Why self-care is just as important during challenging times
Imagine this. You’re on a roll with your new self-care practice; stretching, staying hydrated, meditating and so on. As a result, you’re feeling wonderful; motivated, content, on top of things, and healthier than ever. Then, it happens. A phone call, an email, the...
Create your own writing retreat
I remember reading ‘The List Maker,’ when I was eight years old. That pretty much solidified it: I was a writer. Since being granted my pen license (simpler times), I’ve written down lists and notes for almost everything. Occasionally I’ll write a schedule for days,...
Not just any yoga retreat: what Happy Buddha means to us
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...
Setting Intentions for the New Year
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...
Our mindful holiday gift guide
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...
Winter is our warmest season in the Blue Mountains…
Inspired from a recent newsletter we sent out, we wanted to remind you that winter is our warmest season at our Blue Mountains retreat!
How to create your own DIY retreat experience
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...
Curious about staying at a retreat centre? It’s more simple and natural than you think!
‘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...
Practicing self-care (when we need it the most)
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...
Flowing with our creative force: the Sacral Chakra
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...
What to do when life throws you a curveball
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...
Emptying the bucket: a practice for peace
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 Root Chakra: the foundation of who we are
‘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...
Intuition: turn up your Inner Voice
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...
Mindfulness Makes You More Creative
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)....
Take a Break From Adulting: The Importance of Play
‘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...
Journey into Stillness: The Power of Silence
‘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...
Reset Your Intentions for the Rest of the Year
It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the start of this year and planning for a happier, healthier and more prosperous New Year. Here we are now, past the halfway point. We’ve all experienced some successes and some failures. We’ve stayed true to some...
What if You Have What You Want? – The Power of Contentment
So many of us move through life at a pace that we ourselves can barely keep up with. We focus on our desires or next steps – and lose sight of what is actually here right now. When we live our lives this way, contentment becomes an unattainable goal: a receding...
The New-Normal: Living Through COVID-19
As COVID-19 restrictions are gradually being lifted across Australia, it’s easy to see that we’re still in a unique time of shifting landscapes. Over these last months of isolation, we’ve experienced an unprecedented shift in our ways of life. Pre-corona, who would’ve...
The Art of Saying No
‘Success is more about what you say NO to than what you say YES to. You can completely destroy your personal energy by saying yes to the wrong types of things.’ – Teal Swan We’ve all been there. When a ‘yes!’ bursts from our lips before...
Belonging – What does it mean for you?
One of our core needs as human beings is to feel that we BELONG somewhere. It is to feel that we are CONNECTED to community, to people who support us, know us and love us. In indigenous cultures, such as the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, people lived (and...
Tips for a Tech Detox
No matter how deep our heads are in work and every day life, we cannot deny that we live in a very technology centered world today. Mostly everyone, down to even children in primary school, has mobile phones. Research from the latest 2018 Yellow Social Media Report...
Reflections: Creating Daily Rituals
What do you consider a daily ritual? It might not seem like it, but each one of us already has certain daily rituals. Each morning, we brush our teeth, without thinking, because having clean teeth is seen as a basic necessity for a good-feeling body. We also usually...
Be not afraid to feel! Depression and anxiety are messengers from your higher self
I write a lot about emotions and how our connection with our own feelings can help us live a richer and more fulfilling life. Today’s Reflection delves more deeply into this topic using as a reference point the recently published book ‘Lost...
Destination: Me – Downloading Your Own Personal Lonely Planet Guide
Discovering your inner guide Our last Reflection was about mindfulness and recent scientific discoveries about the neuro plasticity of the brain. This week we look at our inner navigation system – or higher self, and learn how we can use our prana or energy flow to...
How to Change our Brain Plasticity through Mindfulness
‘The Brain that Changes Itself’ is a book about the neuroplasticity of the brain, published in 2007, by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge. The findings reported in this book are based on his own and others’ scientific research on what happens to...
Relationships: When to hold on and when to let go
Last Reflection we looked at the Tao of Relationships. Relating, like everything else in life, is an art. It is a creative process, which is in constant change and constant movement. We talked about Wu Wei – Can you nurture your own spirit whilst holding the...
The Tao of Relationship
So, here we are, already a month into this New Year. How is it going for you? How are your relation-ships travelling so far? Are they in the cruise control mode, or are you actively at the helm of the ship and steering, with a strong hand on the wheel no matter the...Self-discovery starts here >> Silent Meditation Retreat
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