Why go on a retreat?
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| Gardens Sharpham House | (c) photo S-C Peace |
There's quite a list of worthwhile reasons why you should invest in taking yourself on a retreat, it's far from selfish and becoming a vital antidote to the fast paced world we live in. Allowing yourself to dedicate a small section of time in your life to your wellbeing brings many benefits not only to you but to those around you upon your return home.
Going on retreat begins with bestowing the gift of down time upon yourself; allowing yourself to escape life's distractions, to go off grid, immerse yourself into a different daily rhythm, face your challenges and learn new skills to integrate into your life. You learn to reconnect with yourself spending time in a community of people who have all been pulled to the same place at the same time as you, you become part of each others journey.
Going on retreat begins with bestowing the gift of down time upon yourself; allowing yourself to escape life's distractions, to go off grid, immerse yourself into a different daily rhythm, face your challenges and learn new skills to integrate into your life. You learn to reconnect with yourself spending time in a community of people who have all been pulled to the same place at the same time as you, you become part of each others journey.
Why go on a trauma focused retreat?
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| Atrium Sharpham House | (c) photo S-C Peace |
We all suffer trauma at some point in our lives. Some of us suffer great
big ones, some sequential smaller ones, some a combination of both, some a
single trauma. Big or small all versions of trauma can have a massive effect on
your nervous system and on your overall well being which in turn effects those
around you. Left untreated trauma beds into your system and creates further
negative effects on your whole being leading you on a downward spiral to
dis-ease.
Its important to access trauma focused therapy to encourage recovery but
why would someone suffering the effects of PTSD, Anxiety, Trauma, Depression,
Stress, Social Phobia etc even put themselves through the additional trauma of going on a
trauma focused retreat. There are a wealth of reasons why; to get
grounded, to rediscover a connection with self, to be part of a community of people who have so
much support and empathy for each other having all succumb to the effects of trauma too, to feel understood and not like
some sort of alien in your own skin, to learn valuable effective techniques to
add to your survival tool kit, to work deeply with assistance from skilled
therapists but most of all to reignite self belief making you fully available
to take on board the amount of healing that is right for you without the
distractions of daily life.
So 'Why go on a trauma focused retreat?' ... You leave feeling lighter,
you have work to continue but now you have experienced first hand that 'you'
can still be 'you', you begin to believe in your true self again and now you
have real hope for continued healing.
Why go on a retreat at Sharpham House?
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| Sharpham House | (c) photo S-C Peace |
Sharpham house is a Grade 1 listed building it is a charitable trust
that has been dedicated to nurturing wellness since 1982 and has become an
internationally recognised centre for mindfulness and meditation retreats.
Idyllically located it provides the perfect platform for guests to reconnect
not only with the healing powers of nature but with them selves too. The food
is nurturing, vegetarian and prepared daily on the premises.
Arriving at Sharpham house sees the heavy weight of trepidation
instantly begin to lighten, your fears of awaiting therapies are softened as
you are greeted in the entrance hall and in a flash you feel at home held
safely by the abundant calmness provided by the therapists, staff and
environment that surrounds you.
Discover more about Sharpham Trust here sharphamtrust.org
A recipe for healing...
Octagonal Room Sharpham House | (c) photo S-C Peace
Following orientation and settling in came an introduction to the delights of the weekend and a calming Yoga Nidra practise. Morning meditations in the striking yet cosy Octagonal room were met with an incredible sunrise gliding upwards across the Dart Valley.
Practising a combination of Meditation, Neurogenic Yoga, TRE and iRest Yoga Nidra takes your body and mind through an unravelling journey where your deepest fears can begin to gently unfold and release, your inner wisdom can begin to unveil as you are expertly guided through these practises with highly skilled and attentive care from James Reeves and Jo Hamilton. The carefully balanced combination of therapies and environment could only result in a perfect recipe for transformational healing to begin.
An evening fire ceremony was perfectly set under the stars where you were invited to write something down that no longer served you submitting it to the fire so that it may be transformed into something of use to you. Watching both internally and externally whatever you needed to release as your heart felt message gracefully made its way up into the night sky provided a peaceful moment of presence, an opportunity for reflection and the invitation to welcome the beginning of your new future.
