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.

Take back your life, it’s the only one you’ve got! The past few years seem to have been particularly challenging for many of us. Unsettling changes, prolonged stress, life crises of one kind or another, or simply giving away too much of your vital fire to another can leave you feeling dangerously close to burn-out and struggling to regain your sense of balance, purpose and passion.

This recalibration workshop is geared at those who feel they have lost the compass. Under the experienced guidance of creative journey guide and author, Elana Bregin, you will be led through the gentle process of rebuilding your inner fire and reclaiming the joie de vivre that may have gone missing in the stresses and traumas of daily life. Amid the quiet beauty and sacred peace of the BRC grounds, well supported by the Centre’s delicious meals, cosy fires and revitalising ambience, we will open our senses and heart chakras and start the conversation with our deeper selves that relaxed attention enables. There will be periods of writing reflection, group sharing, inspirational walks and uplifting talks, to help us get back in touch with who we really are and want to be, and explore useful strategies for infusing more joy and fulfilment into our everyday living - whatever our current challenges and circumstances.

"This workshop delivered beyond my expectations! I have new tools & perspectives for my journey forward, thank you. I would most certainly recommend this workshop & the insights shared." Previous workshop participant

Explore this ancient Chinese practice that boosts one’s health and vitality. Participants will learn the key techniques of how to master qigong and incorporate it into their daily lives, effortlessly. These techniques are easy to learn, are useful and powerful. The healing power of qigong works on both the physical and spiritual level - if it is done correctly. These techniques include breathing, timing, warm-ups, postures, movement and mind projection. Dr Hu will also introduce some Chinese medicine for detoxing, lowering cholesterol, decreasing body fat and relieving water retention. This retreat is designed to suit beginners, as well as those who have practised qigong previously.

This retreat invites you into the quiet art of haiku as a contemplative practice. Rooted in the spirit of Zen, haiku offers a simple yet profound way to see clearly, feel deeply, and return to the present moment. Through silence, walking, writing, and shared attention, we will explore how just three lines -  and one breath - can open the heart and still the mind. Our time together will include periods of seated meditation, nature-based observation, guided haiku writing, and gentle reflective exercises. No writing experience is needed - only a willingness to pause, notice, and respond with honesty and care.

This retreat is for anyone seeking to reconnect with presence through the quiet doorway of poetry and the practice of seeing.

Are you struggling? Overwhelmed by what the world throws at you? You need a reset, a matter of a gentle environment, some caring guidance - and your own deep attention. In brief a retreat. Through training in the steady pace of embodied mindfulness, you can return to your own true centre, a place of stability and peace. The retreat will offer teachings and the shared practice of meditation, qi gong and chanting. Previous experience of retreats is recommended.

Most of us spend a third of our life asleep. Taking the average life span into account, this is equivalent to about twenty-five to thirty years. Even though the mental state is more subtle when the body is asleep, it doesn't mean that we can't have an alert, meditative, observing mind. In fact, certain practices prove to be even more effective during this state, as we are less distracted by the five physical senses. In order to access dreams and to turn them towards the Buddhist path, we first have to realise that we are in fact dreaming. Tibetan Dream Yoga is the original form of Lucid Dreaming documented for 1,000 years. Also known as Milam - the yoga of the dream state - it is a collection of advanced tantric techniques. Just like our Western understanding of lucid dreams, the initial aim is to awaken the consciousness in the dream, state. In the Tibetan tradition, dream yoga is also used to practise Bodhicitta (the seed of enlightenment) and to develop wisdom.

The gentle movements that you will learn to do on this relaxed mid-week course will help to build your immune system and improve your general well-being. The mindful way in which you move will work on your internal organs as you generate energy 'qi'. You will also have time to roam the beautiful grounds of the BRC as you take time out to relax and recharge.

Join Steve for an enjoyable weekend of identifying some of the BRC’s 160 species of birds - including the summer residents, the rare Blue Swallow, Knysna Turaco and Emerald Cuckoo. Wake up to birdsong and walk the verdant hills and meadows close to where the Blue Swallows nest. The BRC has been awarded “Private Nature Reserve” status by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for its conservation of the Blue Swallow and its pristine mistbelt grasslands. Included will be talks, slide shows, meditation and some quiet time communing with nature. Bring your binoculars and a sunhat.

Yoga teaches us the ability to remain present, calm and stable no matter what situation we find ourselves in. It is not about perfecting the shape of the pose or increasing flexibility – it is about knowing what the shapes do and how they impact our physiology, our energy and our mind. When carefully planned and sequenced, yoga helps us to thrive in the external world that is always changing and simultaneously allows us to disconnect from our daily lives and reconnect to that aspect of being that never changes.

In yoga, a complete practice includes physical postures (asana), breathwork (pranayama), and meditation. Postures and breathwork prepare us for meditation. When we regularly practise meditation, we train ourselves to pause before reacting, often based on habitual patterns, and instead respond calmly with more wisdom and compassion.
This retreat offers a reprieve from the sensory overload and constant stimulation of modern life. Throughout your retreat, you will discover practical tools to manage stress, enhance resilience, avoid burnout, and promote overall well-being. From yoga and meditation practices to a guided hike, our experiential approach addresses the mind, body, and spirit, empowering you to thrive amidst life’s challenges.

Embark on a wild and delicious journey of deep nourishment for your body, mind and spirit and join us for a ‘nourish in nature’ retreat featuring Kaz Wilson, a passionate nutritionist and wild forager of superfoods and edible medicinal plants. Kaz will blend these gifts from nature into her intuitive cooking demonstrations - think sweet potato brownies, banana tahini ice-cream, sweet and savoury coconut chips, chickpea chocolate hummus - creating a unique culinary experience. With the principle of “Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food” she will share pointers from her ‘Grow A New You’ programme, incorporating food demos and nature walks to empower you to take healing into your own hands.
This retreat will also integrate yoga in nature and mindful food practices, promoting a holistic approach to wellness. Kaz will be joined by Dael Lithgow, who will connect mind and body through science and meditation. He will share insights on how our thoughts impact our health - exploring nutrition that nourishes both the physical and spiritual self.