8 Day Earth Spirit Lodge Retreat in Cumbria, UK
Earth spiritual retreat for healing and awakening
A retreat for the purification and honouring of the earth and your body. A time in circle with Spirit, our Earth relatives, the ancestors, and your guides and guardians to support your awakening. These retreats aim to awaken your soul memories of ways of walking with Spirit through life and draw on the elements, the medicine wheel, and spiritual ideas, wisdom, and beliefs that develop your conscious connection with the natural world.
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Yoga and breath practices
- Loving self-enquiry circles
- Eclectic practices from yoga and earth spiritual tradition
- Sacred ritual with the Celtic wheel of the Year and mini earth spiritual workshops
- 2 x 1-hour personal holistic massage
- 2 x Cacao ceremony
- Three daily delicious, freshly cooked, plant-based meals (breakfast lunch and dinner)
- 7 nights accommodation
Yoga styles
Accommodation
Facilities
- Dining area
- Environmentally friendly
- Fireplace
- Garden
- Kitchen
- Wedding
Sunny Brow Farm’s retreat accommodations are beautifully renovated barn conversions. There are four barns renovated into self-contained barn cottages. Two cottages take up the upper and lower parts of a Lakeland bank barn, and two are smaller and separate. All barns have bedroom/s, bathroom/s, living space, kitchen, and dining area. The barns have been lovingly renovated to allow modern fittings and style to sit alongside the old barn features and optional log burners. Characterful yet with modern comfort, the barn accommodation will fulfill all your needs. They are all equipped with good Wi-Fi.
The yoga studio and massage rooms are nestled within the area of the barn conversions, and the studio overlooks woodlands and sheep pastures.
Itinerary of barns
- The Old Dairy is a ground-floor barn cottage with two private bedrooms—one double and one single—which share a bathroom and living space. This barn is also where retreat guests eat communally on a large oak table.
- Sunny Brow Barn: one bedroom that can be twin or double ensuite, with private living space.
- The Hayloft is an upper-floor barn cottage in a large renovated hay barn. Two twin or double ensuite bedrooms that share a large open-plan living space.
- Bracken Barn – one bedroom that can be twin or double ensuite, with private living space.
Program
Suzy and Jane draw on their Earth-rooted transpersonal spiritual practice to co-create dynamic spaces where you can all explore what it means to be incarnate on the Earth here and now. In essence, this is a retreat to explore the nothing, the everything, and your earth walk in between.
If you feel it is time to journey more deeply into the transpersonal reality of the dream weave, shed skins, and develop your understanding so that you can further embody your practice, then Earth Spirit Lodge is calling.
This retreat may be for you if you are interested in learning new ways of becoming present through your connection with the natural world or if you are curious about developing your spirituality through the mysteries of creation. At the heart of these retreats is the process of our embodiment, so expect deep healing and emotional release.
Inside the sweat lodge is a physically challenging environment. Therefore, it is not suitable for anyone with a significant medical condition that could be adversely affected by the strong heat. However, the sweat lodge is a community space, and there are other ways to receive the healing rather than being inside the lodge. Do message us if you have any questions about the sweat lodge and its suitability for you prior to booking.
Our retreats are rooted in personal inquiry and use spiritual practices to facilitate heightened self-awareness. Therefore, they are not suitable for anyone with an active (unmedicated or untreated) serious mental health condition.
Program highlights
- Amazing value retreat with, overall, approx. 28 hours of sacred, and healing group sessions and ceremonies.
- Eclectic practices from yoga and earth spiritual tradition, including cacao and a give-away sweat lodge experience
- Yoga & breath practices
- Sacred ritual with the Celtic wheel of the Year and mini-earth spiritual workshops
- 2 x Cacao ceremony
- Loving self-enquiry circles
- Good sized groups of between 7 and 12 people, big enough for a social crowd to meet like-minded people, and small enough for privacy and/or intimate group connection.
- One-to-one transpersonal healing session on arrival
- 2 x 1-hour personal holistic massage included (more available at extra cost)
- Daytime space for walks exploring the amazing Lakeland countryside
Itinerary
Day 1: Friday
- Arrival from 3 p.m. Please aim to arrive at the latest at 4.30 p.m, as the retreat would love to start with everyone present. One-to-one sessions starting at 3:30 p.m.
