Voice of the Elder
Yoga, Voice & Earth Connection Retreat
4pm Thursday 30th October - 12pm Sunday 2nd November 2025
Join us this Autumn on a transformational journey to nourish your wild self and sing in the Celtic New Year in beautiful Devon
What to expect
A 3 day all inclusive retreat of deep discovery song and celebration. Weaving together Voice work & Singing, Yoga & Meditation, Somatic Breath, Environmental Arts and Wild nutrition.
Vocal exploration & activation, harmony and Intuitive singing.
Somatic breathwork
Yoga, Nidra & guided meditation
forage and prepare wild seasonal tonics,
connect with plant kin and engage in Nature Based Ceremony.
Gain wisdom from the Celtic traditions
Share delicious food together
intentional spaces for dreaming, resting and relaxing.
Fire side song circles & ceremony
Voice & Singing:
Our vocal sessions offer a nurturing space to become familiar with your relationship to your own voice. Michelle and Brigite bring practices and techniques from vocal theatre arts, singing, collaborative vocal improvisation, and somatic breath-work to help us discover, deepen and expand the connections between breath, body and voice.
We will open the inner ear to hear our unique vocal tone, explore how to open up to develop resonance, volume and dynamics and to identify areas of tension/blocks and release them with simple, energising and uplifting exercises.
We’ll connect with our emotional body, laugh a lot, encouraging authentic, expressive communication from our core. We’ll whisper, call, chant, sing intuitively, in rounds, in unison and in harmony.
There will be opportunities for song sharing and creating sound baths together as well as learning songs woven in with the themes of the weekend.
Vocal sessions are accessible to all levels of experience-including professional singers and those who believe they haven’t got a voice. If you can speak you can sing and we can show you how!
Therapeutic Nature Practice & The Celtic Wheel
Nature provides us with the tools to heal and grow if we can take the invitation she continually offers & Celtic practices have much to teach us about how to connect more intimately with these lands
Michelle and Brigite have a life-time of experience living closely to and working with nature in off-grid and rural spaces and will share a range of practical, therapeutic and creative practices to help come into deeper connection with the land:
Practices are woven integrally throughout the weekend and will include:
Silence, observation and deep listening
Time outdoors.
Developing Intuitive and practical connections with the Elder and Birch trees of October and November.
Creating and working with Natural Mandalas and Alters
Connecting with the Elements
Learning from the wisdom of the Celtic Wheel of the year
Working with Ceremony and Ritual: In particular through a Samhain fire Ceremony.
Yoga & Meditation
Brigite teaches Hatha-Vinyasa Yoga rooted in Non-dual Tantric Philosophy. Each class will be an opportunity to explore the wider themes of the weekend and will all include an aspect of breath-work, meditation and Mantra.
Morning flows will be active and energising, focusing on building Yang energy through playful movement and grounding us in our bodies to start the day. Afternoon and evening sessions will centre and nourish Yin energy, integrating the coming of winter and nurturing our calmer intuitive feminine self.
Brigite will be happy to discuss any questions you may have about the physical and philosophical aspects of yoga and/or your own practice.
Meditations will be offered daily before breakfast for early risers.
Classes are accessible for all different body types and abilities. Props provided but please bring your own Mat.
Food & Nutrition:
We are so excited to team up with friend, sister & nutritionist Jiordan Hall to bring her delicious food medicine to the retreat. Nourishing food is a core to the experience we are co-creating & the kitchen is the hearth and the heart. We will eat in community, learn about the multifaceted healing properties of seasonal produce & celebrate the nourishment that it brings.
Meet the facilitators
Michelle Ridings
Michelle has extensive experience of facilitating others to discover and explore their unique voice as a tool for authentic self-expression. She works with professionals and non singers alike and specialises in working with hard to reach communities and individuals.
As a theatre performer and vocal artist her work connects people to a wilder and more authentic version of self
Living off grid and close to nature for over 3 decades Michelle integrates her knowledge of herbs, wild medicines and gardening to nurture and restore her own and her family’s health and the land she lives on in Mid Devon. She brings her experience and applied understandings gained from working closely with creativity, the land and seasons to share with us at the Autumn retreat.
Michelle studied theatre at Dartington College of Arts and trained with Czech gypsy singer and musical director Ida Kelarova.
She is also an Associate Artist with Dreadnought South West and a Specialist Practitioner of the Circle of Trees therapeutic modality.
