The Canford Cliffs Retreat
6th - 7th June 2026
Coming Home to your Body
A Weekend to Reconnect with Your Body, Your Nervous System, and the Natural World
Hello! I’m so excited to let you know about this intimate retreat, led by me, and assisted by my friend and fellow Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Ali McNair, in the wild beauty of Canford Cliffs, Dorset, this coming June.
Retreat in a nutshell
The Canford Cliffs Somatic Retreat
Coming Home to Your Body
6–7 June 2026 | Canford Cliffs, Dorset
A small, two-day retreat designed to help you reconnect with your body, settle your nervous system, and rediscover a sense of steadiness and vitality.
Held on the Dorset coast, this retreat weaves together somatic movement, nervous system education, and time in nature - including the sea, gardens, and surrounding landscape.
Across the weekend, we’ll explore practices drawn from Somatic Experiencing, yoga, qigong and Hanna Somatic Movement, all offered in a trauma-informed and gently paced way.
With just 16 participants and support from two experienced Somatic Experiencing practitioners, the retreat offers a calm, intimate space where you can slow down, reconnect with yourself, and experience the restorative effects of movement, nature, and community.
Lunch, tea and snacks are included each day, along with time outdoors exploring nearby places such as Compton Acres Gardens and the coastline.
This weekend is an invitation to step away from the usual pace of life and begin coming home to your body again.
Retreat at a glance
Location: Canford Cliffs, Dorset
Dates: 6–7 June 2026
Group size: 16 participants
Practices include: Embodied practices from Somatic Experiencing®, yoga, qigong, Hanna Somatics, nature practices
Includes: Lunch, tea & snacks, studio space, guided nature activities
Accommodation: Not included (local recommendations available)
If you feel called to join us
The next step is to book a short call with me, so we can talk retreat, and answer any questions you might have.
This retreat is for people who feel ready to step away from the pace of everyday life for a short time, reconnect with themselves, and explore practices that support a steadier relationship with stress and the nervous system.
Because the group is intentionally small, places may fill quickly.
If you would like to reserve a space, you can do so below.
Over the course of the weekend, we’ll explore practices that support your nervous system to settle and reconnect.
We’ll explore things like:
Simple somatic practices that help your body move out of survival mode and back towards steadiness and ease
Gentle movement and sensory awareness exercises that reconnect you with your body’s natural intelligence
How nature can act as a powerful co-regulator for the nervous system - something many of us instinctively feel, but maybe rarely have time to explore intentionally
The role of pacing and integration in trauma healing, and why slowing down can often create deeper and more lasting change
Small, practical tools you can take into everyday life to support your nervous system when stress or overwhelm arises
The power of practising in a small, supportive group, and how a safe connection with others can support your body’s healing
The weekend is designed to move at a gradual pace, allowing space for experience, reflection, and integration.
For many people, the feeling of stress or disconnection doesn’t appear overnight.
It often builds gradually over time.
You might have tried different ways of finding your way back to yourself. Perhaps reading books, listening to podcasts, trying meditation or movement classes, or simply hoping that things will settle on their own once life becomes a little less busy.
Sometimes these things help for a while.
But often what’s missing is the space to slow down properly, and to actually practice it, and experience it. Taking time away from the usual setting and pace of life, guidance from supportive people, and an environment that allows your body to settle, rather than asking it to keep pushing forward.
This is one of the reasons retreats can be so powerful.
When we step out of our usual routines, spend time in nature, and allow our bodies to move and rest in a different rhythm, something begins to shift.
Your nervous system has a chance to find that natural rhythm of activation and settling again, which we call regulation.
Your body begins to reorganise itself.
And many people find again a feeling of being more at home in themselves, and vitality that had faded into the background.
For many of the people I work with, having even a short time like this can become an important turning point.
Investment
This retreat has been designed as a small, intimate gathering so that everyone receives the space, care, and support they need.
For that reason, the group is limited to 16 participants.
The investment for the weekend includes:
Two full days of guided somatic movement and nervous system practices
Support from two experienced trauma-trained practitioners
Time in nature, including practices by the sea and a visit to Compton Acres Gardens
Time in the beautiful SuStudio retreat space
Lunch on both days, plus tea and snacks
Small group check-ins and integration spaces
Practices and tools you can take into everyday life
Early booking (available until April 15th): £325
Standard retreat price: £450
Accommodation is not included, but there are many lovely places to stay locally, and I’m happy to provide suggestions.
