Detailed List of Retreats

Everybody experiences tranquility from time to time, because this open quality of mind is natural to us all. Yet, often our bodies and minds tighten and freeze to life’s challenges and stresses, even though creative solutions and expansive ideas are most likely to arise from a relaxed state. Healing Relaxation - designed by the late Akong Tulku Rinpoche, a wise Tibetan Buddhist healer, and a team of western healing professionals - is a simple, highly practical, yet profound programme which helps people repair the strains and tensions resulting from the conditions of modern life, and prevents them from developing in the first place. Relaxation and awareness practices can enhance our ability to access calm, expansive states of mind intentionally throughout our day. In this workshop, we will explore the benefits of developing such calmer states of mind, and learn effective relaxation, breathing and visualisation techniques.

The five elements provide a very dynamic system of understanding life. They make up the world around us and are in all living organisms, only the proportions differ.When the elements are in balance there is balance and harmony, when they are out of balance there is disharmony and dis-ease.The balance is constantly changing within and around us. To help us learn how to work with this ever-changing balance of the elements in a positive way, we have to first get to know them. In this retreat we will use the Tibetan schemata of the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and space. We will explore and get to know them in a practical way. We will examine and become familiar with the characteristics and qualities of each, and observe their interaction. At the same time we learn to observe our mind/body states in relation to the elements. The retreat will include guided relations, gentle stretching and creative work around each element, including painting and working with clay. Please wear loose comfortable clothing.

Join Jennifer in taking it slowly, and aligning your body with your mind and emotions. During this restorative Yin Yoga retreat, we will rest and stretch, and flow calmly from one posture into another.

When we allow ourselves to move in creative and healing ways, paying careful attention to the joy, the discomfort, the desire or the agitation that arises, we may learn how trauma of everyday life can break parts of us and how we might have put ourselves back together again in less helpful ways. By finding a flow in our bodies, stretching, balancing, and strengthening our bodies - we build a relationship between the parts of our being, allowing us to reshape ourselves. Fiona will guide both gentle and flowing yoga; Jason will help us understand the language of our bodies through meditation and therapeutic reflection. Simply bring your body -  just as it is -  and a mat.

Nia is a powerful collaboration of dance, martial arts and mindfulness practices that repatterns your nervous system for body, mind and holistic well-being and joy. By dancing barefoot, we use The Body’s Way to sense the wisdom of the body - and dance in a way that feels energising and balancing. Join Susan on this transformational retreat as we weave the tapestry of joy and embrace the beauty in life. After all, life is art.

Join Lisa for a weekend of mindfulness-based-somatic movement in the tradition of Clinical Somatics. Learn gentle and mindful body-based practices to help release chronic tensions that underlie pain and stress. The retreat will offer some theory of somatic movement in general and Clinical Somatics specifically. Exploring the communication between the brain, nervous system and muscular system, we will learn about pandiculation, nature's way of releasing tension from the body. We will weave Basic Mindfulness practices and meditations throughout the retreat, develop your inner awareness and bring comfort and ease to the body through this slow and mindful approach. You will leave the retreat with some tools and practices to become your own body worker. This weekend is suitable for everyone and will meet you where you are. Begin an inner dialogue with your body, reminding it of its intelligence!

The songs of our ancestors are also the songs of our children. Our stories are gifts we give each other and gifts we leave behind us. For, one day we too will be ancestors. In this retreat we write our stories and place them next to those of our family, immediate, extended and chosen. The idea of family can include not only blood, but our spiritual tradition, culture and the line of those who share our passions. The retreat also touches on healing the family tree and looks at questions such as how we can change the script and create new patterns.

Ever since I heard my first love story I have been looking for you  - Rumi

Who is the who that Rumi alludes to? There is something deeply fictional about us human beings. We are the stories we tell about ourselves. Rediscover the lost art of story-telling. Experience the joy, presence, mindfulness and transformation that arrive when we engage with a tale, learn how to craft it and inhabit it. We begin to see our lives as a story, keeping pace with the rhythm of our hearts, balanced between the in and the out of our breathing. Be enchanted by Zen and other tales from many paths.

