I first saw the name Happy Buddha Yoga Retreat on a job listing many moons ago. The words sparkled, spurring my curiosity, so I lent in. Four years of writing, two retreats, five months of volunteering and one fiancé later… I can certainly say Happy Buddha is not just...
Game Changers (on Netflix) was exactly that, a game changer. Part of a widespread movement, plant-based diets are becoming more popular, and there are plenty of good reasons for this. While we’re definitely not claiming it’s the only way to go for everyone (follow...
If you’ve ever wondered who yoga is suitable for, our short answer is: everyone! Regardless of whether you’re currently less fit or super active, younger or older, under or overweight… yoga will bring unique benefits to both mind and body. Try not to be put off by...
As I sit in a shrinking patch of sunlight, it feels very clear. Just as Jon Snow once announced: winter is coming. It’s so important that we adapt to the seasons, alongside nature. This means mixing up our daily habits, food choices and even sleep routines. Winter is...
Seasons are a natural way to self-regulate, and now with Winter around the corner it’s time to slow down…
Many moons ago, we explored and reviewed a few of our favourite yoga mats to buy in Australia. You can read our first yoga mat article here and I personally still love the mat I discovered in the process, but four years on seems like a nice point to explore what other...
Even as an astrologer, I can hardly believe we’ve already arrived at eclipse season. Yet here we are! Eclipse periods bring some of the most potent astrology of the year. These windows tend to mark chapters of change and transformation in our lives… but what exactly...
Meditation is a practice that we’ve either heard of, or know is good for us. People have been practicing it for centuries to seek calm, wisdom, and compassion. Science has also found many health benefits to meditating regularly: More self-awareness Reduces stress and...
Here’s how to experience the benefits of meditation without sitting in a quiet room…
Pregnancy is an exciting time – but also a time when you might be feeling an extra need to relax and recharge…
And just like that, we're back at January... The first month of the year is always a blank book, and we each carry the pen. Recognised by many cultures around the world across time, this new cycle evokes a real energy supportive of our transformational and creative...
And just like that, we’ve arrived at December! The gift tradition that surrounds end of year festivities is incredibly beautiful, but does carry a flip side. Giving beyond means, debt, mass production, environmental consequences and mass waste - are all themes present...
There’s a million reasons why our creativity can get stifled, stuck, or simply forgotten on our journeys. Maybe you were a highly creative child, but lost sight of this. Parenthood, or a career focus could have done it. Or maybe you actually have full-time creative...
Completed a silent retreat? Here are five things you can do to help hold onto some of the mindfulness magic your experienced!
Spring is here, meaning alongside beach trips and good times – this is also one of the most exciting times for planting in the garden.
As humans, our connection to nature is key to our sense of peace, contentment, creativity, health… you name it. Yet, as we move through the hustle and bustle of our lives, evoking stillness in nature can start to feel like a faraway dream. The answer: a Sit Spot. Sit...
A guest & writer details her silent retreat experience and is surprised at how impactful this tech-free retreat is.
One of the most profound tips I’ve ever heard is: to set an intentional morning ritual. Annie Dillard once famously said ‘how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.’ This might seem simple, but try stay with it for a moment. Given that each of our...
Ah, it’s that magical time of the year. Still a tad chilly; but we’re noticing the days getting warmer and that little bit longer. Internally, things are shifting too. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) reminds us that as the seasons change rhythms, so do we. We...
Inspired from a recent newsletter we sent out, we wanted to remind you that winter is our warmest season at our Blue Mountains retreat!
Raw Cacao & Peanut Butter Bar Base ingredients: 1 cup almond meal 1/2 cup raw cacao 1 cup smooth & natural peanut butter 1 cup medjool or dry dates 1/2 tbsp coconut oil a pinch of sea salt 1/4 cup of water (optional) Super food topping: 1/4 cup millet 1/4 cup...
Yoga Nidra first entered my life whilst travelling. I was visiting a tiny Peruvian town full of alternative healing wonders. Upon seeing a poster for Yoga Nidra class I thought, why not? The sleeping woman pictured looked blissful. I was the only participant later...
We’ve all been there; that point in time when life is asking (or demanding!) us to pause, rest and recharge our energy. Naturally, here at Happy Buddha - we’ll be the first to advocate the power in wellness retreats… but sometimes a getaway is simply not on the cards....
‘Retreat is not an absence; rather it is the search for a true presence’ - Georges Gusdorf When we see images of linen-dressed yogis contorting into magnificent shapes in unison – the idea of visiting a retreat centre can be a little daunting. So too can some of the...
A candid and thoughtful account of what it’s like to participate in Journey into Stillness silent meditation retreat. The Stillness of the Mind by Leah Burton.
Pranayama or yogic breathing, is one of the main eight branches of the yoga sutras. Performed with or without asanas (yoga postures), pranayama also has an enormous amount of benefits, for mind body and spirit. When we break down the word… ‘prana’ refers to breath,...
When it comes to making eco-friendly kitchen decisions, very often the right choice for your well-being also benefits the planet. There are so many little considerations, which all add up to a big difference. Sometimes, practicing ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ takes...
