Come and be nurtured in nature, immersed in the healing power of embodied mindfulness practices which promote lasting health and well-being.

Autumn Restorative Retreat
Nurture the Body-Mind
Cultivate Inner Strength and Resilience

May 12th – 17th, 2023

Autumn is a time to work on strengthening the lungs and improving your lung capacity to support the entire respiratory system. Deep breathing co-ordinated with gentle mindful exercise maintains good circulation and metabolism, calms the nervous system and boosts immunity. This brings protection from seasonal flus and the effects of cold weather.

During Autumn it’s important to take time out to build energy reserves and connect with inner stillness and contemplation, ready for the winter ahead. Join us for restorative healing practices at our Autumn Retreat.

Spring Renewal Retreat
Revitalise the Body-Mind
Enhance your Life-Force Energy

September 15th – 20th, 2023

The season of Spring is about awakening to life with fresh energy and vitality. It’s a time for renewal and growth and supporting your body to detox, clear out the old and make way for the new. Mindfulness in both movement and stillness keeps our energy flowing and helps us feel alive.

At the Spring Renewal Retreat you’ll learn ancient movement techniques which promote a harmonious flow of energy through the Organs and every cell of the body. Mindfulness meditation brings inner balance and opens the heart, enriching life with the joy of connectedness.

In the Medicine of Mindfulness Retreat Shirsha Marie and Lisa Brown combine their many years of expertise to offer a relaxing and embodied journey of nurturing and revitalising body, heart and mind.

The restorative system of Yoga, the self-healing art of Qigong, and the liberating practices of Mindfulness Meditation will support you to manage stress, balance your nervous system, build resilience, and reconnect with inner calm and healing. The retreat incorporates scientific insights from western psychology and the evidence-based, trauma-sensitive Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and Mindful Self-Compassion programs. 

“There are many kinds of medicine, but most medicine only eases the suffering in our bodies and minds temporarily. It doesn’t heal the source of our illness. Mindfulness, however, is a truly healing balm that can help put an end to our sense of alienation and help us heal both ourselves and our planet.” 
Thich Nhat Hanh

Why do we need a retreat?

To understand the nature of the heart and mind and make choices to cultivate inner wisdom and peace. Mindfulness meditation offers immense benefits for meeting increasing stress in the world, and our human response to this pain. Learn new ways to connect with our innate capacity for stillness and inner calm so we can live with greater compassion and care. 

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“If we can ground ourselves, become one with the Earth and treat her with care, she will nourish us and heal our bodies and minds. Our physical and mental sicknesses will be cured and we will have wellbeing in body and spirit.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Who are we?

Shirsha Marie is an Integrated Somatic Psychotherapist and trained as a Mindfulness & Compassion teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition. She lives in Byron Bay and has over 38 years teaching experience in eastern health and martial arts styles which energise, cultivate, and integrate body, breath and mind, and develop a true path of embodied meditation.

Shirsha is a senior teacher of the gentle moving-meditation art of Tai Chi and the self-healing art of Qigong and holds advanced Black Belt qualifications across a range of martial art systems. Her unique and warm-hearted teaching style provides a clear and balanced path of personal development which enriches body, heart and mind.

“I am dedicated to offering practical, user-friendly tools which empower people to cultivate holistic health and an embodied path of meditation, for inner strength, stillness and peace in an ever-changing world”

Lisa Brown is a Registered Psychologist, Yoga Teacher (IYTA), Certified Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Teacher (Brown University, USA), Mindful Self-Compassion Facilitator and emerging Insight Dharma Teacher.

Lisa taught Mindfulness and retreats for post-graduate students at Charles Sturt University. She has a deep interest in the conjunction of western science, Buddhadharma and earth-based wisdom traditions providing a path of embodied mindfulness for health, healing, happiness, and trauma recovery.

She creatively blends healing practices that draw on modern psychology and ancient wisdom teachings as a path to cultivate mental, emotional, and physical balance.

“My aspiration is to support people, through an alchemy of ancient wisdom teachings and modern science, to cultivate inner and outer balance in meeting the social and environmental challenges we face collectively on the planet.”

 

OUR ASPIRATIONS 

–       To understand the nature of body-mind and contribute to creating positive change in the world.

