Foundations of mindfulness: Five-day retreat
20 September at 17:00 to 25 September at 14:00
Drawing on Buddhist conceptualisations of the nature of experience, suffering and the self, the retreat will offer a bridge into contemporary secular mindfulness practice, teaching and life. The five-day retreat takes place Amerdown Retreat Centre, near Bath. It is led by Ruth Sequeira, Chris Barker, Jo Cromarty and Robert Marx.
The retreat
This retreat will support a deepening of participants’ mindfulness practice using the framework of the four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipatthana) and the Four Divine Abidings (brahma vihara). Drawing on Buddhist conceptualisations of the nature of experience, suffering and the self, the retreat will offer a bridge into contemporary secular mindfulness practice, teaching and life. The retreat will use a traditional retreat structure which allows us to simplify our life in order to see more clearly how we relate to ourselves and the world, and to respond with kindness and compassion. There will be periods of teaching, guided and unguided practice, dialogue and unstructured time. Most of the week will be held in silence with opportunities to for a one-to-one meeting with a retreat leader and for optional peer sharing groups.
Where and when is it?
The retreat is at the beautiful Ammerdown Retreat Centre, near Bath. The retreat starts on Sunday, 20 September and finishes at 2pm on Friday, 25 September 2026. You can arrive between 5pm and 6pm on the Sunday.
Who is the retreat for?
The retreat is suitable for mindfulness teachers in training, qualified mindfulness teachers and those simply wanting to deepen their practice and bridge contemplative wisdom traditions and secular practice and teaching. The retreat will count as their retreat for those training in mindfulness-based approaches with the Sussex Mindfulness Centre MC or NHS Talking Therapies; and for those applying to, or renewing their membership on the BAMBA Register, this retreat meets the requirement for mindfulness teachers to do an annual, mostly silent retreat.
What requirements are there to attend?
Completion of an eight-week mindfulness course (MBCT/MBSR), or similar eight-week programme, and participation in at least a day of guided silent mindfulness practice. Please ensure you are able to attend the entire event. If this is not possible, please contact us at spft.smc@nhs.net to discuss before submitting an application.
How should I prepare?
We will offer a short online orientation meeting a few weeks before the retreat to help you think about the optimal conditions to support you in the retreat. A zoom link will be sent nearer to the start date for this.
Retreat leaders
As with all Sussex Mindfulness Centre retreats, events and training, we have an exceptionally experienced group of mindfulness teachers supporting you at this retreat. Find out more about your teachers below.
Robert Marx
Robert Marx is co-lead for the Sussex Mindfulness Centre, lead for the MBCT in NHS TT training centres collaboration. He is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist and has been teaching mindfulness groups to patients and staff in the NHS for over 20 years. He teaches MBCT and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). He is a longstanding Buddhist practitioner, initially in the Theravadan tradition and then in the Tibetan tradition. He is passionate about compassionate culture-building in organisations
Chris Barker
Chris Barker leads mindfulness for the National Centre for Integrative Medicine, based in Bristol, as well as the BAMBA MBCT-Cancer Special Interest Group. His main mindfulness work is with those living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis. Originally a PE teacher, Chris discovered in 2012 how transformative mindfulness can be when he was a stressed Head of Department in a large secondary school. Seeing how much it had changed his life he now teaches school children mindfulness and leads international training courses for other schoolteachers to do likewise. He also teaches mindfulness to health and social care staff.
Ruth Sequeira
Ruth Sequeira is a senior trainer, supervisor and mindfulness teacher for the Sussex Mindfulness Centre. She is also a psychological therapist and the Mindfulness and Compassion Training and Retreat Lead at the Mindfulness Network. Ruth has a history of working in mental health services and until recently worked as a Clinical Lead in the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Sussex. Ruth has a longstanding interest in mindfulness, meditation and movement, and is passionate about increasing access to mindfulness courses in different populations.
Jo Cromarty
Jo Cromarty is an Occupational Therapist by training and has worked in various mental health settings within the NHS for many years. She has developed a meditation practice from within the contemplative tradition since her teenage years. She was first introduced to Mindfulness in 2010 and was privileged to be trained as an MBCT teacher by Prof Mark Williams and Dr Paul Bernard in 2011. ‘It’s been a joy to integrate my personal and professional interests’. Jo leads the training in one of the sites of the MBCT TT training and is a supervisor and MBCT teacher.
How much does it cost?
The prices below are inclusive of accommodation, meals and guidance.
Early bird rates
If you book by 1 June 2026, the cost is £700 for a single occupancy en-suite room.
Standard rates
From 2 June 2026 the cost is £800 – single occupancy en-suite room.
There is limited availabilty of single rooms with a shared bathroom offered at £600.
How do I apply?
Your place is confirmed once we receive full payment. If there are financial barriers to attendance, please let us know. If you are unable to pay the full fee now, we can offer you the chance to pay in up to three instalments. To secure your spot, please complete your payment using the form at the bottom of the page. Once we have received the booking and payment, we will send you the application form to complete.
Please note the terms below for refunds.
What is the cancellation policy?
You may withdraw your application up to three months prior to the event start date at which point you will be offered a full refund, minus £50 admin fee.
If you cancel your place less than three months before the event start date, no refund will be available. If you received an NHS England funded place and you cancel less than three months before the start, you will be liable for the full payment.
In the unlikely event that the event has to be cancelled by us, we will offer an alternative retreat, either residential or online, or a refund. Our liability is limited to crediting only our event fees, and not any personal expenses you may have incurred.