We’ve all been here. That place where we want to relax, but our minds decide to race onwards instead. One beautiful antidote for such situations is aromatherapy; the art of using essential oils to shift energy and support healing. As humans, our sense of smell...
If there’s something we can all agree on, it would be that this year has been full of mental, emotional and spiritual challenges for most of us. A major positive aspect to have come from this, is that self-care seems no longer to be an elusive topic. Out of necessity...
This is a time where prioritising after our health on spiritual, mental and physical levels is absolutely necessary. Oftentimes it’s the little things that make all the difference, and natural foods are no exception to this rule. While the act of adding in a few...
Vietnamese Style Lemongrass Curry This is one of Khanh’s favourite recipes to share with you! It has a flavour similar to Laksa and is an absolutely delicious meal to prepare for loved ones and enjoyed in cooler months. Ingredients: 2 tsp coconut oil 2 onion 4 garlic...
Lockdowns aren’t great for about a million-and-one reasons… but if we can’t travel externally, let’s travel internally. With so much going on in the world around us, there couldn’t be a more valuable time to nurture our inner and spiritual worlds. Today we continue...
You’re happily cruising through life, work and play. All feels great and then suddenly… Bang! A curveball comes out of nowhere and seriously shakes things up. We’ve all been there. And it’s not always the drastically earth-shattering events either. Sometimes it’s the...
As a society, stigma around the practice of sharing our emotional and mental realms seems to be fading. Wonderfully - we’re starting to open up about personal struggles and mental health issues, with more vulnerability than ever. It’s no understatement to say the...
'It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree’s greatest strength lies.' - Matshona Dhliwayo Last month we spoke about the seven chakras – those powerful centres of energy that sit within our etheric body. Each chakra holds a very specific vibration and purpose,...
Some of us hear our inner voice loud and clear. We make aligned decisions quickly and seamlessly. On the other hand, some of us have the opposite experience. We struggle to know what we truly think, want or don’t want. What has happened here is that we’ve silenced our...
2020 was a year of hurdles, shocks and radical change, for all of us – and on many levels. It was an unprecedented year that many of us are still recovering from to varying degrees. With the initiation of any new year, we move to set goals and resolutions. Though,...
According to many schools of Eastern philosophy, on the most basic level our bodies are made of energy. This energy structures itself into our physicality, emotions and thoughts… but before this, it structures itself into meridians and chakras. In other words,...
Yoga is an amazing practice. Its deep, ancient wisdom carries the potential to benefit anyone. This beautiful tool heals and strengthens both body and mind. A wonderful perk is that yoga requires no equipment, except for the body. Still, there are yoga accessories...
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if creative ideas flowed effortlessly any time we needed them? Unfortunately, for most of us this is not the reality. We often feel stuck, replaying the same situations in our minds again and again with the same results (or lack of results)....
‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.’ - George Bernard Shaw The world of adulting is one we're all pretty familiar with. We've all caught ourselves getting excited about cutlery sets, new sheet covers and house plants....
‘Silence is not the absence of sound, but the presence of an inward-listening awareness.’ – Maria Popova In this day and age, many of us are excessively surrounded by noise. We’re being exposed to news, entertainment and a constant stream of technological...
It seems as though time is flying... but can you believe we’re already just over halfway through the year? It's time to re-examine those New Year’s resolutions, and to take a look at how you’re tracking. It’s time to pat yourself on the back, as well as to channel...
When we need to make a decision, we often ask everyone around us what to do. We ask our friends, our families, the experts, strangers and even our dogs, but we forget to ask ourselves. Yet, deep inside, we all have the answers. It’s just matter of being quiet long...
There’s no denying the magic of lazy summer days. You know, the ones where soft sand calls our name, and we spend our eating fruit and drinking in sunlight. It’s the time of the year where adventure beckon us, to create some of our most treasured memories... On the...
Oh, the holidays. Carols, lights, gifts, shopping, family, parties, food, food and more food. For even the most grounded person, it’s easy to caught up in the buzz this time of year. The season can bring up a myriad of issues such as stress, obligation, exhaustion,...
‘Through Ayurveda you will discover all the forces of Nature working within you, and that you yourself are a replica of the cosmos…’ – David Frawley Ayurveda, or the ‘science of life’ is the five thousand year old Vedic natural healing system of India. As we...
Yoga mats for everyone! With the variety of yoga mats available these days, searching for the right one would overwhelm even the happiest of shoppers. From sticky mats to towel mats - there are yoga mats for almost every branch of yoga. Finding the best yoga mat for...
At Happy Buddha Retreats, we look to the yogic principle of ahimsa; meaning “non-violence” - to guide how we treat ourselves, each other and our planet. This is why we’re all about practising small acts of kindness around the Happy Buddha home that benefit the earth...
Each one of us has a unique awareness of our own experience. We each have a beautiful, powerful sense of intuition - a gut feeling about what is right or wrong for us. Whether or not we follow this guidance system is up to us. Learning how to intuitively eat is one of...
