by Nisha Prakash | Jun 16, 2022 | Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Jun 10, 2022 | Reflections, Retreating
‘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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Oct 10, 2021 | Affirmations & Positivity, Happiness, Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Jul 27, 2021 | Reflections, Yoga
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Jul 1, 2021 | Happiness, Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | May 3, 2021 | Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Feb 28, 2021 | Reflections, Yoga
‘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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Jan 17, 2021 | Affirmations & Positivity, Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
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... 
by Tatiana Apostolova | Oct 21, 2020 | Creativity, Happiness, Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections, Retreat News
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).... 
by Nisha Prakash | Oct 19, 2020 | Happiness, Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections, Rhythm
‘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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Sep 18, 2020 | Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
‘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... 
by Tatiana Apostolova | Jul 22, 2020 | Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Jul 1, 2020 | Affirmations & Positivity, Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Jun 11, 2020 | Reflections
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... 
by Nisha Prakash | Feb 18, 2020 | Happiness, Reflections
‘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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Dec 24, 2019 | Reflections
New year, new intentions: new you…. The start of each New Year is like a blank book, and the pen is in our hands. It’s our chance to write a beautiful story for ourselves, and to shape the beginnings of our next trip around the sun. This is a time which... 
by Michelle Taffe | Jul 21, 2019 | Happiness, Reflections
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | May 16, 2019 | Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections, Retreat News
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Apr 27, 2019 | Happiness, Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Apr 11, 2019 | Reflections
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Mar 20, 2019 | Reflections
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Mar 4, 2019 | Meditation & Mindfulness, Reflections
‘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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Feb 17, 2019 | Reflections
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Feb 4, 2019 | Reflections
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... 
by Michelle Taffe | Jul 30, 2018 | Reflections
An article about how to best find balance in yoga and in all the areas of our lives so that we are feeling happy and satisfied. We use our intuition as our emotional guidance or internal GPS for always returning to centre and doing what is good for us. Yoga is... 
by Michelle Taffe | Jul 29, 2018 | Reflections
The Fourth Agreement: Always do your best First published in 1997, Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements has since sold millions of copies. The book consists of four principles to guide you to living a life of love and happiness. This is the fourth in a... 
by Michelle Taffe | Jul 23, 2018 | Reflections
The Third Agreement: Don’t make assumptions First published in 1997, Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements has since sold millions of copies. The book consists of four principles to guide you to living a life of love and happiness. This is the second... 
by Michelle Taffe | Jun 18, 2018 | Reflections
The second agreement, ‘Don’t Take Anything Personally’. First published in 1997, Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements has since sold millions of copies. The book consists of four principles to guide you to living a life of love and... 
by Michelle Taffe | Jun 12, 2018 | Reflections
The first agreement: Be impeccable with your word First published in 1997, Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements has since sold millions of copies. The book consists of four principles to guide you to living a life of love and happiness. This is the first... 
by Michelle Taffe | May 9, 2018 | Reflections
How do we become really intimate with everything that we are experiencing? How do we learn to stop our avoiding and shutting down and escaping – all ways of not being present with what is? Intimacy. Sometimes paraphrased as: In To Me See. What does that word bring up... 
