Our daily guided walks will explore the rolling terrain and wide-open views across the Sussex Downs, including walking sections of the South Downs Way National Trail. This will be complemented by a mindfulness-based program of gentle tai chi and meditation. There will also be free time to relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape.
Mindful Walking in Nature
When we walk with mindfulness, we are invited to pay close attention in the present moment, and in this way both our inner experience and surroundings can come to life. This is the approach to walking we will take as we explore the open space of the Sussex Downs including key landmarks such as Beddingham Hill and Furle Beacon.
Our longest walk will be up to 7.5 miles (12.5km) and is likely to take around three and a half hours to complete including stops to rest and relax.
The walks will be led at an easy-to-moderate pace. The terrain for this retreat is hilly with both climbing and descents, so you should be confident walking in this type of landscape and have a suitable level of fitness. We strongly recommend that you bring appropriate footwear such as walking boots or trail running shoes for walking long distances on grass and rough path surfaces.
Each walk will of course have a guide at the front but also a back marker so that we ensure the group remains together. We don’t want anyone to be anxious about the ability of the group and whether they can keep up on the walks, so please get in touch before booking if you require any more clarity about what to expect.
Tai-Chi Movements and Mindful Meditation
While the central activity of our Coming Home to Ourselves retreat will be mindful nature walks, we will be incorporating a complementary programme of activities to more broadly support your health, wellbeing and fitness.
Tai Chi Movements for Wellbeing (TMW) is a simple sequence of movements drawn from both the tai chi and qigong traditions, which is particularly effective in helping us to be fully present in our bodies.
Alongside our activities in movement will be sitting meditation practice. The whole programme is designed to support you to build your ‘muscle of mindfulness’ – growing the capacity to bring more clarity and awareness to your moment-to-moment experience.
No previous experience of tai chi or mindfulness is necessary.
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About The Host
Stuart & Cesare
The host and its Mindfulness for Runners programs is the creation of Stuart and Cesare. Both Stuart and Cesare are long-term mindfulness practitioners and teachers and have extensive experience in competitive running and other physical fitness activities. You can find out more about us in our biographies below.
We started leading Mindfulness for Runners public workshops in 2018, initially all in-person, and soon after adapting our offer to be delivered online too.
As well as leading our own events, we’ve featured on the programs of a number of health and well-being centers and festivals including RunFest and Orbit Fitness Festival. We have also worked with Adidas Runners, The Embodiment Conference, and Let’s Get Running, and featured in Women’s Running magazine.
Alongside our mindful running events, we offer one-to-one coaching, and we are currently developing an online self-guided Mindfulness for Runners program.
Itinerary
Things to keep in mind
FAQ
Is this retreat for me?
We all need to step away from the stresses and strains of everyday life from time to time and take the opportunity to come home to ourselves. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in inspiring natural surroundings in good company, while finding the right balance of activity and relaxation, then this retreat will be perfect for you. Our unique offer is to incorporate mindfulness into activities such as walking and running in nature. In simple terms this is about learning and investigating the value of bringing awareness to the activity at hand, and this retreat will support you to explore and apply a range of mindfulness skills.