised approach in our yoga practice to effectively tap into it as we are all different in our body type, mental state and physical abilities. The art of this approach we will explore on the Yoga for your Nature workshop during the retreat.  

 I feel very fortunate to be able to pass these tools of self development on to serve each participant, and help to experience deep connection to self and serenity."

You can find Dmitry here: Sadhama

Nathan Gallagher 

Nathan is a Transformational Breath® facilitator & founder of Lovejam Community. He specialises in science backed breathwork for mental & emotional wellbeing. With a deep commitment to his own personal practice, his mission is to empower humanity to live better through the simple act of conscious breathing. 

Website: www.breathbynathan.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breathbynathan/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxhXoo-lgKqZWEmcX6-oHQ

Phil Sweeney 

Phil is a creator of Cannaveda Yoga 

Cannaveda Yoga is a tantric yoga experience combining mantra, hatha, pranayama. Joining the physical, metal and emotional bodies along with sound healing vibrations as well as introverted silence. The duality of fluidity, rigidity, surrender and stillness of our masculine and feminine in this asana sitting with the comfortable discomfort  we bow to the goddess who tears apart thought.