Transforming Ancestral Blueprints
Work with your Pre-Heaven Essence to explore inherited family patterns and rewrite the narrative stored within your body.
The Extraordinary Vessels are the deep rivers of our energy system in Chinese medicine. They tap into the core essence of our being: why we chose to draw together two (or more) ancestral lines at conception, and what patterns are held within those lineages. How can we tap into our ancestors' wisdom while transforming the patterns that no longer serve us?
In this retreat, we explore how the Extraordinary Vessels open up ancestral portals, inviting us to meet each inherited pattern with our body, heart, and spirit. To allow for a fluid and responsive space that meets the needs of the group, our journey will unfold across three core phases:
- Life in the Womb & Conception: We begin at the very beginning—exploring our connection to our mother and the earliest imprints of our Pre-Heaven Essence.
- Lineages & Unconscious Roots: We journey deeper back to our grandparents and the older, unconscious patterns carried across generations, recognising how they play out in our daily lives.
- Reweaving & Integration: We anchor our transformation into the present, using the surrounding nature to keep us feeling safe and grounded as we rewrite our internal narrative.
Exploring the Eight Vessels Creatively
We will work with aspects of all Eight Extraordinary Vessels in their relationship to our ancestors, reweaving the story within your body in creative ways tailored to your needs:
- Creative Shiatsu: Discovering new, intuitive ways of working with the Extraordinary Vessels.
- Creative Movement: Guided movement explorations transitioning into open space for dance and personal expression.
- Connecting with the Land: Building sculptures, tending fires, gathering flowers, picking fruits, and dressing trees.
- Sound & Resonance: Working with singing bowls, voice, chanting, and the natural elements of wind and birdsong.
- Sacred Elements: Bringing reverence and intention to natural objects—stones, rocks, and the surrounding elements.
The Power of a Retreat
The power of a retreat is having dedicated space to connect deeply with where you are personally, as well as in your role as a practitioner. We will balance quiet time—to exercise, meditate, reflect, and relax—with extended practical sessions tailored to the group's needs. While we cover relevant theoretical foundations, our main focus remains experiential and transformative.
Curious about the retreat experience? Read Kate Codrington's blog post reflecting on our 2018 residential in Italy.
The course begins with supper on Wednesday and finishes around 4 pm on Sunday.
A Typical Day
07.30-08.30 Exercise & meditation with focus on day's theme
08.30-10.00 Breakfast and Meditative activity outside
10.00-13.00 Practical Session inside
13.00-15.30 Lunch, Siesta, Walk, Activity, Integration
15.30-18.30 Practical Session inside
19.00 Supper
20.30 Exercise & meditation
One evening an "event" : a celebration/ceremony depending on needs of group.
Your location: La Source, near Mielan, Gers,
The teaching room is a hexagonal pavillon by a linden avenue. There is plenty of outside space. We will be a small group of 8 people plus Suzanne. It is where Suzanne lives and accommodation is in the main house with a couple of camping spaces. There are 3 hectares of land to explore around the house.
The food is provided by a local vegetarian cook. It will be organic and vegetarian. We are in the middle of the countryside with a lake nearby.
Arrival and departure options
Arrive by Wednesday for an evening introduction and meditation and finish Sunday afternoon for a closing gathering. You can arrive from Tuesday night and stay until Monday morning.
Arrivals: I can do a collection from Toulouse airport on the Wednesday afternoon, to leave the airport by 4pm at the latest, earlier if possible, so that we avoid rush hour and arrive in time for supper. This means your flight will need to arrive before 3pm.
Departures: I can take to Toulouse airport after 4.30 pm on Sunday which means we arrive at the airport around 6pm. I am happy to leave anytime until 6.30 pm but not later, and I don't do transfers on Monday morning because of rush hour traffic.
There are plenty of options near the airport to stay overnight or I can organise a taxi. Check with me for more information.
Note that you must have attended a course with a Wellmother teacher to enroll onto this course. Please contact us for more information.
This course arrived at its own divine timing, at a time in my life when I needed some deep nourishment and some support to reconnect with my creative centre, to get some clarity about where to direct that creative energy next. The course gave me all I needed and more, in a very organic and fluid way. It's so beautiful to be the receiver (as I give out so much, on a daily basis, to my family and clients); to feel fully nourished and to be able to feel the creative flow within me newly activated; to know where to focus this renewed creative energy now. I am really grateful!
I loved the way Suzanne guided me to move and feel into my body, and I am still integrating lots of the practices in my own yoga and meditation practice. I feel really enriched. The mudras were incredibly powerful too! And this work on myself is already slowly rippling into the work I do with other women, as postpartum doula, bodyworker and facilitator of women's circles.
Marinella Benelli
Postpartum Doula, Women's Circles Facilitator, Yoga Teacher & Massage Therapist
I have really enjoyed the CPD training over the years , in particular the residentials. These are 5 days of bliss, meeting wise women, inspirational teachers and therapists and allowing myself rest and physical, emotional, social and spiritual nourishment in an idyllic setting. They have introduced me to Qi Kung and yoga, which I now incorporate into my daily life and into my teaching sessions.
Catherine Tugnait
Massage therapist and NCT teacher
Available languages
- English
Dates and location
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South west France, Mielan07/07/2027 - 11/07/2027
Entrance Requirements
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You need to have already attended a Wellmother course, but you can come from any discipline. Note that we will be working a lot with the energies of Chinese medicine and especially the Extraordinary Vessels, so if you are less familiar with these you might want to do the on line Shiatsu foundation course to brush up your skills.
Price
Cost: teaching £475 (early booking £440 pay in full 8 weeks before)
Cost: Accommodation: 290 euros for the 4 days’ full board.
Nearest airport Toulouse: one half hours drive: transport can be arranged (approx 15 euros each way depending on numbers): pick up Wednesday no later than 4 pm, drop off Sunday around 6pm
You can arrive from Tuesday night and stay till Monday.
