Nervous System Reset Day

Arrive, settle in and have a cup of tea or coffee while we gently introduce the day.

There is no need to arrive feeling calm.

That’s rather the point.

We begin with Qi Gong – a gentle practice combining movement, awareness and breath.

Kim will invite you to approach the session with a sense of playfulness.

Forget about what you think the movements are supposed to look like, or how you might look doing them.

Instead, focus on how they feel.

What feels comfortable?

What feels freeing?

What happens when you stop trying to get it right?

Qi Gong is increasingly used to support wellbeing and there is evidence that regular practice can be helpful for anxiety and stress, particularly by helping people experience greater physical and emotional calm.

You don’t need any previous experience or particular level of fitness.

Just curiosity.

Pause for tea, coffee, fresh fruit and a homemade energy bite before the next session.

If the word yoga makes you imagine complicated poses, flexibility or trying to get your foot somewhere near your head, yin yoga is rather different.

One of Kate’s clients describes it simply as:

“Lying around.”

And that’s not entirely inaccurate.

Yin is a very slow, quiet practice. Positions are generally supported and held for longer periods, giving the body time to soften rather than asking it to perform.

You do not need to be flexible.

You do not need any yoga experience.

There is nothing to achieve.

Anja will guide you through a gentle, adaptable practice that gives you the opportunity to experience how your body responds when you become still and allow it time to settle.

For many people, this makes yin an enormously valuable practice for down-regulation.

We’ll share a light, nourishing lunch followed by some completely unstructured time.

You might chat.

You might sit somewhere quietly with a drink.

Or, weather permitting, take yourself outside and explore the grounds.

There is no organised lunchtime activity and absolutely no expectation to socialise.

This is your time.

After lunch, Kate will lead a deeply restful guided meditation.

There is nothing to concentrate on and nothing to get right.

You will simply be invited to find a comfortable position, close your eyes if you wish and allow yourself to be guided.

Meditation can give us another way of experiencing what happens when we reduce stimulation and stop continually responding to what is happening around us.

You don’t need to have meditated before.

After the guided meditation, you’ll be invited to take the practice with you into the next half hour — perhaps through a silent walk in the grounds, bringing the same awareness into movement, or by finding a quiet space elsewhere in the house to journal, sit or reflect while the room is prepared for the sound bath.

Following the meditation, you will be invited to join Ayumi for an immersive sound bath.

Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes if you wish, and simply listen.

There is nothing you need to do.

Sound can offer a very different route into stillness from movement or meditation, and this part of the day gives you the opportunity to experience that for yourself.

Ayumi asks that people don’t rush away immediately after a sound bath. After a period of deep rest, it is helpful to give your body a little time to wake up and reorient before getting into the car and driving home.

That’s why we’ve deliberately created space at the end of the retreat rather than finishing the sound bath and sending everyone straight out of the door.

Tea, cake & closing words

We’ll slowly come back together over tea and cake.

There will be time to wake up properly, reconnect with your surroundings and reflect on anything that stood out during the day.

We’ll finish with a few gentle closing words before you head home.