The Zen hermit-monk Ryokan (1758-1831) remains one of Japan’s favourite poets. An eccentric original (he is also known as the “Great Fool”) his antics have endeared him to successive generations. After his initial Zen training Ryokan spent several years wandering before settling in a mountain hermitage. However, Ryokan was no world-hating recluse and was frequently to be seen playing with village children or sharing a drink with farmers. According to one authority Ryokan's life “was a living sermon”. In an atmosphere of contemplative silence this retreat will use Ryokan's life and his luminous poetry to reflect on our relationship with ourselves, the world and all the beings who inhabit it. There will also be free time to enjoy the beautiful grounds of the centre. Please note: apart from an introductory talk and a discussion period this retreat will be held in Noble Silence.

Yoga and meditation can be experienced as a practice of cultivating well-being. The practice of yoga improves overall emotional and spiritual well-being, joint mobility, immunity and organ health - to mention just a few of its benefits. We will be exploring Yin, Hatha and Restorative yoga, breathwork, soundwork and mindfulness practices through the lense of the vagus nerve and soothing the nervous system. Yin yoga is a quiet, slow, nourishing, releasing and grounded yoga practice. Hatha yoga is practised at a slow, steady pace, supporting the strengthening and flexibility of the body, heart and mind. Restorative yoga focuses on relaxing and softening, rather than stretching and strengthening. Mindfulness is paying particular attention to the present moment with curiosity and friendship with whatever is arising from moment to moment - it is knowing what we are doing when we are doing it; it is being awake and open to this life just as it unfolds. Combining these practices of movement and stillness creates powerful possibilities for insight, transformation and healing for the body, mind, and heart.

Please note that the retreat will be trauma sensitive/informed'.

Zhan Zhuang (‘Standing like a Tree’) Qigong is unlike most other Qigong styles, in that with the exception of changing from one static posture to the next, the practitioner remains absolutely still. Regarded by many contemporary Masters as the most powerful of all Qigong practices, it opens all of the nine energy portals in the body, and encourages one’s chi (life force) to flow powerfully throughout one’s entire being. In this retreat Paul will teach the Four Posture Zhan Zhuang Form, which assists in developing a strong physical structure as well as creating a greater supply of healing chi to promote health and vitality. He will also teach the ancient Taoist Qigong meditation for inner tranquillity.

I want to share an approach to poetry
that’s taught me how to play
with rhythm and meaning, following words
and traces of feeling to make new tracks.
Acts of poetry link the tides of my body
and the world with new ways of thinking, moving
across from life to the page, and back

This course will help you to connect with themes and images that need expression and exploration. Learning to condense or distil your inquiry can help with insight and clarity. Working with rhythm and rhyme, off-and-half-rhymes, and with antonyms and synonyms, can break open meaning in new and unexpected ways. Please bring a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary if you have one. I will bring mine to share.

In this experimental and experiential writing course, we will explore our relationship with the natural world. We have done damage to ourselves and the environment by constructing the idea that human beings are separate from nature. Even our language betrays this attitude - we speak of nature and the environment as though it is ‘out there’. Through experiential exercises and writing, we will explore how the built environment, consumerism, ideas about time, and our fears, anxieties, disgust and distrust keep us disconnected from resources that nourish and support us.

The creative mind is a natural space where we can remake connections with the source of life as inclusive and sensory. Writing into our relationship with the elements, our habitat, natural cycles and with life in all forms can help us live in a responsive and responsible way, taking better care of the two homes we inhabit until we die – our bodies and the earth.

Yin yoga provides the balance to our hectic Yang lifestyle. In today’s busy world we are inundated with the pressure to do more, take on yet more and push ourselves even further. This 3-day mid-week retreat provides a balance to our often frenetic, stressful lives and will restore harmony, health and calmness. In relaxing our muscles and surrendering into our yoga postures, we are able to work deeply into the joints, ligaments, fascia and bones of the body - releasing tension and detoxifying normally inaccessible parts of our bodies. The retreat is centred around releasing, relaxing and restoring our bodies, our minds and our energy and is suitable for everyone. Please bring your own yoga mats.

