Weekend Retreat - Yoga for Anxiety and Depression

About the Retreat:

Want to learn practical skills to manage difficult emotions such as stress, grief, anger, depression and anxiety?

Enjoy a forest sanctuary in Otford, only 75 minutes south of Sydney's CBD.

Savour the opportunity to unwind, relax, and learn valuable skills to support mental health that will travel with you beyond the weekend retreat. Leave feeling reconnected and supported with powerful tools, practices and ways of understanding, that can easily be integrated into everyday life to enhance wellbeing.

This retreat is suitable for beginners and experienced practitioners alike.

The weekend is held in a safe, supportive environment.

Spaces are limited to 18 participants to allow plenty of opportunity for direct support.

It is recommended to book as early as possible to avoid missing out.

During the retreat you will learn…

• Powerful strategies that allow you to feel more ease and enjoyment in your life, whilst gently increasing physical strength, flexibility, and overall sense of wellbeing.
• Specific methods based on the principles of yoga and evidence-based scientific research, that offer real relief for difficult feelings.
• Guided practices, with recommendations for addressing particular emotions in your own life.
• Breathing and relaxation techniques which bring about more calm and positive states of mind and body.
• Therapeutic yoga postures which help you release stress and activate the rest-relax response in the nervous system.
• Methods for developing a home yoga practice to support you in achieving and maintaining emotional equilibrium.
• A tool-kit of techniques that can be used in daily life at any time.

You'll Also Experience...

• Daily morning and evening yoga and relaxation classes, integrating in a variety of yoga methods.
• Morning and afternoon philosophy, discussion and journaling sessions to assist in integrating the ways in which yoga can support anxiety, depression, mental health, and overall wellbeing.
• Delicious, healthy vegetarian meals served three times daily, as well as tea and snacks.
• Relaxing atmosphere in the picturesque forest environment on the edge of the national park.
• Free time to enjoy bushwalks, other adventures, or simply relaxing in the beautiful surrounds.
• Retreat accommodation amidst the trees, sound of the birds, and vast night sky.

The Venue...

The retreat is held at the Govinda Valley Retreat. This beautiful centre has long aimed to provide a clean, safe and nurturing space for meditation and yoga communities to gather. The retreat centre, dedicated to health and well being, is distinguished by its tranquil setting located close to the Royal National Park and the beautiful beaches of the Illawarra coast.

Conveniently located only 75 minutes from Sydney, Govinda Valley Retreat is a peaceful getaway in a beautiful natural setting. A place where you can unwind, grow and discover.

Accommodations are comfortable, clean and shared in either twin or quad rooms (twin rooms have an ensuite). There is also an option to camp, if preferred. Delicious, healthy vegetarian food will be provided.

Schedule

The retreat program will begin at 5:30pm on Friday September 6th, and conclude at 3:00pm on Sunday September 8th, 2019. It will be optional to arrive in the afternoon of the 6th to settle in, or to arrive for the opening program at 5:30pm and settle in to your room after dinner (dinner on the first evening will be 6:00-7:00pm).

Each day will offer a full program, beginning with early morning yoga and continuing through into the evening, with plenty of spaces for free time and space for meals. However, please note that while enrolment in the retreat includes the option to participate in the full program, attendance in all aspects of the program is entirely optional and can be participated in according to your preferences and needs at the time of the retreat.

Your Facilitator

Sarah Ball has been teaching yoga for over fifteen years, practicing since childhood, and regularly facilitates on yoga teacher trainings. She is also a qualified counsellor, art therapist and social worker, specialising in yoga for mental health, social justice, positive body image, and trauma recovery, who developed the popular Yoga for Anxiety and Depression course, and Body Love Yoga program.

Sarah's courses are informed by her extensive ongoing training in a wide variety of yoga approaches. Her classes offer a fusion of trauma-sensitive, body-positive, hatha, vinyasa flow, Vini, yoga therapy, and yin yoga methods, with an emphasis on the power of yoga to inform and transform our lives beyond the yoga mat.

She also runs a private practice working with individuals and yoga teachers, offering counselling and mentoring, specialising in 1:1 therapy and group courses for anxiety, depression, trauma, body image, emotional eating and eating disorder recovery. Learn more about Sarah here.

Investment

You have a choice of four accommodation options. All prices include two nights accomodation, six nourishing vegetarian meals, and the full weekend retreat program. ​

$570 Camping OR Staying Offsite.

NOTE: If camping, you’ll be provided a luscious spot in the forest surrounds of the retreat centre. You'll need to bring your own tent, bedding & towel and will have full access to shared bathrooms. If you choose to stay offsite & arrange your own accommodation, your registration will include the full retreat program from morning to evening, as well as 6 nourishing meals across the weekend. 

$640 Quad Share. All inclusive

$760 Ensuite Room Twin Share. All inclusive. Only 4 rooms available! 

