Mind - Body - Soul
Wellness Retreat
through transformative and powerful experiences led by Alex and Rebekah Ballagh. Alex and Becks are sisters in law and great friends who share a passion for a holistic approach to wellness.
Let us help you find your footing again as we impart tools and hold space for this immersive & transformative experience. We're going to show you how to press the reset button and guide you onto the path to becoming the best version of yourself.
Becks and Alex are here to nourish you with beautiful, wholesome organic food; and replenish your energy and open your heart with all-levels yoga practices. We'll connect you with your inner peace through breath work, guided nature walks, and support you to integrate your experience through the ritual of cacao ceremony. We'll help you enrich your mind and soul by unpacking and rewriting your view of yourself, and filling your toolkit to overflowing with tools straight from the therapy room.
You will be guided by Becks - a qualified counsellor, a coach, best selling mental health author/illustrator and mindfulness facilitator and Alex, a qualified 300H yoga, meditation and mindfulness teacher.
Have you noticed yourself feeling out of kilter, lacking in confidence, maybe feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, anxious or stressed?
Sometimes you find yourself thinking that there must be more to life.
Maybe you're stuck in a spiral of doubting yourself, and have lost touch with how to truly nourish and connect with your body, mind and soul.
We've all been there. And with the state of the world right now it's no surprise we are feeling burnt-out, fatigued and under a heavy mental strain.
You deserve to have balance. You deserve to live a beautiful and fulfilling life.
This is truly a wellness retreat like no other. Join your hosts Becks and Alex as we combine nourishing workshops, transformative therapeutic tools and practices, grounding yoga classes, guided body and breath work, cacao ceremony and so much more.
During this 2.5 day immersion in Hanmer Springs you will be held and supported as part of an exclusive and intimate group of like minded women as you are guided
Tell me more about what's involved...
The retreat runs for 2.5 days, from May 28th - May 30th and is based in the beautiful Hanmer Springs; easily accessible from Nelson or Christchurch.
We gather at 10am on Saturday 28th and head away Monday at 12:30pm - nourished and transformed.
Now, let us take you through the programme and what's included in your retreat!
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7 powerful and transformative workshops - we work on our inner critics, core beliefs, perfectionism, procrastination, our values, healthy coping strategies, inner child work, boundaries, letting go of negativity and much more.
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7 restorative yoga classes - tailored to suit all levels and abilities. Mats and props will be provided.
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A stunning welcome pack - includes journal, pen and some other surprise goodies
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Cacao ceremony
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Bliss ball making
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Guided mindfulness walk (optional)
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Enough free time to make use of the beautiful Hanmer Hot Pools and/or book yourself a massage or spa treatment
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2 dinners, a breakfast spread on Sunday and Monday, lunch on Saturday and nutritious and delicious snacks each day
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A bed in a beautiful, down-to-earth home a short walk into town for shopping, eating out, hot pools or a walk up Conical Hill
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An exclusive space with a very limited number of like-minded women
Meet your retreat facilitators
Rebekah Ballagh
Becks is the creator of Journey to Wellness on Instagram and best selling author/illustrator of Note to Self, Note to Self Journal and Words of Comfort.
She is a qualified counsellor, a personal development coach and a mindfulness teacher with over 12 years experience in the mental health and wellness field.
Becks is a mama, a wife, and someone who has faced anxiety, panic attacks and depression herself.
Becks is from Nelson, NZ. Her family is from Hanmer Springs originally and the place holds a special place in her heart.
Becks has worked with hundreds of clients to better manage their mental health and has developed courses, resources and tools out of all of the things that work the best.
Her passion lies in group coaching - "I am so excited to meet with you in person in this beautiful and intimate setting. I can't wait to see the transformations and 'ah-ha!' moments that take place during our time together."
Alex Ballagh (yes, we are sisters-in-law!)
Alex is a yoga, meditation, mindfulness and dance teacher with over 15 years’ experience.
Originally from Liverpool, UK, Alex lives in Christchurch where she teaches a range of yoga, meditation and barre classes for local studios, corporate groups, and 1:1 sessions, as well as online
Deeply passionate about empowering women with the tools and confidence to find their centre and a place of calm regardless of their environment, Alex enjoys incorporating simple but effective breath work, visualisation, and mindfulness techniques in to her classes to present students with a range of options for regulating their nervous system.
Alex is a Mama of two (soon to be three) and loves the beach, hiking in the hills, travel, and a good cuppa!
Alex is positive, warm, and optimistic and is so excited to welcome you and hold space for you on this retreat!
You can find out more about Alex over on Instagram, handle: @alexballaghyoga
Retreat Itinerary
S A T U R D A Y 28th May
10am Arrive at retreat and settle in
10:30am Introduction & intentions
12pm Grounding Flow Yoga
1pm Workshop: Self-compassion, inner critic, self-narrative & forming habits/breaking old patterns
2pm Lunch with the group
----- Free time -----
(hit the pools, take a walk, stay and mingle, have a lie down, grab a snack, head to a cafe or the shops or squeeze in a massage!)