–       To cultivate our innate capacity for insight and compassion and highlight the ancient wisdom teachings relevance for living today.

–       To acknowledge the importance of inner balance in relationship to outer balance and how this contributes to collective flourishing.

–       To offer practices to facilitate an embodied path of healing with evidence based scientific insights and contemplative wisdom.

–       To honour our teachers, their generosity and what they have taught us, in offering practices for healing and health.

–       To support all beings to be happy and live in peace.

Sangsurya Retreat Centre – Byron Bay

One of the world’s most beautiful retreats, Sangsurya is a unique jewel in Byron’s crown. A social enterprise built on the foundation of love, pure intention and service to humanity by the late Mona and Tony Kruger, Sangsurya Retreat Centre has been a place of refuge and healing for thousands of people from all four corners of the globe for 30 years.

In the peaceful environment of Sangsurya Retreat Centre you’d never know you were just a few minutes away from downtown Byron Bay, and its diverse range of cafes, restaurants, idyllic beaches and a host of local recreational activities.

Sangsurya is a Sanskrit inspired word meaning “a place where the sun reaches everybody”. Built along the forested ridge of a 10 acre property with easterly views overlooking Arakwal Aboriginal land to the Pacific Ocean, our environmentally friendly retreat venue offers seclusion and tranquillity in the heart of nature, and a sanctuary in which to escape the pressures of a busy life. In these uncertain times, with technology disconnecting us from nature and stress related illness on the rise, spending time in the beauty of Sangsurya is more important than ever.


What people say:

I came to the retreat to reset and realign and work my way through trauma incurred in a toxic workplace environment. I’d had no previous exposure to holistic health, mindfulness meditation, sound therapy or Qigong. Although apprehensive in the beginning I quickly became immersed in the practices and therapy being offered. I cannot commend Sangsurya Medicine of Mindfulness enough.

Everything you wish for will be fulfilled. I loved the wonderful location, the story of how the retreat was commenced. The professionalism of the teachers, support workers and the chefs was absolutely brilliant. T would recommend it highly and wish most people I know complete days here.

This retreat place is quite extraordinary. The setting, the teachers, very, very beautiful and gentle; time to recalibrate the soul. Peace perfect peace. Heartwarming and welcoming.

Lovely to be in a protective space in gentle hands to have the time to be immersed in endless possibilities

Shirsha and Lisa use their vast experience and knowledge to provide a range of mindfulness-based tools which you can take away and apply instantly into everyday life. The retreat gives you the opportunity to develop and practice these skills in a supportive and nourishing environment. 

The Medicine of Mindfulness Retreat delivered by Shirsha and Lisa provided everything I required to fill my cup! From the tools to restore harmony and the wonderful vegetarian food to the stunning environment overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean – PERFECT

5 Night Retreat Inclusions: 

  • Stay in a stunning forest location overlooking the ocean
  • Relax in beautifully appointed, eco-friendly accommodation
  • Enjoy delicious local, organic vegan and vegetarian cuisine
  • Receive one complimentary massage or healing treatment
  • With daily classes of Mindfulness Meditation, Restorative Yoga and Qigong
  • Plus, Wellness Talks and Guided nature walks (beach and forest)

All-inclusive Retreat Prices:

  • Twin or Couple’s Room + own bathroom – $2575 p/p
  • Deluxe Room + shared bathroom (between 2 rooms) – $2775 p/p
  • Small Single Room + own bathroom – $2775 p/p
  • Large Deluxe Room + own bathroom – $2975 p/p

Body-Mind Health Retreat

Gentle Yoga, Qigong and Meditation

Sangsurya Retreat Centre Byron Bay

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May 12th – 17th, 2023

September 15th – 20th, 2023

Enquiry Form

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“While the energy of our thoughts, speech and actions is powerful, this energy is infinitely more powerful when we join together with others. When we come together as a group, with a common purpose and commitment to mindful action, we produce an energy of collective concentration far superior to our own individual concentration. This collective energy can lead to collective insight and to a collective awakening. 

Our collective compassion, mindfulness, and concentration nourishes us, but it also can help to reestablish the Earth’s equilibrium and restore balance. Together we can bring about transformation for ourselves and for the world.”

Thich Nhat Hanh