Welcome to Sit Around The Fire
Slow Motion Wellness presents:
Sit Around The Fire with Stuart Sandeman, Rob & Josie da Bank, Cherub & Tim Wheater, Tommy (Move, Breath, Immerse) and Kim Booth
Tuesday 7th May – Sunday 12th May 2024
The hustle and bustle, incessant chatter of news and social media and the endless deadlines of modern living have got everyone whizzing round in ever decreasing, faster circles of panic.
Our 2024 Sit Around The Fire retreat is a way out; 5 nights of blissful relaxation with the aim of resetting your mind, body and soul in a hidden countryside paradise in Portugal.
Quinta Carvalhas or The Green Farm
This stunning location blew me and Josie away when we first saw it and we are thrilled it will play host for Sit Around The Fire. Called The Green Farm because of its natural beauty and absence of chemicals. It’s located in the sublime Ribatejo countryside an hour from Lisbon – a peaceful, rural idyll seemingly created to calm both your mind and body.
When you’re not taking a class in the stunning indoor Shala, swimming in the pool or walking in nature, you can hang out in the Farm’s very own orchard, vegetable garden or Meditation Garden. In an area famous for its horses, the retreat will even feature a Tuning Into Energy with Horses course.
Across five days, we will guide you through gentle but carefully curated days of meditation, breathwork, spirit work, sound healing, yoga, Wim Hof method ice baths and an onsite mobile wood fired sauna…You won’t want to be anywhere else!
You can even throw in a simple local excursion or two for exploring the beautiful countryside around Quinta Carvalhas and delicious home cooked food with vegetarian and vegan options.
Many retreats revolve around one teacher or guide, but we love the diversity of wellness and want our retreaters to experience new ways of living as well as established more traditional practices.
Your Team At Sit Around The Fire
Robby & Josie da Bank
Slow Motion Wellness Founders & Host
We are super excited to be welcoming you to Sit Around The Fire with us in Portugal in May. This is far more than 6 nights of wellness exploration and for us – this is our lifestyle and one that we want to share with as many people as possible. We have brought together our favourite teachers from our 25 years of experience in this field and are bringing it all to the most wonderful location in Portugal.
During your time with us, we will be making sure that your every need is met, from a beautiful location and bedrooms to healthy, tasty food and an array of teachers and activities that we feel is quite unique in the retreat space. You can focus your attention on one discipline for the week or try new things and experiment a bit. It will be a very inclusive, relaxed affair but delivered at the highest standard.
When we found Quinta Carvalhas, we knew that we had found the retreat location of our dreams and instantly got to work contacting the rest of the team and planning what’s going to be a unforgettable, life-changing break.We began Slow Motion Wellness at our festival back in 2018 and it has grown into so much more than we could of imagined from the humble beginnings in a tent in a field in Dorset, it’s now a community who enjoy everything from yoga and meditation to ice baths, saunas and chanting.
We hope you’ll want to come on the retreat of a lifetime with us and get a little bit Slow Motion for a while.
Stuart Sandeman
Breathwork
Stuart Sandeman is the Sunday Times best-selling author of Breathe In Breathe Out, and breathing coach to award winning artists, Olympic athletes and top business execs. Through his practises and BBC Radio 1 show he has helped thousands of people transform their lives.
With Stuarts techniques, you’ll be away from the noise of daily life for deeper introspection and self-healing. He will be able to teach you how to use breath to fill your cup, whilst calming your body and mind. Techniques you’ll be able to take away and implement in your daily life once you return home.
Cherub & Tim Wheater
Sound Healers
Join the Masters of high frequency, Tim Wheater & Cherub for a very special sound activation.
Sink in to a soothing symphony of Planet gongs, native flutes, shamanic drum, Cherabella crystal bowls & divine weaving voices…
Feel the tension leave your body and your busy mind unwind as the nation’s greatest gong masters lure you into hypnotic uplifted states of sonic bliss.
Mind expansion & deeply meditative experience to activate all your senses.
Tommy
Contrast Therapy Facilitator
Initially motivated to overcome a few of life’s usual curveballs, Tommy has spent the last 10 years experimenting with a variety of different practices, a handful of which including movement, meditation, breath-work and contrast therapy lead him to results far beyond the physical benefits he originally set out to achieve.
These practices have become a powerful combination of ingredients that Tommy believes lead to a deeper sense of vitality, clarity and connection. A student and practitioner foremost, Tommy aims to share the methods that he is so grateful to have discovered along the way.
Kim Booth
Yoga & Cacao Ceremonies
Inspired by the mysteries of nature and the cosmos, Kim Booth’s sound journeys are ethereal, healing and intriguing, channelling sounds and vibrations that relax and balance our minds, bodies, and spirits.
Kim combines studies of yoga, shamanism and sound healing into beautiful and unique sound journey offerings. In resonance with Alchemy crystal singing bowls, she sings songs and mantras from the yogic tradition, weaved with medicine sounds of the camino rojo.
