How would your life change if you had the confidence you’ve always wished for? Would you finally create the life you dream of? Or perhaps you wouldn’t do anything radically different, but without the feelings of worry, anxiety and self-doubt, you would be free to move through life with freedom, ease, and enjoyment.
Do you ever find yourself admiring those who live with a deep, unshakable inner confidence? That sense of strength, authenticity, and love for life that requires no mask to hide behind? What if you could feel that way? Not just outwardly, but in a way that is genuinely and effortlessly true to you?
This 1:1 retreat experience provides the space and guidance for you to find the effortlessness of being truly you as you embrace life with deeper security, creativity and flow.
We all want to be authentically ourselves, but we sometimes we lose touch with who we really are. We feel unable to really show up and be seen without the mask, the walls or the faux confidence to hide behind.
As you deepen your awareness within yourself, you establish a deep connection with your true nature and develop your relationship with yourself so you can be authentic as a professional, a parent, a partner or simply a human being.
You don’t have to be bullet proof, robotic or devoid of emotions to be resilient and smart. In fact, high level thinking is all about embracing the truest depths of your humanity and this deep inner knowing will allow you to navigate life’s challenges from a more effective and powerful vantage point.
Deep inner exploration has an extraordinarily powerful effect on the way we show up to situations day to day.
We can only ever operate from the level of consciousness that we see the world from. When we operate from our fears, insecurities or defensiveness, frustrations or desire to have our psychological needs met, it’s highly likely there was a better and more effective move than the one we took.
The key to inner confidence is to develop a deep connection within ourselves and be more conscious of what is arising in us, influencing our perspective in the moment. When our level of consciousness elevates, whole new thoughts, options, insights and creative processes become available to us.
There is an intense motivation that comes from wanting to prove ourselves, especially when we feel we are not enough somehow. It’s powerful, but stressful, short sighted and weighs heavy on the mind.
When you approach life from your true nature, success feels effortless as you work, live and breathe more freely from flow, finding your place as an important part of something bigger than you. Navigating life becomes lighter and you feel more alive, with clarity of mind and lightness of heart whether you are presenting to crowds, making decisions alone or embarking on a journey well outside your comfort zone.
There is a reason Zen masters are known to retreat into the wilderness for growth and evolution! Intuitively we know there are times we need to take a step back to gain perspective, clarity and Insight.
The Retreat at Upper Barns will be your sanctuary. A Private space with king size bed, ensuite shower room, private kitchen and lounge where, while not in session, you can relax, read, prepare food, meditate and reflect in your own private space.
This coaching retreat experience begins the moment you book with us.
The Preparation:
We will schedule a zoom call so that we can get to know you, your aims, objectives and greatest opportunities. With access to our resource library you can begin exploring, with tips on the areas that will be most useful to you.
At the Retreat:
You will stay in ‘The Retreat at Upper Barns’ for three nights, with 1:1 transformative coaching sessions spread through each day, and a final session on the last morning. In between sessions, you have time to reflect, read, rest, renew, recharge and regenerate.
Afterwards:
Integration and application is fundamental to embedding this understanding, and two post retreat coaching sessions ensure your experience doesn’t end when the retreat does.
Michelle is a Transformative Coach, a Trainer and Master Practitioner of Neurolinguistic programming, a Master Hypnotist and Instructor of Hypnosis, a Trainer of Time Line TherapyTM, a certified Coach Trainer, a qualified Medical Intuitive with a BA in Business and a few other ‘out there’ things she tends to not put on a CV.
She had a successful career in Communications before being drawn to the world of mental, emotional and spiritual growth, initially opening a training company as the first English speaking NLP trainer in Hong Kong in 2007.
As well as running ‘The Retreat at Upper Barns’, Michelle works for numerous corporate and private clients and is the main Trainer in mental strength and resilience for a leading Military and Veteran mental health charity.
Our retreat dates for 2026 are below. Please note that these are one to one retreats so are naturally ‘When it’s gone, it’s gone.’
Tue 20th – Fri 23rd January
Tue 3rd – Fri 6th February
Tue 10th – Fri 13th March
Tue 21st – Fri 24th April
Tue 5th – Fri 8th May
Tue 16th – Fri 19th June
Tue 7th – Fri 10th July
If you want to enhance your relaxation, you can book a private yoga session or massage during your stay. Please let us know as early as possible so we can arrange this on your behalf.
If you would like to talk about the retreat and what it can do for you, you can phone us on 01371 850800, email us at [email protected] or you can book a free introductory zoom call now. You can do this by clicking through to our website and scrolling to the bottom where you will find a bookable calendar. We look forward to hearing from you.
All areas are located on the ground floor, but please contact us to discuss your individual requirements so that we can be sure to accommodate you.
Upper Barns is a 16th Century barn used to house animals and animal feed until around 40 years ago and we are keen to retain its traditional and ecological qualities. We have our own vegetable garden where we grow as many of our own salad, berries and other fruit, vegetables and herbs as possible using compost made from our kitchen and garden waste. We are also fortunate that this is a big equestrian area and predominantly farming community so manure is pretty easy to come by to keep our soil naturally fertile! We also recycle, minimise waste and source food locally as much as possible.
Dates for 2025!
Please see below for retreat dates in 2025. Bear in mind that, due to the nature of 1:1 bookings, dates can suddenly become unavailable and when it's gone... it's gone. Be sure to book your chosen dates to avoid disappointment.
Tue 21st – Fri 24th January
Tue 4th – Fri 7th February
Tue 4th – Fri 7th March
Tue 6th – Fri 9th May
Tue 3rd – Fri 6th June
Tue 29th July – Fri 1st August
The Retreat at Upper Barns is located just outside the village of Wethersfield; a stunning rural setting along the Essex/Suffolk border, and just an hour's drive from London.
Driving
It is straightforward to drive here from the M11/A120 and we can WhatsApp a locator to make things easier when you get closer along the country lanes.
Train
The closest train station is Braintree, which is on the National Rail service out of Liverpool Street. Once you arrive at Braintree train station it is around 20 minutes in a taxi.
Plane
We are minutes from Stansted Airport for those coming from further afield.