Food and eating can be a source of great joy, but it can also be a source of great suffering and struggle. This retreat is based on a combination of the principles of Mindful Eating And Intuitive Eating. The intention of this retreat is to examine our relationship with food and to start the process to create a healthy relationship with food. Using a non-judgemental and compassionate approach to re-learning internal physical and emotional cues to guide us when, what and how much we eat, also examining our rules around food. We will look at how to deal with cravings and urges through the development of mindfulness skills. Through a process of enquiry, we will explore the emotional triggers that often lead us to overeating and binge eating, and how these may be understood and effectively dealt with. Using mindfulness and examining our conditioning around food, we will gain an awareness of our habitual behaviour and begin a process towards a joyful and peaceful relationship with food and our body. 

Birding is entrancing and fulfilling, but it is challenging. Enhance your everyday life with this birding course which demonstrates protocols, processes and empowerment, rather than trying to cram in the key characters of a plethora of species. Experience how to use your binoculars, field guides and apps, how to see and remember birds, using interactive presentations and field outings. The ambience is supportive and encouraging as we begin birding with multiple rewards. Bring binoculars, a bird guide or app, walking shoes and sun gear. The weekend includes periods of meditation and personal time.

Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice that boosts one’s health and longevity. Through gentle, slow and flowing movements, it integrates and harmonises one’s bodily functions and states of mind by eliminating static and toxic energy patterns. Qigong strengthens the internal organs and skeletal structure and encourages good posture. In this retreat Paul will teach the Healing Sounds Short Form - a set of gentle exercises that also uses sounds to cleanse and heal our major organs.

This retreat will provide an opportunity to explore two aspects of Buddhist meditation practice - the gradual development of calmness and peacefulness in our mind; and the practise of awareness, in order to live with more clarity and more centredness in the present moment. This foundation of calmness helps us to meet our confused thoughts and emotions with more acceptance and kindness and leads to a deeper understanding of the nature of our minds. The retreat will create a gentle and relaxed space in which to explore the benefits of spending time quietly with ourselves, to allow the qualities of calmness and clarity to develop in a natural way and to enjoy the nurturing effect of being silent in a beautiful environment.

Drumming and music-making are ancient ways of transcending our routine lifestyle, opening ourselves to spiritual realms of healing and creativity, which is experienced as liberating and rejuvenating. This is because the universe is a flux of pulsating rhythms and drumming connects us to these rhythms, thus facilitating a change in consciousness and a sense of belonging and well-being, which, in turn, promotes deep relaxation and healing. In this retreat we will learn basic drumming techniques and explore rhythmic creativity which will be combined with meditation practice and contemplation. A Sound Journey meditation using exotic instruments will also be included. The objective of this retreat is to find a balance between the hands-on experience of drumming and its more profound spiritual effects on the human psyche.

The practice of yoga brings the mind and body together, grounding us in the present, connecting us with where we are and what our body tells us about ourselves. Yoga is a process of re-connecting to our body and breath, coming back into the present moment. The ancient yogis realized that in order to be able to meditate effectively requires a healthy, strong body, so they developed yoga postures (asanas), cleansing techniques and breathing exercises (pranayama). Through regular practise of asanas, pranayama and meditation, yoga unlocks the deeper levels of our being. It is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who we are. This retreat is open to beginners and experienced students. Please bring a yoga mat.

In a series of talks and Mindfulness meditation sessions, we will explore the chemistry which mediates the effects of mind states on the body: psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. The talks and demonstrations will show that we can attain optimal wellness and performance by getting to know our temperament and personality traits; by being more present-minded; and through sensible, informed ways of living and behaving.

