Sole to Soul Wellness
Last week, I had the great pleasure of being invited on a Day retreat organised by Sole to Soul Wellness. Co-ordinated by wellness gurus Virginia Offiah
and Lynden Bugler, the day was hosted at Ealing Quaker House near the Broadway. The Wellness Day was attended by around 14 women, mainly locals, and we were treated to an amazing schedule of activities, designed to inspire relaxation for the body and soul.
We were, it has to be said, incredibly lucky with the weather. The Wellness Day fell upon one of those unseasonably hot October days, and we therefore began the day with a delicious homemade breakfast in the beautifully abundant garden of the Quaker House. We then had an hour's yoga session with healer and yogi Suzane which incorporated breathwork and chanting and, whilst I'm not a regular at yoga and certainly not accustomed to chanting, it was such an open, laid-back atmosphere that we all took it in our stride.
After yoga, we went for a long walk up Fox Hill, down Montpelier and to Pitshanger Park before returning to the Quaker House for an incredible lunch and an outdoor sound bath, made and led by the hugely talented Suzane.
In spite of the fact that the Quaker House is 15 minutes from my home and the walk took place in my local park, I couldn't have felt further from the stresses of my everyday life. Sometimes you just need a little bit of an escape from the daily humdrum... and this carefree day spent with a varied group of caring, interesting people was just the tonic.
I spoke to co-mastermind of the Sole to Soul Retreats, Virginia about what drove her & Lynden to start the company, a bit about the retreats and when the next ones will take place.
Why did you set up Soul to Soul Wellness?
Lynden and I fell in love with walking during lockdown and I started a free local walking group called Walk With V. It’s been amazing getting to know our local community through our walks and talks and socials after. We got the idea for the retreats because we loved going to sound baths together and doing yoga classes and thought it would be brilliant if we could combine everything that we love and bring it to our community. I’m a wellness coach and lynden the events manager for BA so combining our skill sets has been amazing. We have been so blessed to find and work with Suzane from To Be Infinite, our holistic therapist and day retreat chef and she completes our team perfectly.
When are the next retreats?
We have an Escape The Christmas Chaos Retreat on Sat 16th Dec allowing you to make space for yourself in this busy festive month, and reset and refresh.
And Sat 13th January is our New Year, New You Retreat. Join us as we set intentions for the year ahead.
Both retreats will follow similar formats but be guided toward our purpose for the day. Early bird tickets for both these events go live on eventbrite Friday 20th October for 2 weeks.
Our next weekend retreat is in Cornwall, 26th-29th January. There is one Koyt left for 2 people, so we are almost sold out which is great news! They book direct with us for this one.
And we will be bringing a Summer Retreat to market really soon which is very exciting. We have ideas to start new experiences in 2024, look out for Sound Bath & Suppers and Foraging Walks hopefully. We will also be offering Soul Stomps and Socials which will be big walks with drinks included. Watch this space!
We also offer bespoke retreats, we recently hosted a birthday retreat so are happy to discuss with individuals or businesses any ideas they may have!
I’m not a yogi, will I still be able to participate?
Yes of course! It’s for all levels. There is breathwork and meditation combined with the yoga flow. Actually Lynden and I have been talking about our retreats being almost starter level / girls day / weekend vibes! We pride ourselves on being warm and friendly and fun.
What should I bring?
It’s an all inclusive retreat, so your food and drinks are taken care of. We provide the mats, blankets and pillows so you don’t have to travel with them. All we suggest is you might wish to bring an eye mask for the sound bath.