GATHER
An Autumn Equinox Day Retreat at Mother of the Woods
Movement · Yoga Nidra · Seasonal Ritual · Long Table Lunch · Fermentation workshop · Fire · Rest
Sunday 27th September 10am - 430pm
As autumn arrives, the days begin to draw in and the natural world turns towards gathering, storing and preparing for winter.
Come and do the same.
Join Emma Rose and Erin Bunting at Mother of the Woods for a deeply nourishing day of movement, Yoga Nidra, seasonal ritual, beautiful food and fermentation.
Move, rest, eat well, gather around the fire, learn something new and take time to simply be. A day to replenish your body, settle your nervous system and stock up on the things that will sustain you through the darker months, both inside and out.
Come and gather with us this Autumn.
A day for your inner and outer harvest
We’ll begin with gentled yoga with Emma, using the practice to ground into the body and attune to the changing season. Expect a nourishing, accessible practice that invites you to slow down, soften and listen.
From movement, we’ll descend into the deep rest of Yoga Nidra. This is where we begin to stock up internally. Yoga Nidra offers the body and nervous system an opportunity to deeply rest and restore, while giving us space to turn our attention inwards. Through guided reflection and seasonal imagery, we’ll tap into our intuition and explore the resources we can gather within ourselves as we move towards winter.
We’ll then come together for an Autumn Equinox ritual and fire ceremony, reflecting on the turning of the season, the balance of light and dark, and the ancient wisdom of gathering what will sustain us.
Gathering around the table
Chef Erin Bunting from The Edible Flower will create a beautiful seasonal lunch inspired by the abundance of autumn.
There will be good food, beautiful ingredients, conversation and the pleasure of eating together around a long table.
Because nourishment is not only about what we eat.
It is also about how we gather.
How we share.
How we receive.
How we make time to sit down and enjoy what has been grown, gathered and prepared.
After lunch, Erin will lead a hands-on fermentation workshop, exploring the ancient practice of preserving. You’ll learn the art and health benefits of preservation and create some seasonal jars to take home.
You’ll leave with your body nourished, your nervous system replenished, your pantry stocked with something delicious and a little more space inside yourself.
Your day
10.00 | Arrival & Autumn Welcome
Tea, seasonal treat and time to settle into Mother of the Woods.
1015 | Embodied Autumn Movement with Emma Rose
A gentle, grounding and nourishing yoga practice inspired by the turning of the season.
1130 | Yoga Nidra: Gathering Your Inner Reserves
Deep rest, nervous system nourishment and seasonal reflection.
1200 | Long Table Autumn Feast with Erin
A beautiful seasonal feast made with the best of local and seasonal ingredients.
1315 | Autumn Equinox Ritual & Fire
A seasonal ceremony exploring balance, gratitude, gathering and preparation for the darker half of the year.
1400 | Fermentation Workshop with Erin
Learn the art of preserving the harvest and make something delicious to take home.
1600 | Restorative Practice & Closing Circle
A final opportunity to soften, integrate and replenish.
4.30 | Home
The Significance of the Autumn Equinox: In the Celtic Wheel of the Year, the Autumn Equinox is the point of perfect balance between day and night before we turn toward the dark half of the year. It is a season of gratitude and release, when we gather the fruits of our labour and prepare for the inward journey of winter. Pausing at this turning point allows us to realign with nature’s rhythms, reflect on what we’ve harvested in our own lives, and choose what to carry forward.
The Autumn Equinox inaugurates the preparation for the cosy, darker months ahead and this retreat day offers the perfect recipe of rest, nourishment and inspiration to refuel and refind your balance this September.
Pause, unplug and unwind body and mind with an expert yoga practice and melt into the deepest levels of relaxation through full body guided relaxation and mindfulness techniques.
Nourish with a mouth watering menu of only the best seasonal, local Irish produce and delight in a private sitting of one of The Edible Flower’s renowned feasts.
Expand and renew with a fermentation workshop, folklore tales of the hedgerows and indulge in taking time just for you, reconnect the land and yourself and be entirely looked after for a change.
Venue ::: Mother of the Woods
Nested in the idyllic rolling drumlins of Co Down, Mother of the Woods Retreat (our venue) is a beautiful and spacious 300 year old Irish farmhouse surrounded by acres of ancient trees, orchards and wild meadows for you to explore.
The cosy, bespoke shared bedrooms at Mother of the Woods are inspired by different Celtic goddesses. Additionally we provide two indoor lounge areas for relaxation and a communal dining space known as ‘the morning room’.
Our yoga classes and workshops will be held in the Hayloft studio with its spacious scandi feel and beautiful pitched ceilings with the cooking classes being held in the main house’s farmhouse kitchen.
In your down time you can take a breath out on the tree lined land, explore the kitchen garden and wild meadows or relax in the old coach house or just snuggle up with a book by the fire in one of the drawing rooms.
Erin Bunting, The Edible Flower :::
Erin is a professional chef, TV cook for Ireland AM, recipe developer, food stylist and edible flower enthusiast, trained at the the prestigious Ballymaloe Cookery School in East Cork and the author of The Edible Flower, a guide to Cooking and Growing Edible Flower (as featured in Vogue, Sunday World, Country Living, The Irish News, Times and Examiner, Washington Post to name a few).
Erin has a real gift in making wonderfully complex layers of flavour and produce feel unpretentious and at the same time exquisitely beautiful and delicious. Inspired by the Celtic Wheel, her cooking is seasonal, utilising the best of local produce and infused with a little bit of magic in every mouthful.
The fact that Supper Clubs and events from The Edible Flower often sell out instantly, speaks for itself. So it’s a real pleasure to not only have Erin cater such a delicious and nurturing Autumnal feast.
Emma Rose Lowe :::
Emma Rose Lowe is a Senior Yoga Teacher and teacher trainer and Yoga Nidra Expert. Alongside teaching, Emma is a Women’s Health Coach, Ceremonialist and creatrix of magical experiences where brilliant people connect. Over the last decade Emma has travelled and taught all around the world, learning from experts in her field and has supported thousands of people to feel more at home within themselves, connect to their purpose and tap into their own, innate wisdom and inner authority. She works with a blend of Celtic wisdom teachings, living closely to the Celtic Wheel of the Year alongside Yogic and Tantric practices validated by science to help you restore and remember your body's wisdom, natural rhythm and wild nature.
Why go on Retreat this Autumn Equinox?
Because the body and spirit crave alignment with the rhythms of the earth.
Because in slowing down, you gather strength and clarity for the journey ahead.
By the time September comes around, you can feel the seasons turning again in your bones. Like the sap descending down inside the tree trunks, we begin to feel the deep call to slow down, replenish and retreat. This day retreat allows you to do just that after the busyness of Summer and before the long dark nights set. It is a natural point in the year to recalibrate.
Making time for yourself to hit the breaks is so important in the ever accelerating world we live in. This retreat offers the space to slow down, breathe, and find your centre again and reminder you that you are worthy and deserve a day to yourself to pause and remember your place in the great turning.
You don’t need any previous experience of yoga, Yoga Nidra or fermentation. You don’t need to know anyone. You don’t need to arrive with anything figured out. Just come as you are. We’ll take care of the rest.
This day retreat is designed as an invitation to honour the wisdom of the season by doing a little less, receiving a little more and consciously tending to the things that will sustain us through winter.
Gather with us Sunday 27th September 10am -430pm
Movement for the body. Rest for the nervous system. Ritual for the inner world. Food for the belly. Fermentation for the pantry. Connection for the soul.