Shibuie - When Beauty Happens Accidentally: Sumie and Raku - Japanese brush painting and pottery

Shibuie is the ancient Japanese concept of Accidental Beauty in which the artist is just one ingredient in a number of dynamic interacting natural processes, the outcome of which is delightfully unpredictable, but strangely beautiful - not ego-driven or deliberate. 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. We will use the genuine, traditional materials: solid pine-soot ink, a hollowed-out slate to liquefy it, a deer-hair bamboo-stemmed brush and absorbent mulberry paper. Tools will be provided, but sets can be purchased (R850) from the BRC. Each retreatant will receive a bisque-fired tea bowl to sumie-decorate and glaze. Jess will then fire up the kiln after which we will watch the magic as the pots emerge from their ordeal of having been subjected to 1000ºC heat, smothered in sawdust and immersed in cold water. The pots will emerge triumphantly from the scorching heat!

Based on the Chinese philosophy of Taoism, tai chi is rooted in balance and flow, stillness within movement, and reflection during action. Just like the shape of the Taijitu - the symbol of yin and yang - every movement is based on circles. Al Huang, in Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain, suggests: “Stop the words and start the doing.” With gentle movements and focused mind, we will teach a short sequence of yang-style tai chi, complemented with simple qigong  exercises and movement-within-stillness meditation. Tai chi has been described as “learning to move with the wind and water in the course of everyday life”.

Be here now. Rest in the moment. Catch the ungraspable moment. How do we do that when life keeps tumbling us along like a sand grain in a river? When all is in dizzying motion, where is 'the moment’, where is ‘here’? Take time out at the BRC over Christmas to slow down into the moment. You can find your true home in the here-now. With sitting and walking meditation, we will stalk the elusive moment. We will discover how to recognise our 'home', and we will see that we are in fact at home always. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of introspection and silence with time for journaling, reflection, and fireside talks.

Don't you know yet? It is your light that lights the World - Jalaluddin Rumi

In this retreat we will explore a full bouquet of ancient energy practices - such as qigong, tapping, yin yoga, free dance, sunning, breath work, shaking and meditation techniques, while exploring creative expression through movement and stillness, the written word and art. In the beautiful tranquil environment of the BRC, we will find healing in Nature through mindfulness and co-creation. This is a compassionate and open-hearted space for celebrating the light that you are. Beginners and seasoned practitioners are welcome.

The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived - Thomas Merton

New Year is a good time of the year to take stock and contemplate our moment-to-moment, here-and-now reality in all its fullness. It’s a traditional time for clarifying our motivations, and for starting afresh with new intentions. A time, in other words, to reboot the system. Give yourself the gift of time over this New Year period to collect the Three Wise Medicines of gratitude, ahimsa and contentment, to reflect on the past year, and uncover how you can best live your life in the coming year. During this time together we will let our body, speech and mind fall silent through the practice of meditation and silence. In working with the Three Wise Medicines, there will also be time for writing and contemplation, walking and ceremony especially outside in nature. We will welcome the New Year with a lantern-lit ceremony in the Zendo, chanting, ringing out the old year with an ancient Chinese temple gong. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of silence and introspection.

It 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 2023, 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".

Why must we undertake Vipassana meditation retreats? Because we search for happiness and want to liberate our mind from suffering. We go on a retreat to cleanse and disentangle our troubled lives and minds. This experience frees our mind - Ajahn Tong

The retreat starts with an introduction on Monday evening and follows the original Stages of Insight for ten full days of meditation. The aim of insight meditation is to understand reality, to see things as they really are. The main tool of insight meditation is mindfulness: mindfulness of body, feelings and mind. Ajahn Tong states that “attending a meditation retreat is training in the power of mindfulness. With intensive practice the wandering, struggling and chaotic mind can become composed, peaceful, refreshed and purified of negative hindrances.” Retreatants are required to practise approximately ten hours per day (between 5 am and 10 pm), follow the Buddhist precepts and maintain respectful silence throughout the retreat. The BRC staff and teachers will provide their whole-hearted support, including daily reporting, loving-kindness meditation (Metta) and Dhamma talks. Maximum 12 students. This retreat will overlap with the weekend retreat (13-15) and the week retreat (15-19). 

Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what it is that remains - Ramana Maharshi

The retreat will be limited to 12 participants.

Thoughts are about what is not happening - Paul Hedderman

Vipassana (Insight) meditation is based on mindfulness, which is always available, everywhere, without limit or cost. The challenge is how to realise it. The answer was provided by the Buddha. He taught ways to cultivate mindfulness that lead to insight and awakening. This retreat is an invitation for beginners and experienced meditators to practise Vipassana using the traditional Buddhist method of Ajahn Tong. For beginners it is a simple and direct technique to start meditating and for experienced meditators, it is a skilful method to deepen their insight. Mindfulness is developed by regular walking and sitting practice, by maintaining awareness during normal activities, such as eating, showering, dressing and supported by talks and daily interviews with a teacher. The weekend will be held in silence. Retreatants are welcome to join the subsequent 4-day meditation retreat.

Sustain awareness at every moment in every posture, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. This is the way to establish mindfulness in the heart - Ajahn Chah

You may find that the cell is an ideal place to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings ... it gives you the opportunity to look daily into your entire conduct to overcome the bad and develop whatever is good in you. Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying - Nelson Mandela - Mandela The Authorised Biography by Anthony Sampson

Vipassana (Insight) meditation uses mindfulness to search for the mental and emotional patterns that cause suffering. The aim is not merely to overcome suffering but to learn how to wake up and be fully alive in the present moment. This four-day retreat is an opportunity to deepen meditation practice using the traditional Buddhist method of Ajahn Tong. Meditators are encouraged to stay for the entire course but may also stay for a shorter time and beginners are welcome to learn how to start Vipassana meditation. Mindfulness is developed by regular walking and sitting practice (both in the meditation hall and outside in the forest), by maintaining awareness during normal activities such as eating, showering, dressing and supported by daily interviews with a teacher. The retreat will be held in silence.

What is looking is what you are looking for - St. Francis of Assisi

They say that 'your life begins the day you start a garden'. If you are looking for some green thumb inspiration and motivation, join Christopher Dalzell for a fun-filled weekend of basic gardening tips where you will learn the practice and art of gardening. The weekend will entail plant identification and plant selection of trees, shrubs, ground covers and bulbs. He will show you how to prepare a flower bed and how to lay out your plants, and how to plant trees and other plants and their maintenance. Chris will advise on plant propagation showing the different forms of cuttings, seed sowing and dividing large plants and the pruning of shrubs and trees. He will also highlight the importance of soil and how to rejuvenate a nutrient-depleted soil and deal with pest and diseases. Growing and maintaining indoor plants will also be covered. Experience all this - and more - and celebrate the BRC's gardens and its green spaces.

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/ 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.

Join Margot for a yoga retreat where we explore our innate strength and vitality in order to deepen and develop serenity in our minds. We will connect them with the flow of breath and mindful awareness. Enjoy a progressive sequence of extended yoga classes, comprising dynamic vinyāsa, yin yoga, yoga nidra, mantra and more. Working in sequence to unlock and expand, we will explore arm balances, hip openers, backbends and twists to challenge your body to release, and then restore vitality, riding the wave of your breath as a way to surrender into postures and cultivating calmness of mind. We will work in Krama (progressive stages). The retreat is suitable for all levels of fitness, but be prepared to be challenged. Please bring a mat, water bottle, blanket and a strap. 

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, qigong, meditation and some quiet time communing with nature. Bring your binoculars and a sunhat.

