Burn out retreat at Sharpham House
Nature at Sharpham
Guy Clarke
Nature View of the River Dart
Sharpham House Rooms
Food at Sharpham House
Food at Sharpham House

Burnout retreat in Sharpham House: sustain yourself through mindfulness

Summary

9 Reviews
4 nights - Quarterly
Any
Single
Short periods
Max. Spaces: 20

Overview

Many of us have experienced burnout and its debilitating effects on the mind and body. This 4-night stress retreat offers practical resources to help nourish you in your daily life and work.

Prolonged stress can cause feelings of exhaustion, overwhelm, depression or a lack of motivation as well as anxiety over life's demands. The physical effects of burning out can also include insomnia, headaches and migraines or stomach and digestive issues.

This retreat offers a unique hybrid of mindfulness based approaches and tools for resilience, helping to support your life's balance and offering strategies to help you manage stress in a more sustainable way. The retreats offers the chance to explore some of the underlying patterns that might lead to you feeling burnt out, with the chance to understand these through group sharing and personal reflection. 

It takes place in the very special setting of Sharpham House, in the grounds of Grade I-listed Sharpham House, Devon, surrounded by tranquil gardens within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

This retreat is for you if:

  • You need rest, replenishment, renewal and inspiration
  • You've experienced stress or are becoming concerned about the early signs of burn-out
  • You tend to drive yourself, resulting in regular feelings of stress, exhaustion, anxiety and overwhelm
  • You want to increase your personal resilience and self-care in a safe and supportive setting
  • You'd benefit from reflection and connecting to nature and your creativity, far away from the busy-ness of your day-to-day life and work
  • You're interested in creatively enquiring into your relationship with your work in the world
  • You want to explore how to remain active in your purpose to make the world a better place whilst overcoming cycles of burn-out
  • You'd like to meet and learn from others on a similar journey
What is Mindfulness?

What you'll experience on this retreat:

  • Experience a unique synthesis of mindfulness, creative enquiry and nature-connection to enhance your personal resilience, taking on skills and tools to use in your life and work
  • Explore your contribution to the world through self-care and self-compassion
  • Learn or deepen your experience of how meditation and mindfulness can support your daily life and the balance between ‘being and doing’
  • Learn to say NO with a good heart (and a clear conscience)
  • Recognise and become familiar with the early signs of burn-out and stress, exploring tools and strategies to avoid repeating the cycle
  • Learn how acting from a place of urgency and desperation can be counter-productive to your effectiveness - and explore alternatives
  • be able to explore our tranquil Capability Brownian parkland and our Grade 2*-listed gardens designed by Percy Cane
  • have a single-occupancy room and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself, far from the busy-ness of daily life. Click here to explore our rooms.
  • enjoy delicious, healthy, home-cooked vegetarian food that regularly receives rave reviews and have access to 24-hour hot teas, coffee & infusions in our Toasting Room
  • be cared for full-board in a Grade I-listed Georgian House surrounded by history and art, with staff looking after you, in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty close to nature, amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart
Sharpham House beginners retreats

What you need to know:

If you decide to stay with us, we’ll send you a list of what you need to bring for this retreat in your Welcome Letter that we send out after you've booked.

You can also find out more about staying with us on our Frequently Asked Questions page, including

  • accessibility information
  • why we encourage you to come on your own and not with partners or friends
  • what the difference is between our retreats
View our FAQs

Schedule

If you're coming to stay with us on retreat, it is important to make a commitment to arrive in time for the first group meeting and to attend all the days.

This ensures you experience the retreat programme from start to finish and helps your group of participants to gel.


Silence

All our retreats include periods of silence as a way of deepening into mindful awareness.

If you are new to spending time in silence in the company of other people, it can feel awkward to begin with. But we encourage you to explore the silent periods with a spirit of openness and curiosity - people usually find it to be a positive experience. 

The retreats typically move into silence each evening from 9pm - 10.45am the following day

Typical retreat schedule

Day 1: Arrive between 3-5pm for welcoming talk and settling in

Mornings Afternoons
7.20am - wake up bell 1.00pm - lunch and shared tasks
7.50am - meditation 2.15pm – personal time 
8.30am – breakfast and shared tasks 4.00pm  – enquiry session
9.50am - moving mindfulness 5.30pm  – meditation
10.45am - group circle, break the silence 6.00pm – supper and shared tasks
  8.00pm – evening session
  8.40pm – deep relaxation
  9.00pm – House moves into silence until 10.45am the next day

Final day: There is a closing meeting from 9.45am - 11.45am, and your departure by 12noon. 

Reviews

One of the most beautiful, nurturing and life-affirming opportunities that I have given myself and shared with others

participant on Burnout retreat at Sharpham House

Wonderful retreat. Just what I needed. Left feeling nourished by the delicious food, nurtured by a great group and Barry and Kanada who facilitated. Embraced and loved the power of silence.

participant on Burnout retreat at Sharpham House

This was truly food for the soul, and much appreciated

participant on Burnout retreat at Sharpham House
See all Reviews

Sharpham House in Spring

Sharpham House

Sharpham House is the perfect place to experience a mindfulness retreat: a Grade I-listed Georgian mansion at the centre of the stunning Sharpham Estate, where you're nurtured with delicious vegetarian and vegan food (much of it grown organically in our Walled Garden).

The House is set in beautiful gardens, surrounded by a parkland designed originally by Capability Brown, offering calming views over the River Dart, in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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Leaders

Kanada
Kanada Elizabeth Gorla Read more +
Lindsay 2
Lindsay Alderton Read more +
Nadia Abdel-Karim
Nadia Abdel-Karim Read more +
Rupert-Marques-2
Rupert Marques Read more +
Sophy Banks
Sophy Banks Read more +

Costs

Retreats taking place up to March

  • £495 - Standard room, single occupancy, full-board 
  • £555 Premium room, single occupancy, full-board 
  • £655 - Heritage room, single occupancy, full-board 

Retreats taking place from April onwards

  • £525 - Standard room, single occupancy, full-board 
  • £575 Premium room, single occupancy, full-board 
  • £675 - Heritage room, single occupancy, full-board 

There will be a maximum of 20 guests on this retreat.

All rooms are single occupancy, giving you your own space in which to relax.

If you have a medical condition that requires you to have an en-suite room, please contact the Programme Administrator on the number below as these rooms are limited and are bookable on a first-come first-serve basis.

Book easily and securely online or by phoning 01803 732542

Terms & Conditions

Please click here to see our booking and cancellations policy

Room Types

Click here for more information on our types of bedrooms and facilities.

Bursaries

Limited 50% bursaries offering reduced-price retreats are available for those experiencing financial hardship. Please contact the Programme Administrator at least 4 weeks in advance if you wish to apply.

Our bursary fund relies on donations. If you’d like to help another to go on retreat here through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here

Available dates

2025 04 Jan

Sharpham House: Burnout retreat (4 nights)

With Sophy Banks & Nadia Abdel-Karim
2025 05 Mar

Sharpham House: Burnout retreat (4 nights)

With Sophy Banks & Nadia Abdel-Karim
2025 05 May

Sharpham House: Burnout retreat (4 nights)

With Sophy Banks & Rupert Marques