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Weekend Yoga Retreat with Tara Fraser – August 15-17

 

This weekend is open to all, you can come as a total beginner or as a seasoned yogi. Everything is adaptable to work for you if you are recovering from injury or working with a restriction or in peak health. The material I share may be of use to you in developing a personal practice, understanding your own body better or for developing your work if you are a body-worker, dancer, musician, martial arts practitioner, yoga or movement teacher. It can often be counted as CPD for yoga teachers, check with your professional membership organisation.

Yoga has been with me since childhood. I trained professionally as a dancer and took a degree in performing arts. More fascinated by the ‘felt sense’ of the body than the look of it, I soon discovered that, for me, rehearsals were more interesting than performance. I returned to yoga with considerable dedication and studied in several different traditions, especially the therapeutic approach of TKV Desikachar.

In 1999 I opened Yoga Junction studio in London, one of the few specialised yoga spaces in the capital at the time. I have been teaching yoga for over 30 years now and am the author several books that encourage self-practice, including ‘Yoga for You’ and ‘The Easy Yoga Workbook’.

I discovered Rolfing through yoga (Ida Rolf did yoga too!) while taking classes with Giovanni Felicioni. Rolfing proved to be the most effective and permanently transforming bodywork I have ever encountered. My posture, strength, mental state and yoga asana changed markedly as I progressed through the 10 sessions.

Completely inspired and very curious to know more, I undertook the Rolfing practitioner training in London and Munich. To further refine my touch skills I studied Equine Structural Integration with Joseph Freeman. Connection with horses must be genuine and there is not much margin for error, they are great teachers. In spring 2024 I qualified as an Advanced Rolfer with the European Rolfing Association.

All my work, with animals and with people, now revolves around touch and movement as a means to develop an innate sense of self and authentic connection with the wider world. I have a particular interest in using Rolfing to assist the recovery from cancer treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, hormone and chemotherapy.

I have 4 children and live in Devon with my partner, Yoga teacher, Nigel Jones.

Tara Fraser Advanced Certified Rolfer, BWY Dip, BWY Diploma Course Tutor

 

Pricing

£350 per person for a room of your own

£325 per person if you come with a friend or partner and share a room

Some non-residential places available for £250

 

email for more questions or to book – hello@ashleycourtdevon.co.uk

Description

Weekends run from Friday late afternoon arrival to Sunday late afternoon departure

Address Ashley Court, Ashley, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 5PD

Contact hello@ashleycourtdevon.co.uk– 07725950683

2 nights fully catered, inclusive of all tuition

Pricing available for additional non-yoga-ing partners on request.

About your teacher
Tara is a BWY qualified teacher and Diploma Course tutor with over 25 years of teaching experience. Her classes are gentle and immersive, influenced by her work as a Rolfer and the teaching of TKV Desikachar and Vanda Scaravelli.

 What it feels like is a lot more important than what it looks like and she enjoys passing on that kind of everyday, user-friendly approach to her students.

House and Grounds
Ashley Court is a grade 2 listed property, which has been largely unaltered since the early part of the 20th century, and was lived in continuously from 1946 – 2014 by a Mrs Yolande Shrubb.  It was a children’s hospital during the war and prior to that a home to several of Tiverton’s great and good including 3 of its Mayors! We are in the long process of restoring the house and gardens as lightly as possible to maintain the authenticity and character which we found so appealing on our first visit here.,    In it’s hay day it would have been staffed by numerous servants, you can switch between’ upstairs and downstairs’ experiences as you move through the building.  You will find open fires, grand hallways, servants bells and stable yards. The grounds are extensive and include formal areas, a large walled kitchen garden, 15 acres of woodland and fields, with some huge old specimen trees. We use the Drawing Room for our yoga studio and meals are served in the Victorian dining room, or outside on the terrace if weather permits.

Animals
We have horses and sheep in the fields and tortoises in the walled garden.  Please make sure that you close any gates if you go into a field, and treat all animals with respect and care.
Our cats spend time in and out of the house, but they are strictly not allowed upstairs in the bedrooms.

Directions
Driving: From Tiverton take the A396 signposted Bickleigh. After approx. 1 mile turn right at the small sign to Ashley and then immediately to your left, you will see the small white gatekeepers Lodge under the big oak at the bottom of the drive.

From Exeter take the A396 to Tiverton. Turn left at the small sign to Ashley and then immediately left again, you will see the gatekeeper’s lodge under the big oak at the bottom of the drive.

The house is at the top of the 200metre driveway. (Do not head on up Ashley Back Lane to the right of the cottage where the Sat-Nav might try to send you!)

Train: From Paddington to Tiverton Parkway – takes between 2 and 2 and a half hours.  Trains run very regularly.  If you are coming by train, please book a local taxi in advance as Tiverton Parkway station is rural and miles out of the town, .  Early booking recommended for cheaper fares. You can also take a National Express or Mega Bus from London to Tiverton.

Menu
All food will be seasonal vegetarian and /or vegan, predominantly organic, low food miles, locally sourced and actually grown in our walled kitchen garden where at all possible.
Please let us know if you have any special food requirements, we are happy to adapt for you.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms
Ashley Court was built in 1805 and has a clear division between the ‘front’ formal rooms and the ‘back’ service areas. We have a range of bedrooms available from grander front ones to the smaller servants quarters. Each one is decorated and furnished uniquely and in keeping with the period feel of the house.  One large room has en-suite shower room, the rest  share  shower rooms / bathrooms.  Most bedrooms have the original 1930’s sink in them.

Pets
No pets allowed I’m afraid.  We have  cats, sheep, chickens and tortoises, you are welcome to play with them!

Smoking
No smoking anywhere on the property, please – inside or out.

Pricing

£350 per person for a private room with separate shower room shared with one other bedroom.

£300 per person if you come with a friend or partner and share a room  (twin or double)

Some non-residential places available at £250 per person

Additional information

Room

Holly Room (twin room with shared shower), Monkey Puzzle Room (single room with shared shower), Laurel Room (twin room with shared shower), Wisteria Room (double room with shared shower), Oak Room ( double or twin room with en-suite), Acacia Room (double room with shared shower/bath)

Event Details

Summer yoga retreat at Ashley Court Friday 15th- Sunday 17th August

Residential £350, day visitor £230 (includes all yoga, walks, meditation, Exmoor Pony meetings and meals.) If you want to come for a single day on Saturday or Sunday you are welcome to do so, just send me a message to let me know. Rolfing taster sessions from £45 (it is also possible to do the three ‘mini series’ sessions over the weekend at £250) The schedule accounts for the hot weather forecast, it might be slightly adjusted as we go along.

 

Friday Afternoon

4.00 onwards arrivals, tea

2 Rolfing sessions available

6.30 a light and refreshing dinner in the garden

8.00 slow yoga, unwind

9.00 In the Night Garden, a nature walk

 

Saturday

7.30 Morning Yoga

9.30 Breakfast

10.30 A visit to the Exmoor Ponies and sheep!

1 Rolfing session available

1.00 Lunch in the shade in the garden

siesta/resting/reading time

3 Rolfing sessions available

5.30 yoga for your feet, ankles and shins and a walking meditation

7.00 Light supper in the garden

8.15-9.15 standing fascial release and yoga flows on the lawn

 

Sunday

8.00 Morning Yoga

9.30 Breakfast

11.30 slow yoga, quiet energy gathering

1.30 Lunch in the garden

Woodland walk

Departures from 3.30pm onwards (no hurry!)

3 Rolfing sessions available

Start date: 15 August 2025

End date: 17 August 2025

Start time: 16:00

End time: 15:00

Venue: Ashley Court