New Beginnings : A Retreat In Nature
17th-19th January at the Quadrangle in Kent

EMBODY YOUR VISION OF 2020

We’re feeling it’s time to make new traditions – to break up the old routine a little and start the year with things that are known to be nourishing.

∞ We know we love massage.
∞ We know yoga makes us feel pretty darn good.
∞ We know how lovely it is to be in nature and community, with old friends and new.
∞ We know what it is to feel all cosy round an open fire enjoying home cooked food, especially in these winter months.
∞ We know how precious it is to have time and space to just “be”.
∞ We know it’s not too late to start our new year’s intentions and visioning for the decade ahead.

WE’D LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO A WEEKEND OF NEW BEGINNINGS, WITH :

yoga · massage · nature walks · fire · plant based and vegetarian food · friendship · vision-boarding · community · partner yoga · playfulness · nourishment · belonging · nature connection · breathwork · intention-setting and letting go · bath · music and songs · meditation · creativity · pampering · rest and relaxation · home

You are welcome to participate in as many activities as you would like; they are all optional, depending on your own feeling and flow.

#2020vision #newyearnewyou #heartfulcolabs

COST OF THE WEEKEND

£180 concession dorm · £230 standard dorm · £280 supportive dorm · £290 sharing twin room · £340 private room

We want to make this weekend as accessible as possible, so if finances feel like a barrier to you coming, please contact Katy to discuss your situation and see how we can get you here with us!

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE PRICE

2 yoga sessions each day including 1 partner yoga · morning meditation each day · 40 minute massage · visioning and vision boarding session · 3 delicious vegetarian meals per day · accommodation · walk in nature · time around the fire

RESERVE YOUR PLACE

Email Katy to reserve your place or go directly to our registration form: https://forms.gle/yBzeSVYvGuxfFFno8

FLOW OF THE WEEKEND

Arrive from 4pm onwards on Friday. We’ll sit down for dinner together around 7.30pm when everyone’s arrived. The retreat ends on Sunday after lunch around 2pm.

Each day will consist of the gentle rhythm of yoga, time and walks in nature, new year intention setting, visioning and letting go around the fire, massage and communal meals. Through these practices we can find our flow again, and reconnect with ourselves and the world around us.

There will be plenty of time for relaxation and quiet contemplation, as well as group connection and any free-flow, freestyle jams and activities if you feel the call. It’s up to you how much you participate; the space is yours to hold as you wish.

Join Katy for morning and afternoon Transformational Yoga sessions – a heart-centred yoga practice combining postures, breathing exercises and mantras, helping you to reconnect with your body and inner self. All levels and abilities welcome – lycra not required!

During the weekend you will receive a 40 minute bodywork session from Mel, aimed to soothe and align muscles, balance energy and cleanse the body. Drawing on her studies in Sports, Swedish and Thai massage, and depending on your needs, she will create the perfect massage for you.

Mel will also be offering a playful partner yoga session, combining yoga and movement, that will deepen the connection between oneself, each other and the nature around us.

Marti’s visioning session will help us get clear on what we want in our lives for 2020 and beyond. A creative, gentle and playful journey inwards to find out what it is you want for next year and how we can support that vision, to make it a reality.

We will also be nurtured through the sharing of plant-based and vegetarian meals lovingly prepared by Marti. You can expect an abundance of flavours, hearty and nourishing delights to accompany you on the weekend journey into relaxation and self-love.

We’ll have a relaxed Saturday night around the fire – perhaps we’ll drink some heart-opening cacao and continue our visioning and intention setting, perhaps we’ll sing and share stories and poems. We may even pamper ourselves with some DIY pedicures and hand and foot massages!

OUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME

The Quadrangle is a Victorian farmstead built in 1870, this beautiful rustic farmhouse setting is away from any hustle and bustle. We have already hosted many retreats here and know it’s the perfect place to slow down, connect and quietly observe and reflect on Mother Nature.

Run as a centre for sustainable living and the creative arts, the Quadrangle has many beautiful elements with which to enjoy our stay. We’ll practice our restorative and energy-holding yoga and meditations around the wood burning fire in the Granary – a beautiful setting for our smaller group – and share this warm and cosy space for our visioning workshops, sharing circles and meals together. We will wrap up warm and venture outside if the weather permits for fireside intention setting and letting go, and walks in nature. There are sofas and wood burner in the Shepherds Barn to put your feet up with a cup of tea, a living permaculture forest garden, and a stream running through for some wild dipping! The hills and vales of the Pilgrims Way are in reach just a short walk cross-country.

It is the perfect setting to look away from the outside chaos and journey into our inner peace. In doing so we can become better aware of who we are and where we are heading.

We’re all just walking each other home.
– Ram Dass

ABOUT US

 Katy – I’ve been practising yoga since 1999, leading me to deeper studies with different forms of yoga over the years including Transformational, Scaravelli-inspired, Sivananda and Yoga for Anxiety and Depression, in Europe and India. I love being in this space of teacher and eternal student, and hope we can share the magic of yoga too. When I’m not running a retreat or facilitating a workshop you’ll most likely find me working and playing in alternative communities and in nature. I am passionate about integrated, embodied empowerment, and want to work and play with awesome collaborators, exploring and experiencing the spectrum of human connection and expression. I want to help people to feel empowered to live a more joyful and loving life, free of fear and shame. I believe we can each become an explorer of self, reconnecting with our inner child we may have forgotten along the way and, rediscovering our joy and lust for life, co-create a more beautiful world together (hat tip to Charles Eisenstein). mahayoga.org.uk / katycara.com / facebook.com/heartfulcolabs