Setting the intention for your retreat...
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| Hydrangea Sharpham House | (c) photo S-C Peace |
Setting an intention for your retreat is really important to help focus
your work whilst there; "What's your intention?"... my mind of
course goes unhelpfully blank in response to this question, well aside from some mild panic making an appearance
as it rushes through the emptiness like agitated tumbleweed crazily wishing it
knew what to say whilst equally feeling inadequate in its silence.
"What are you here for?" I ask myself ... this question
swiftly forms a repetitive loop. I should know this, I should, its literally what I'm here
for... ironic really as whatever it is it's what has fuelled my journey to this
point... help! I silently ask myself again "What am I here for?" ...
Oh good grief why can't I get an answer, surely everyone else has an answer by
now... I breathe deeply & wait "To begin to fully let go?" as I hear this in my own head, I question it - it feels like too big a task surely and too
vague, its a red herring I'm convinced of it... I move on in search of my answer...
"What am I really here for?" I'm getting frustrated with myself and add a sense of
investigation to the question in the hope of connecting to an answer... "To shake all the traumas away?" answering the question with a question, it still doesn't feel right.... I delve further... 'But what am I 'really' here for?" I ask again and this time the answer
comes swift and sharp with the volume hiked right up, there's no dismissing this one; "TO GET OUT OF
MY OWN WAY" it's presence loud and proud in my own head, it instantly
resonates stopping me in my tracks, it invites further automated description perhaps to lick the wounds
of my momentarily bruised and apparently overactive ego.
So what does this mean to me 'to get out of my own way?'; "To say goodbye to my
interwoven barriers, my self made wicker like prison, to make space for
transformation by letting go of the hardened masculine layer each trauma has
created allowing it all to soften into a feminine energy, letting each
unwinding layer of branches form a blossom as it unveils a beauty held within" ...
now this answer I do not question, this answer I cherish, it resonates, it
echoes right through me, its clarity poised me in a freeze frame like pressing an almighty pause
button. I sit and I digest, I do not question its validity. The time has come
to recognise that I need to allow and welcome my vulnerability, to release my armour and nurture my wounds in order to heal.
My intention worked its way through the retreat with me guiding each practise placing the valuable words into motion. At the fire ceremony it helped me to focus on transforming all that has been into what will be. "It's not mine ... It's yours" I said silently as I offered into the fire the countless layers of trauma that have become my interwoven armour, I thanked them for their attempts to keep me safe and hoped that they may transform to fuel my healing journey towards my true nature.
My intention worked its way through the retreat with me guiding each practise placing the valuable words into motion. At the fire ceremony it helped me to focus on transforming all that has been into what will be. "It's not mine ... It's yours" I said silently as I offered into the fire the countless layers of trauma that have become my interwoven armour, I thanked them for their attempts to keep me safe and hoped that they may transform to fuel my healing journey towards my true nature.
Transitioning home...
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| Stairwell Sharpham House | (c) photo S-C Peace |
When arriving home after working deeply on retreat remind yourself that
those who welcome your return were not on the the retreat they did not
experience the discoveries you did, they did not learn the skills you have,
there perspective hasn't changed, remember to make space for them allowing them
to be your teachers as you notice your responses to their actions. For example
if someone at home is losing the plot over misplacing some (seemingly
unimportant to you) item show them compassion it is still important to them and
remember they have not travelled the same path of awakening as you, don't fall
into old defensive habits recognise that this is not your moment of turmoil to
become affected by it is theirs.
Discover more about James Reeves here restfulbeing.com
iRest Yoga Nidra
Is a powerful tool to have in your kit developed by Richard Miller Ph.D,
a Yogic Scholar and Clinical Psychologist. It is based on Yoga Nidra an ancient
meditation technique which has been skilfully combined with Western Psychology
and Neuroscience to create a widely accessible practise. Its effects are
substantiated by existing and continuing research upon conditions such as;
Depression, Insomnia, Anxiety, Stress, PTSD, Chronic Pain, Addiction.
