Thank you Sark, au revoir for now.

Sometimes there are moments in life where we are struck with deep gratitude. This weekend was one of those moments.

I have wished for a long time to hold a retreat without stress, drama and with students who are dedicated to their practice and to doing the work on themselves. It felt as if the universe conspired to fulfil this wish and I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing Sark retreat to end my Sark retreating.

A huge thank you therefore to the moon, the stars, the sun, the earth, Sark and indeed all the amazing beings who both supported and indeed attended this last retreat. I am really so grateful to each and every one of you for giving so gracefully of your selves and having the courage to go deeper still. There is a lot to be said for bringing yoga, Reiki and indeed Ayurveda into one’s life as you all beautifully demonstrated and embodied.

A huge thank you too to Helen and the other staff at Stocks Hotel who held us so well (and to Helen who held us as a family at the Chill-Inn) . Stocks is truly a beautiful place, healing and centring sited in that rather ethereal Dixcart Valley and the views of sunrise from the Chill-Inn are rather spectacular! Thank you also to Ana of the Sark yoga community and all the Sark yoginis and yogis for their presence on Sunday.

I started retreating in 2009 to fulfil a dream, initially on Herm and then later on Sark. I’ve held quite a number over the years and each has brought with it its challenges, learnings and joy, laughter and love too. There have been cancelled boats and difficult personalities, my water’s breaking on a super full moon and a lifeboat taking Ewan and I back to Guernsey, noisy venues, last minute changes to bookings, students who have never practiced yoga previously, students who complain or find it challenging to go with the flow and all sorts of other challenges in the background.

My shadow teacher back then told me that the retreats were my way of growing, because they each triggered a shadow for me to look at and try to resolve ahead of the next retreat. I think she may have been right about that.

Because while there have been challenges, there has also been a great opportunity let go and let go again, to realise that I have very little control when it comes to weather and boats and noisy venues, let alone the state of the rooms allocated to students, or even the students who choose to attend the retreats. It has been a valuable lesson in service too. And going with the flow. But ultimately it is about patience and trust and acceptance and detachment too.

I suspect those of you who have regularly attended the retreats can understand all this, because you will each have been triggered too, whether it be around other participants’ behaviour or energy, the food, the state of the room, the weather, or just something to throw you a little bit off balance and bring up your patterns (Samskara) for healing/resolving.

This last retreat though was trigger free - just a delightful group of students, blissful weather, relatively easy boat journeys and a deeper immersion into yoga (and a good dose of Reiki) with lots of laughter thrown in for good measure. Sark was utterly magical, especially at night. I couldn’t have asked for more and I felt a deep level of gratitude, which I had never felt before.

However, I wouldn’t have gotten from there, back in 2009 with the first Herm retreat bringing a cancelled boat and fire alarms waking us in the middle of the night, to here, where everything unfolded so easily, without all of you who have given so much of yourself and attended the retreats over the years.

So a BIG thank you to ALL of you who have retreated with me over the years, both on Herm and Sark, it has been an honour and a privilege to have had this opportunity - thank you for your hearts and presence. But all good things must come to an end, it feels the right time now to let go of these Bailiwick retreats and create space for the new to come in.

I have Chalice Wells Retreat Centre booked for April 2026, which will be offered on an invite-only basis initially to honour those who have dedicated themselves to this practice and path, and then to those who are drawn nearer the time.

There are other rumblings in the background, including a yoga immersion day here on Guernsey in February. Keep an eye out if you wish to deepen into this yogic path.

For now though, a huge thank you again and a lot of love to share - thank you Sark especially, what a magical land you are.

Love Emma x

P.S. Thank you to Charlotte for the photo. x