Kim has spent a lot of time travelling and learning from different communities, teachers and wisdom keepers, she weaves these teachings into her offering, with a mission to assist people awaken, heal and connect in cosmic and creative ways
Wood Fired Sauna
Sauna Alentejo
It wouldn’t be a Slow Motion retreat without a Sauna. On site for your use throughout your stay.
From improving sleep quality to boosting immunity and aiding in pain relief, the sauna has several health benefits that go hand in hand with your wellness and relaxation goals.
Your Time at Sit Around The Fire
Your daily routine will run similarly, but with variations.
You have the option of rising at around 7am and enjoying the first of many planned wellness activities for you. You’ll also have plenty of free time to enjoy the beauty of the property or if you wish plan an excursion to see more of the local area.
Every element of this retreat is tailored to your rejuvenation, including the food. Working with seasonal fruit and vegetables from the Quinta Carvalhas vegetable garden or sourced as locally as possible, the menu will be accommodating of the season.
We have leaned on our 25 years of experience in this field when curating every detail and are bringing you what we believe is the most wonderful 6 days at a magical location in Portugal. It’s time to get slow…
-
Tuesday
Arrival day and the beginning of your needed unwind. You can check into the property anytime after 4pm and it should take you roughly an hour to travel here from Lisbon airport.
Once you arrive take a moment to enjoy the rolling landscape, gorgeous stone buildings and lush greenery before we begin our Welcome ceremony at 5pm. Following on from this, you will have your first breathwork session of the retreat at 6pm, with dinner served at 7:30pm. After this, the evening is yours to do as you wish.
Your rejuvenation has begun!
-
Wednesday
0700 – Morning Yoga
0800 – Meditation with Robby
0900 – Organic juices, teas will be served with fresh fruit and snacks
0930 – Breathwork with Stuart
1100 – Brunch
1230 – Daily Workshop, Sound Healing with Tim & Cherub
1500 – Afternoon Tea
1800 – Meditation / Yoga / Walking
1930 – Dinner
-
Thursday
0700 – Morning Yoga
0800 – Meditation with Robby
0900 – Organic juices, teas will be served with fresh fruit and snacks
0930 – Breathwork with Stuart
1100 – Brunch
1230 – Daily Workshop, Ice & Breath with Tommy
1500 – Afternoon Tea
1700 – Horse Therapy (Optional)
1800 – Meditation / Yoga / Walking
1930 – Dinner
-
Friday
0700 – Morning Yoga
0800 – Meditation with Robby
0900 – Organic juices, teas will be served with fresh fruit and snacks
0930 – Breathwork with Stuart
1100 – Brunch
1230 – Daily Workshop, Sound Healing with Tim & Cherub
1500 – Afternoon Tea
1800 – Meditation / Yoga / Walking
1930 – Dinner
-
Saturday
0700 – Morning Yoga
0800 – Meditation with Robby
0900 – Organic juices, teas will be served with fresh fruit and snacks
0930 – Hike
1100 – Brunch
1230 – Daily Workshop, Sound Healing with Tim & Cherub
1500 – Afternoon Tea
1800 – Yoga Nidra with Robby
1930 – Dinner
-
Sunday
0900 – Breakfast & Closing Ceremony
1100 – Leaving
Accommodation
Your sanctuary for your time at Sit Around The Fire, a peaceful haven to restore & rejuvenate. All bedrooms on the property have been finished to the highest standard, so that you can feel pampered and nurtured, from the luxury linen and the sublime mattresses – nothing is going to distract you from the inner work you come to do.
The luxurious rooms are individually decorated and full of history and charm. Rooms are divided across 3 areas of the farm – Oak Lodge, Orchard Row & Rose Cottage and The Willows.
-
Oak Lodge
With its wooden beams and thick stone walls, it’s the original two-story farmhouse. Upstairs you will find five well-appointed rooms providing views over the yoga studio, pool area, riding arena and fields beyond. Downstairs you’ll find the lounge and dining area with its large fireplace. Adjoining the lounge is the beautiful and peaceful Blue Veranda which leads onto the pool area.
-
Orchard Row
Located across the central courtyard the Orchard units are part of a converted barn. Enjoy all of the rustic charm of the original building, combined with simple luxury. Each unique room has an ensuite bathroom and private veranda
-
The Willows
The Willow’s ultra-high ceilings, give these rooms an almost royal appearance, yet these rooms too, are part of a converted stone barn, located opposite the Orchard Row. Each unique room has an ensuite bathroom with either a shower or bath and a veranda with outdoor seating. Two of the rooms overlook the courtyard, whilst a third offers views of the pool and the stables.
Need More Information..
Robby is always on hand to answer any question you have around your time in Portugal. Feel free to get in touch with him and he will be more than happy to assist in any way he can. We also have a brochure you can download and show everyone.