The great [artist]…. moves effortlessly… from some unknown centre
which is certainly not the brain centre but which is definitely a centre,
a centre connected with the rhythm of the whole universe, and consequently
as sound, unshakable, as defiant, anarchic, purposeless, as the universe itself - Henry Miller

Theresa will re-introduce you to the world of intuition, which was your primal and most natural way of knowing the world as a child. We will withdraw from the world of busyness and hustle and slow down. The intuitive way of being has been the focus of Theresa’s attention over the last fifteen years during which she has tried to understand the fleeting and fragile experience of intuition during the creative process which occurs when we surrender and let go of the thinking mind. The experience of creative intuition is characterised by moments of mysterious potentiality and open-ended suggestiveness which generate new and original thoughts, sounds, images and actions. It is to these original and highly personal points of potential that you, a creative person, will constantly return for inspiration as you attempt to express in the medium of your choice (words, paint, music) your original contribution to the world. We will begin with a discussion about what exactly intuition is, and more specifically how it functions during the creative process. Ways of nurturing creative intuition will be suggested, and it is these ways of being which we will be nurturing during the retreat. We will start every day with some gentle qigong to bring ourselves into our bodies, and then - 
we will talk
we will walk
we will observe
we will write
we will draw
we will paint
and we will move…

During this retreat, Cor and Duncan will connect you to your inner light and wisdom, discovering the archetype of your Sun - the masculine, yang, extroverted outward-radiating nature of your being, and the Moon - the feminine yin, receptive, internalized, reflective nature. Cor translates the language of Astrology, working with your natal birth chart's Sun and Moon to guide your journey of self-discovery. We awaken to our life's potential by empowering the soul's inner knowing, including self-tolerance, acceptance, compassion, love, joy. SoulCollage© imageboards creation and intuitive, experiential astrological exercises connect us to the cosmic divine soul. Duncan will balance these two subtle energies to create equilibrium and reflection in body, mind and soul. For example, Ha=Sun yoga develops power and confidence while Tha=Moon yoga develops a calm mind.

These practices are designed to cleanse, strengthen and expand the energy body with its subtle channels and centres. From a state of heaviness and contraction we will move to a state of pure vibration, lightness, spaciousness and stillness. Eventually we will get a glimpse of our true nature.

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.

Yin yoga provides the balance to our hectic Yang lifestyle. In today’s busy world we are inundated with the pressure to do more, take on yet more and push ourselves even further. This retreat provides a balance to our often frenetic, stressful lives and will restore harmony, health and calmness. In relaxing our muscles and surrendering into our yoga postures, we are able to work deeply into the joints, ligaments, fascia and bones of the body - releasing tension and detoxifying normally inaccessible parts of our bodies. The weekend is centred around releasing, relaxing and restoring our bodies, our minds and our energy and is suitable for everyone. Please bring your own yoga mats.

We like to think of Devahiti Yoga as an all-encompassing yogic system founded on the traditional disciplines, while simultaneously embracing the exciting, and ever expanding, new developments in yoga. Continued education and a passion for Pranayama, has led to many “aha” moments around breathwork and healthy breathing. Join Cheryl for 5 days of yoga and meditational breathwork to enhance your health. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of silence.

Albert Osel (Buhr) will offer a relaxation retreat with methods to soothe and balance the nervous system, and heal the mind from excessive negative thought patterns. Counteracting the contractions of chronic stress will help participants access states of bliss, clarity, peace and kindness.

Qigong exercises alternate with meditation practices from Daoism and Zen. Movement, stillness and the teachings and contemplation of the ancient wisdom traditions of the East flow seamlessly into one another. We taste the boundlessness of our true nature - the Dao.
Noble silence will be observed from the last session in the evening until mid-morning the next day.

If you feel worn out, stressed and depleted in these challenging times, then a nurturing Yin Yoga retreat is just what you need. This restorative retreat will replenish and heal you physically, mentally and emotionally. Yin yoga is a more meditative type of yoga where the postures are held while your body is supported with props, allowing you to relax, to breathe into the stretching and gravity to do its work. The slower, meditative pace gives you the opportunity to turn inwards, to breathe mindfully and to be at ease within your yourself.

