Teachers’ Residential Retreat
with Anna Taylor and Norman Blair at The Tree Relaxation Retreat (North Yorkshire)
Why prioritise self-care?
While teaching yoga can be hugely rewarding, it also brings with it challenges that can feel draining. We often work alone, which can feel isolating. In addition to our direct teaching there are often many unpaid hours involved in marketing, planning, travel, and a range of other admin. Burn out is common.
As with any care-giving profession learning how to skilfully hold space for ourselves is as important as learning how to hold space for our students.
Doing so enables us to feel resourced and resilient as we ride the inevitable ups and downs of teaching. After all, as the saying goes “you can’t pour from an empty cup”.
Self-care is about so much more the resting on bolsters and soaking in a bubble bath (as lovely as these can be). It can be a courageous commitment to ensure that our own needs aren’t being sidelined through our teaching. It can be about creating small, impactful changes that don’t need to be costly.
About the retreat
This teachers’ retreat offers you space to step away from holding space for your students and shift focus to caring for yourself as a teacher.
We will place self-care and self-compassion centre stage, exploring practical ways to weave it within our teaching including scheduling, finances, managing our inner critic, and the importance of creating supportive connections and communities.
The retreat offers you the opportunity to:
Gather in-person with other teachers to share openly and honestly in a non-judgmental setting.
Step out of the role of care giving, to place our own self-care centre stage.
Explore what self-care means to you as well as the barriers we face within the context of yoga teaching.
Learn practical tools to feel more grounded, resourced and resilient through the ups and downs of teaching.
Soak up restoring practices to nourish and nurture ourselves and remind us to practice what we feel so passionately about teaching.
Reflect on your personal needs.
Create a self-care action plan.
Participants will receive a self-care workbook full of practical suggestions, space to log reflections as well as time to create a personal action plan that supports your sustainability and wellbeing.
After all, when we show up to our teaching feeling more present, resourced, inspired, compassionate and resilient, it benefits ourselves and our students.
“If we are to bring light and wisdom and compassion into this world, we must first begin with ourselves.”
Who is the retreat for?
The retreat is open to all yoga teachers (both new and experience ) and teachers in training.
About the venue
The retreat is set in The Tree Relaxation Retreat a beautiful centre in the North Yorkshire countryside.
The Tree Relaxation Retreat
Rosedale East
Pickering
North Yorkshire
YO18 8RH
More information can be found at https://www.thetree.earth.
Course Programme
DAY 1: Monday 21st June
16.30 | Arrival and setting in
17.30 | Opening circle
18.00 | Guided gentle yoga
19.30 | Dinner
21.30 | Summer solstice meditation / yoga nidra
22.00 | Quiet time
DAY 2: Tuesday 22nd June
08.00 | Guided morning practice
09.00 | Comfort break and light snack
09.15 | Self-care: benefits and barriers
10.00 | Self care in the context of yoga teaching
10.30 | Brunch
12.00 | Restorative practice
12.30 | Self care in the context of yoga teaching (cont.)
13.00 | Our personal practice
13.30 | Holding space for ourselves when teaching
14.30 | Break
15.00 | Meeting ourselves on difficult days
15.30 | Exploring our inner critic and cultivating our compassionate self
15.45 | Cultivating self-compassion
16.20 | Staying sustained
16.40 | Restorative practice
17.10 | End of day reflections
17.30 | Free time
18.30 | Dinner
21.30 | Yoga Nidra
22.00 | Quiet Time
DAY 3: Wednesday 23rd June
08.00 | Guided morning practice
09.00 | Comfort break and light snack
09.15 | Staying inspired
09.30 | Mentoring & supervision
09.45 | Difficult teaching scenarios
10.30 | Brunch
12.00 | Restorative practice
12.30 | Difficult teaching scenarios (cont.)
13.15 | Celebrating successes
14.15 | Break
14.45 | Personal reflection time
16.00 | Self-soothing
16.30 | End of day reflections
17.00 | Free time
18.30 | Dinner
21.30 | Yoga Nidra
22.00 | Quiet time
DAY 4: Thursday 24th June
08.00 | Morning mindful walk (weather permitting)
08.45 | Comfort break and light snack
09.00 | Meditation
09.30 | Action planning
10.30 | Brunch
12.00 | Restorative Yoga
12.30 | Action plans sharing
13.00 | Closing circle
13.30 | Close
14.30 | Journeying home
Prices & Accommodation Options
We have a range of accommodation options available from camping, twin sharing and sole occupancy.
Camping - £550
Twin (sharing) - £695
Single room - £895
Prices include 3 nights accommodation, all meals and course sessions.
Testimonials
“Led by two thoughtful, experienced and highly regarded teachers, this course offers important reflections, space and support to reflect on what it means to look after yourself as a yoga teacher. A must for all!”
“A simple “thank you” doesn’t feel like enough, but I’m deeply grateful for your support and for the opportunity to be supported alongside my peers.”
“This workshop I feel is a must experience for all teachers, as a way to continue to be re-empowered in your teaching journey and also be in an inclusive, safe, positive and non-judgmental open space with other teachers. It’s rich in its content and also really impactful too. Highly recommend!.”
“As teachers it is easy to spend time learning about how to improve or add on to our teaching skills. This course turns the focus inwards and provides plenty of ideas, tools and practices to take care of yourself as a teacher. After all, when we are in our best energy we can be there for others. Anna and Norman have years of experience teaching, they are great role models of self care and compassion.”
“It was a much-needed opportunity to remember and reconnect with my own self-care needs. My takeaways are invaluable, and I’m actively taking steps to make simple changes that will support and sustain me both in the present and in the longer term.”
Course Facilitators
Led by Anna Taylor and Norman Blair.
Anna Taylor - www.mindbodybalance.co.uk
Norman Blair - www.yogawithnorman.com
Book Your Place
Please use the email link below to enquire about booking your place.