About | Sust! Health Retreats

About us

We are based in the UK in beautiful North Devon and we are truly passionate about
delivering unique and unforgettable health retreats that are fun, inspiring, educational, empowering, and affordable.

Our Ethos

We strongly believe that health is the most precious and valuable asset a person can possess and something that should be prioritised, treasured, celebrated, and preserved.

Unfortunately, despite the many advancements and conveniences of modern life, there are many aspects of our contemporary lifestyles that are holding us back from achieving and sustaining vibrant health.

Right at the heart of our Sust! ethos is the core understanding that there are no quick, convenient ‘fixes’ for claiming robust health, strength, longevity and energy. Health is encoded in our genes, and our genes have not yet adjusted to the rapidly changing modern world and respond favourably to ancient natural triggers such as light, nutrients, fresh air, hydration, movement, muscle synthesis, human connection and rest.

The study of Epigenetics has proven that achieving and sustaining health is a dynamic, on-going process as a result of our genes constantly responding to environmental cues and expressing themselves in favourable or unfavourable ways.

Our Sust! retreat programmes are carefully constructed around three main principles ‘Fit, Flow, Fuel’ to awaken and optimise our innate genetic potential by putting nature at the centre of the retreat journey and emphasising simple health practices that have withstood the test of time.

By adopting these principles, we ensure that the carefully selected fitness, movement, nutrition and lifestyle practices offered at Sust! are balanced and appeal to both men and women. Activities such as Nature hiking, strength training, restorative yoga, balance, mobility training, cold water immersion and the consumption of nutrient dense foods, send powerful messages to our genes that closely match the environmental cues our ancestors received on a daily basis. These principles encourage the rapid expression of healthy genes in fun, modern and empowering ways.

It is firmly in your power to cultivate vibrant health everyday. We strongly believe there are no quick fixes when it comes to health, and Nature is the biggest healer. By adopting the Sust! lifestyle practices on which our bodies thrive……you got the path to health SUST!

Our Mission

Our heartfelt mission is to motivate, inspire, and empower our guests through our ‘nature-centric’ retreat experiences that are life affirming, educational, relaxing, and re-invigorating.

We are driven to fulfil the need for a UK-based retreat company that appeals to both men and women, offers a delicious and hearty organic menu celebrating local produce, and delivers a balanced combination of uplifting activities including hiking, fitness, yoga, wild swimming, and restorative yoga.

We recognise the importance of getting real, tangible results for our guests and it is our utmost priority to ensure that our guests depart feeling slimmer, fitter, revitalised, rested, and proud of what they have achieved.

Unlike other retreat companies, we place a strong focus on long-term, sustainable results. It is equally important to us that our guests feel motivated, empowered and excited to implement simple dietary, movement and life-style measures at home to achieve optimal body composition, increased strength and physical vitality, sound sleep, improved digestion, and increased mental calm.

At Sust! retreats, you won’t find any bootcamp-style regimes, calorie restricted diets, quick-fix detox plans or ‘fast’ weight loss solutions. Busting health and fitness myths for a SUSTainable, realistic, outstanding health upgrade is what we do well!

Our nutritional goal is to gently inspire and motivate without preaching a dietary dogma. Part of our mission at Sust! is to delight our guests by serving satisfying, delicious meals (including traditional foods that your great grandma would recognise!) that prove that healthy eating is as desirable as it is achievable.

We make it our mission to create a fun, supportive and friendly retreat environment. We recognise the power of a strong group connection to facilitate our guests to push their boundaries and leave feeling elated and inspired.

At Sust! Our mission is to design retreat programmes with both men and women in mind. We actively encourage couples in the recognition that couples who retreat together enjoy a memorable and shared retreat experience and are more likely support one another at home.

We make yoga accessible for men, and strength training accessible for women and interesting health information easily absorbed by all through experience and fun activities.

Finally, it is our mission that your Sust! retreat experience reignites your zest for life and your motivation to continue implementing the Sust! diet, lifestyle, and movement practices into your daily life.

Natalie

From a young age, Natalie has been inspired by Indigenous cultures and hunter-gatherer societies. This interest led to studying Anthropology at University where she became aware that the common link between all indigenous societies who experience superior health and longevity, was connected to their strong affinity with their natural environment. She graduated with a deep conviction that the current global health crisis is, in part, due to the loss of ancient wisdom and environmental connection, and the solution is to find it again.

Natalie’s love for health, nutrition, and fitness lead her to train in dance, Pilates, yoga, fitness and health coaching. She has enjoyed a successful career in the health retreat industry where she spent 11 years managing and teaching at various health and detox retreats in Europe.

