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Detailed List of Retreats

Time To Focus And Tune Into 2024: Gently kickstart the new year with an ashram-style retreat offering qigong, hatha yoga, meditation and healing therapies

Teacher: Brendon Small, Kugan Naidoo, Di Franklin and Deborah Don
Cost: 2 days accommodation + R400 surcharge
Dates: Friday 05 January 2024 - Sunday 07 January 2024

brendon smallkugan naidoo lotusdi franklindeborah donIt is difficult to make decisions about important issues in your life when you are immersed in them. You need some distance from them, physically and psychologically to see them clearly for what they are. Only then, can you gain a fresh perspective on them. So, if you feel you need a gentle, uncluttered space to tune into what lies ahead for you in 2024, this largely unstructured weekend will prove useful. Experience sunrise qigong, gentle hatha yoga sessions and meditation. The Centre is yours to enjoy, walking or bird-watching in three hundred acres of rolling hills and indigenous forests. Circumambulate the labyrinth and stupa, meditate in the Zen garden or in the Buddha Boma, and spend solitary time in the deer park and at the dam or  immerse yourself in the "Circle of Sound" in the Bamboo Grove. Deborah Don, a qualified Self-Esteem Coach and massage therapist, will be offering healing therapies by appointment. The BRC provides an ideal opportunity to be in a sympathetic space to reflect on the things that crowd one’s life and to experience what it is like to "just be".

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Brendon Small has been exposed to various traditions and teachers on the Buddhist path over the last two decades and has attended a number of retreats at the BRC. He has assisted with a couple of retreats where he has led the meditation. He is a firm believer in the importance of meditation and mindfulness and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for practice on retreat.

Kugan Naidoo, a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher,  began his yoga journey at the tender age of ten, learning and practising at the Divine Life Society Ashram, Durban. His love of yoga led him to complete a 200 hr TTC with Yoga Alliance and a 200 hr in  Advanced Yoga in Nasik, Maharashtra, India followed by a 300 hr in Restorative  and Therapy Yoga, in Rishikesh India. He also completed a 3 year Iyengar Level 1 Teacher Training Course. In addition, Kugan completed intensive training at the RIMYI, Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, under the leadership and  guidance of Geeta Iyengar,  Prashanth  Iyengar and Abhijata Iyengar. He has led several programmes at schools, gyms and  rehabilitation facilities working closely with several organizations as well as the office of the Consulate General of India in Durban. Apart from recording the ‘Yoga For Wellness’, Series 1  and 2  for SABC TV 3, he has led the International Day Of Yoga celebrations in Durban for several years.  In 2018, Kugan was diagnosed with a debilitating Auto Immune Disease and was unable to teach, but he used the power of yoga for his transformation and healing journey.

Dianne Franklin is an Advocate in private practice. She has been studying Buddhism and Qigong for twenty years. She is a student of Max Weier, the Qigong Master from Switzerland. Her teachers include Rob Nairn, Geshe Pende and Ken Holmes.

Deborah Don, a qualified Self-Esteem Coach, and massage therapist, has been involved in the Health, the Easter and New Year retreats offered at the BRC over the last six years. She offers aromatherapy, energy balance and sound therapy, self-esteem coaching and foot, back and neck healing therapies.