Join us for a personal retreat mid-week and some gentle yoga.  Enjoy the tranquillity of the space and embrace the art of doing nothing – seriously. This time out offers a slower rhythm, allowing you to step back from the busyness of life and find peace within.

Join Mark Joseph for a transformative retreat focused on mindfulness, inspired by the teachings of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. This retreat will delve into the heart of mindfulness, blending eastern practices with western science.

Key Benefits:

• Improved focus and attention management
• Effective stress management
• Enhanced emotional intelligence and empathy
• Insights for personal and professional growth

Experience how mindfulness can positively impact your well-being through science-backed techniques and practices.

Join us for a Transformative Hatha Yoga Retreat and take the first step towards embracing a more balanced and mindful life. Cheryl Lancellas will take you on a gentle journey to:

• Discover how our bodies store and express memories
• Learn breath techniques to soothe and heal the nervous system
• Unlock emotional and mental pathways for growth
• Enhance flexibility and energy flow
• Experience deep relaxation through Yoga Nidra

Leave feeling softer and more grounded

Participants will experience a traditional South African healing ceremony over three days during which they will learn to connect to their Ancestors (bones), Dreams, 'Umoya' (spirit) and one another. 'Ubuntu' means 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. It is a circle of interlinking relationships connecting the seen and unseen worlds. The ceremony will involve a plant cleanse, using medicinal plants to cleanse the spirit and open the heart. Included will be an in-depth discussion on 'African cosmology' and the understanding of ancestors, plant medicine and dreaming. Retreatants will learn one of the most ancient and misunderstood cultures in South Africa today - the Sangoma medicine people, the monks and nuns of Southern Africa. The retreat will focus on educating people about South African traditional spirituality and also lead participants on a spiritual journey to rediscover their own ‘soul’ or what is termed ‘umoya’ in Xhosa and Zulu culture. This is a unique opportunity as there are very few places in South Africa today where people can learn from this mystical tradition. 'Ubuntu' in essence represents harmony and is similar to the Zen circle. Linking the past and present, it is an evolving state of co-operation and compassion whereby every human being is linked to their own families and communities as well as the unseen world of ancestors. John will be assisted by his colleague Makhosi Nomusa who is the resident Zulu Sangoma. Please bring a plastic basin which will be used for medicinal foot healing, a dream journal, pen and paper to take notes, a meditation blanket and an open mind. This retreat is suitable for all therapists, healers and those with a desire to heal South Africa. 

Read the Odyssey magazine article on John Lockley.

This Easter long-weekend Open the Heart and Still the Mind Compassion Retreat with clinical psychologist Sue Cooper, is held in Noble Silence and is offered either as a 4 night Easter Weekend retreat or as an extended 7 night retreat. Inspired by the wisdom teachings of the Dharma and of Buddhist and western psychology, we will cultivate mindfulness and compassion practices which calm the nervous system and help integrate body, heart and mind. As we learn to listen and connect more compassionately with ourselves, drawing silent support from the sangha (like-minded practitioners finding solace in the shared silence), we will discover that the containment of ennobling silence allows us to find the courage to honour and embody our authentic, heartfelt presence with greater confidence, clarity and joy.

As we embrace the joys and the sorrows of life with a greater understanding of impermanence, we move beyond fear, shame and crippling self-doubt. After establishing some stillness and calm in the mind and the heart, we will explore the Brahma viharas (the four divine abodes/ immeasurables) to cultivate greater kindness, courage and compassion for ourselves and others. These compassion practices bring more appreciative joy, equanimity and wisdom into our lives, strengthening our capacity for more open-hearted presence and healthier boundaries in our relationships. This silent retreat includes teachings, guided meditations, daily qigong, time to walk, rest and replenish, as well as short, individual sessions with Sue to deepen our insight and sense of well-being. There will be relaxing massages and mindful movement offered as optional extras (the cost of which to be confirmed), to support our embodied experience.

CPD accreditation for psychologists and other HPCSA (or equivalent) registered professionals will be confirmed, with an annual admin fee tbc.

