A wellness instructor who suffered debilitating again ache after a rigorous Buddhist retreat on a distant Scottish island took her personal life as a result of the continual discomfort made her life insufferable, an inquest has concluded. Claire Rodway, 52, was discovered to have died by suicide on October 2, 2025, with the coroner figuring out her loss of life was not preventable and no direct causal hyperlink may very well be established between her time on the monastery and her passing.
Intense Buddhist Retreat Results in Debilitating Ache
Ms. Rodway, a former nurse from Christchurch, Dorset, had been in good well being earlier than embarking on a year-long Buddhist retreat in October 2024 on the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery, situated on the Holy Isle off Scotland’s west coast. The retreat concerned a demanding every day apply of performing 650 prostrations—a full-body bowing train—and collaborating in distant teachings from Nepal that usually occurred at 2 am, disrupting her sleep patterns.
Throughout her 5 months on the monastery, Ms. Rodway skilled a major enhance in again ache. She communicated her struggles to an in depth pal, Rosemarie Roberts, writing that she was “feeling misplaced” and that her ache was worsening. Regardless of warnings from Ms. Roberts that the retreat could be “very troublesome and difficult,” Ms. Rodway had expressed confidence in her potential to manage, although she later admitted to regretting her determination to attend.
Fibromyalgia Prognosis and Declining Well being
Following her departure from the monastery in February 2025, Ms. Rodway continued to expertise extreme ache. She sought medical consideration for her again points two weeks after leaving the island. By June, the ache had turn into so intense that she needed to transfer in together with her mom. Just a few weeks later, on July 3, she was recognized with fibromyalgia, a continual situation characterised by widespread ache and fatigue.
Her physician famous that Ms. Rodway was struggling immensely with the ache, which led to her being prescribed robust painkillers and antidepressants. She was additionally referred to ache administration and psychological well being companies, dealing with a six-week ready record for ache administration remedy.
Notes Reveal Despair Over Continual Ache
Within the days main as much as her loss of life, Ms. Rodway left notes for her family and friends, detailing the profound affect of her situation. She wrote about how fibromyalgia had “destroyed my life,” describing the ache as “insufferable” and fixed. She expressed a sense of getting a poor high quality of life, being unable to volunteer or work, and feeling she had “nothing to present.”
Her physique was found within the River Avon on October 2, 2025, the identical day her household reported her lacking. A autopsy examination confirmed that the reason for loss of life was drowning.
Household Raises Issues About Retreat Security
Ms. Rodway’s household raised considerations throughout the inquest relating to the monastery’s security protocols, notably the absence of danger assessments for members’ well being upon becoming a member of the retreat. Ellen Robertson, counsel for the household, highlighted the distant location of the island, the shortage of speedy medical amenities, and the character of the retreat, which might entice or exacerbate vulnerability in members. She argued that the group’s operational strategies weren’t protected and that the assumption that no main dangers have been current was “horrifying.”
Nevertheless, Helen Richardson, a trustee for the ROKPA Belief, which operated the monastery, said that the group had a robust security document over its 30-year historical past. She famous {that a} very small share of retreatants had left early, and there have been no identified situations of them doing so on account of bodily problems from the particular practices concerned.
Inquest Conclusion: Suicide, No Preventable Hyperlink
Assistant Coroner Richard Middleton concluded that Ms. Rodway died by suicide. He said that he couldn’t set up a definitive causal hyperlink between her time on the retreat and her loss of life. Whereas acknowledging the household’s strategies that the strenuous bodily exercise, disrupted sleep, and potential unearthing of trauma throughout the retreat might have contributed to or worsened her fibromyalgia, he emphasised the problem in pinpointing particular triggers for the situation.
Dr. Mukherjee, a medical skilled, testified that fibromyalgia onset could be complicated, probably triggered by a mix of occasions over time reasonably than a single incident. The coroner famous that whereas these elements might need worsened her situation, he was unable to verify a direct hyperlink to the retreat itself.
Mr. Middleton added that he wouldn’t difficulty a report on stopping future deaths, because the ROKPA Belief had undertaken investigations and critiques since Ms. Rodway’s passing, which had led to enhancements of their operational requirements and tips.
The inquest heard that changes have been provided to Ms. Rodway relating to her prostrations, together with modifications to a kneeling or sitting place. Senior Buddhist nun Elise Jacobsen, often known as Lama Zangmo, testified that Ms. Rodway most popular to proceed with the full-length pose. Lama Zangmo talked about that Ms. Rodway had accomplished 100,000 prostrations in 5 months, a major quantity, however confused that the apply was not “a numbers recreation.”
The coroner acknowledged the debilitating nature of Ms. Rodway’s situation as described by her pal and in her personal notes, however finally discovered inadequate proof to hyperlink her loss of life on to the retreat’s actions. The household’s considerations in regards to the retreat’s security protocols have been heard, however the coroner’s conclusion targeted on the shortage of a direct, preventable causal hyperlink.