In this retreat we develop mindfulness in silent sitting meditation, walking, but also using the practice of Insight Dialogue to develop insight. In dialogue meditation we explore and contemplate in the presence of relevant Dhamma topics in order to understand how things really are. The aim is to use all our life's experiences to develop wholesome qualities such as kindness and compassion and to cultivate spiritual friendship. We try to put the Noble Eightfold Path into practice. The retreat will be mostly held in noble silence and is suitable for beginners. More information: www.insightdialogue.org

The silent Easter long-weekend Open the Heart and Still the Mind Compassion Retreat is now being offered either as a 4 night Easter Weekend retreat or as an extended 7 nights for those who want a longer and deeper retreat experience and will provide an opportunity to integrate the experiences of grief and gratitude that we all have been confronted with during this time of uncertainty.

Drawing on the wisdom of Buddhist psychology and the inspiring teachings and practices of Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of Compassion, who "Listens to the cries of the world at ease" we will strengthen our capacity to be with things as they are unfolding. After establishing a calm and grounded body, heart and mind, we will focus on the practice of loving-kindness (metta) meditation and the deepening of compassionate wisdom. These practices connect us with our authentic presence, strengthen our boundaries and provide us with a secure foundation of courage and trust. In a contained and nurturing atmosphere of contemplative (Noble) silence, we will learn how to transform the viciousness of the inner critic, so that we can end the habitual cycle of self-abandonment and fear. As we discover how to internalise the archetypal good-enough mother, represented by Kuan Yin, we will develop the courage and trust which allow us to honour our vulnerability without fear or shame. When we can embrace our humanness with kindness and compassion, we can live more authentically and more courageously, so that healing and awakening can occur.

This retreat includes guided sitting and walking meditations, short individual sessions with Sue and daily sessions of qigong (chi kung) movement meditation to enhance the integration of body, heart and mind. There will be time for silent, mindful walks in nature when you can explore the beauty of the Centre. Additional optional yoga and possibly massages will be offered - details to be confirmed nearer the time.

A pre-retreat individual session via Zoom/Whatsapp is requested and highly recommended for newcomers or if you have not attended one of Sue’s residential retreats before. The fee for this is R975 for 50 mins, fully covered by medical aid and can be reduced if necessary.

Please contact Sue on to arrange a time and see her fee details here: https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-embracing-grief-and-gratitude-with-compassion/

CPD accreditation for psychologists and other HPCSA registered professionals: to be confirmed in 2022.

Following on the success of their 'vegan ventures' at the BRC, Debbie and Sascha are offering a fresh and updated version of their "Wholesome, plant-based eating and holistic mind, body and breath workshop." We are all in need of paying close attention to our body through healthy eating, breathing and exercise. This retreat is ideal for those who want to make the change-over and need guidance, and motivation. Learn how to make nutritious superfood treats and vegan ice creams that are bursting with flavour and one hundred percent healthy, and guilt-free vegan chocolate. There will be an assortment of ideas to inspire you from nutritious soups, unique dips to mouth-watering mains - a rainbow on your plate. Debbbie will show you how to make life-changing meals and Sascha how to make your body strong and how to breath correctly. Included in this retreat will be sunrise yoga, meditation, breathwork and pilates, the yin-yang of health, where "belly strengthening is a perfect balance to belly-nourishing".

In the beautiful surroundings of Ixopo, enjoy a revitalizing, relaxing weekend of gentle yoga, breath work, meditation and reiki. Reiki is the ancient Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation which promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and uses the "life force energy" that flows through us. The word 'reiki' comprises of 'rei' which means 'God's higher power' and 'ki' which is 'life force energy'. It is a simple, natural and safe method of healing and has great beneficial effects. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to promote recovery. This practice reduces stress, awakens deep relaxation, peace and self-awareness, improves sleep, eliminates depression, enhances your immune system, prompting contentedness and balance in your life. Reiki healing can be extended to all areas of your life, including your children and animals.

Reiki Level 2
At this level of reiki practice, you will learn to apply the healing effects of reiki on others. Two more sacred symbols will be passed onto you: the Distance Healing Symbol and the Emotional Healing Symbol. You will learn how to use reiki as a means of empowering others.

