The Yeotox by Yeotown
A 5 Day Seasonal Wellbeing Experience

Our multi-award winning 5-day signature programme is called The Yeotox. It’s Yeotown’s modern take on a traditional detox retreat where we focus on giving our minds and bodies a break from the everyday stressors of modern living. We’re not a juice fast, boot camp, weightloss holiday or spa break but rather an authentic healthy lifestyle retreat. The programme is more focused on what you can gain rather than deprivation or restriction. We believe movement and our relationship to food is a lifelong journey of adapting exercise and eating habits to the events life throws at us. During your stay we encourage a break from certain foods in order to gain perspective and clarity. It is empowering to become aware of what may be hurting us more than helping. While a new understanding may let you enjoy other things in a more mindful and balanced manner.

Our signature Devon retreat experience runs every week from Wednesday to Sunday. Our all-inclusive prices begin at £2650 for our five-day signature Yeotox programme. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks & fresh-pressed juices and smoothies, rustic luxury accommodation, guided hikes, activities and a massage on each full day of your retreat. There are extras that can be added on for those who wish to customise their experience or who have been before and would like to try something new; however please note it is a comprehensive experience with an ebb and flow to the day’s schedule. Each day builds on the previous day and sessions range from working out to ‘working in’.

During your time with us, you will very quickly begin to feel more energised, more engaged and more empowered. Armed with knowledge so you can make and maintain healthier choices when you return to your everyday life. We’re all for health and fitness but in a way that supports and celebrates your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Since throwing open our Devon farmhouse doors in 2010 to launch our much heralded wellness retreat, we have won multiple awards. Our health retreat is a far cry from juice fast retreats, detox spas and weight loss boot camps. The aim of our 5 day award winning programme is to educate on the inherent value of prioritising your physical health and mental health in equal measure. At Yeotown, we are inspired by shedding the weight of the being versus focusing solely on losing the weight of the body. Using a balanced mix of inspirational, challenging and fun activities with expert yet approachable session leaders, we will teach you how to take control of your own health. We believe fitness and eating is a lifelong journey of adapting exercise and eating habits to the events life throw at us. We believe that ultimately you must decide for yourself which foods and lifestyle habits are best for you. Our flagship Yeotown Wellness Retreat is based in North Devon, one of the most picturesque, unspoilt areas of the UK. We are just 15 minutes from the wild, breath-taking Atlantic ocean, and the dramatic hills and valleys of Exmoor National Park. Click below for full programme details, accommodation options and prices.

Visit our ‘Your Investment’ page for more information, or our ‘Accommodation‘ page for room options and prices.

WHO IS THE YEOTOX FOR?

Do you want to wake up in the morning feeling energised, looking great and ready to tackle your day? Do you want to take control of your mental and physical health? Are you running a big company, raising children, recovering from illness, in training for a big athletic goal?  Are you suffering from burnout, anxiety, stress or a gut/hormonal imbalance? Or are you simply facing a crossroads in your life where you recognise the time has come to put you back in charge of your health and wellbeing? Whatever your reasons, our aim is to help you insure the rest of your life is the best of your life.

Here at Yeotown we’ve spent fourteen years working with people just like you. We can promise that whatever your background or current level of health and fitness, we will help you achieve that life-affirming goal of taking control of your wellbeing, taking ownership of your health and taking your life to that next level of engagement and enjoyment.

OUR LIFESTYLE

Yeotown is based in rural North Devon where co-founders Mercedes Sieff and her husband Simon Sieff have nurtured and fine-tuned their shared vision of an authentic and original healthy lifestyle retreat with its empowering and inspiring emphasis on true health and optimum wellbeing.

Mercedes is one of the UK’s leading Vinyasa Flow Yoga teachers, and a qualified Positive Psychology Coach with a passion for helping others cultivate optimal health. She holds a Diploma in Coaching from the University of Cambridge, and a qualified Positive Psychology Coach.

