Find meaningful solitude on a Self-Retreat.  One can do as much (or as little) reading, walking, meditation or resting as one chooses. Enjoy walks and bird watching in 300 acres of beautiful rolling hills and indigenous forests. Enjoy some qigong, meditation and treatments and savour our delicious vegetarian food; or browse our well-stocked library. Visit the stupa and the raked Zen sand gardens and walk the labyrinth. Massage treatments, guided walks, qigong and meditation are offered by resident staff mid week. Self-Retreats are an ideal opportunity to be in a gentle, sympathetic space where one can be still and get in touch with oneself.

Join Aldo 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.

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.

 “When you are busy judging people, you have no time to love them.” Marshall Rosenberg
Learn the life-enhancing practices of mindful awareness and non-violent communication with Felicity Joan Hart.
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. 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.

What to expect.

This retreat explores the principles and practices of mindfulness and non-violent communication (NVC), to foster connection and minimize the suffering of outmoded ways of engaging. You will practise both intra-personal and inter-personal mindfulness to cultivate skills of empathy, compassion, and a better understanding of yourself and others. Together, these practices will help you communicate more consciously so that you learn to be aware of your 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 and some down time for rest and relaxation.

Do you find it hard to stay present when you relate with others? Do you tend to lose yourself in your relationships? This retreat will provide the opportunity for a depth of enquiry into the practice of Presence, or Mindfulness, in our relationships. We will explore the space that opens, when we are able to give ourselves quality attention in the relating and listening process. We will look at the unconscious patterns and obstacles that hold us back from being fully present in our relationships.

• We will slow down and allow space to clearly see, feel and sense what is happening in the present moment.
• We will connect with the direct experience of the feelings, sensations and thoughts in our bodies.
• We will practise staying connected with ourselves as we relate with others.
• Through meditation, movement, sharing, and small group enquiry there will be support to stay present as we encounter different layers of our experience.
• In between sessions the retreat will be held in silence.

For psychologists the retreat is CPD accredited ( 15CEU’s) and fee- based. (Enquiries at ).

This retreat can open the possibility of a deeper and more intimate way of relating with ourselves, others and the world.

In this retreat we will explore four spiritual disciplines, two spiritual laws and a self-directed challenge to change your beliefs about money, to be in right relationship with money and to allow money to become a form of spiritual practice.
Engaging with money can be stressful. Regardless of how much we have it is often a source of fear and anxiety. Our minds can be preoccupied with thoughts around not having enough, or running out, or losing the money we have. Conditioned thinking patterns direct our focus to what is lacking, and this can lead to habitual judgment of ourselves, others and our circumstances. Over time, stress around money or feeling ruled by it can set up a feeling of dis-ease in our being and impact all aspects of our lives.
This course is for everyone who longs to feel relaxed about money. It is also for those who are curious about how we can respond to a call from the unlikely source that is money to deepen connection with the Divine, ourselves and others. The intention of this retreat is to transform your relationship with money into a dimension of your spiritual practice. You get to assign money its proper place and perspective in your life while experiencing a deeper intimacy with your higher power. The process involves exploring the spiritual disciplines of Gratitude, Praying, Fasting and the Giving Way of Being. We also consider the spiritual Laws of Abundance and Law of Vibration to support your learning; and we complete the journey with a self-directed spiritual challenge. Each practice has the power to transform your financial and spiritual life but taken together they can become a powerful code of conduct that ushers in a time of inner freedom, outer abundance, and greater intimacy with the Divine.

This course is inclusive. It is friendly to open-minded people of all religions and wisdom traditions. It is also welcoming if you identify as more spiritual than religious or if your spiritual home bridges more than one religion. Felicity draws on inspiration from multiple religious sources, principles and practices of mindfulness and the wisdom of universal spiritual laws. She shares insights from neuroscience as well as her own lived financial and spiritual experience. Each practice will help you develop qualities that will help you grow spiritually and allow you feel more relaxed about money.

You can expect daily mindful meditation practice to support the empowering and enriching teachings and down time for rest and relaxation.

Tibetan yantra yoga (Trul-Khor) includes vigorous movement and powerful breathing exercises, visualisation, meditation, the practice of mudras (ritual gestures) and the chanting of bija mantras (seed-syllables) i.e. OM, AH, HUM to remove blockages in the subtle energy system (chakras and nadis) and to regulate the flow of the so-called lung (prana).

Most of the body postures are performed either standing or sitting and are interspersed with periods of meditation. Tibetan yantra yoga presents effective means of healing and harmonising body and mind. However, the ultimate goal of Tibetan yantra yoga is to awaken to our natural state and inner wisdom

This retreat is based on the ancient tradition of Daoism. It offers a holistic approach that takes equal account of body, energy and mind. It combines breath work and moving qigong exercises to stimulate, free and balance the flow of the inner energy (qi). It includes silent meditation to calm and expand the mind. And it opens us to the inspiration of the profound and liberating wisdom teachings of Daoism and Zen. Ultimately, the Daoist path leads to the realisation of our true nature, the immeasurable Dao (or Tao)

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.

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