2020 Health & Wellness New Year Retreat

~~ Relax, Recharge and Transform ~~

Friday 3 – Sunday 5 January 2020 – Penang Hill, Malaysia

Looking to get away for a few days, but don’t want to go too far? Join us for this three day, two night Health & Wellness Retreat being held at the charming Hickory-on-the Hill, a beautiful and serene villa with panoramic views of Penang. Here you will have space to relax, recharge and transform.

Flow into the New Year with this Health and Wellness Retreat … a holistic journey of inner and outer processes, reconnecting to ourselves more fully through conscious movement, mindful breathing, meditation, reflection, healthy eating and connection to nature!

WHAT WILL YOU RECEIVE?

In our time together you will enjoy:

* yoga and qigong – both gentle and active practices to strengthen the body, make you more relaxed and flexible and remove blockages so energy is flowing freely;

* different breathing exercises (pranayama) that help activate and harmonise your physical and energy system;

* qigong healing – learn and practice self-healing techniques and receive healing;

* guided meditation and relaxation to create a calm and peaceful mind;

* partner work and inner processes like conscious dance to experience deeper release and transformation;

* quiet time surrounded by lush nature to help you relax, recharge and transform body and mind;

* healthy vegetarian/vegan food to nourish the body and dinning with fantastic view of Penang from up the hill!

CONTENT/TRADITIONS

Yoga is an ancient system of inner and outer practices for more balance in all aspects of life. It is a well tested tradition that provides an inner technology using postures, movement, breath, meditation and energy control to recalibrate your physical, mental, emotional and energy bodies for greater health, well being and ultimately for spiritual liberation.

Qigong is an ancient Chinese qi (vital energy) practice method, a way of cultivating and experiencing energy to enhance health, healing as well as developing spiritual awareness and insight. Through the practice of qigong you will learn how to harness the power of qi from the universe, remove blockages from body and mind and techniques for self-healing.

Dance Your Life into Being. Through conscious movement you will let go of the past, release what is not supporting you and welcome the new. Create your future by setting intentions and expand into who you really are. You will be guided through a flow of music where your focus stays within. When you move your body the energy shifts inside, bringing ease and liveliness into your dance and being.

VENUE

Hickory-on-the-Hill once again is our venue for the retreat. The villa sits on half an acre of secluded woodland and manicured lawns. The surroundings are lush and green. The environment is nurturing, peaceful and pleasing to all the senses with a wonderfully high vibration and life force to recharge your whole being.

Address: Jalan Bukit Bendera, Lower Tunnel Road, Lower Tunnel State, 11500 Ayer Itam, Penang. Website: https://www.hickoryonthehill.com.

RETREAT FEE

* EARLY BIRD: RM799 – Register and pay a 50% deposit by 25th October 2019. Full payment by 1 December 2019.

* NORMAL RATE: RM900 – Register and pay by 1 December 2019.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

* Retreat fee includes all meals and materials. A 50% deposit is required to register. Full payment by 1 December 2019.
* All meals are vegetarian with vegan option. If you have any other dietary requirements, please let us know and we will try and accommodate you.
* Please bring your own yoga mat and any other support you require for the period of the retreat, eg. yoga blocks, meditation cushion and a shawl for chilly mornings and evenings.

ROOM CHARGES

Room charges are separate from the Retreat Fee and depending on type of accommodation you choose the room rates vary:

* Double sharing (queen bed): From RM260-330 per room per night
* Triple sharing (one single and one double bed): RM320-350 per room per night
* Single room: RM185 per night
* Super single (2 pax – one single bed with another pull out bed) RM220 per room per night
* Quad (4 in two adjoining rooms) : RM460 per night

Once you have registered, please inform us of your room preference as room assignments will be done by the organisers. Also please inform the organiser, if you choose a double or triple sharing room and have a preferred roommate. If not, the organiser is happy to match you with the most suitable roommate(s).

CANCELLATION POLICY

• Cancellations by 2nd December 2019 receive a refund of 50% of the retreat fee.
• Cancellations by 20th December 2019 receive a refund of 25% of the retreat fee.
• No refunds given from 21st December 2019 onwards.

