Supporting UK Food Producers' Inner Wellbeing in Service to Food Systems Transformation
Feeling stressed or overwhelmed by the demands of farming in the UK?
Are you looking for a different approach to your wellbeing?
Discover how you can:
- Cultivate greater calm and presence, even in challenging times.
- Feel more connected to your body, relationships, and the land.
- Rediscover deeper joy and flow in your work.
Calmer Farmer, is a FREE 10-week self-study online embodied wellbeing programme designed for farmers and growers in the UK.
Enrolment is currently closed as the pilot course started on February 23rd 2025.
To keep up with Calmer Farmer project updates and to learn about future course dates please subscribe to our newsletter by submitting your email below.
To find out more about the Calmer Farmer project please join our mailing list.
What You’ll Gain
Deeper Calm
Learn techniques to:
- Ease stress and burnout.
- Feel more grounded, present and safe in your body, even during your busiest days.
- Cultivate moments of peace that recharge and replenish you.
More Energy and Flow
Discover how to:
- Unlock stuck energy by regulating your nervous system.
- Work with the natural rhythms of life instead of fighting them.
- Feel a renewed sense of vitality and ease in your work.
Greater Connection
Experience:
- Improved relationships.
- support in the deep bond you have with your land.
- A sense of even deeper belonging to the natural world.
How It Works
The program is simple, flexible, and designed for busy farmers.
Each week we will send you:
One audio lesson
10-30 minutes per week
One guided practice
10-20 minutes per day
Reflective prompts
to deepen your experience
You’ll also gain access to:
A live online community platform to connect with other participants across the UK.
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3 live online integration sessions to connect with other course participants, share experiences and ask questions.
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Supplemental resources such as article, book, video and podcast recommendations for deeper exploration.
Program Structure
The course is structured around four key themes:
- Grounding
Feel safe and present in your body. Learn to regulate your nervous system during stressful moments. - Attuning
Notice deeper signals from your body and environment. Explore intuitive ways of knowing and working. - Opening
Foster even more meaningful relationships with people, animals, and the land. Learn relational practices to support you and your community. - Integration
Develop long-term practices that connect your inner and outer work. Feel a greater sense of wholeness and balance in your life.
What People Are Saying About This Work
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the purpose of the Calmer Farmer project?
This is a funded pilot project to research the effectiveness of embodiment practices on the wellbeing and work practices of UK farmers and growers. As well as being a practical wellbeing course this also an exciting research project to learn how inner work can support food systems transformation. Your reflections and discoveries on this programme will help shape this into a valuable resource beyond this initial pilot project!
I’m busy. Can I fit this into my schedule?
Yes! Practices are designed to take approximately 10-20 minutes a day and while we suggest taking some dedicated time at the start or end of your day, many of the practices are designed to fit into the middle of your working life.
Is 10 weeks enough to make a difference?
Yes! This program is a powerful introduction to embodied wellness. After the course, you’ll have the option to join a 7-month extended live group for deeper learning.
What kind of practices are taught?
We offer a variety of meditative breathing, stillness, movement and awareness practices that are flexible, easy to try and require no previous experience. The programme and practices are designed to help you land back in your body and down from your busy head so that you feel more peace and more flow in your life. And most importantly, they feel really good!
Is this designed to do on my own or with others?
The program is designed to be really beneficial to you as an individual. But remember we will be a group practising this together for 10 weeks across the UK, so this is very much a community experience. There will be lots of opportunity to connect with other participants in our online forum and on our 3 live community calls on Zoom. However you may also find it an interesting and rewarding experience to participate in the course together with a friend, family member or colleague so that you can share your experience with them and support each other along the way. This kind of “buddy” system can be helpful but is not essential by any means.
Is this a spiritual programme?
The program is practical and grounded in nature-based techniques. Our only grounding principle for this course is that we are a part of the beauty and mystery of life and not something that stands apart from the rest of nature. If that feels true to you and you’d like to feel that in your body, then you’re good to go!
This is a research pilot programme. What does that mean?
Calmer Farmer is a pilot project researching how embodied wellbeing practices can support UK farmers with their own wellbeing and their farming practice. We hope that this will develop into a longer-term offering to the farming community and so you are part of a pioneering group exploring how this approach interacts with you and your work on the land. That means that we will be asking you to share your experience with our research team (anonymously) so that we can learn from you and develop this work together.
Is this really free?
Yes! The Calmer Farmer project has been generously funded by The A Team Foundation. Their mission in their own words is to: “support food and land projects that are ecologically, economically and socially conscious. We contribute to the wider movement that envisions a future where real food is produced by enlightened agriculture and access to it is equal.”
Take the first step toward feeling calmer, more connected, and energised in your work.
To keep up with project news please subscribe to our newsletter below.
To find out more about the Calmer Farmer project please join our mailing list.
Meet the Team
Dan McTiernan - Teacher/Facilitator
Dan is a certified Transpersonal Psychology Coach, embodied meditation teacher, and breathwork instructor with nearly two decades of experience in regenerative food systems and ecological education.
More about Dan
He is the co-founder of Earthbound, a nature-based coaching organisation, and leads the Embodied Permaculture Project, an international research initiative exploring the connection between personal wellbeing and ecological change. Dan has worked with organisations such as the UN’s Conscious Food Systems Alliance, the UK Permaculture Association, the Transition Towns Network and is a facilitator on Alef Trust’s Nurturing the Fields of Change programme.
Johanna McTiernan - Teacher/Facilitator
Johanna is a certified embodied meditation instructor, Realization Process™ teacher, nature connection facilitator and co-founder of Earthbound.
More about Johanna
She is the co-faciliator on the Embodied Permaculture Project, where she integrates her experience in nature connection and wellbeing. With a history of working in the regenerative food sector, she was a founder member of an award-winning bakery at the forefront of the UK’s real bread revival in the early 2000s and has also worked on regenerative olive oil and almond farming projects in Spain.
Dr. Jessica Bockler - Research Lead
Jessica is a co-founding director of Alef Trust – a world-leading educational organisation in the fields of psychology, consciousness studies, spirituality, integrative health, creativity, ecology, and allied fields.
More about Jessica
She is a transpersonal psychologist specialising in creativity, transformation, and social change. She has led award-winning NHS-funded programs like Creative Alternatives, one of the UK’s longest-running social prescribing services. Jessica’s work bridges inner development and global sustainability through her work with initiatives like the Inner Development Goals and the UN’s Conscious Food Systems Alliance.
Dr. Joan Walton - Research
Joan is an Honorary Research Fellow at Alef Trust and an expert in participatory research methods.
More about Joan
She co-leads the Participatory Enquiry, Action Research & Democratic Methodologies Group at York St John University. Joan’s work focuses on empowering participants through co-creative inquiry and dialogue. She also serves on the Scientific and Medical Network board and is Chair of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality.
Dr. Julia Wright - Research
Julia is a senior research fellow in agroecology and food systems at Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience with over 30 years of global experience in sustainable agriculture and food security.
More about Julia
She has worked with organisations like the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union. Julia’s expertise spans agroforestry, urban agriculture, organic systems, and bioregional development.
Funded by
Delivered by
Partners
Beyond 10 Weeks: Ongoing Opportunities
After completing the initial 10-week programme, there will be the opportunity to join a 7-month live online practice/research group. This group will meet twice monthly on Zoom and dive deeper into these embodiment practices and their impact on farming practice, offering support and connection with other farmers along the way.
Further details will be shared during the 10-week course.
Start your journey towards calmer farming by signing up to our newsletter now.
To keep up with project news please subscribe to our newsletter below.
To find out more about the Calmer Farmer project please join our mailing list.