Link for more info Circle of Trees Specialist Practitioner Course.
Brigite Rowan
Brigite is a folk singer-songwriter & trauma informed voice work, yoga & nature connection teacher with experience in a variety of settings including to for those with complex needs. Brigite has a lifetime of experience off grid & close to the land and is curious about the human capacity to live authentically through connecting earth, body and voice. Find out more about Brigite’s background and training here: https://www.brigiterowan.co.uk
Jiordan Hall
Jiordan is a nutritional therapist and has been a dedicated chef for 14 years. She is the founder, owner and director of Loki’s Fire Kitchen, a fully solar powered travelling Woodfired Catering Company. Jordan’s speciality is cooking outdoors, in the woods or the fields and usually over a wood-smoked fire. Her food has a Mediterranean influence and centres around local and seasonal produce from the UK.
We can cater for a wide range of dietary needs.
Follow Lokis Fire Kitchen on instagram see what Jiordans up to!
Accomodation
Middle Coombe Farm is set in its own valley in the breath-taking Devon countryside, We will have access to over 400 acres of private grounds and wild woodland. Middle Coombe Farm is a real West-country paradise, full of atmosphere, energy & character.
The farmhouse and adjacent converted barn combines the cosiness of country life with a little luxury. With beautifully decorated large bedrooms, bathrooms, drawing room, lounge library, large kitchen diner, secluded courtyard with large open fireplace and an outdoor hot tub and garden.
All yoga, voice and nature workshops will take place in the thatched Cider Barn with underfloor heating , soft lighting and views of the meadow and woodlands beyond.
You are invited to attend as many or as few of the workshops as you choose and there will be periods of quiet time for you to relax with a book, explore the extensive grounds or take a dip in the hot tub.
Whats included?
3 night’s accommodation.
Delicious, seasonal and nutritious meals throughout your stay.
Teas, coffees, cacao, cordials, fruit and snacks.
4 x Yoga Classes
Daily Voice and singing workshops.
Guided meditations & Breathwork
Yoga Nidra Deep Rest Practice
Facilitated Vocal Sound Bath.
Somatic nervous system regulation tools
Songs to take home and share with friends
Fire Side Samhain Ceremony.
Nature connection Workshop
Simple Foraging Guidance
Seasonal Nutrition, herbal knowledge, recipes, hints and tips
Walks on the land.
Space for silence and deep rest.
Hot Tub.
All workshop materials.
Not included
· Travel to and from Middle Combe Farm.
· Personal travel insurance
· Alcoholic drinks
· Extra snacks of your choice.
Cost:
Photos and details of rooms viewable bellow
Shared Occupancy, Shared Bathroom From £400
Shared Occupancy, En suite £500
Single Occupancy, Shared Bathroom From £450
Single Occupancy en suite From £600
Non Residential Tickets: £295
Non residential tickets include all Activities and meals for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and access yto venue facilities during the daytime)
Payment Plans available!
A quick word on cost:
We have done our best to keep costs as low as possible, however we have chosen this time to use a venue which can hold us in comfort and a little luxury. This brings tickets a little higher than we have asked in the past.
100% of income from tickets is going on: Venue costs, Food and materials and staff time (Chef, two facilitators & assistants).
Non Residential Tickets:
We are offering locals non residential tickets at £250 for locals and those who would like to camp elsewhere. These tickets include all activities and meals and use of the venue facilities during the day time. If cost is a barrier but you would really like to come, please contact us directly.
Rooms
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Single Occupancy En-suite (king sized)
A spacious en-suite room with a kingsize double brass bed. This room has great country views when lying in bed and has lovely morning light. The en-suite has a view over the garden to the swimming-pool and woodland.
£650
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Family Room
A Large and spacious shared occupancy room for two people with shared access to a third single bedroom (shared bathroom)
£400
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Single Occupancy, Shared Bathroom Shared Access
A cosy single room through with shared access and a shared bathroom.
£450
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Shared Occupancy En-Suite
A shared bedroom (maximum of two people per room) with an en suite for you and your roomie.
£500
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Single occupancy En-Suite (double)
A lovely double bedroom with en-suite bathroom, single occupancy.
£600
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Single Occupancy Shared Bathroom
A deluxe king sized bed, lovely views and plenty of your own space with access to a spacious thread bathroom
£600
