February Solitary Retreat at Gaia House

The February Solitary Retreat is a silent meditation retreat in Devon, UK, for people who want extended, uninterrupted practice in silence and stillness. It is led by Insight Meditation teachers Nathan Glyde and Zohar Lavie, with Mark Ovland and Monica Antunes, and is held under the Gaia House programme. It runs for about twelve days.

What to Expect

The retreat is built around long stretches of quiet. The teachers offer regular practice interviews and Dharma talks to support the process, so you are not left to work alone with whatever arises.

The guidance covers three broad areas:

- Cultivating abiding compassion, appreciation, and goodwill.
- Steadying and gathering the body, heart, and mind.
- Opening to the insight and understanding that free the whole being.

Each participant has a single room. You may choose to practise in solitude, or join the quiet company of the small community gathered here during this time. That choice is yours, and it makes the retreat suited to those who want to shape their own balance of structure and solitude.

About the Teachers

Nathan Glyde is an Insight Meditation teacher recognised by Gaia House in the UK. He has practised and studied meditation since 1997 and has shared teachings on retreats since 2007. In 2004 he co-founded SanghaSeva, whose retreats emphasise wisdom and compassion in ecological and humanitarian service.

With Zohar Lavie, Nathan writes the materials for and runs DependentOrigination.org, a body of work on the Buddha's teaching of dependent origination: the understanding that all things arise reliant on other causes and conditions. Together they look at how stress depends on thirsting, and how seeing such dependencies opens a path to freedom. They also offer retreats, online drop-in groups and meditation sessions.

Zohar Lavie co-teaches the retreat and works closely with Nathan on dependent origination and on retreats in the UK, online and in Israel. Mark Ovland and Monica Antunes join the teaching team.

The Setting

The retreat takes place in Devon, in the south-west of England, within the Gaia House programme of retreats. The single rooms allow for privacy and rest between periods of practice, while the small gathered community offers a quiet presence for those who want it.

Before You Go

This is a retreat for extended practice, so it suits people who are ready to spend many days in silence and who value the freedom to practise either alone or alongside others. It is held in English.