No. Reconnect & Renew Retreat has been created with the intention of providing a selection of various activities and experiences designed as a menu that you can self-select from accordingly to your desire. Everything listed on the schedule is an offering. Please take what you need and leave what you don’t.

YES!
This retreat is specifically designed for women in mid-life to support overall wellbeing. We offer leading tools, insights, and practices that are evidence-based and practical for everyday life. Whether or not you're currently experiencing symptoms associated with peri/menopause/postmenopause, this retreat is for you! It's a space for all mature women seeking to nurture their health, balance, and energy during this important phase of life.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us ❤️

Absolutely! We are committed to ensuring that all participants feel nourished and cared for during the retreat. Whether you have specific dietary preferences, food sensitivities, or allergies, we’re happy to accommodate your needs.

Your retreat will be expertly and professionally catered for by an award-winning private chef. The menu will feature plant-based and vegetarian foods with a local pescatarian cooking class.

Your retreat chef will work with you to provide delicious, wholesome meals that align with your nutritional requirements, so you can fully enjoy the experience.

To ensure we accommodate your needs, we kindly ask for written notification at least 30 days before the retreat start date. If your specific dietary preference isn’t listed below, please don’t hesitate to email us at manavaaspace@gmail.com so we can confirm whether we can cater to it.

Available dietary options include:

• Vegetarian

• Vegan

• Dairy-Free

• Gluten-Free

• Low FODMAP

We want to make sure your experience is as enjoyable and nourishing as possible!

Wybalena Organic Farm accommodations and property are accessibility and mobility friendly. Please email manavaspace@gmail.com about specific accommodation for your personal accessibility and mobility requirements.

Yes. Your choice of therapeutic treatment is included in the retreat price. The treatments offered on retreat are aromatherapy massage and therapeutic craniosacral that must be booked in prior to arriving at the retreat due to limited therapist availability. To book, please contact manavaspace@gmail.com at your earliest opportunity.

Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a gentle, non-invasive therapeutic technique that uses light touch to treat the head, neck, and spine. The goal is to restore balance to the nervous system and surrounding structures. 

Amy will be offering her expertise in myofascial release and craniosacral therapy over a select number of 1:1 treatments. Be sure to book early to grab one of these spots and experience complete bliss!

What it's used for 

• Migraines and headaches

• Neck pain

• Temporomandibular joint pain

• Facial pain and restriction

• Post-traumatic injuries

• Chronic pain management

• Immune disorders

• Motor-coordination impairments

• Central nervous system disorders

How it works

• Craniosacral therapists use soft touch to feel for restrictions in the craniosacral system 

• They monitor the rhythm of cerebrospinal fluid 

• They gently manipulate the cranium to release tension and restore balance 

Who it's for 

• CST is suitable for everyone from babies to the elderly

• Mothers and babies may receive CST for problems associated with difficult births

Laura will be sharing her expertise as an experienced senior registered nurse and certified AromaTouch® massage therapist over a select number of 1:1 treatments at the retreat.

This massage treatment involves liberal use of select aromatherapy blends and specifically targets the neck, back and shoulders region. Not recommended for anyone pregnant or with fragrance or skin sensitivities.

Developed by doTERRA’s own Dr. David K. Hill, the AromaTouch® Technique combines the unique benefits of human touch with the power of essential oils to create an overall wellness experience. The essential oils used in the AromaTouch® Technique were chosen for their individual and combined aromatic properties.

“The AromaTouch Technique was developed to maximise the benefits of essential oils. Its powerful benefits can be effectively delivered equally well by both the novice essential oil enthusiast and the professional health practitioner.”

 – Dr. David K. Hill 

doTERRA Founding Executive and Chairman of Scientific Operations

No. The Song Circle is an invitation to enjoy connection and community through sound and simple chants. Guided expertly by your retreat hosts, this session is designed for you to simply enjoy receiving the sounds or chant along with joyous abandon. The intention of the song circle is to raise vibrational coherence within the systems of the body to support nervous system health and better emotional wellbeing.

What is Qigong?
The word “qi” refers to life force energy, while “gong” means developing expertise or skill. Together, qigong can be translated as developing skill and expertise in working with our life force energy. It focuses on energy cultivation and balance.

Qigong originated in China thousands of years ago and is rooted in ancient Taoism. Through the combination of breath, movement, and intention, it promotes health, vitality, and balance within the body. The benefits of practicing qigong include reduced stress and anxiety, improved focus, and enhanced balance and flexibility.

Experience the YOQI® Method
During your retreat, Freya will lead you through a YOQI® qigong flow each morning at sunrise, immersed in the natural surroundings. Each session will build on the previous flow. These sessions are designed to help you reconnect to your energy, body, mind, and spirit. You are welcome to join one or all of these sessions as part of your retreat experience.

Non-sleep deep rest, or NSDR, is an umbrella term for a variety of practices that guide your brain and body into a state of deep relaxation without falling asleep completely.

Yoga nidra (also called yogic sleep) is a more specific practice typically involving a body scan process, guided breathing routines and visualisations whilst lying down.

Meditation is a practice that can foster an emotionally calm and clear state. Focused meditations involve specific attention on your breath, body, or a mental visualization, in contrast to open monitoring (or “mindfulness”) meditation, where the aim is to allow thoughts to come and go without attachment. Hypnosis is more similar to focused meditation than what’s portrayed in movies — hypnosis has shown to be an effective way to self-direct the mind to relaxed and self-aware states.

