CHARITYHeart & Soul Care
HEART & SOUL RETREAT JULY 28 – 30 2023
Opening Circle – Friday
By Nancie Clisby
Nancie began by acknowledging the Dharawal people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we met. All were welcomed to Govinda Valley Retreat Centre, to a weekend put together to assist in their road to recovery.
Nancie acknowledged the generous funding of the retreat by ‘The Yoga for Good Foundation’.
Participants were also gifted a journal, kindly donated by Alana Fairchild, author of ‘Love Your Inner Goddess’ resources that will be used during the retreat.
Participants were invited to open their journal and write down an existing quality/strength and one that they would like to develop. Each person then introduced themselves and shared these qualities.
Nancie then led a guided meditation designed to open awareness of, and the connection between, our energy centres – Earth (abdomen), Heart (chest) and Heaven (forehead). Guests then wrote in their journals as if it was the close of the retreat – “I am feeling …… and I have gained/learnt ………”
The group then created a mandala for the centrepiece, using objects from nature, which was completed in reverent silence. A mandala was chosen as it is a repetitive circular pattern, the centre of which represents our innate inner peace – the silence of our wisdom.
The circle represents the cycle of human life and that of nature, and their impermanence – hence the mandala will be dismantled at the close of the retreat.
The group then stood linking hands, visualising sending energy, peace and compassion to each person around the circle.
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Moving Towards Your True Self – Biodanza – Friday
By Heleen Fourie
Biodanza is an integrative movement system where we invite the thinking, feeling and the action parts of us to work together, enabling us to connect with our true self. It utilises music, movement and positive feelings to deepen self-awareness.
Heleen was gentle and respectful in guiding the group through free dance/movement to music. She gave reassurance to be that they could move as little or as much as was comfortable; that there was no pressure or expectation to move in any particular way. As a result, even the most ‘reluctant’ mover was soon lost in her own space and expressed herself through movement.
The women moved to a variety of music styles with varied tempo, loudness, rhythm; sometimes dancing alone; moving as a group; moving/dancing with a partner. The different types of music allowed for an array of emotions to be expressed through the physical movements.
Connecting with Self – Restorative Yoga – Saturday
By Ro Simmons
Trauma Informed Yoga is aimed at calming the nervous system, improving breathing and increasing the body-mind connection.
Ro led the group through a series of breathing practices aimed at awakening the nervous system in a gentle way. She then combined movement and breath, guiding inhalation and exhalation to enhance the ease of body movements.
This yoga session provided a gentle, yet energising start to the day.
Living Your Dharma
Moira Gordon
Moira introduced the session by explaining that ‘living our dharma’ means to follow our obligations to mind, body and spirit. It is about looking at duty in a lighter way, such as seeing the beauty in our daily tasks.
Moira introduced the circle template to represent the circle of support we each need around us – to act as a safe container, and to recognise that special place we have within us.
Participants then created a mandala writing the words courage, generosity, acceptance and love within. Moira gave guidance in the selection of a colour to represent each of these qualities. Each person created then their unique pattern with the paints and crayons provided. The mandala will serve as a symbolic reminder to enable participants to direct and anchor to their true centre.
Nancie Clisby
The session began with the women in pairs to brainstorm how they would describe intuition. Each pair then shared with the group.
This was followed by a brief meditation to bring minds & bodies to a calm place, from which their intuition would guide “What colour, which animal and what object in nature represents you, as you are today? The women then shared, the qualities of the colour, animal and nature object that they recognise in themselves.
Next, they were led in a relaxation practice and given guidance recall the body sensations they have experienced when their intuition has ‘kicked in” e.g., gut feeling; physical discomfort; spine tingles. The recalled experiences were shared with a partner.
Each person then selected a Gaia Oracle Card, being drawn to the card that is relevant to you at this moment in time. Again, sharing in pairs their intuitive interpretation of the message the card is giving them.
Love Your Inner Goddess
Lindy Clifton
Lindy spoke about the inner goddess as being an embodiment of our divine, innate, feminine power. She drew an oracle card from the “Love Your Inner Goddess” pack, ‘Amalthea-the ancient goddess of nurturing’ as the message for the group. She then led the group in casting a sacred circle, meditations, inspirational readings and movement to music. She urged the women to bring the energies of playfulness, courage and dignity to their healing journey and that they can trust their inner wisdom.
The women were each gifted a set of the cards, generously donated by author, Alana Fairchild. Each card has an inspirational message and spiritual guidance. A card can be chosen either daily, weekly or whenever they need a message to uplift their spirit. The women were given time to explore the card set before the circle was closed.
Andre Melis – Director of Govinda Valley Retreat Centre, led the group in beautiful, inspirational kirtan. Kirtan is the chanting of sacred mantras.
Andre led the chanting as call and response, ensuring that everyone could join in. The amazing vibrational energy of the chants made for an uplifting experience.
Sound Healing – Annie Teng
As a Gong Master and Tibetan Singing Bowls Healing therapist, Annie gave the group a wonderful sound healing session. We lay in comfort to receive the healing. We were surrounded by the vibrational sounds of the gongs and singing bowls bringing us into a relaxed and meditative state. A truly amazing, immersive experience.
Morning Walk – Sunday
Wendy Saunders
Wendy led a small group of keen early morning walkers up the somewhat steep hill to the cliff tops where we were met with a most amazing coastal view!
The sparkling clear surf, the risen sun still low in the sky and the vista down the coast to the south, were certainly worth all that huffing and puffing.
Bald Hill Lookout was buzzing with life – lots of motorbikes & their riders in the car park and flashy sports cars zipping past.
A tasty, nutritious breakfast enticed us on our speedier downhill return.
Tapping Into Your Divine Inner Power – Chakras
Moira Gordon
Moira began this session by leading us in Dru Yoga – its gentle movements aligned with the breath to energise our spine, and to draw energy to our heart. She explained how working with the principles of Dru Yoga helps to balance the flow of energy within us in relation to the chakras.
Moira then gave guidance in a creative art activity – each of us represented the chakras, on the provided feminine form outline, using shape, colour and words. Each art work reflected the uniqueness of its creator.
Gifts of Your True Self
Heleen Fourie
In this creative session, Heleen had us taking all that we’d learned over the weekend and expressing it through art.
She led the group in a meditation to call in our inner wisdom to help us with a current challenge. We asked for guidance, for what we needed to hear – and then we expressed our answer in words and art.
As part of this process, we were also asked to match our current dilemma with a stage in the cycle of life – as every moment has a birth, childhood, initiation, adolescence, adulthood, eldership, death and remembrance.
Through art we could be playful or carefree or deep – be whatever we needed to be in the process of recognising and connecting with our essence, our truth.
Closing Circle
Nancie Clisby
Nancie led us in a brief meditation before asking each woman to write a thank you letter to themselves – to give thanks for the retreat experience and what they had learned/gained/experienced to help with their healing journey.
Each person, in turn around the circle, gave their personal feedback/thanks.
The group then dismantled the mandala in reverent silence, before linking hands in farewell.
Nancie invited us to make eye contact with each other through “eyes of love and compassion” sending respectful thanks to each person for the retreat experience.