Simon is a former art and antiques dealer with a background in interior design. He’s also an avid surfer & yogi. Both share the philosophy that we each can only gain greater health and wellbeing by first recognising that we are solely responsible for the steps that will achieve this goal. This is at the core of their life-affirming approach to healthy, happy living.

Together they are passionate about curating all aspects of the retreats, ensuring the high quality standards and detailed experience their guests have come to know over the years remains current, relevant and consistent. Mercedes and Simon have two young girls and divide their time between Devon, Madeira and London. Whichever location they may be, they are actively involved in the retreat itself and when present, lead some of the sessions themselves.

WHAT TO EXPECT

During your Yeotox wellness retreat, you will shift the way you eat, hike many miles in all elements, discover new levels of self-discipline and develop a new appreciation of nature and the great outdoors. Although a Yeotox is both physically and mentally challenging it is also inspiring, informative, invigorating and nurturing. Within a few days, you will start to feel lighter, more clear-headed and have more energy. Some people lose weight as a by-product of our healthy living programme but results may vary depending on the individual.

Come rain or shine, a part of the Yeotox healthy retreat programme takes place outdoors. We pride ourselves on allowing you to reconnect with nature, take big deep breaths of fresh country air and explore the best the English countryside has to offer.

Our retreat incorporates nature as much as possible during your stay. From earthing, forest bathing, cold water river immersion, coastal hikes, surfing, wild swimming and more, we believe the key to truly de-stressing, detoxing and recharging lies in reconnecting to the simpler things in life.

SAMPLE DAY

When we first threw open our farmhouse doors to guests we made the week’s schedule available ahead of time. What we soon came to find out is often times the assumption of what a session would consist of would be more stressful for our guests than the unknown. Such is the way our minds can be our own worst enemy and create stories, make assumptions and follow limiting beliefs of what we can and cannot do. For this reason, over the years we have come to keep the exact schedule on a ‘need to know’ basis. We like to keep many of our guests’ favourite surprise sessions a secret, and always ask people when writing reviews to do the same! Which of course they are happy to oblige as they are often cited as their favourite.

Each day builds upon the previous. This gives guests time to increase their stamina and endurance for the more challenging hikes and activities. A sample day may include a combination of the following, with the first session of the day normally commencing at 7:15am:

• Morning Yoga-inspired stretching for both yogis and non-yogis alike
• 2-3 hrs coastal hiking, cycling or optional water session (seasonal)
• Functional Fitness/Strengths/Resistance training
• Core/Boxing Workouts
• Mindfulness & Meditation
• Cold Water Immersion
• Breathwork
• Earthing/Grounding
• Forest Bathing
• Nutritional Workshop and Cookery Sessions
• Varying styles of massage and dry sauna and/or hot tub time (•Note – during your stay you will have three massage treatments included within the Yeotox programme)

DIGITAL DETOX

It’s so easy for our minds to get distracted these days. With the constant pinging of our phones, endless emails and social media constantly vying for our attention, it’s no wonder the concept of Digital Detox Retreats are on the rise. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of seeking outside validation in the form of ‘likes’ or ‘followers’. More and more research is showing negative emotions such as depression, anxiety and feelings of inadequacy can be heightened by the amount of time spent on social media and tending to an never ending inbox of e-mails.

While we won’t take away your mobile phone, we do encourage our guests to limit their time checking emails or social media during their stay. Unless of course it’s to post how beautiful Yeotown is or what wonderful a wellness retreat we are 🙂 . In all seriousness though, we do discourage the use of phones in the communal areas or in the vans to/from the hikes as many of our guests come to get away from digital distractions. There are many photo worthy, beautiful sites to see around North Devon not to mention the details in and around the retreat itself. For this reason we ask our guests who keep their phones on them to put them on silent or vibrate mode when they are around other guests, and to limit checking emails to once or twice a day to get the most of out your retreat. We also find it allows for more connection to the programme, and creates meaningful space for our guests to genuinely recharge, and reconnect to themselves and other people.

