Dear Alice, it is always hard for us not to take these kind of reviews too closely, as we pour our heart and soul into what we do, and especially when we consider the additional lengths we went to to ensure you were able to attend this retreat. Luckily we do not get too many of these sorts of reviews but they are a good opportunity to talk more in detail about what we do offer. We hear your feedback on the compost toilets. There are two other toilet blocks available at the retreat site with flushing toilets, so there was ample opportunity for you to use those if the compost toilets were not to your liking. We are working with the estate to upgrade the compost toilet facilities to the standard of the other toilets available on site, and improvement works have in fact already been made since the last retreat. The teachers on the retreat are very experienced and would have been happy to talk through any concerns you may have had about the practices offered, or if you needed any clarification during the sessions, if you had raised them with us at the time. We also give out full contact details for all the teachers afterwards, including as part of a group whatsapp chat, with their personal phone numbers, so we would have been happy to help you through any experiences you may have had after leaving the retreat if you had contacted us. Please do send us an email if you would like any further support with the feelings you experienced after the retreat. The ayurvedic quiz which you are referring to has been developed by Indian practitioners to gain a general understanding of the basic tendencies recognised by ayurveda in a broad population. So, yes, it is designed to be inclusive and representative. We would have been happy to offer any clarification if you had raised any questions with us. You are right that there is no truth in over 90% of the participants on the retreat being 'pitta dosha'. There were many discussions had over the dinner serving table about why a majority might be 'pitta' on a retreat like this, and how that made sense in a wider understanding of ayurveda. It's a shame perhaps you missed these conversations. We would be happy to explain this to you further if you are interested, please just drop us an email. It definitely wasn't over 90% though :) We pride ourself on the food served on the retreat being part of the overall spiritual practice and experience. All allergen and dietary requirements of the participants are recorded at booking, and then taken into consideration when the menus are designed. Therefore, our menus are designed to be allergen free for the participant cohort who are with us for the weekend, negating the need for everything to be labelled with potential allergens. This was explained in our orientation. Moreover, the chef is present at each meal, serving the participants of the retreat, and personally explaining each dish as it is served and answering questions about it. There was ample opportunity for you to ask about any of the dishes as you were being served. We find this personal touch is much more appreciated and effective at engaging people with the food they are eating, rather than leaving it on a table for people to help themselves and read signs. It is also much more effective in ensuring people do not cross contaminate dishes or accidentally help themselves to items which they may be intolerant to. We are a small group of friends who collaborate on this particular retreat, and yes we are all white. We invite musicians and other collaborators based on their skills and talents as facilitators and artists, rather than their ethnic background. Incidentally, our 'in house' retreat musician at this event, who played the most over the weekend, is of British Asian origin. The only chants we can think of which were not sung in English, was in one song where our musician was repeating 'may all beings be happy' in many different languages and from all different religions, after first having sung it in English. We're sorry if this wasn't clear from the piece that this was what was being sung, and also sorry if this did not feel inclusive enough for you. We strive to create a welcoming environment where people feel like they are part of a community while they are with us, and after they have left us. We're glad this seemed apparent to you, but sorry if you did not feel included. We really do try our best to tailor each person's experience to something which is wholesome, joyful and restorative. It is interesting you mention nudity as we actually received a complaint from the same retreat you attended that some people were nude and other participants were finding it offensive! It does go to show you really can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try. You are right that while we are guests on the estate, which is private land, we need to abide by the (very few) rules which the estate sets down for the people using its campsite. One of those is a request to refrain from entering the river nude for the comfort of all other campsite guests, who may or may not be comfortable with nudity for a variety of valid reasons, the public who walk the Thames path directly on the opposite side of the river, and the groups of school-age children who rent the boathouse in the adjacent field and regularly row past the campsite beach. This request is not a hostile act. We are sorry for any parts of your retreat experience which did not meet your expectations. We would have loved the chance to rectify any of these issues during the retreat so you could have had a more comfortable time, which we would have absolutely tried our best to do if we had been made aware of them. It is very difficult for us to do this for you once the retreat has ended. We wish you well in your journey. Blessings, Karen and Dmitry