- 17:00 - 19:30 Opening ceremony & Ritual Body Prayer
- 19:45 Dinner
Day 2: Saturday
- 08:30 Breakfast
- 09:00 - 12:00 Deepen with the Medicine Wheel Workshop
- 12:15 Lunch
- 14:00 - 17:00 Mother Earth Within You: Cacao ceremony with Yogic Inner Dance
- 17:30 Dinner
- 19:30 Prayer Lodge through Sacred Share
Day 3: Sunday
- 08:00 Buffet Breakfast
- 08:30am - 13:15 Inclusive ritual massages
- 15:30 Lunch
- 15:00 - 17:00 Receiving love: Yin yoga session
- 17:30 Dinner
Day 4: Monday
- 09:00 Breakfast
- 10:00 - 12:00 Tea ceremony & Dreaming Circle in the yurt
- 12:15 Lunch
- 13:45 - 17:15 Free time / book an extra session / walk the land
- 17:00 - 19:00 Integrative Inner Dance
- 19:30 Dinner
Day 5: Tuesday
- 09:00 Breakfast
- 10:00 - 12:30 Prayer Feathers Workshop & Ritual Yoga
- 12:45 Lunch
- 14:00 - 18:45 Inclusive Soul Massages (individual times tbc)
- 17:00 Dinner
- 20:15 - 21:15 Journey for Lodge Guidance
Day 6: Wednesday
- 07:30 Buffet Breakfast in Old Dairy & open Invitation to Lodge site
- 09:00 - 12:30 Lodge time – be at the lodge by 08:45
- 13:00 Grounding Lunch with share
- 14:00 - 18:00 Free time
- 18:00 Dinner
Day 7: Thursday
- 10:00 - 12:00 Integrative yoga with sweet Cacao
- 12:15 Lunch
- 13:30 - 17:00 Book a session with Jane or Suzy / Enjoy a walk
- 17:15 - 18:45 Closing ceremony
- 19:00 Dinner
Day 8: Friday
- 09:00 Breakfast
- 10:30 Departure
Instructors
Suzy-Anne Saunders
Suzy is the owner and manager of Sunny Brow Farm Holistic Retreat. Suzy is a professional yoga teacher, shamanic practitioner, inner dance facilitator, holistic therapist and Reiki master, macrobiotic and healing food practitioner, and a devoted and blessed mum of three beautiful souls. She came to holistic living and spiritual development in her early twenties, starting her holistic teacher and facilitator training with yoga in 2006, and is currently still adding to her skill set and 'All Nations sweat lodge training. In April 2018 her cookbook ‘Conscious Cookery’ was published.
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander runs her own teaching and spiritual healing practice in Cumbria through which she offers her intuitively guided sessions, readings and workshops. Jane is an instinctive mystic, soul aware facilitator and accidental musician, who weaves shamanic-style transformative workshops and retreats. Sound plays a powerful role in Jane’s work. She uses her voice, words and non-linguistic chanting to facilitate altered states of consciousness.
Retreat location
Sunny Brow Farm is a beautifully renovated old Cumbrian farm, set within the hills and dales of the Lake District National Park. This allows easy access to the lakes, rivers, forests, villages, and beautiful hikes within the stunning South Lake District.
Sunny Brow Farm itself is nestled in the dale near Black Fell, with streams, sheep pasture land, and woodland directly on the doorstep. Being in such close proximity to nature is such a gift for a quiet and natural stay.
The nearest village is Hawkshead (5-minute drive), and the nearest small town is Ambleside (10-minute drive).
Food
Sunny Brow Farm's food ethos is to nourish our bodies with natural, elegant, and really tasty plant-based cuisine. A love of seasonal, organic, homegrown, and wild foods from nature’s garden influences their menus. Using inspiration from these elements, they consciously plan and prepare the menus for the retreats. The menus are always seasonal to allow for a deeper connection to nature’s gifts at each time of year.
Their approach is rooted in macrobiotic principles, emphasising gut health through healthy plant-based foods, whole grains, and optimum preparation methods like fermentation. They prioritise a rich variety of vegetables and predominantly unprocessed, plant-based ingredients. Sunny Brow Farm maintains a fully gluten-free and refined sugar-free menu. While their focus is primarily on plant-based foods, they occasionally incorporate natural organic yoghurt and farm-fresh eggs. They pride themselves on catering for all food intolerances at no extra cost to the guest.