Marti – Marti is international facilitator and speaker specialising in women’s empowerment and erotic leadership. With 11 years of experience in the sexuality field, Marti has created her own unique approach to transformation and education around consent, sex and relationships. Marti’s background as a professional dominatrix enables her to imbue her teaching with intersectional feminism and politics, and provide a broader perspective around power and empathy. Marti is also a multi-disciplinary artist, using her work as a tool for storytelling, empowerment and survival in the world. Marti’s passion for food, cooking and nourishment makes her a true Bohemian Domestic Goddess. soundofbirch.com / facebook.com/femmeempowerment

Mel – Yoga, energy healing, and bodywork have played a large part in my health and wellbeing practice over the last two decades, and have personally helped me deal with a variety of physical and mental traumas and enabled me to live the joyful authentic lifestyle that I have today. I dedicated my studies to learning a combination of western and ancient health methods and rituals to enable me to share my passions; I studied sports massage in the UK in 1996 as part of a Sports Therapy Diploma and later went on to study Thai massage in the North of Thailand in 2000. I have studied yoga with some great teachers in India, where I gained my teacher training certificate in 2009, since then my studies and interests have been directed towards tantra, kundalini and partner yoga, which the latter I became a certified teacher of in 2014. I like to bring an authentic and joyful experience to all that I do, and hope people gain as much pleasure and satisfaction from the experience as I do. melaniekalay.com / facebook.com/itsyesmel

“Let’s make it happen” : a vision-making workshop – Have you ever felt that you are not really getting what you want or wish for? Part of the truth is, you can’t always have what you want and that’s OK. On the other hand, often one can simply forget what it is they want, things slip out of our mind and focus. I don’t believe in simple magic of manifestation. I believe in focused practice to work towards something I decided it’s worth the effort of finding out what it is and putting it down on paper. Giving it a form, a shape. Bringing it to life. That precious record of your vision is not to be filed and forgotten. It’s to be seen as a daily reminder that I made myself a promise; I will work and support my vision and dream to get what I want. It will be fun and creative afternoon, using pencils, pens, art supplies, large papers, with self reflection and opening ourselves to the idea, we can get what we want. If you knew, you can get it, what would you ask for?

Transformational Yoga is a heart-centred approach to yoga, incorporating physical postures (asanas), breathing practices (pranayama) and dhyana (mantra meditation), as well as meditation and deep relaxation (yoga nidra). Connecting body, breath, heart, mind and soul has brought an awareness and inner stillness I didn’t believe was possible before. Take your focus inward, breathe and become present to your intention. All-comers welcome – from absolute beginners to yoga masters!

Partner Yoga – you are invited to take part in fun, interactive and inclusive session of partner yoga – grounding and uplifting barefoot movement, partner yoga poses exploring balance and weight sharing and group humandala’s, that will create energetic harmony with each other and our surroundings. All accompanied by fresh beats to encourage you to dance, let loose and connect.

The Quadrangle is a large Victorian model farmstead built in 1870 near Shoreham in Kent. Part of it is owned and managed by The Quadrangle Trust which is run as a centre for sustainable living and the creative arts. The garden runs down through an orchard to the River Darent and a field and small woodland beyond. It’s setting in the valley is extraordinarily rural and peaceful in that it is only 20 miles from Piccadilly Circus as the crow flies. thequadrangle.co

PREVIOUS FEEDBACK

“Thank you for an absolutely wonderful weekend. You create such a safe space for everyone to explore their connection to themselves and their relationship with the world and people around them.”

“I kept telling people that the weekend felt like a beautiful dream, except it was real! I went on raving about how great the retreat was to my colleagues and may have convinced at least two of them to sign up for the next one.”

“It was very special to feel so accepted.”

“Here’s the poem I’d like to share with everyone. Beautiful things in life should be remembered in a way they deserve, because they’ll never be recreated the same way again. ‘Tis a poem to commemorate our wonderful little weekend Yoga Retreat in Shoreham.

Reminiscing on my weekend,
Like a beautiful dream in Kent,
Being drifted to a tranquil space,
A place called The Quadrangle,
With faces we’ve never seen before.

We had our stories and pains,
From our distant realities.
But despite our differences,
We desired one thing that brought us all together,
Getting away from the city noise,
In search for calmness deep within.

It was a weekend of Peace and Quiet,
In search for our spiritual self,
Through hikes in the woods,
And collective Om chants,
An unusually soul-soothing rhythm.

It was a weekend of Hopes and Fears,
To let go of our painful memories,
And welcome abundance of positivities,
Freeing ourselves from the prisons of our minds,
To achieve a truly liberated state of mind.

It was weekend of Love and Joy,
Where we embraced our own uniqueness,
Shared our profoundest wisdom and knowledge,
And rejoiced our singing voices,
Free from all kinds of judgment,
It was simply, blissfully, beautiful.

It was a weekend of New Experiences,
We’ve made lasting relationships,
From strangers to now familiar acquaintances,
Ain’t close enough to be friends,
Ain’t distant enough to be strangers.

Content and Grateful,
We bid goodbye,
Go back living our separate lives,
With a new perspective.
And that’s the beauty of life.”

“Thank you so much to the whole team for truly nourishing and nurturing me.”

“Thank you so very much for your incredible calming energy. You are a beautiful teacher and I would love to bottle you up and take you home!”

“Absolutely fantastic weekend – beautiful location and brilliant yoga!”

“This yoga retreat has been the BEST! Thank you all so much.”

“The most relaxed, loving, nourishing weekends imaginable with an affordable price tag!”

COVER ARTWORK

Original photo: Jorge Saavedra, Unsplash / Design: Marti Birch