True Nature
Yoga Retreat
Nov 15th – 18th 2019
Gift yourself precious space and time.
On your True Nature Retreat reclaim your unique spirit and rebalance your connection to the cosmic pulse through movement, mandala and meditation. Breathe in the vitality of the forest air, move within the sacred vessel of the mandala, rest in stillness as you awaken and return to being fully present in the flow of your life.
Drawing on the healing power of nature and the venerable tradition of yoga, Margot and Marc have crafted a bespoke soul nourishing retreat to lift you out of your daily life. Be immersed in enriching embodiment practices, shift and transform yourself as you journey towards a state of balance – your true nature.
Where
Arrive: Friday Nov 15th 2018, from 4.00 pm for 6.00pm opening meal
Depart: Monday Nov 18th 2018, 2.00pm
Cost: starts at $650 – single, couples, twin share, camping
SIBA Buddhist Retreat Centre, Gelantipy
The Retreat
At this yoga retreat, the pace of life will slow down. You will embrace an orbit of conscious and mindful living creating ample space for you to bring a refined and thoughtful sense of presence and attention to the steady discipline of your day and your yoga practice.
Across the weekend there will be carefully selected yoga and embodiment practices offered within the sacred space of the mandala. Mandalas will be envisioned, walked, danced, drawn, sculptured, felt and experienced. Mandalas enable profound pathways to explore your inner reality and to integrate this understanding into your physical, emotional and spiritual self.
Mandalas are a universal blueprint, a way of sensing deeper connections with the universe – to your true nature.
The Practice
Margot will offer twice daily sessions of yoga, meditation and awakening explorations or movement practices embracing the natural energies of the solar and lunar cycles.
Greet each day with energising solar practices of playful mandala asana sequences, pranayama and simple meditation. Afternoon practices will vary depending on the activities of the day and will be more lunar in their intent. Practices will include yin yoga, restorative yoga, relaxation practices and mandala meditation. Evenings are set aside for quiet meditation, contemplation and yoga nidra.
These yoga practices will be suitable for all levels of experience, and the limited group number (14 participants) will allow for plenty of personal attention in classes.
Forest Bathing
Marc will introduce the healing practice of shinrin yoku where you will experience inner clarity and reclaim your sense of peacefulness. His lifelong love and commitment to studying and protecting our precious natural heritage along with his calm presence in the bush makes Marc the perfect guide.
The chosen nature walk is designed to bring you back to your true nature, back to being the centre of your mandala allowing you to relinquish the need for perpetual “doing” and simply drop into the space of “being”. Fresh air, boundless skies, majestic trees and quiet meandering paths: contemplation, meditation and walking – soothing, calming and nourishing your body, mind, heart, and soul.
Breathe – Relax – Wander – Touch – Listen – Heal
SIBA Retreat Centre
SIBA Retreat Centre is a beautiful and friendly Buddhist retreat centre nestled in the Snowy River country of East Gippsland, Victoria. SIBA is set on 108 acres with veggie gardens, a large orchard, dozens of chooks, pasture lands for rescued animals and plenty of bush and wildlife.
SIBA is at 2592 Gelantipy Rd, W Tree, Victoria 3885.
Accommodation
SIBA’s accommodation is simple and comfortable. The modest motel-style rooms have ensuite bathrooms with either a double bed or bottom bunk beds. Pillows, doonas and mattress protectors are provided but we ask that you bring top and bottom sheets, pillow cases and a towel.
The unpowered camping ground at SIBA is suitable for tents, vans and campervans and has access to shared showers and toilet block.
Options
Single with ensuite: $865 per person
Twin share with ensuite: – $725 per person
Double (couples) with ensuite: $725 per person
Camping with shared shower and toilet block: $635 per person
Food
As gardeners, Marc and I grow most of our food in our mandala vegetable garden and orchard what we can’t cook and eat we pickle, preserve, dry, ferment, brew or preserve. We believe in nurturing our bodies and souls with the fresh bounty of mother earth: wholesome yet simple vegan food.
SIBA Centre co-ordinators, Amelia and Joseph, share our vision of plant- based nourishment for the body and spirit, of food that doesn’t hurt or harm living creatures and with this as their guiding light all meals served across the retreat – breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks – will be vegan. Nutritious, satisfying and healthy meals will be lovingly prepared and created using fresh locally sourced produce and ingredients.
All food allergies or intolerances can be catered for. It would be our pleasure to make your belly happy so let us know, in advance, your specific food requirements.
Your Hosts
Margot – Yoga teacher
Margot has been practising and studying the art of yoga from a range of traditions in Australia and internationally for over 20 years. Curious, quirky and intuitive, Margot is a creator, a writer, a mandala maker, an artist, and a gardener who draws inspiration for her classes, workshops and retreats from the rich teachings of nature. An experienced teacher and lifelong student, she communicates and connects easily sharing her experience and knowledge of embodied consciousness with joy. She is enraptured with the alchemy of Yoga to shift, soothe and heal us from within and is driven to help others open the door and truly know the complex, intricate and astonishing landscape within.
Margot is the founder and principal teacher at Yoga East in Bairnsdale, Victoria. A level 2 registered teacher (500RYT) with Yoga Australia, Margot has over 1200 hours in Yoga Teacher Training and is currently immersed in the tantric embodiment practices of Prana Vinyasa Teacher training with Shiva Rea and Delamay Devi. Constantly evolving, she has hosted and taught more than 16 retreats in Australia, New Zealand and Bali since 2010.