8 Spots
Left!
Secure Your Spot
Location: Canford Cliffs, Dorset
Dates: 6–7 June 2026
Group size: 16 participants
Practices include: Somatic Experiencing-informed movement, yoga, qigong, Hanna Somatics, nature practices
Includes: Lunch, tea & snacks, studio space, guided nature activities
Accommodation: Not included (local recommendations available)
Early Bird Pricing: £325 - ends April 15th Standard Price: £450
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Because spaces are so limited, we can only offer refunds until April 30th
After April 30th, it won’t be possible to offer refunds.
-
This allows us to talk through the retreat and make sure it feels like a supportive fit for where you are right now.
Because the work we’ll be doing is trauma-informed and experiential, I like to connect briefly with each participant beforehand so everyone arrives feeling prepared and comfortable.
-
That’s the beauty of the get-to-know-you call, together we’ll walk through your questions and where you are in your journey.
It’s my hope that after the call, you’ll have a good sense of how helpful the retreat will be for you.
-
No. This is your time, and you are encouraged to check in with your body at all times to determine what feels most helpful to you.
Meet Your Guides
About Charlotte Preston
Charlotte is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, trained in the trauma healing approach developed by Dr Peter Levine. She works with people recovering from stress, trauma and nervous system dysregulation.
Her work weaves together Somatic Experiencing, somatic movement, qigong, yoga and therapeutic touch, all in a way that is trauma-informed, and respectful of each person’s own pace.
Charlotte loves creating spaces where people can land back into feeling more fully themselves again. No need to perform, get it right, or arrive as the “best version” of yourself. You can come exactly as you are. The work is always an exploration and an experiment, and the way each person approaches things differently adds to the magic of the group.
She grew up on the Dorset coast, then spent twenty years living and working in London before moving back five years ago. Returning here gave her an even deeper appreciation for the beauty of the land, the sea, and the powerful way nature can support healing, steadiness and perspective.
Alongside her private practice, Charlotte also loves bringing people together in groups. There is something special for her about creating spaces where people can slow down, move, breathe, laugh, connect, and remember they are not doing life alone.
Through her work, she supports people to reconnect with their bodies, build resilience, and gradually rediscover a sense of steadiness, vitality and connection in their lives.
Charlotte will be leading the retreat, with Ali supporting the group throughout the weekend.
About Ali McNair
Ali McNair is also a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, trained in the trauma healing approach developed by Dr Peter Levine.
Her work is rooted in a lifelong interest in wellbeing, healing, and the connection between body and mind. Before training in Somatic Experiencing, Ali worked in several body–mind fields including nursing, medical herbalism, bodywork, meditation and movement practices, including Gabrielle Roth’s 5 Rhythms.
Through both her professional training and her own healing journey, Ali developed a deep appreciation for the body’s natural capacity to heal and rebalance when given the right support.
Ali brings a warm, grounded and compassionate approach to her work, with a strong focus on helping people build a sense of safety in their nervous system and gently reconnect with themselves through the body.
She has a calm, steady presence and a depth of experience that helps people feel at ease very quickly.
Ali will be supporting the retreat alongside Charlotte throughout the weekend.
Our location :
The beautiful Jurassic Coast
The Canford Cliffs Somatic Retreat
Coming Home to Your Body
A two-day immersion in somatic movement, nervous system healing, and connection with the natural world, held here on the Dorset coast.
Over the weekend, we’ll gently explore practices drawn from Somatic Experiencing, yoga, qigong, and Hanna somatic movement, alongside time outdoors in the surrounding landscape.
Together, we’ll create the conditions that allow the body and nervous system to begin settling again. Not through pushing or forcing change, but through slowing down, listening, and reconnecting with the natural rhythms of the body.
This is a small, intimate retreat with just sixteen participants, supported by two experienced trauma-trained practitioners and therapists.
The intention is simple.
To create a space where you can reconnect with yourself, experience the support of nature and community, and begin to build practices that support steadiness and resilience long after the weekend is over.