The deep dive into the retreat industry gave her the opportunity to guide thousands of people through intensive periods of yoga, fitness and dietary intervention, and presented valuable insight into successful retreat management.

In addition to her 18 years of teaching experience to date, she also delivers comprehensive nutrition and fitness programmes for private clients all over the world. Her private health coaching ignited a deep interest in Functional Medicine and her on-going fascination into this field continues to deepen her understanding of the multifaceted, underlying factors of wellness, such as the importance of gut health, optimal digestion, supporting detox pathways and correcting nutritional deficiencies.

Natalie co-founded Sust! Health Retreat Company in 2018 to fuse her experience and knowledge gained from Anthropology, fitness and Functional Medicine to motivate, inspire and educate people through unique and exceptional retreat programmes.

Outside of organising retreats and events, you will find Natalie hiking the coastal paths, cold water dipping in nearby rivers and coves, cycling, practicing yoga, or eating something suitably healthy!

Sust! partners

LESLEY

Lesley is a self-confessed, highly qualified fitness fanatic and has taught most things fitness related! She is an experienced personal trainer and sports massage therapist.

Since moving to Devon to Run a B&B with her husband Steve, she has put her skills to good use and offers Nordic walking instruction and sports massage to guests. She is also an independent Natural Juice Therapist who has provided training and recipes to “Dualit”. Her daily “Woodlands green smoothie” is a popular breakfast choice. Over the last few years she has become a great advocate of the benefits of cold water immersion and enjoys wild sea and river dipping most days in the beautiful seas and rivers of Exmoor. Lesley is an invaluable member of the Sust! retreat team leading guests on fantastic hikes, encouraging them to cold dip, massaging their aching limbs and ensuring that everyone has got retreat life SUST!

STEVE

Steve is the proud owner of Woodlands Guesthouse, one of Sust! Health Retreat venues. He is a keen chef and when he isn’t cooking breakfasts and evening meals for his guests.

Steve enjoys hosting pop up dinners in local pubs and cafes that showcase his love for Thai, Indian, Mediterranian and traditional British cuisine. His culinary knowledge, creative skills and enthusiasm for local, organic produce make him a perfect Sust! chef. Steve’s hobbies include hiking, classic cars, and art, and he also has a passion and talent for singing and makes regular public appearances at local festivals in North Devon.

Milly

As a former PR director, Milly is a valuable member of the Sust! marketing team and uses her skills to promote Sust! Health Retreats on social media and other marketing avenues.

She is also a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and transformational coach for over 10 years. She not only has a client base in Petersfield, where she lives, but also an avid online following to which she enjoys teaching online group classes. As a Sust! partner, she enjoys hosting her ‘Born Ready!’ retreats in North Devon, and Turkey. She is passionate about helping her clients manage their stress levels and busy lifestyles, whilst empowering them to become the best version of themselves both physically and mentally through simple changes. She’s a big fan of weight training, kettle bells, HIIT and Nordic Walking, and she strongly believes in the power of nutrition to achieve an optimal, sustainable body composition.

Milly doesn’t believe in quick fixes, but hard work and consistency, mixed in with a healthy dose of fun. This, she believes, is the key to happiness and success.

SAM

Sam is a physiotherapist and fitness instructor with over 20 years of working in the health and fitness industry.

Her work has taken her all over the world and she has worked on Cruise ships, for multiple retreat companies, private prestigious clients, and for the Military. She enjoys combining her work with extraordinary travel adventures and her travels to date have taken her to India, Sri Lanka, Bali, Iraq, Turkey, Portugal, the Caribbean, and Saudi Arabia to name but a few. Based in the South West of England, in Plymouth, her love for the outdoors and adventure is nurtured through gig rowing, sailing, cycling, hiking and wild swimming. As a valuable member of the Sust! retreat team, and as a Sust! partner, Sam is affectionately known behind the scenes as ‘S**t job Sam’ (having been stuck with the washing up for one too many times!) Her skills and knowledge combined with her fun attitude and team spirit make her an indispensable member of the team.

CAROLINE

Caroline has 20 years of experience in the food and hospitality industry, with the past decade spent focused on health, preparing and promoting nutritionally dense and delicious food.

Caroline is passionate about encouraging people to achieve their health goals through sharing her extensive and up to date knowledge of food, nutrition and its interaction with various health issues to further support her work in the kitchen.

Having witnessed first-hand the benefits of dietary and lifestyle modifications in alleviating health issues and promoting physical and mental wellbeing, Caroline looks forward to helping you on your wellness journey.

