BEING ME
ECSTASY
RETREAT

west lexham / uk

18-25 August 2022

Imagine if the solution to most of your problems
was to SIMPLY BE MORE YOURSELF? 
How BRILLIANT would that be if it were true? 
Getting the permission to be more you, all the time,
and that resolving things in your life. 

Well, it is true, it is possible, 

And it’s based on an evidence-based therapeutic approach that simply WORKS.

And you can learn it (and how to be yourself) with the renowned
therapist-coach-bestselling-authors-team of Gaia & John.

Welcome, to Being Me Therapy, and the resulting ECSTASY  of BEING ME.

“DID WE ALL LEAVE FEELING FABULOUS? YES, ABSOLUTELY.” LONDON EVENING STANDARD

All here, at the idyllic West Lexham –

LIBERATING TEACHING from GAIA & JOHN

You’ll feel better. 
And you’ll learn how to feel well and free every day –
Long after the holiday effect has faded.

SUPER-RELAXING HOLIDAY

This place is stunning.
Whether you’re wandering by the river, wild swimming or lying back in a rowing boat, or having a nap under a tree, this is a proper relaxing holiday.

GOOD COMPANY

People don’t expect this,
but you’ll feel safe and supported amongst new friends,
who are likely to one day be old friends.

MORE ON THIS ‘BEING ME’ IDEA…

BEING ME, NOT THE ADAPTED ME

In brief, when we’re young, and we don’t get what we need in terms of nurturing, love and attention (which most of us don’t), we learn to ‘adapt’, either to try to get what we need, or to compensate for not getting it.
And these ‘adaptive behaviours’ stick with us throughout our lives, until…
We realise and understand what has happened and begin to be ourselves again.
So it’s about learning about:

Being Me, not the Adapted Me

Being Me, not the People Pleaser, the one who says ‘yes’ when I mean ‘no’.

Being Me, not hiding my light and life-force, the one who says ‘no’ when I mean ‘yes’.

Being Me, me as I am, not who you think I should be.

Being Me, and doing what feels right, not what I think I should do.

Being Me, not always putting myself last, and not giving help when I need it myself.

Being Me, listening to myself and my feelings, not others and their opinions.

Being Me, including the vulnerable, tender and fragile me.

Being Me, and not making any excuses for it.

Simply, Being Me.

“I was… astounded at how strong I could be, just being me.”

“I was, and continue to be, astounded at how strong I could be,
just being me. Thank you.” 
M.T., Zurich

MORE ABOUT THIS RETREAT…

THE ECSTASY OF BEING ME

IT IS A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA:
THAT WE CAN RESOLVE OUR PROBLEMS SIMPLY BY BEING MORE OURSELVES.
BUT THIS IS EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPY,
BROUGHT TO YOU WITH A MIXTURE OF SCIENCE, MAGIC AND FUN by GAIA & JOHN.

Gaia & John have been teaching retreats since 2004.

Thousands of people have attended these renowned retreats (originally at their own Italian retreat, ‘The Hill That Breathes’).
Their trick is to gather people together in stunning locations, in groups that feel safe and are likely to become best friends, and share therapeutic ideas that dramatically improve your life whilst you’re having a fantastic holiday.
What more could anyone want? 

The theme of this retreat is Gaia’s ‘Being Me Ecstasy’.

It really is the case that the very best therapy is to be more yourself.
And a therapy that leds to Ecstasy.

Gaia arrived at this conclusion (and created her ‘Being Me Therapy’) after more than two decades of therapeutic training –
Gaia is a somatic experiencer, an advanced ‘NARM’ practitioner, a breathworker, an energy master –
and working with thousands of people in groups and 1-to-1.

This simple idea (ie. the answer being to be more yourself) has a deep and more complex background.
And Gaia will share the principles of ‘Adaptive Behaviour Mechanisms’ with you as part of the week.

Gaia & John will be leading you in 4 hours of sessions a day that are a mixture of relaxation, exercises, sharing and games.

 

This is what you’ll learn & experience:

  • The full principles of the Adaptive Behaviour Mechanisms

  • What your primary Adaptive Mechanism is: People Pleaser, Helper, Outsider, Superperson or Perfectionist.

  • How to approach current issues and difficulties in your life by seeing their common roots.

  • Understanding the fear and pain beneath most of our issues.

  • Revealing what Gaia calls the ‘Divine Part’ beneath such fears that takes you back to yourself.

  • Experimenting with Being Yourself in this safe environment.

  • Discovering the ‘Ecstasy’ of Being Me.

  • Packaging up your learnings so you can go back out into the world Being More Me.

This is astonishingly powerful work.
Brought to you skilfully and lovingly by therapist Gaia and author and wise guy John.

You’ll laugh a lot. You may well cry, at least a bit.
You’ll learn about phenomenal and powerful ideas, and, most importantly, yourself.
And you’ll make a bunch of great new friends.

What a great reward for going on the journey of ‘Being Me’ with Gaia & John.

“I barely have the vocabulary to describe how incredible this experience was.”

“I barely have the vocabulary to describe how incredible this experience was.
Gaia and John (created) what can only be described as, a magical experience! John’s F**k it philosophy, charisma and wit perfectly complemented Gaia’s profound knowledge and careful craft when it came to development work.
I have truly walked out of this experience a different person with a refreshing new perspective on life.
Also, rather unexpectedly, I gained some lifelong friends along the way.”
Mark W., London

All here, at the idyllic West Lexham:

being me, wild swimmingly.