Marc Perri – Environmental Scientist
Marc has been exploring the Australian bush since he was a boy and is still inspired by the beauty and magic of our natural ecosystems. Whether building a cubby house with his brothers, camping in wilderness or working on threatened species recovery projects he is always learning.
The bush is a natural environment that allows us a special opportunity to be human, to connect with life and be nature. When we are in built environments we lose this opportunity, we are wedged by infrastructure and systems and become mechanistic, constrained and tamed by rules.
Breathing naturally, relaxing in its eternity, wandering into the unknown , invoking our senses – bathing in nature, healing in nature, being nature.
Gilly Wheatfill Massage Therapist
Gilly is a Massage and Craniosacral therapist based in Lakes Entrance, dedicated to helping people to make changes in their physical bodies and evolve on all levels through awareness and transformation of pain. Originally from the UK, Gilly has a scientific background studying Biology with a focus on anatomy and physiology and complementary therapies. Then leading to the study and practice of Shiatsu and Chinese Medicine. After emigrating to Australia in 2001, Gilly has progressed her practice with Remedial Massage tools such as Trigger Point Therapy, Deep Tissue Massage and Chinese Cupping. Gilly can tailor a treatment specific to the needs of the physical body and energy levels. Sometimes you just need a bloody good massage! And sometimes, along with physical manipulation, a gentle space is required, tempered with listening and acceptance, for balance to be fully restored. More recently, intrigued by persistent blocks in clients and in her own body, Gilly has studied Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy as another modality.
Craniosacral therapy helps to let go of unprocessed trauma and stress held in the body. This could be expressed in many ways including cycles of pain and disease, emotional patterns and stuck ways of thinking. A series of gentle contacts tune into the subtle rhythms allowing the body to release and intelligently heal itself. Gilly’s interests include her kids, cycling, yoga, meditation, poetry, healthy eating and the beach. She is on a constant mission to do less…
BSc. (Hons) Biology, 1996, Manchester Uni Shiatsu Diploma, 2000, European Shiatsu School Massage Therapy, 2001, Massage School of Queensland Shoden First Degree Reiki, 2015 Level II First Aid, 2019 Craniosacral Therapy, 2015-2019, Craniosacral Institute of Australia
Retreat Schedule
Sample of daily schedule
7.00 – 9.00 am Morning flow yoga practice
9.00 – 10.00 am Breakfast
11.00 –12.00pm Free time
12.00 – 1.00pm Lunch
1.00 – 4.00pm Nature walk/activity
4:30 – 6:30pm Afternoon rejuvenation yoga
7.00 – 8.00pm Dinner
8.00 – 9.00pm After dinner meditation/Yoga Nidra
What’s included
- Accommodation
- All food and drinks provided (vegan)
- Twice daily yoga practices – flow, yin and restorative
- Meditation, relaxation practices and yoga nidra
- 1 hour complimentary massage
- Guided nature walk
- Mandala inquires – made, drawn, walked, yoga, dance, meditation
- All yoga equipment provided
- Welcome gift
- Tea, coffee and fresh fruit available throughout the day
- Internet access is available but we encourage you to unplug for the weekend.
What’s Not
- Transport to and from the retreat centre
- Linen (bedsheets, pillow cases) and towels
- Additional massage or craniosacral treatment
- Shopping from the SIBA Retreat shop
Deposit
Deposit secures your place: $200 (non – refundable)
Cost
Single: $865
Single bed with ensuite bathroom
Twin share: $725
Single bed (bottom bunk) with ensuite bathroom
Camping: $635
Suitable for campervans or tents and includes use of shared bathroom
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation before September 2nd, 2019 will receive a refund minus the deposit.
Cancellation after October 2nd, 2019 no refund.
You will receive a registration form to complete and return, along with details for transfer of deposit. Upon registration you will be sent more information about getting to SIBA, Gelantipy, East Gippsland and what to bring, etc.
My experience of Margot’s Elemental Goddess retreat in Bali has been life-changing. Margot truly lives her yoga practice and benefiting from her teaching, support and joy was well-worth the trip from the UK! Every minute of every day was beautifully thought through to give us lovely experiences & space for much needed reflection. I miss the incredible vegan food we had, but have returned home with renewed tenderness towards my family relationships, a daily meditation practice & certainty about my direction. Thank you, Margot – you & Marc are a dream team.
Lulu Crosthwaite-Eyre
It’s really difficult to put into words how wonderful the experience of the elemental goddess retreat is. I keep having to remind myself it wasn’t a dream! The week in Bali with you and trusty Marc, and the rest of the group was like being cradled in a loving family. It surpassed any expectations I had in a full mind-body-spiritual sense. The yoga and meditation were immersive and healing. The food was a rainbow of deliciousness and health. The company was supportive and nurturing. I felt I learnt a lot about myself, how I hold myself back and my habits. I came away feeling so positive and like my life had purpose and clear about those things in a way I had never felt before. It was a very special and inspiring week which brought me closer to myself, my body, my mind and my soul – if those are four separate things!!!
Erica Fairhurst
‘Margot’s yoga retreats are amazing! I feel cherished and well-looked after. Each day the yoga is diverse and is instructed in a fun, light and playful way that helps participants to listen to their bodies and only do what they feel capable of. I left Margot’s retreat feeling relaxed, refreshed and kinder to myself.’
Maria Marino