Please note: There is a teacher's fee for this retreat, which is offered on a sliding scale, with reductions and payment plans on request. Please contact Sue on  for her pre-retreat questionnaire and to discuss a pre-retreat session if needed. More details can be found here: https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-the-joy-of-courageous-heartfelt-presence-2026/

The body begins the ageing process around the age of thirty. It is hardly perceptible in the beginning and speeds up the older we get. How we age is dependent on lifestyle, life experiences, mental health and attitudes, and our genes. Qigong and yoga give us tools to keep the body healthy by mobilizing the joints, strengthening muscles and keeping us flexible. The postures and sequences can be adapted to all conditions and abilities. Yoga gives us pranayama, breathing techniques which strengthen and calm the nervous system as well as infusing our body with prana (life force energy). Meditation quietens the mind and has been shown to alter structures in the brain causing us to become more peaceful and less reactive. Yoga is an inward journey, getting to know ourselves, becoming aware of our habits and finding that place of stillness and joy that is in each of us. Ayurveda offers many ways in which we can nurture the body and manage the effects of menopause, ageing and living in a stressful world.

On this retreat we will slow down and explore the offerings and take away what resonates and fits into our life.

Co-hosted by couple counsellor, global leadership coach and author ‘The Relationship Architect’ Shelley Lewin, in combination with IEA international enneagram professional practitioner, master credentialled global leadership coach and counsellor, Sav Goldridge, this retreat is an intimate, restorative experience for couples to co-create healthier relationships and transformational growth through intentional practices and tools drawn from Uncomplicated Love; the exploration of ancient wisdom drawn from Enneagram as well as meaningful connection in nature.  Shelley and Sav will guide couples to transcend relational patterns, heal emotional wounds, and build or restore the foundation for a thriving partnership. Through immersive group activities, personal reflections, and shared experiences, participants leave feeling better equipped with the tools to co-create resilient, empowered relationships that continue to evolve long after the retreat ends.

A copy of the book Uncomplicated Love: A step-by-step guide for building a thriving relationship can be purchased at an additional charge of R250.00.

We all have inner guidance and knowledge, but we don't always know how to access it and use it as the incredible gift it is. We are constantly trying to keep up with the ever-increasing pace and demands of our lives which leaves us with high stress levels and exhausted. On this retreat we will fortify our spirit, embrace our personal power, and allow our light to shine brightly again, the way the universe intended. Through talks, meditation, group work, transformational exercises, relaxation and conversation, we will journey back to our centre - to our most natural and balanced state of being. Deepening our connection with our inner self allows us to stand strong in our own personal power in the here and now. We will learn to listen less to the limiting, fear-based voices of our mind, and start aligning with our intuition, to our core that already knows that we are born as an unstoppable and magnificent force.

It is important for us to take time out from the incessant demands and fast pace of daily life. The BRC gives us a space to step off the wheel and the time to come home to the quiet, strong refuge which lies at our centre. Cultivating the natural state of peace and ease that lies there reveals our true nature - which enables us to not only help ourselves, but to help the world of which we are part. Then daily living becomes meaningful. This 3-day mid-week retreat will bring out our Beginner’s Mind through the practice of meditation. The time will be silent, quiet, and slow. There will be meditation instruction and guidance, formal sitting, and time for walking, writing, or staring into the distance. The retreat is suitable for those with or without meditation experience and will be held in an atmosphere of introspection.

In the face of stresses both planetary and personal - climate change, biodiversity loss, societal upheaval - cultivating inner resilience and hope becomes not just personal, but deeply ecological. Practices like meditation help quiet the mind and ground the nervous system, allowing us to respond to crises with clarity rather than fear. Reconnecting with nature deepens our sense of belonging to the Earth, reminding us that we are not separate from the systems we seek to protect. And in moments of wonder and awe - whether in the stillness of a forest, the glitter of a starry sky, or the simplicity of meditation - we tap into something greater than ourselves, igniting a reverence that fuels both courage and compassion and active hope.

The weekend will be a poetry-inspired time of meditation practice, deep-time walking and creative imagining, with a touch of morning yoga.