Reiki Level 3
At this level you will make a commitment to reiki in your life and progress to become a Reiki Master. You will receive the Master Symbol and the Tibetan Fire Serpent Symbol which are used during the Master attunement process. You will learn how to pass this attunement to others, and to take on students of your own. Some Reiki Masters never teach reiki, but they are able to use the Master energy on others and apply it in their own lives.

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.

The feast of Wesak is the most important day on the Buddhist calendar, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha nearly 2500 years ago. A moveable feast, Wesak is traditionally held on the full moon of the lunar month of Vesakha (coincidental with May) which in 2022 falls over this weekend. We will mark this festival with a programme of sitting and walking meditation plus talks and reflections on aspects of the Buddha’s life and teachings and, in union with Buddhists around the world, hold a traditional Wesak ceremony - a lantern-lit circumambulation. Please note that apart from the talk and discussion periods this retreat will be held in Noble Silence.

Di will be offering two sessions of qigong daily.Qigong can be loosely translated as the movement of energy. Qi is the energy derived from nature that is always around us. Using 6,000 year old movements, we can tap into this energy and thereby energise ourselves. Qigong exercises are slower than aerobics, but faster than tai chi. There will also be free time to relax and rest, and to take in the beauty of the BRC.

During this time of retreat we will look at the significance of spiritual friendship (kalayanamitta) in our lives. The Buddha emphasised this over and over again as a source of encouragement and guidance. We will explore what this implies and how we can create conditions for these qualities to manifest - both for our own benefit, and also that of others and the world we live in. Noble Silence will be encouraged throughout the retreat, although there also will be times for questions and discussion. There will be morning and evening pujas and time for rest.

"When you are busy judging people, you have no time to love them” - Marshall Rosenberg

When interacting with others, we often find ourselves triggered and then communicate in ways that hurt or harm - ourselves, the other, or the relationship between us. Our conditioned ideas of what it means to communicate, especially during times of conflict, frequently results in a loss of connection. Judgement and defence, as well as the strategies of criticism, insults, blame or put-downs are commonly used in our attempt to be heard or to meet our need to be “right”, “good” or “winning”. Despite our best efforts and intentions, we habitually become “violent” with our words and then feel the pain of disconnection.
This retreat explores the principles and practices of mindfulness and nonviolent communication (NVC), to foster connection and minimize the suffering of outmoded ways of engaging. We will practise both intra-personal and inter-personal mindfulness in order to cultivate skills of empathy, compassion and a better understanding of self and other. Contemplative dyads are a way to promote social connectedness, something that we are often lacking in daily life where our time is dominated by digital devices. Together, these practices will help us communicate more consciously so that we learn to be aware of our feelings and needs, make requests to meet these needs and stay open to the feelings and needs of others.
You can expect daily mindful meditation practice to support the empowering and enriching teachings of NVC, gentle exercise, and some down time for rest and relaxation.

When faced with a world in crisis, what do you do? Run and hide, fight and burn out, or freeze in overwhelm? Guided by ideas and practices from the book entitled ’The Compassionate Activist', Lucy will facilitate you on a journey to skilful engagement, addressing issues of personal, social and environmental transformation. By combining practices of mindfulness and compassion with activities for engagement and shadow integration, we can find a way to transform the world from the inside out, and transform ourselves from the outside in.

We often spend our lives trapped in a cycle of stress and anxiety. Taking time out deliberately to connect to our inner resources will help us navigate life’s challenges with more ease. Mindfulness offers the invitation to come into the freshness of the present moment: knowing what is happening, while it’s happening. The experience of this moment can include the thoughts and feelings in our heart-mind, awareness of the sensations in the body, and our connection with nature and the world around us. We will use the practices of meditation and vinyasa yoga, as well as the joy of being in nature as a way of learning to rest the mind in the present moment. This retreat is suitable for those completely new to mindfulness as well as those seeking to reconnect with it. We will also look at ways of establishing a sustainable and gentle daily practice and the obstacles that can arise when trying to find time to meditate daily.