Join us for a personal retreat mid-week and some optional gentle yoga and meditation.  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.

Qigong means life energy in Chinese. Qi (energy) is considered to be an animated power that flows through all living beings. Gong means work or skill with something.

Qigong is an ancient series of gentle movements working with life energy to control the flow and distribution of qi improving overall health and harmony of body and mind. This is a relaxed retreat with free time allowing you to appreciate the natural energy and beauty of the BRC.

Looking for an entry point into Buddhism? Then this is the retreat for you! Who was the Buddha? What is Buddhism? Is it a religion or a philosophy? What are its teachings and practices? These questions and others will be addressed in this retreat which will examine the life of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path while at the same time foregrounding the simple meditation practices - sitting and walking - from which the experience-based teachings emerged. A schedule of talks, discussion, and practice held within the supportive frame of Noble Silence will also include time to enjoy the beautiful grounds of the centre.

Are you struggling to keep pace with an ever-changing world? This retreat offers an invitation to reconnect with your “secret superpower” and re-discover how truly remarkable you are. Do you feel stretched by constant change, longing for greater inner peace and clarity? Do you sense that you are meant for more, yet feel unable to “crack the code” to lasting transformation? This retreat creates a safe space to awaken your natural ability for conscious living. Through simple, practical tools, you will learn how to work with your thoughts, emotions, and awareness in profound and accessible ways.

We will explore expansive themes such as Universal Consciousness and the meeting point between ancient wisdom and modern quantum insights, while grounding these ideas in everyday practices. Meditation, affirmations, journaling, and visualisation will be woven throughout the weekend to bring clarity, balance, and intention into your daily life. You will leave feeling refreshed, inspired, and empowered, carrying with you tools and insights to support a more conscious, aligned, and fulfilling way of living.

Join us for a heart-opening weekend as we gather to awaken the Sacred Feminine within. Through the powerful practices of astrology, soulful yoga, and feminine embodiment, we will remember what it means to truly listen to our bodies, trust our intuition, and reconnect with our inner rhythm.This intimate offering is open to mothers and daughters, sisters, friends, and solo journeyers—all women ready to soften, deepen, and rise together in sacred sisterhood.

✨ Astrology workshops with Margarita Relationship Astrology Specialist
✨ Gentle, intuitive yoga with heart-led Yoga teacher
✨ Sound Journey, meditation and circle sharing
✨ Time to rest, reflect, and receive in the peaceful, natural surrounds of Ixopo

Whether you are yearning for clarity, connection, or simply a break to come home to yourself, this weekend is an invitation to be held, seen, and nourished.

Through accepting what is happening within us, staying with experience and learning to see more clearly, we can taste into a mind and heartfulness that is larger than our habits that keep us stuck.The practice of Mindfulness supports us in discovery of who we are beyond our limiting histories, stories and ideas. Grounding into our bodies through bringing presence to our breath, our flesh and bones we come into the shared embodied realm. Drawing on tools from the Buddha's teaching we will embark on this voyage together, in a shared context, with the inner journey of each of us also finding its own way. The retreat will be held in noble silence with dharma teachings and one to one interviews, meditations and sunrise qigong.

This 3-day Art of Silence Retreat provides optimal conditions for going deep within, quietening our mental chatter, and experiencing profound rest and inner peace. The course builds upon the Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique offered in the Art of Living Happiness Programme. The practice of silence - consciously withdrawing our energy and attention from outer distractions - has been used in different traditions throughout time as a pathway to physical, mental, and spiritual renewal. By participating in various course processes specifically designed to take us beyond our usually active minds, we experience an extraordinary sense of peace and renewed vitality that we carry home with us and into daily lives.

The prerequisite to attending the Art of Silence retreat is the Art of Living Part 1 The Happiness Course.

This retreat offers a unique approach encompassing brushwork painting, pottery, meditation, qigong, a traditional tea ceremony and an ambient atmosphere. Ingrid will teach the classical Japanese brush painting techniques - Sumie - as these are applied to traditional subjects, such as landscape, bamboo and flower studies - as well as contemporary subjects. The traditional materials and tools - solid pine-soot ink, a ceramic slate to liquefy it, a bamboo-stemmed brush and absorbent mulberry paper - will be provided. Beginners are welcome - according to Ingrid: "some of the best paintings have emerged from students who have not had any art training before". Sharon will offer the ceramics or Raku and explore various glazing and firing techniques. Each retreatant will receive a bisque-fired tea bowl to decorate and glaze. The kiln will be fired up, after which we will watch the magic as the bowls emerge triumphantly from the scorching heat! If you are suffering from stress and anxiety, these modalities will calm and refresh you.

Chris will offer sunrise qigong, Belinda will offer Relexology and Sound Therapy by appointment, while Shogan will be guiding the meditation and holding a traditional Japanese tea ceremony on the final night.

We all wish to have happiness and avoid the uncomfortable feelings that seem to dominate our daily life: feelings of dissatisfaction, unease, anxiety that keep us awake at night; our agitation with loved ones and anger towards others. It is times like these that create uncertainty and a feeling of helplessness; we want to be happy, contented and have a sense of peace in our hearts. Khenpo Jamyang Gompo will gently guide participants to a deeper understanding of how these emotions arise and how we can find a sense of meaning and purpose in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

This year-end retreat will offer gentle hatha yoga and guided meditation and will provide an opportunity to rekindle joy, change your perceptions of everyday life, find more balance, and develop more attunement with the present moment. The retreat will include some creative exercises and walking the labyrinth. Beginners to yoga and meditation are welcome.