This deeply relaxing practise works at that level we can sometimes find
ourselves in a realm somewhere between wakefulness and sleep called the
Hypnagogic State, its as if our body is asleep yet our mind indeed our
awareness is switched on. Regular practise can reawaken the ability to allow
yourself to 'be' to dial down the noise of daily life and awaken to your true
self igniting connection to your inner wisdom. iRest Yoga Nidra works on
rewiring your thinking changing unhelpful thought patterns whilst developing
your ability to respond rather than react to situations.
Discover more about iRest and Richard Miller here irest.us
'The iRest Program for Healing PTSD' book details proven techniques for
healing PTSD. This integrative approach reaches into a myriad of unresolved
issues held in the body and mind whilst enabling the survivor to connect with a
deep sense of calm by accessing a part of us that is, has and always will be
whole.
Discover more about the Book here irest.us/publications
Discover more about iRest practitioner James Reeves here restfulbeing.com
Neurogenic Yoga & TRE
Prepare to meet the store house of trauma, your Psoas muscle (pronounced
so-as). This pair of large deep seated abdominal muscles connect each femur
(upper leg bone) to the lumbar spine (lower back).
Neurogenic Yoga works on stretching the Psoas muscle before carefully
working with TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises). Trauma patterns
form within the body as we humans can and do often turn off our natural
response to shaking a trauma out of our system. A combination of specific
movements and breathing induces SITT (Self Induced Therapeutic Tremors). This
controlled shaking of the Psoas muscle encourages the release of old patterns
caused by held trauma, stress and tension. Reassuringly especially to your
nervous system you remain in control of the process. An added benefit is that you don't have to talk about the traumas you don't even have to think about them or know what you are releasing during the practise, your body takes care of your needs it takes care of you.
Dr. Bercelli Ph.D developed TRE, he studied animals and how they release
traumas from there body. His desire was to have TRE as a 'take home' therapy
allowing people to practise regularly in the safety of there own homes. Regular
practise of TRE helps to keep space in your life to deal with problems that
come your way as you are not constantly overloading your system by holding onto
old traumas and stresses.
For a moment imagine a gazelle quietly grazing and then out of nowhere
suddenly running literally for its life, it's being hunted and the gap
shortens as a lion closes in, the gazelle soon becomes caught up in the lions mouth but then somehow luckily breaks free, it may or may not be physically
injured but it has survived so what happens to this animal now, its still
terrified but as soon as it is clear of danger it releases the trauma by
shaking, literally shaking out the traumatic effects of almost being dinner and
soon after it is grazing again as if nothing has happened. What animals continue
to do naturally in response to trauma is what TRE does for the human body by
letting the trauma go.
We humans have become conditioned to turn off our natural shaking
mechanism to release traumatic events. The more trauma you suffer and the
longer you hold it the more twisted and shortened your psoas becomes recoiling
further with each trauma. The psoas tightens in fearful or stressful situations
to curl you up into the smallest possible shape - a foetal position - to
protect you from injury and to ensure your survival, but unlike animals we do
not release the shortening as soon as we are safe, we've forgotten how to. Imagine a towel held at
length and twisted like a piece of rope it twists up tighter and tighter with
each trauma and no amount of stretching or strengthening will release it, it
has to be shaken out. Overtime unreleased trauma can contort the psoas to the
point where it cannot tighten anymore, we then develop other problems as the
body tries to compensate, the shoulder and the neck can begin to show
discomfort as trauma travels through the body with back muscles contracting to
counter act the tightening psoas often resulting in back pain.
TRE has been proven to work for PTSD where all other treatments have
failed. A study carried out on 6000 veterans resulted in the vast majority seeing their symptoms greatly improve within just 6 wks of group sessions with only 11 veterans out of that 6000 requiring some 1:1 TRE therapy to realise the benefits.
Discover more about Dr. Bercelli & TRE here traumaprevention.com/about-dr-david-berceli/
Discover more about TRE practitioner Jo Hamilton here itsallaboutfeelingbetter.co.uk