On retreat, everyone enjoys meal times around a large oak table in the Old Dairy Barn, a social space to enjoy like-minded fellow retreat guests, and the gifts of foods cooked, prepared, and served with love. They serve two large eclectic meals each day; plus, lighter breakfast and afternoon tea snacks are also available.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Organic
- Lactose Free
- Whole food
- Ayurvedic
Things to do (optional)
The itinerary shows all the inclusive sessions on-site. Sunny Brow Farm does not offer any facilitated off-site excursions, but due to their location in the Lake District, many people choose to do their own hikes and/or wild swims. They can give recommendations for this if you wish.
- Book an extra treatment from the spa list below
- Cosy down in your barn living space—maybe in front of a fire—with a book (there is a yoga/holistic book library if you wish) and cup of tea or cacao (extra costs for logs and cacao)
- Enjoy lakeland walk/hike (varying from easy to more challenging)
- Wild swimming locally
- Enjoy a trip to Sacred Essence, a wonderful local shop (10-minute drive) selling great holistic goods.
- Enjoy a trip to Hawkshead village, Ambleside, Windermere or Coniston
Spa treatments
On your retreat, one of the holistic massages is included per person in the price (this could be swapped for reiki should you wish). There are a selection of other additional treatments available to book at extra cost. The list for these is below. Further information on each of these treatments is available in our retreat welcome pack and/or can be discussed in person when you are here.
- Extra holistic massage: 60 GBP / 1 hour
- Hot stone massage ritual: 70 GBP / time: 1 hour
- Reflexology: 55 GBP / time: 1 hour
- Himalayan salt scrub massage: 65 GBP / time: 1 hour
- Ayurvedic massage: 60 GBP / time 1 hour
- Indian head massage: 30 GBP / time: 1/2 hour
- Ginger compress with back massage: 65 GBP / time: 1 hour
- Reiki: 60 GBP / time: 1 hour
- Soul healing: 1 hour / 60 GBP
- Soul reading: 1 hour / 65 GBP
- Transformational healing: 1 hour / 60 GBP
- Crystal healing: 1 hour / 60 GBP
- Macrobiotic / dietary consultation: 60 GBP / time: 1 hour
What's included
- One-to-one transpersonal healing session on arrival
- 2 x massage
- 10 group sessions, including: circle share, mini earth spirituality workshops, cacao ceremony, tea ceremony, ritual yoga & movement, healing ceremonies, and yoga & breath practice
- Whole day Inipi sweatlodge experience
- Opening and closing ceremonies
- Delicious full-board food
- 7 nights accommodation
What's not included
- Extra massages (available at an extra cost)
- Extra Cacao (5 GBP per cup)
- Logs for log burners—a package of all you need for a lovely fire 7.50 GBP (matches / kindling / firelighters and bag of logs)
- Travel to and from the retreat
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Manchester Airport
125 km
Transfer not provided
Driving directions from the M6
- Take exit 36 and head northwest towards Kendal and Windermere, at Sizergh the road becomes the A591 but keep driving straight ahead towards Kendal and Windermere.
- You will pass Kendal and arrive at a large roundabout.
- Take the second exit (straight on) towards Windermere.
- When you arrive at Windermere, carry on following the A591 to Ambleside.
- When you arrive on the outskirts of Ambleside (Waterhead), you will come to a junction with traffic lights.
- Turn left here onto the A5059 "Borrans Road".
- You will pass the Waterhead pub and through a twisting section of roadway.
- When the road straightens out, take the left hand turning after the rugby club ground (signposted to Coniston and Hawkshead).
- Follow this road around to the bridge.
- Turn left going over the bridge.
- You will now be on the A593.
- After approximately 1 mile, take a left-hand turn onto the B5286 towards Hawkshead, driving over the Brathay bridge.
- After approximately 1.5 miles, take a sharp right-hand turn there is a signpost here for 'The Drunken Duck' Inn.
- Drive up the hill and straight past the Drunken Duck Inn.
- After 3/4 mile, the driveway to the farm is on the right-hand side.
- If you have Satellite Navigation, the postcode is LA22 0PU.
Please note that some satellite navigation systems seem to get muddled, please do double check it. Please also note that the signage is small and the farm is not overly lit in the darker hours. On arrival, you can park in the car park that is situated on the right as you turn in the gate. They do not have a reception but make your way to the farmhouse/barns and someone will be there to greet you. If not, please do knock loudly, and they will be there.
Arrival by train
There is a train station at Windermere (the line ends here). You can take a taxi here which costs approximately 20 GBP, or you can catch the regular and direct 505 Bus, getting off at the Keswick road stop in Ambleside. Here, the farm offers free collection, but please arrange this prior to your arrival date.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 14% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
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