CONSCIOUS CUISINE

At Yeotown we don’t believe mindful, feel-good eating is a ‘diet’ but rather a lifestyle choice. Throughout our 13 solid years of experience in delivering luxury wellness retreats, we have come to learn that everyone has to find the right way of eating for themselves. Not only biologically but also psychologically and lifestyle wise. If you don’t find a diet that works for you on all levels, you will never be able to stick to it nor will it truly help elevate your health and wellbeing.

The menu during your stay is focused on gut healing dishes that naturally increase energy and stamina. We know first hand how beneficial fermented food are for optimal gut health and love to serve up our own homemade Yeotown Water Kefir, Sauerkraut, Kimchi and Apple Cider Vinegar from our very own organic Yeotown orchards. All of our dishes are caffeine, refined-sugar, gluten, dairy, alcohol and meat free. We are not suggesting you should never consume any of these things ever again however as we are all about balance. Let’s face it, life is just too short and should be enjoyed to its fullest! Having a laugh over a nice glass of wine with friends or a piece of cake with loved ones is a wonderful, healthy thing. Rather we are offering you a few days break from certain foods and drink that studies have shown have the potential to be irritants or problematic for some people. This healing healthy holiday will allow you to get some perspective away from your normal patterns of eating and drinking to observe how certain foods and drinks may be affecting you.

It’s healthy to have an awareness of what we are consuming and why. Knowing the effects varying food and drink have on us, if any effect at all, is life changing and inspiring. Despite the myriad of books, “Health Bloggers” and “Influencers” telling us how to eat or what to eat, at the end of the day, we want to empower you to make food choices that make you feel good about yourself and work best for your unique, individual body and mind. Some of our past guests have told us they continued with certain elements of the menu once they left because they loved the way it made them feel and wanted to carry it forward.

Unlike a typical weight loss bootcamp, wellness retreat, detox retreat or juice fast cleanse, we focus strongly on sustainable and balanced nutrition. We aim to give guests the tools and information they need to carry on the Yeotown regime once they are back home. Using a creative blend of nutritionally dense foods, fresh pressed juices, smoothies, adaptogenic lattes and farmer market fresh fruits & vegetables, the Yeotown menu will leave you feeling energised throughout the day. It’s also incredibly delicious! It’s important to note the menu at Yeotown is not completely vegan but can easily be made so for those who wish. There are also a couple of sustainable fish options served for those who aren’t vegan or vegetarian. All allergies, specialty diets and intolerances can be catered for.

We understand not everyone has the same needs or targets when it comes to their diet. Unlike many boot camps, yoga retreats or weight loss retreats, we also provide the opportunity to invest in more tools to optimise your gut health, via the “Yeotown Happy, Healthy Gut Test” with accompanying 20 page in-depth report, and personalised nutritional consultation with a Yeotown Nutritionist. Click here for more details on our tests and why the gut is now referred to as the “second brain”. It plays a key role in not just physical health but in depth research has now proven how important a healthy gut microbiome is to our mental health.

With two restaurants in London we are passionate about insuring our food is colourful, nutrient dense, healthy and most of all delicious. Our dishes are focused on optimising gut health and adequate protein intake. We aren’t so much into counting every calorie mainly because calories are not indicative of the quality or nutrients of the food. The calorie is a useful tool to give us a general idea of how much we are eating during the day however it tells us nothing however about the quality of food we are eating. How much protein we are getting, how much fibre, how much fat, how much sugar, a calorie tells us none of this.

Interested in spending 5 glorious days learning more about all the above and more? Click on the ‘Reserve Now’ link below to start prioritising your health and mental wellbeing today.

Healthy Restaurant London

Can’t get to us in Devon or Madeira but interested in getting a taste of Yeotown? if you are in London, we’d love to welcome you to come and sample our food at one of two centrally located restaurants in Bayswater or Paddington. More details on Yeotown London please visit here.