* In the event that the retreat is cancelled for unforeseen reasons or a lack of participation, your deposit or payment will be returned in full.

TRANSPORT UP THE HILL

Jeep service up the hill to Hickory Bungalow will be organised for those wanting a jeep ride up and back down the hill. The cost of the whole jeep is RM200 both ways and will be an additional cost. Four to five persons can fit into the jeep depending on the amount of luggage so you can share out the cost of the jeep among yourselves. You will need to inform the organiser ahead of time if you wish to hire the jeep service so we can group people together at the same time. We will arrange for participants to meet at the Botanical Gardens Friday afternoon (time to be determined). The same will be arranged for the group at the end of the retreat to return on Sunday late afternoon or early evening.

If you prefer to take the funicular train up to Hickory Bungalow, you will need to get off at the Lower Tunnel Station and follow the sign for a 5 minute walk. Note that the trains can be busy during the weekends and potentially on a Friday afternoon Give yourself ample time to get the train up. It is advisable that you start your journey from the foot hill at least 2-3 hours before our meeting time at 3pm. All ticket purchases require proof of identification.

For further questions please contact me: Sarah-Joy at 016-488 9328 or write to me via fb or email at sarahjoyamin@gmail.com. Or contact Suzanne and Ken Morgan at 013-383 0908.

FACILITATORS’ PROFILE

Suzanne and Ken Morgan are originally from UK and have been living happily in Penang for over 8 years. They were obviously destined to be together and met in India while doing a 6 month Yoga Teacher Training in 1998/99 in the Swami Gitananda lineage. In fact, before meeting, they already shared a great interest in health and alternative medicine, studying several systems between them.

After teaching yoga for a few years and both having curious minds, they decided to explore Chinese Medicine, completing a Bsc. (Hons) Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture) at Salford University, UK from 2003-6. They set up an acupuncture clinic which they ran before deciding to move to Malaysia. They both had an interest in Qigong, studying Wild Goose Qigong with Bingkun Hu from 2005-8 on his yearly visits to the UK, although Ken had been studying qigong since the 1970s.

Whilst in Penang, they were introduced to Zhineng Qigong and after two years of regular practice went in March 2019 to China and completed a 3 month Daohearts Teacher Training in the first, second and advanced levels of Zhineng Qigong. Suzanne and Ken are both passionate about health and wellness and are always happy to share their many years of knowledge with you.

Sarah-Joy Amin is a Transformation Teacher, Chakra Yoga instructor, Inner Dance facilitator and energy worker. Based in Penang, Sarah-Joy has been on the spiritual path for over 20 years, starting with Buddhism in the 1980s, then expanding into yogic practices and a Oneness approach to spirituality from 2010 onwards.

In 2013, Sarah-Joy sought out yoga and did her teacher training in the Chakra Yoga Tradition at the Pyramid Yoga school in Thailand (see http://www.pyramidyoga.com/aboutus/). She was introduced to yoga during her adolescent years and resumed her yoga practice in Jan 2010 after almost two decades of spinal injuries. In Dec. 2013, she also completed the 108 hour Yoga for Healers course deepening the healing aspect of her yoga practice. Her main teacher, David Goulet, studied under Swami Gitananda, in the same ashram as Ken and Suzanne Morgan!

Sarah-Joy offers private and group yoga classes, and is committed to yoga for she has seen how the practice has helped her through critical periods coping with physical injuries as well as healing deep emotional stresses. More recently, Sarah-Joy has embarked on further studies involving Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Krisztina Mezosi has been dancing various free form dance movement practices —5Rhythms, Movement Medicine, Soul Motion, DanceMandala, contact dance— throughout Europe and Asia for many years. Her emphasis is on how we can free our bodies to help free our minds and get in touch with expressing our inner spirit, through the language of dance. “When I dance my body becomes alive and I travel through different landscapes and emotions to unearth who I really am. I can start from where I am. I don’t need to change anything, to be someone else, to pretend. In the flow of dance I am just me.” K.M.