August 14 -18, 2018: In just four nights and four and a half days we will experience…

• Guided therapeutic, creative, and writing activities to help you refill your vessel and reconnect to your fitra Self
• A reconnecting to Qur’an workshop with Sumayah Hassan of Recite and Reflect – in our own little private mosque in the woods
• A drumming workshop and performance with the Pearls of Islam
• Sunnah reconnecting by horseback
• Some more sunnah reconnecting with an afternoon of archery
• Daily yoga classes
• Modest spa pampering session with Halal Goodies
• Private accomodation with female-only staff
• Walking, relaxing and just enjoying the lush, woodsy surroundings of one of London’s best green spaces
• Lively and thoughtful discussions focusing on topics we Muslim women want and need to talk about
• And fully catered meals and plenty of proper tea times!
• Oh yes, and everyone receives one of our lovingly curated goodie bags, of course

Guided Visualising Reconnections

On our first day together, Khalida will guide us through the first of the three visualisations that form the bedrock of the Reconnecting Sleepovers. Guided imagery is, bi’idhnillah, a way of unlocking the potential that lies within us and it can also enable us to tune into the higher facets of fitra, ruh and qalb (heart) that we contain. And as such these can produce powerful responses in us. This first visualisation will connect us with our fitra-selves, insha’Allah. After it, and all the visualisations, you will be invited to share and discuss your experiences with everyone else. Like any invitation it can be accepted or rejected. There is no right or wrong response and we are fully aware that not everyone will want to share what they connected with. If you do not want to talk, and even if you choose to, you are welcome to explore your thoughts and feelings in writing. There will also be the chance to talk about your experiences on a one to one basis if you take up the opportunity of a one-to-one with Khalida. These will be limited and booked on a first come first served basis.

It’s almost time to breakaway from your everyday stresses and tuck into a lush English hideaway just 20 minutes from central London, where you will rejuvenate and reconnect to Self, Sisterhood and Sustainer. Leave the pressures and guilt behind so that you can find and reclaim yourself with the support, time and guided activities you will only find at a Big Reconnect Sleepover.

This ‘Maximized Mini Retreat’ is hosted by London-based psychotherapist Khalida Haque, and former Content Director of SISTERS Magazine and writing workshop facilitator Brooke Benoit.

REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 15, 2018 – ONLY 12 SPACES AVAILABLE

Completely all inclusive, the Maximized Mini Retreat is loaded with activities that you may do all of or pick and choose from. While you are encapsulated in the retreat you do not have to lift a finger or a pay a quid extra for anything (unless you choose to) – this is your time to relax and reconnect to your Self, Sisterhood and Sustainer.

Pampering Session

The pampering is an essential part of the retreat as we know how much you deserve it. We will have the salon come to us and provide us with facials, manicures and pedicures. These will relax us and help us feel human once more bi’idhnillah. The ‘vessel’ is bound to feel fuller after just this one activity and insha’Allah you will be ready to take on the rest of the activities and exercises designed for and incorporated into the retreat to allow you to reconnect.

Daily Yoga

Every morning you will have the opportunity to join in Muslimah-led restorative and nourishing “Well Woman Yoga” to reconnect to heart, body and soul.

Creative Connections

Throughout the retreat we will use our “The Big Reconnecting Selflove Journals”; designed by Khalida and Brooke especially for the Reconnecting Sleepovers there are a variety of prompts to get anyone connecting through journaling.

Qur’an Connecting

 

“Verily the one who recites the Qur’an beautifully, smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels. And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or stumbling through its verses, then he will have twice that reward.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Sumayah of Recite & Reflect will join us at the private mosque, guiding us through a special workshop she has designed just for us to help us connect to the Qur’an on a deeper, more personal level, making the Qur’an relevant and accessible in our everyday lives.

Itinerary

Each day of the Maximized Mini Retreat is a break from your routine and an opportunity to recharge. Daily we will have: Muslimah led yoga, adaptable to your skill level and preference (you can sit out any activities you want); opportunities to self-reflect with journaling and creative prompts; relaxing walks and deep breaths of luxuriously clean air in the scenic surroundings; healthy and delicious fully catered meals and tea times, sunnah activities of horse riding and archery and two very special workshops: one drumming and the other reciting and reflecting. On the itinerary we have several activities and workshops designed just for the Maximized Mini Retreat:

Archery

One of the aims of our reconnecting sleepovers is to challenge ourselves, in both taking up the practice of self care and wellbeing just by coming to such an event as ours, and also in the traditional sense of doing something new, something that is physically and/or mentally challenging. And always we aim to include activities that are rooted in the sunnah, like archery. One of the unique benefits of our forest setting is that it comes with an archery range and we’ll be making good use of it. Reported by al-Qarrab; On the authority of Abu ad-Darda’, may Allah Almighty shower His favors on him, who narrates from The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings from Allah Almighty be upon him, who said, “All games are idle play but three things: the riding of horses, the casting of arrows, and a man playing with his wife; And of these the most beloved to me is the casting of arrows.” And after our targets have been made, Khalida will guide us through the second of our reconnecting visualisations that will bi’idhnillah help us to reconnect with our Sustainer, Nourisher and Cherisher – Allah. We may, in our busy bustling lives, not recognise how disconnected we may have become from our Lord. This exercise aims to help us not just reconnect but to also realise that disconnect. Again we will sit together and in a supportive non-judgemental way explore what comes up for us.

Riding

On our Moroccan retreats we are blessed to experience riding camels, just as the Prophet (SAW) did 1400 years ago, and just outside the heart of London we are blessed to make a similar connection on horseback. Some of us look forward to the opportunity to ride again and for others this is another opportunity for a challenge as it will be our first time!

The Rhythms of Sisterhood

Women’s gatherings and parties can be an uplifting source of inspiration and reenergizing. We will revel in Sisterhood our last night together as The Pearls of Islam, Sakinah Le Noir and Rabiah Abdullah, direct us through a traditional women’s drumming circle and perform some of their well-loved nasheeds. We will insha’Allah also have henna cones and a henna artist available for the beautification of our hands and feet. We hope that you will take this chance to glam up and get your glad rags on. Before we say our good-byes, Khalida will guide us through one last reconnect visualisation which will insha’Allah pull together the experience of the retreat and help us to keep connected to our fitra-selves and to Allah. Bi’idhnillah, it will enable us to continue moving forward in our journeys in this temporary realm of Dunya and closer towards our innate dispositions and our Beloved Creator.

Please contact us if you have any questions – info@thebigreconnectsleepover.com