MOVING INTO STILLNESS
Find stillness in the mind through movement in the body
18th - 21st April 2025
Move from the chaos of the world to focus and develop more awareness of our your mind and body with the help of movement and bodywork.
Movement can help to guide our mind into a place of more effortless stillness, where we can deepen our meditation practice or simply find more calm and aliveness in your every day.
Join us in exploring how we can find grounding and stability through attending to our body as it moves. Mindful movement is a practice of cultivating presence and receptivity during movement which we will practise translating into cultivating more stillness and awareness as we meditate.
When a Bikkhu is walking, they know: 'I am walking.' When standing, they know: 'I am standing.' When sitting, they know: 'I am sitting.' And when lying down, they know: 'I am lying down.' And so they meditate observing [...] the body.
- The Satipatthana sutta
FACILITATION TEAM
HARRIET YALE
Harriet is a physiotherapist, Yoga and Pilates teacher by background and utilises techniques from a variety of traditions in her movement teaching. With a solid appreciation of how the body moves, she weaves together beautiful sequences and guides intuitive practices to empower your creativity and curiosity.
Dhibhajana
Dhibhajana is a massage therapist by profession. Involved with Triratna since 2016, she came along by attending a Yoga class which lead her to meditate. This changed her life into the direction of dedicating her life to practise Buddhism and help others to deepen their practice.
Meditation in combination with bodywork and creativity is a very important aspect for her to be able to help herself and others to transform the mind into more positive and expansive states of consciousness.
What to expect:
This retreat is open to all with open hearts and minds, though some experience with some mindful movement practices, and Triratna Buddhist meditation and rituals is recommended. The movement practices will be of a moderate physical intensity so do ensure your body can tolerate 2-3 sessions of moderate intensity activity each day.
If you have an injury, recurrent pain or other health conditions please consult your doctor or physiotherapist before signing up for this retreat. If you're unsure or have any queries related to mobility or accessibility, just get in touch!
Yoga mats will be available, but please bring your own if possible. We are very much looking forward to be on retreat with you all!
Timings & TRAVEL
TIMINGS
Please arrive between 3-5pm on the first day. Dinner will be served at 6pm. The retreat will finish by 12:30pm on the last day.
The exact schedule will be provided either in your confirmation email or when you arrive.
TRAVEL
The nearest railway stations are Bridgwater and Taunton. We are about 1h 15min from Bristol by car.
The 15 bus leaves Bridgwater at 16:50 during college term dates and stops at the Plough Inn in Holford. We are a 15min walk from there.
Please get in touch for further advice with public transport, or for help arranging lifts / carpools.
Make sure to put "Coach House 2, Alfoxton Park" into Google Maps. Other variations will take you to Alfoxton House nearby which is not us. Otherwise use grid reference 51.165187, -3.220080.
The What3Words for our car park are ///soup.candy.huddling
Accommodation & Food
ACCOMMODATION
This is a camping retreat - bring a tent or live-in vehicle. Toilets, showers and a sauna are available. We have limited accommodation indoors for those with specific needs. Please let us know when you book if this is the case for you.
FOOD
Delicious vegan meals will be provided throughout the retreat.
ACCESSIBILITY & DIETS
We are committed to Alfoxton being a fully accessible venue and are working hard to achieve this. However, while the renovation work continues, visitors with specific mobility or accommodation needs may experience barriers to accessing all areas of the building and land.
If you have any questions or concerns, just get in touch, and please inform us of any significant dietary or accessibility requirements before submitting your booking request.
Costs
Alfoxton Park is a charity and works on the principle of dana or a 'gift economy'. Read more about dana here.
A deposit of £78 will secure your place. You will be invited to make a donation to Alfoxton when you attend.
If you are an Triratna Order member and need financial support to pay a retreat deposit, you can apply for a grant from the Abhayaratna Trust.
Technology, alcohol & drugs
All of our events are alcohol and drug free. During the meditation retreats we ask you to turn off your mobile phones and other devices and not contact people outside of the retreat. For all other events and workshops we ask you to be mindful of the use of devices and stay present, in order to make the most of your time here.
Any Questions?
Check our FAQ page or send us an e-mail at events@alfoxtonpark.org.uk