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Past
Retreats Home
Winter
Retreat, Dartmoor (December 2005)
 The
Reclaim Your Self winter weekend
retreat took place at Throwleigh
House, in Dartmoor near Exeter on
England's South-West coast. The
house dated from the mid 19th century,
and has been converted into a retreat
and alternative therapy centre by
its current owner, John Wadlow,
a former music executive turned
alternative healer and organic farmer.
We arrived on a cold and crisp Friday
night, to a bowl of organic vegetable
soup made by Lizzie Jones, our gifted
wonder-chef for the weekend. At
night, the house, with its wooden
panels, creaky staircases and faded
velvet curtains, felt like the set
of a 1930s murder mystery, crossed
with a children's fairy tale. Before
we went to bed, we tapped the backs
of the wardrobes to see if they
lead into Narnia.
The structure of the weekend was
pleasantly relaxed, with all events
and workshops optional, depending
on your level of enthusiasm. We
were encouraged, but not required,
to go alcohol and cigarette free
for the weekend, and nudged in the
direction of the herbal tea stand
regularly.
Saturday morning started before
sunrise with an invigorating Kundalini
yoga class with Rhoda Mukasa, in
a tranquil purpose-built yoga studio
looking out onto the farmland. Those
of us who'd made it up in time for
yoga limped into the kitchen to
meet those who'd just woken up,
and sat down to a delicious breakfast.
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Lizzie's menu for
the weekend was entirely wheat,
sugar and dairy free, and made from
locally-sourced organic produce.
As Lizzie explained, the menu followed
the principles of natural nutrition
and since we were in winter, a time
for reflection and stillness, the
incubation of ideas and dreams,
and for slowing down and storing
of energy, the foods to eat are
warm hearty soups, root vegetables,
seaweeds and steamed winter greens
to fortify the kidneys. Even the
self-confessed carnivores and dairy
fiends among us were knocked out
by Lizzie's food and ended up queuing
for seconds.
As part of the retreat, we received
two treatments, ranging from hot
stone massage and Ayurvedic face
massage with Jools, Reflexology
with Alona, energy healing with
James and Kineseology with John.
There was even the option for an
Epsom salts bath (taken alone, of
course). As Lizzie explained, most
city folk suffer from magnesium
deficiency due to the lack of nutrients
in modern mass-produced vegetables,
so taking a hot bath with Epsom
salts is a great way for the body
to absorb magnesium. (It seems that
 Grandma
and her jar of faded bath salts
was onto something all along!)
In between rain showers, we spent
as much time outside in the winter
sun as we could, including an afternoon
ramble through the fields, and a
serene Sunday morning Chi Kung session
on the front lawn.
On Sunday, the high-spirited Zelah
Gera took a workshop on rediscovering
the joy of child's play. She set
up a room like a school room, with
paints, games and musical instruments,
and encouraged us to free-associate,
and disengage with adult expectations
about good behaviour and achieving
success. For some, finger-painting
was the road to enlightenment, and
for others, it was just a fun way
to unwind.
The combination of a quiet, comfortable
location, friendly and relaxed practitioners
and great food made for a restful
and rejuvenating weekend, which
all of us wished could have extended
a little longer.
John Forde |
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© Reclaim Your Self
2005 |
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