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Preceding Day
Tuesday 18 November 2025
Following Day

  • The White Stork Displays Its Wings - A Beginner’s Introduction To Yang Style Tai Chi

    Teacher: Paul Dorrian
    Cost: 2-5 days accommodation + R350 surcharge
    Dates:

    paul dorrianTai Chi, or to give it its full name, Tai Chi Chuan, has often been regarded as a dynamic form of Qigong, or ‘the cultivation of energy’ to help regulate one’s system and prevent disease, thereby leading to the development and maintenance of good health and well-being. Most people associate Tai Chi with flowing, graceful movements. Yet there is much more to the practice of this ancient Chinese art. The great Yang Tai Chi Master T.T. Liang (1900-2002), stated that there are four categories into which the principles of Tai Chi fall, namely health, self-defence, mental accomplishment and the road to immortality. In this retreat, Paul will demystify Tai Chi using the Yang style, which can be traced back to Ch’en Wang Ting (1597-1664). In this 2 or 5-day retreat, Paul’s intention is to inspire retreatants to further investigate Tai Chi and to find a teacher near their home.

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    Paul Dorrian is a former international management consultant, author and speaker. His interest in improving employee wellness in the work place led him to teach Chi Gung and Tai Chi Chuan. Paul has studied these disciplines under various teachers in the UK and Spain, and with the late Master Dr Nico Snyman, his current teacher Master Marleen Bilas and with his Grandmaster Dr Lin Feng-Chao. He now teaches Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang style and Chi Gung in the Pa Tuan Chin, Healing Sounds and Zhan Zhuang styles at his school, the Lin Li School of Tai Chi Chuan, and with private students, in Pietermaritzburg.

  • A Personal Retreat : Rest, Reflect, and Restore – 15% discount mid-week

    Teacher: Shogan Parker, Aso Balan, Jean-Francois Sobiecki
    Cost: Number of days accommodation
    Dates: 08:00am - 05:00pm 

    will parkeraso balan3jean francoisBrighten your day and step into spring. Join us for a personal retreat mid week.  Meditation, qigong, tai chi, hatha yoga, fusion massage, walks and talks on medicinal plants are on offer. Alternatively, you may choose to simply 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.

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    William (Shogan) has been practising meditation for nearly 20 years, cultivating stillness and inquiry. He took precepts with Dae Chong, Osho at Poplar Grove and now leads morning and evening zazen at the BRC, weaving verses from the Dhammapada into meditation for reflection and insight. With a keen interest in how the Dharma might evolve in an AI-driven, multiplanetary future, William embraces both tradition and possibility. He also guides qigong in the mornings and offers tai chi in the afternoons, integrating movement into mindfulness. His practice is an invitation - to sit, to move, and to explore the ever-expanding nature of awareness.

    Aso Balan is a certified 200-hour Hatha Yoga teacher and Wellness practitioner who has been practising for 20 years. Her mission is to make yoga accessible to everyone irrespective of their limitations and capabilities. She believes that practising yoga regularly with mindfulness and awareness is the key to attaining physical health. She also offers fusion massage blending yogic breathing with techniques from Thai, Ayurveda, and Aroma therapy.

    Jean-Francois Sobiecki is a pioneering South African medicinal plant researcher, a qualified nutritionist, herbalist and research associate with the University of Johannesburg. He has conducted over 20 years of ethnobotanical research on South African medicinal plant use. With a B.Sc.Hons. EthnoBot. (UJ), Dipl Clin Nutr. (Aus) in qualifications, a book and a number of academic publications under his belt, he has been invited to present at international conferences. He is trained and qualified in medical anthropology, permaculture, clinical nutrition, and massage therapy and runs a private herbal and holistic medicine practice in Johannesburg and conducts regular workshops, trainings and tours on medicinal plant use for the public.