“The way you work together, and what you both bring is truly amazing. “

“Gaia & John… The way you work together, and what you both bring is truly amazing. Yin and Yang. Both of you playing different roles at different times.”
James T., Manchester

ABOUT WEST LEXHAM

 

It took us a long time to find a place like West Lexham in the U.K..
We’ve visited many places, researched many others, talked to owners and organizers.
So we had high hopes for West Lexham when we went there for our first U.K. retreat in 2020
(we’ve spent the last 16 years running retreats primarily in Italy).

There were also several people on the retreat who’d been to several retreats with us in Italy,
so there expectations were high too.

And we all ADORED the place.
The rooms are luxurious, the barn group space just perfect, the grounds are idyllic, with the lake and a zen garden, and walks aplenty through woods and meadows, the food delicious… and on and on.

These were covid times so we decided to do every session OUTDOORS.  And, my, was it the perfect place for this.  We would never have had the experience we had being just in the barn (as gorgeous as the space is). By being forced outdoors, we were sitting under trees by the lake, doing exercises using nature, stretching out on the lawn.

Everything about this week last year felt PERFECT:
The sessions in nature, the laugh-filled mealtimes, the wild swimming in the lake in the afternoon, and naps in luxurious English country homes.

“It’s a wonderfully comfortable, calm and restful place “

“What was magical about the week was the balance between the fun we had as a group and the deep work we all managed to do. 
And it’s a wonderfully comfortable, calm and restful place, with plenty of fresh air.
It’s ideally suited to both reflection and activity. And the food was great!”
Sam W., Oxford

PRICES & BOOKING


The prices are below.
When you’re ready to book,
this is how it works:
Hit ‘book now’, fill out the form,
pay your 1st intalment of £490 and you’re booked.
Yep, that easy.
You pay in 3 instalments:
That 1st one of £490 now, and the 2nd and 3rd timings depend on how close to the retreat date you’re booking.
(and the breakdowns change dependent of room options).


ALL-INCLUSIVE RETREAT at WEST LEXHAM

Retreat teaching (£990 value)

   Preferential rates on single and twin / doubles
(£600/£400 value)

  Delicious meals (£200 value)

 Use of group facilities, including special group session space (£103 value)

 Access to John & Gaia’s ‘Living the F**k It Life’ (£197 value)

TOTAL VALUE:
£1890 (twin/double) / £2090 (single)

BUT:
THESE ARE YOUR PRICES

STOP PRESS:

All the rooms have SOLD OUT,
but we have managed to get access to a couple of the AMAZING LUXURY CABINS,
which West Lexham market at £190 a night in August as part of their GLAMPING offer
(and that’s without food and without Gaia & John’s teaching!)…
So do rush if you fancy one…

 

Single Cabin (with shared bathroom facilities) or Twin/Double Space in a Room

£1,490
  • Pay in 3 instalments
  • 1st instalment of £490 reserves retreat
  • The chance to stay in the unique cabins
Book Now 🙂

Single Cabin (with ensuite bathroom) or Single Room

£1,690
  • Limited availability
  • Pay in 3 instalments
  • 1st instalment of £490 reserves retreat
  • The chance to stay in the unique cabins
Book Now 🙂

All here, at the idyllic West Lexham –

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT BE ASKING:

How do I get to the venue?

One of the reasons we chose this fabulous U.K. venue was that – for many of your Northern Europeans – it means you can reach the retreat by train or car.

Of course, if you prefer, or need to fly, it’s easy: with Stansed and other London airports a train ride away.

We’ll give you more details of the journey closer to the retreat booked, but you can probably work out with the help of Google Maps and the address –
West Lexham, King’s Lynn PE32 2QN

Could you tell me more about Gaia & John

Gaia & John developed the whole ‘F**k It’ thing in 2004.

First it took the form of the wildly successful and talked-about ‘F**k It Retreats’.
Then the first book ‘F**k It, the Ultimate Spiritual Way’ made a splash (and led to the whole F**k It series of books).

Since then, Gaia & John have shared F**k It in a variety of ways –
retreats, workshops, online courses, more books and even chocolate –
with millions of people around the world.

Gaia is a therapist with huge experience –
having deep training in developmental trauma work (NARM), Somatic Experiencing, energy work, breathwork, voice dialogue and hypnotherapy.
John is the writer and a coach, and makes you think, feel and, usually, laugh.


Do others come to retreats on their own?

Yes, most people do actually.
And it’s the perfect way to have a holiday with like-minded people, in a very safe space.
And because of the therapeutic nature of the work, you’ll really get to know the others on the retreat, so much so that you’re very likely to make friends for life (we know this from 17 years of running retreats).

Will I get a holiday, or is it all session session?

You will.  The sessions tend to be in the mornings on our retreats.
And you’ll adore them – fun, relaxing, insightful and ultimately (usually) life-transforming.
But we all need holiday holiday too, so there’s plenty of time to do just what you fancy… eat, sleep, swim, wander, hang-out, eat again, sleep again.

Does the effect of the retreat fade away with the tan (if I get one)?

That’s the fabulous thing about a retreat with us.
Long after the tan has faded, long after the beneficial effect of your holiday: the resting and eating delicious food, and hanging out with lovely people…
You’ll continue to feel the benefits of the therapeutic work you do:
Some of that will be about practices and habits you pick up and keep (people still do the Qigong exercises they learnt with us more than 10 years ago every day),
Some of that will be about the deep changes that happen and then have their effects… for example, when you learn to be fully yourself, and to speak your truth in the world, or to say f**k it and let go more and do what you fancy… these create waves in your lives, with many changes, small and big.