A Weekend of Genuine Rest in the Kinglake Ranges

Just over an hour from Melbourne, tucked into 20 acres of native bushland, this is a weekend built around one simple idea: real rest. No airports, no long journeys, just a short drive and suddenly you're surrounded by trees, wildlife and space, with nowhere else you need to be.

We practise gentle Embodied Yoga each morning, looking out over the bush, with movement adapted to your body rather than the other way around. In the evenings we slow right down with Restorative Somatic Rest and Sound Healing, settling into bolsters and blankets and giving ourselves permission to simply be. Between sessions there's plenty of space to swim in the solar-heated pool, walk the private bush tracks, curl up in the library, or do nothing at all.

Ede, my husband and co-host, cooks for us throughout the weekend, and if you've been on one of our retreats before, you'll know his plant-based meals are often what people remember most. We love holding space for people to gather around a table, eat delicious food and have real conversations.

This retreat is small by design, with a maximum of 12 guests, because that intimacy is part of what makes it work. You don't need to be flexible or experienced with yoga. You just need to give yourself permission to rest or be ready for a couple of days where nobody needs anything from you.

You'll leave with more than memories of a lovely weekend away. You'll leave with a little more awareness of what your body actually needs, and the practices to bring that awareness home with you.

For years now, I've been teaching gentle, somatic, trauma-informed yoga to people who thought yoga wasn't for them, people whose bodies have changed through illness, injury, pain, stress or simply through getting older, and people who have found conventional yoga classes too fast or simply not very welcoming.

I've created a practice that is much more interested in asking "what does your body need?" than asking you to keep up with everyone else, and that's exactly how we'll practise at Kinglake. 

On Saturday and Sunday mornings we'll move gently together, looking out over the beautiful bushland, exploring movement in a way that can be adapted to your body and your particular needs, and in the evenings we'll slow everything down with Restorative Somatic Rest and a Sound Bath, settling into bolsters and blankets and giving ourselves permission to stop doing and simply rest.

My husband Ede, he is a very talented and passionate cook and he will be co-hosting the retreat with me and cooking all our meals!  All the food is plant based and mostly gluten free and we are excited to share just how good plant based food can be. Please let us know of any intolerances or allergies when booking so we can plan the menu to support you.

The property sits on 20 acres of native bushland, with more than two kilometres of private bush tracks to explore, and there are wallabies, wombats and kangaroos wandering through the property and occasionally a cheeky fox appears!

There is a little olive grove and fruit orchard, sheep grazing in the paddocks beyond, a solar-heated pool and a beautiful veranda that wraps around the house where you can sit with a cup of tea and look out over the bush.

 There is a library, a spa bath and a private cinema as well as lots of quiet corners where you can curl up with a book, have a nap or simply sit and watch the trees.

I hope you leave this retreat not just with memories of a lovely weekend away, although I hope there will be plenty of those, but perhaps a little more awareness of what your body needs and some simple practices you can actually use when you return to your everyday life. 

I hope you'll remember what it feels like to slow down before you're completely depleted rather than waiting until your body forces you to stop, and that you'll leave feeling more connected to yourself and a little more able to listen to what you need. 

And I hope you'll take home some of the feeling that comes from being part of a small group of people who have all given themselves permission to step away from their usual responsibilities for a few days and simply be together.

Maybe you're thinking, I don't know if I can take a whole weekend away

I understand. There is always something that needs doing and someone who needs us, and it can be surprisingly difficult to give ourselves permission to step away, particularly when we're used to being the person everyone relies on. But sometimes taking a little time for ourselves means we return with more patience and more capacity for the people and things we care about. 

Maybe you're thinking, I'm not flexible enough or fit enough for a yoga retreat

This retreat exists in part because of people who feel exactly that way. You don't need to be flexible and you don't even need to ‘good’ at yoga! The practices are adapted to the people who are actually in the room, and everything is an invitation rather than something you have to achieve. 

Maybe you're thinking, I don't really need a yoga retreat, I just need a break

Well, that's actually perfect, because you don't have to come because you want to do lots of yoga. You can come because you're tired, because you want someone else to cook for you, because you want to sleep, because you want to walk through the bush and hear yourself think again, or simply because you want a couple of days where nobody needs anything from you. The yoga is simply one of the ways we rest. 

And remember we don't practice yoga to get better at yoga, we practice yoga to get better at life!

Feel free to arrive anytime from 11.30pm onwards on Friday We will be serving lunch at 1pm to welcome you all.

If you aren’t able to make that time exactly, don't worry we can save some for when you do arrive. The first afternoon I invite you to rest, swim in the heated pool or find a quiet spot to read or walk and explore the property.  Please know that the itinerary I suggest is just an outline and will flex and change as we need it to.  You are welcome to join us for any sessions or rest as much as you need.

 Listen to your body and your need to slow down.  

The afternoon Restorative and Somatic Rest and Sound Bath will be at 5pm

.Dinner will be at 7.30pm. 

A light breakfast will be ready from 8am and you are welcome to eat before or after yoga depending on what you prefer.  

Our morning Embodied Gentle Yoga session will be at 9.00am until around 10.30am. 

Lunch will be around 1pm.

At 2.30pm I will offer an optional guided mindful walk to help connect with your breath and the natural world..  

There will be more time to rest, read or swim before Restorative Somatic Rest and Sound Bath at 5pm. 

Dinner will be at 7.30pm Feel free to use the cinema room to watch a movie, use the spa bath or get an early night if you prefer. 

8am there will be fruit and other light snacks if you would like to eat before our Embodied Gentle Yoga at 9am where we will integrate the nourishing, somatic practices from our weekend together.

An incredible brunch, made with love by Ede, will be served from 11.30am

There will be more time to relax, read, swim or have a post brunch nap before a late check out at 2pm.