Uncover a simplicity and ease of being that is waiting to be remembered…

This 3-day experiential meditation, deep rest, and self-inquiry retreat will empower you to discover the depths of your own stillness and support you to uncover a simplicity and ease of being that is always there, waiting to be remembered.

Retreat Overview

There is a longing within each of us, asking us to return to the stillness and wholeness we’ve always known. This stillness comes and goes in our lives, yet having known it, we long to return to it and often look in the wrong places. We mistakenly believe by doing something different or changing in some way, we’ll find peace. Whilst we can find temporary relief, the real and lasting freedom we are looking for is rarely found by reorganising ourselves or our lives. 

Retreat offers an opportunity to uplug, unwind and unravel, by providing a forum for stopping and resting. These 5 days offer the opportunity to rediscover the shared humanity of our underlying stillness. The quietness that lies beneath our worldly identities is easily accessed when we take away distraction, preoccupation, and identification with the various roles and responsibilities we hold as caregivers, workers, and partners. It allows for a slow stripping away of all the layers of who we believe we are. As we remember that at our core, we are still, full, content, and at ease, we recover our innate sense of wellbeing. Carrying this ease back into life reignites our love for the world and our ability to maintain and sustain all those roles with less friction and tension.

What To Expect 

The structure of the retreat will explore themes from the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism, also known as The Pathless Path, or ‘non-dual’ philosophy. These teachings embrace simplicity and the proposition that to access deep stillness and presence we can explore a series of reductive inquiries that help to remove, rather than add to, the layers of our conditioned self. 

These teachings exemplify the proposition that there is nothing that needs to be fixed, changed or adjusted, and as we learn to welcome ourselves and life just as it is, we uncover a deep ground of ease and well-being and recover a lasting sense of wholeness. We don’t have to get anywhere to find this, but by stopping, resting and befriending what’s within our experience, this groundless ground reveals itself. 

Through a range of practices, discussions, and self-inquiry tools, you’ll learn how to get beyond any sense of there being something that you need to do to access your most rested self. The retreat will walk you, hand in hand, through stages of structured practices and then beyond frameworks toward this simple recognition, that at your core, you are already whole, healed, and healthy. 

Come home to the beauty and simplicity of rest and let go of the idea that there is somewhere to get to. Be surprised and delighted by the simplicity of recovering your already-at-ease self. All that’s needed is to follow the signposts most aligned with your heart and trust in the deep yearning you have to rest, surrender and be still.

Retreat Themes

• Time: how you choose to spend it, making deep lifelong intentions that support you to rest amidst life and move toward an experience of timelessness amidst the hurrying pace of life.

• Space: how to carve out more space for those things you love and treasure, explorations as to the location of your sense of self, and simple inquiries that support the recovery of a sense of wide-open spaciousness that lends itself to an unhurried life.

• Knowing: how none of us really know what’s coming and that certainty is subjective.  Explore reflections and meditations that will break through the mind’s insistence that you need to work everything out.

• Acquisition: surrendering to the simple truth that there is nowhere to get to, that we never arrive, and that the fullness of who you are is already here and at rest, masked by the idea of a better life, more ‘awakened’ you or that something is missing or lacking both within you and within your life. 

• Doing: relinquish the idea that you’ll ever ‘get it all done’, and explore a cultural mindset that proposes that you’ll get to your most peaceful version of yourself by ‘doing’ meditation. Discover the simplicity of non-doing by embracing everything within the simple act of sitting still and stopping as a pathway to deep stillness. 

The Schedule

07:45 – 09:00 Meditation and Pranayama

09:00 – 10:30 Break, walk, rest 

10:30 – 12:30 Movement and Yoga Nidra practice

12:30 – 14:30 Lunch, rest, and free time

14:30 – 17:00 Gentle Movement, Meditation, Yoga Nidra

16:30 –  20:15 Dinner and free time

20:15 –  Optional extra meditation or yoga nidra for sleep (with an option to join via zoom from home/your accommodation if you’d prefer)

Silence

Silence can be confronting for some, yet there is no greater pointer to your most rested nature than being quiet. Portions of the retreat will be held in silence. This is to foster inward relating and to ease pressure on social interactions, allowing you to be free to be quiet. We will keep silence through the mornings.

Local Walks

Charlbury rests on the borders of Cornbury Park, an estate comprising about 5,000 acres, mostly farmland, and woods, including a remnant of the Wychwood Forest, and was the original venue for the Cornbury Music Festival. A public footpath around the estate provides stunning views and a retreat into nature. We can hope for some good weather in September, but bring a raincoat! There are also local walks around the town, and plenty of benches to stop, rest, and be.

Arrival & Departure

 Arrival is on Friday, September 26th. Our first session together will begin at 7:30pm where we will come together for a grounding practice in the evening to help everyone settle in. Departure is on Monday, September 29th at 5pm. If you wish to attend for the weekend only, please get in touch - bookings@deeprest.com

Pricing Per Person

£285.00

The cost includes 3 days and one evening of the complete yoga, meditation, and awareness programmme. 

To secure your place, you can book your place via our online payment system. We will then email you with further details and to confirm your place.

The Venue

Address: The Barn, Crinan House, Market Street, Charlbury, OX7 3PH

Locale: Join us in the heart of the Cotswolds at a quiet and peaceful Yoga Studio, nestled into charming Charlbury. You can stay in the town, or take some recommended accommodation, just a short and delightfully stunning walk from the town itself.

This retreat will have a maximum of 10 participants, allowing for a very personal experience within an intimate group setting. 

Quiet and cozy, situated in an old building amidst the town's quiet streets, the venue has a kitchen area for participants to use, with a fridge for food storage, and an orchard to relax in between sessions.

The Teacher

James Reeves is the Author of The Book Of Rest and the founder of Deep Rest. He has been practicing and teaching yoga, meditation, and yoga nidra for over 20 years. This is a rare opportunity to engage in these depth teachings within a small group. All sessions will be taught by James.

Food

Each day we will share a simple lunch. Feel free to bring your own food if you’d like to, or join us and sit together. There is a fridge available for you to store your own food and basic kitchen facilities to prepare your own food if this is your preference.

Accommodation 

If you live outside of the Oxford area, You will need to arrange your own accommodation for the retreat. Here are a couple of suggestions/tips:  

• The Bull. This quaint local Public House serves good food and offers accommodation.

• Banbury Hill Farm. Situated out of town with a lovely stroll of 20 or so minutes, to and from the venue. Previous attendees recommend this option.