My Balm
I close my eyes and sigh, and here I am
lying in the hammock in my heart.
Moving gently, with the soft air of my breath.
When I fall from my head past my words,
I’m caught lovingly by the hammock
of my heart and rocked to its rhythmic beat.
It is my peace, my rest, my quiet,
cradled in the hammock of my heart.
It is constant; it is safe to be held
in the hammock of my heart.
No place to go
Nothing to do
Nobody to please
It is my altar, my blessing, my balm,
here in the hammock of my heart.
- Jane O’Shea
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Retreats
Our retreats aims to provide you with an oasis of silence, comfort and calm. Allowing you a breathing space to unplug and reset. Retreats can assist us to feel our way back home, to a sense of being grounded and balanced. They can also reignite or deepen our mindfulness practice.
“When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.” - Eckhart Tolle
In our life we are frequently operating in a doing mode, often multi-tasking which can feel like we are chasing to catch our breath. This pace can often be relentless, whereby we are constantly wired and plugged in, struggling to switch off. This can have a negative impact on our ability to be present in our lives.
Our wellbeing, relationships and our performance at work and play can all be affected, bringing added suffering both physically and mentally.
We offer regular 4-hour silent retreats and an annual 5-day residential silent retreat.
The 4-hour silent retreat is structured to allow you to immerse yourself in a mindful compassionate presence. Tina provides a gentle flow of led compassion-based mindfulness practices. In amongst this structure is the quiet freedom to move in and out of the garden and the practices themselves as you need to ensure the morning meets your needs and is nourishing for your body, mind and heart.
5-Day Silent Retreat in Phuket
We will be offering this wonderful retreat again next year in October 2021. Click here to find out more.
Retreat dates for 2020
Dates for Sophia:
- Aug 1st - full with a wait list
- Oct 24 (please note the change of date from the 3rd) - full with a wait list
- Dec 5th
On-line 3-hour retreats:
- July 25th
- Sept 26th
- November 21st
To register for an online retreat email Tina
Deepening Practice Sessions
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) past participants are welcome to attend these 3-hour sessions in the afternoon post the morning retreats.
The format: the afternoon will involve thought provoking exercises, contemplations, small and larger group sharing, new teachings and short meditations. Each session will have a different theme relating to MSC.
Cost: $30 or $20 if attending the silent retreat the same day. Please simply bring cash on the day.
Venue: Sophia, 225 Cross Road, Cumberland Park
Times: 2pm - 5pm
Sophia retreat details
Time: 9.00am - 1.00pm
Venue: Sophia Centre, 225 Cross Rd Cumberland Park, SA 5041
Cost: Full fee $50 (thank you for supporting concession places)
Past participants & concession $40
Herbal teas are provided.
Upon registration a reminder follow up email will also be sent out one week before hand.
Deepening Practice Sessions
August 1st
Theme: Further exploration of Joan hallifax' G.R.A.C.E training for preventing empathic burnout
October 3rd
Theme: Trauma sensitive mindfulness, exploring our window of tolerance; what helps what doesn't to be in our window.
December 5th
Joy, gratitude, savouring. A shared exploration of finding our way to greater balance when working with our negativity bias.
To register for an afternoon session email Tina
- Keith Smith