LAUREN

Lauren has always had a keen interest in movement, the body, physical activity and fitness.

She first discovered this passion early on in life through her involvement in a wide assortment of dance and movement classes and training. Lauren went on to achieve a first class honours degree in dance and movement and over the last decade has delivered a range of movement classes and qualifications in different institutions across the country. When Lauren first discovered yoga, she instantly found a synergy with the self-awareness, expression of movement, use of the breath and alignment techniques encouraged within a class.

Lauren now teaches group and 1:1 yoga sessions around North Devon combining elements of Vinyasa Flow, mindfulness and universal alignment principles to help to promote self discovery, self care and presence.

AMY

Amy is an international yoga instructor with a loyal and committed following who are drawn to her unique and powerful yoga teaching.

Amy lives in sunny Portugal and enjoys teaching locally where she lives, and also on retreat settings, in Portugal and abroad. She has worked in the retreat industry for many years and in addition to teaching for renowned retreat companies, she hosts her own successful yoga retreats in India and Europe. More recently she launched her popular online yoga retreats, and her online community is growing rapidly. She is a gifted meditation teacher and contributes to online meditation forums where one of her guided meditations was recently selected out of thousands of entries. On your Sust! retreat journey, Amy will guide you through a diverse yoga practice that balances the enlivening, dynamic nature of vinyasa flow, with the healing, restorative quality of yin yoga. Amy’s holistic approach combines the mental, physical and spiritual elements of yoga to facilitate inner balance and transformation. Expect to leave her classes with an energised body, a calm mind, and an open heart.

FRAN

Fran is a qualified Nutritionist, Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Natural Juice Therapist, and Life Coach.

She is currently completing her Certified Functional Medical Practitioner qualification. She has a special interest in the areas of Hormones, Anxiety and Depression, Cellular Metabolism, Gut Health and Cancer, and she brings her expertise in these areas to create comprehensive and customised health coaching packages to her clients. Fran also works as a health retreat manager and has guided thousands of people through 7-day detox programmes. Her holistic approach emphasises the interconnections between lifestyle, health, and wellbeing to help people reach their health goals in areas such as achieving optimal weight, eliminating food cravings, increasing sleep, and maximising energy. She is passionate about helping people implement lasting changes that will improve health whilst nurturing a balanced lifestyle. Prior to working in the health industry, Fran has 20 years’ experience of working in the corporate industry and holds business qualifications in managing, business, marketing, coaching and corporate mentoring. As a Sust! partner, Fran hosts her own health retreats in North Devon that specialise in the Functional Medicine approach to balancing hormones and optimising gut health. You can find out more about Fran at her personal health coaching website: www.zest4living.co

mourad

Yogimomo (Mourad) received his classical training in the ancient art and science of Kundalini Yoga at SKY (The School of Kundalini Yoga UK) in 2009.

His mentors included world-renowned teachers such as Gurunam Dr Joseph Michael Levry, Guru Dharam Singh, Darryl O’Keefe and Bridget Layton Minor, all of who had previously been students of the late Yogi Bhajan (The master of Kundalini Yoga).

He left his stressful career as a chef and restaurant manager in Paris, New York, Goa, and London and has subsequently trained and practiced with many great yoga teachers around the world. The transformative impact of Kundalini Yoga has helped him to get centered and aligned with his purpose in life: healing people through yoga.

He shares this ancient practice from a deeply intuitive place and welcomes students to dive into their being, into the silence and inner knowing and then move from that place. Mourad leads classes designed to quiet the mind and inspire the body through music, movement, and breath. His goal is to provide a supportive and inclusive space—safe for students to awaken the body’s vitality, and to release stress patterns.

Mourad teaches students of all levels of fitness and experience and focuses on creating a joyful learning environment that is accessible for all. He believes that the practice of Kundalini Yoga delivers amazing, immediate results and profound long-term benefits.

Above all, Mourad`s classes are an opportunity to clear the slate—physically and emotionally to make space for the connection to spirit. Mourad runs yoga retreats and workshops combined with healthy nutrition and cooking classes all over Europe and worldwide.

GEMMA

Gemma is a Bristol-based fitness instructor and the founder of 'The Bounce Fit Method', a popular online fitness platform.

Gemma delivers an extensive weekly timetable of online fitness classes inspired by her passion for mini-trampolining. Gemma has a wealth of experience in the fitness industry and has worked in the health retreat industry for for over a decade as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor delivering a wide range of classes including strength training, aerobics, spinning, rebounding, circuits and fitness pilates.

“HEALTH IN ITS FULLNESS IS NATURE OBEYED"
Weston Price

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