Room to breathe

4 Walks in 4 Seasons
Days to stretch your legs, your mind and your heart

– Time to think
– An environment free from everyday demands
– A group of understanding people willing to talk

Room to Breathe is a group that meets in the Dales 4 times a year – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn – to walk, think and talk over a day. The day is structured to help you find areas you need to focus on, decisions you need to make, problems you need to resolve, and then have the space to explore them. There is time for informal talking as we walk, as well as structured space for talking and thinking as a group.

We use the open air – to relax bodies, expand minds, remove everyday demands.
We use members – who understand the pressures and dilemmas you face, who can add different perspectives, who can generate new ideas.
We use the group – to provide understanding, support and challenge.
We use skilled facilitators – to ensure you focus on things that will make a difference.

Reflections by group members

Here some reflections written by people who have attended these groups:
Room to Breathe from Winter walk in 2024
Somewhere in the middle (2020)
Walking and talking – a reverie (2017)
Dilemma (2008)

There’s even a reflection on the experience of meeting virtually during the Covid-19 Pandemic:
Room to Breathe 04.2020

Room to Breathe comes to an end

We completed the final Room to Breathe walk in September 2024 after meeting for 18 years, 4 times a year, give or take a pandemic and thunderstorm or two.

We don’t know whether Room to Breathe will ever convene again in its original form, although some regular walkers are continuing to meet and walk regularly. However, you can read more about the group, how it worked, and something of what it meant in a chapter by Chris Powell in Psychogeography and Psychotherapy.

The group was facilitated by Chris Powell, a group analyst, and Andrew Wilson, a GP. Chris and Andrew led successful walking groups together for professional development and personal support since 2006.

For more information about Room to Breathe email Chris Powell ().