Breathwork is a compelling illustration of the mind-body connection, where conscious control of the breath (e.g., through physiological sighs) can influence your mental state, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety.

These practices are accessible to beginners, and don’t require a lot of time — even a morning meditation or yoga nidra practice as short as 10 minutes can have positive effects on energy levels and cognitive performance. Embracing these practices can lead to improved sleep, improved cognition and mental health, and overall well-being.

Amy will be sharing NSDR, Yoga Nidra Meditation and as a certified iREST instructor and IAM Yoga Nidra practitioner.

HeartMath is a series of evidence based techniques and tools that are specifically designed to promote intelligent energy management, transform stress, strengthen resilience, and improve overall health. Each technique typically emphasises heartfelt breathing in a ten-second cardio-respiratory rhythm, which facilitates RSA, rhythmic pulsation, and with a focus on positive, renewing feelings.

The HeartMath system has produced research evidence for scientific interventions that alter contexts characterized by chaos and stress, promoting health, coherence, and interconnectedness.

HeartMath has been utilised in various environments including public health and hospitals, education institutions, front-line and defence personnel groups and private sector businesses.

The HeartMath approach also integrates ancient and contemporary, indigenous and mainstream, popular and folk, Eastern, Western, and African forms of healing.

Amy is a licensed HeartMath Institute Coach and Organisational Trainer. She will be sharing the science behind HeartMath’s techniques and how to apply these practical techniques in daily life for better mental wellbeing and personal resilience.

Yin yoga is a slow, nourishing and healing form of yoga. It involves stretches / poses held for longer periods of time, anywhere from 2 - 20 minutes.

Most poses are held on the floor and props can be used for extra support (if required). This longer length of time held in the pose is where the magic happens - it impacts our connective tissues (rather than our muscles as with more active forms of yoga), involving our deep fascia network, joints, ligaments, tendons and even our bones.

It is the long, gentle pressure that stimulates strengthening of our connective tissues and also helps remove blockages deep in our connective tissues which then allows qi / prana / energy to flow freely.

“Our Chi will move to wherever we place our awareness. It is also true that wherever our chi moves it will bring our awareness with it”. - Paul Grilley

By learning to hold poses for longer periods of time, practicing patience, this calms the mind and cultivates an ideal attitude for meditation. This quieter yoga practice can introduce us to balancing our body, heart and mind. In our current Western world we are all often ‘caught up’ in our heads, leading to disconnection from our (true) self and others. Yin yoga and Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful way to help become more grounded, reconnect, heal and relax. It can benefit both our relationship with ourselves and others.

You are welcome to book a taxi service or Uber from Coolangatta airport to the retreat venue at Wybalena Organic Farm.

Please email manavaspace@gmail.com for recommendations or advice on local Airport Transfer options.

Yes. Please email manavaspace@gmail.com to enquire about customised payment plans that can accommodate cashflow management.

Ceremonial grade cacao is known as cacao that is minimally processed, organically grown, and often harvested in small-batches using traditional methods.

Cacao beans are tiny but mighty, ranking as one of the world’s best sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals by weight. Enjoying pure organic cacao can help your body defend and repair itself against free radicals and cell damage, and may reduce insulin resistance, blood pressure and the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Cacao is also good for your mind and soul, releasing natural feel-good chemicals to boost your mood and help you feel a sense of calm, peace, and overall wellness. There’s some science behind why many of us instinctively turn to chocolate when we’re in of need of some grounding and cheering up!

Your beautiful self, an open mind and heart along with any item that will support you feel relaxed, comfortable and at ease for the retreat experience.

All food, materials, drinks and equipment for each activity are supplied.

No. All accommodations are offered as single occupancy only. None of the bedrooms are shared and none of the ensuite bathrooms are shared.

The living and bathroom spaces in each cabin are shared between two retreat guests.

The main house bathroom space is shared between the two main house double bed retreat guests.

The main house living room, kitchen and bathroom are accessible to all guests during the retreat.

Contrast Therapy involves alternating between hot and cold treatments to enhance recovery, relaxation, and circulation. This practice typically includes moving between a hot environment, like a sauna or hot tub, and a cooler one. For women, the ideal cool temperature is around 15- 16°C (instead of ice-cold water as used by men), which provides a refreshing contrast without causing excess stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

The shift between hot and cool temperatures supports the body’s natural healing processes, reducing muscle soreness, improving circulation, and boosting energy levels. It’s also known to help with recovery, reduce inflammation, and improve overall wellness.

Freya will be offering Contrast Therapy for those who would like to participate.

Byron Bay Region has a humid subtropical climate with long, warm and occasionally wet summers and short, mild winters. Spring in Byron occurs before the busy tourist period and is also the peak season for whale watching.

October will find us enjoying sunny and warm spring weather with low rainfall. You can expect average highs of 24 degrees celsius during the day and average lows of 13 degrees celsius at night. We recommend you bring a jumper and light rain jacket for those cool nights and brisk mornings. Don’t forget your swimmers costume for the magnesium pool or spring fed dam as the water temperatures will be mild enough for swimming without a wet suit.