Loving Awareness Long Weekend Retreat

As you step into the year of the Water Tiger, what needs your loving awareness? A relationship, a project, your work, home or family? You may be holding sorrow for the past or anxiety about the future. The best place to start is bringing caring attention to your own body, heart and mind. Time away, and time in, can return you to the ease and joy of the present moment.

This 3-night retreat is an invitation to reflect and refocus, as we reimagine a world that is built on an ethic of care. Lucy will guide you through embodied awareness practices, including yoga, qi gong and expressive movement, to prepare the heart-mind for meditation. Then we’ll sit together and cultivate the innate qualities of being human – love, compassion, joy and equanimity. Finally, you can explore how to integrate these experiences into daily life.

Programme:

Our first evening will be a chance to settle in, with grounding practices and introductions. We will wake up to a gentle qi gong and mindfulness session in the Octagon meditation hall, followed by healthy breakfast in the open dining area. Mid-morning, there will then be an extended workshops before tucking into a filling vegetarian lunch. Participants can either rest in the afternoons or visit the nearby waterfall in Tara’s Valley, or die Oog – the Eye. This is the 14m deep source of the Marico river, and popular with swimmers and divers. The evening practices will include mindful movement and  Expressive Movement (dance). There will also be the chance to sit around an open fire and watch the magnificent night sky.

Costs 

The accommodation for this yoga retreat will be in simple farmhouses with twin/double rooms and en suite and shared bathrooms. Three single rooms are also available. There is also a dormitory and a campsite. Please book directly with the retreat centre, via this link. Cost includes accommodation, all meals, tea and snacks and facilitated sessions and is dependent on your choice of accommodation. The food is ovo-lacto vegetarian, with vegan/gluten free options available on request.

• Single room: R3700
• Shared twin/double: R3000
• Dormitory: R2700
• Camping: R2400

For other accommodation options, see the TRC website.

Bookings

Please click here to complete TRC's online booking form.

A nonrefundable, but transferrable deposit of 50% is required to confirm your space.

Previous retreat participants say:

“Lucy brings to mindful movement her special warmth and generosity, together with the qualities of a very skilled teacher. She creates an environment of complete kindness and gentleness which in turn enables both the beginner and the more experienced to feel truly welcome.” 

Carolyn Pollack

“Lucy is a warm, wise and wonderful teacher, embodying fully the heart-mind connections she gently encourages in others. What she offers comes directly from her heart, enabling her to provide exactly what is needed spontaneously in the moment.” 

Joanna Monaghan

Your Facilitator

Lucy Draper-Clarke has a doctorate in mindfulness and teacher education and loves to run retreats as well as support yoga teacher training schools. She has practised yoga for 20 years and taught yoga and mindfulness in Southern Africa since 2006, while also offering embodied practices at Wits. While doing so, she has been lucky enough to study with inspiring Buddhist mindfulness, Vinyasa yoga teachers, and Expressive Movement dance therapists. Her light-hearted and compassionate approach to teaching allows participants to explore their inner worlds through a joyful, yet transformative practice.

Tara Rokpa Centre

TRC is a peaceful healing centre in the African bushveld. It is situated in a wooded valley of the Groot Marico District, bounded by perennial streams, and surrounded by rolling hills, on 280 hectares of land. The environment is pristine, the air and water are unpolluted and the night sky is fantastic. The Centre focuses on four wings of activity: healing therapies, environmental preservation, spiritual development and community. These serve to accomplish the overall vision of supporting people to develop wisdom and compassion.