OPTION: You may elect to pay in instalments, in which case a deposit of $200 must be made to secure your spot. Contact Sarah here​ to arrange this option.  

What Others are Saying About Yoga for Anxiety and Depression with Sarah Ball:

"Sarah could not possibly create a more supportive or safe environment. Every moment carefully wrapped its arms around us to provide a retreat that was warm, restorative, and absolutely yummy! AND I'm going home with a bag full of tools and strategies to enhance my mental health and improve my yoga practice". Kim

“This is yoga, but not as you may know it through past experiences, or images on social media. This course encourages you to do what you can and offers you a range of options on postures dependent on your capabilities. There is time to rest the body, reflect, learn, and heal yourself.” Jodie

“Wow. Just wow. I loved that the course wasn’t overly structured or inflexible about how to practice. It was just really inclusive, offering lots of options with different movements and adapting to you as an individual. Sarah has a beautiful, calming voice and manner. The class is a non-judgmental, non-competitive, in a warm and welcoming environment. I am new to yoga classes because I never thought I could do it, but I just loved it. Thank you.” Therese

"Sarah is godly in terms of her knowledge! no two classes are the same. She creates a beautiful, nurturing space for self-exploration, and a lovely community vibe too." Renee

“Sarah’s course is a beautiful opportunity to pause and reflect on the ways yoga can expand your understanding of wellbeing. Whether approaching it from a professional or personal perspective, Yoga for Anxiety and Depression will add a valuable selection of trauma-sensitive strategies to your toolkit.” Clem

"I would recommend this yoga course to anyone...even if you don't suffer from a mental illness. I just finished the course and I was beyond amazed! Sarah the instructor is such a lovely soul with many facets. I would love to do it again!" Megan

"Words cannot express how much I loved the class last night and how my state of being and feeling, body and mind drastically transformed from my frazzled state beforehand to a way more peaceful and uplifted state after. Your balance of wisdom, compassion, gentleness, lightheartedness and fun was simply perfect." Lisa

"Loving the class, love the talks, and all the info. Thanks for doing all the research/home work" Dave

"The course is full of detailed descriptions to understand yoga in a whole new way" Course participant.

"Just wanted to let you know that my partner and I are really enjoying the course and getting a lot out of it. We're learning so many new things! The way you explain things is awesome." Joanna

"Just a quick thanks for helping me back on my feet...with the help of some amazing people, such as my beautiful wife, my doctor, psychologist and now you, I am in a place I thought was impossible 8 weeks ago." Tony

"I just wanted to send a quick email to say how much I truly appreciated tonight's class. I had had a day that meant by 6pm I was wound up to the point of chest pain and nausea and it really helped me so much. I also loved the 'story'/information in class, it really resonated with me. Thank you!" Rebecca

“I'm currently doing Sarah's yoga for anxiety and depression course and have learnt so much. Sarah is a joyful, heart felt teacher who brings an unique perspective on what yoga can offer regardless of your experience. She is generous in sharing tools for resilience in this wild journey called life" Penny

"It was good to have the weekly talks that linked to the practice - it makes it more specific and easier to guide my practice. Also very beneficial were the weekly handouts. Coming each week made my head so much better." Helena

"I loved how supportive the environment is for people with anxiety or depression, or people new to yoga with all the options and invitations offered...I learned that it's ok to play in yoga, which i think will make it much more likely that i'll practice at home. it is a whole learning journey, not like any other class I have experienced. So much warmth in this room." Josh

"Taking this course is an act of kindness to yourself and the society we find ourselves in. Sarah will meet you where you're at. If you've ever been turned off, hurt, or intimidated by the machismo in yoga, then come to this class as the antidote. It will be as athletic as you like, as mentally challenging as you like, and I hope, like me, you'll find it enriching and revitalising" Cath

"I really took away from the course a home practice. Even though I have done yoga for ages I have never had a home practice. I guess I thought I would have to plan a whole practice and that seemed too overwhelming. Your description of how to practice at home made so much sense and made a personal practice seem so much more achievable. Also that it can be 5min. I really enjoyed the course. Thanks" Nicole

"I thought the course was very helpful and am so glad I did it. I think everyone can benefit from doing it as we all experience anxiety in some shape, its just the nature of our society. What I valued most about the course was the fact that I felt respected and not judged in any way. I liked the fact that I could just be! without having to talk. I felt very nurtured. I valued the meditative benefit of the course. I would most definitely recommend the course. Your kind teaching style was very nurturing. I could have listened to you talk endlessly Sarah. The price point was excellent for the quality of the teaching. The parking was easy. I left the course with tips on how I could practice yoga at home which is great because you can do it in your PJs and its free. The value of the teaching was excellent and I got so much more out of the course than I do in a yoga class." Sonja

Keen to join the retreat? Feel free to get in touch here if you wish to ask a question.