3:30pm Workshop: Core beliefs & The Life Map exercise
4:45pm Space clearing yoga flow
6pm Dinner with the group
7:30pm Workshop: Self-sabotage & inner child work
S U N D A Y 29th May
7am Energising yoga flow
8am Breakfast with the group
9am Guided meditation: finding and holding your centre
9:30am Workshop: Boundaries and values
10:30am Bliss Ball creation workshop
11:30am Workshop: Perfectionism and Procrastination
----- Free time -----
(hit the pools, take a walk, stay and mingle, have a lie down, grab a snack, head to a cafe or the shops or squeeze in a massage!)
3pm Workshop: Unhealthy vs healthy coping strategies, Life balance review and intention setting
3:45pm Mindfulness Walk up Conical Hill (optional, or...)
5pm Reflection time
6:30pm Dinner with the group
8pm Restorative yoga and mediation for a restful sleep
M O N D A Y 30th May
8:30am Feminine/Body love yoga flow
9:30am Workshop: Comfort zones, connecting to your truth as a worthy person, guided grounding/mindful practice to let go of stuck emotions/memories/events
10:30am Morning tea
11am Cacao ceremony including breath work and meditation
11:30am Closing reflections
12pm Wrap up and farewell
You might like to hit the pools, take a walk in the beautiful Hanmer forestry, head to a cafe or the shops or squeeze in a massage before you go!
Hey you. Yes, you.
You are worthy and you are worth it.
Invest in yourself x
Tell me about the accomodation...
We'll be staying in a brand new house, a short walk to town with amazing views.
We have purposefully chosen a more 'down-to-earth' and intimate style accomodation, so while you won't be in a super high-end hotel style environment by any means, what you will get in a space where we can all be together as one, share meals, kick-back, relax, and... save a tonne of money in doing so!
We'll share food in the open plan kitchen/living area and use the common space for our workshops and yoga.
You get to choose the room that suits you, either opting to splash out a little more for your own private Queen room or to share a space with your fellow retreat goers in a single bed.
Why not organise to come to the retreat with a friend or friends and cosy down in the bunk rooms together too!?
Here are your options:
A choice of 1 of 2 private queen rooms/beds
A single bed in a shared room
A bunk bed in a shared room
Example of Queen Room
Example of Single Share
Example of Queen Room
Example of Single Share
What is the investment?
We truly believe this retreat is priceless and offers immeasurable value. Even so, we have kept our costs as reasonable as possible and have payment options available.
We ofter Afterpay, so you can pay the below costs split over several weeks.
Rates:
Queen room - $1950 inc GST
Single bed shared room - $1820 inc GST
FAQ's
How many women will be attending?
We have space for 9 women in our beautiful shared house. Then there will be Alex and Becks, making 11 of us all together, a lovely intimate group.
What do I need to bring?
You can show up with just yourselves and your clothes/toiletries if you like. We recommend bringing some cosy clothes that aren't restrictive so that you can really ease in and be comfortable during yoga classes, walking and workshops.
You'll need to bring your swim suit if you intend on hitting the hot pools.
Bring your walking shoes if you are opting in to the Conical Hill Mindful walk/wanting to walk in to town in your free time.
Given the time of year you'll also want to pack some warm gears. The house will be lovely and toastie but the weather outside may not feel quite as welcoming - we think this only enhances the whole nourishing vibe of the retreat and lends itself beautifully to an immersive mindful experience and your time at the hot pools!
You'll be provided with a journal and pen + a yoga mat; but feel free to bring along your own gear, an eye mask for the yoga Nidra, a special blanket, your laptop... whatever you feel you might need to make you feel the most at home and get the most out of the experience.
I haven't done a lot of yoga (or any!), will I manage the classes?
Yes! Alex is a brilliant yoga teacher who will cater the classes to meet the individual and collective needs and level of the group. This experience is for you, so you can always opt out of things or choose to come into a nice Childs pose or savasana to catch your breath if you need it. This is not a fitness class or bootcamp!
Will I have time for the Hanmer Hot Pools?
Yes! We have allowed for free time on both Saturday and Sunday and you also finish your retreat at midday on Monday. You can head to the pools in any of those times.
The pool pass is not included, in case you don't want to go, but the prices range from $35 for a single entry to $59 for a two day pass.
You can also book yourself in for a variety of different massages and spa treatments while you are there.
I've never done a retreat before, will I be okay?
Absolutely! No experience necessary for either yoga or the personal development work side of things.
Alex and Becks are both here to support, nourish, teach and hold space for wherever you are at.
A friend and I both want to book, can we share a room?
Yes you can! Get in touch with Becks via the website or email journeytowellnessnz@gmail.com to organise.
Can a friend and I split the cost and share a Queen room and Queen bed?
Yes you can! Get in touch with Becks via the website or email journeytowellnessnz@gmail.com to organise. The rate will differ from simply splitting the Queen Private Room cost and Becks will organise this for you.
How do I get there?
You will receive instructions on getting to our retreat house upon booking.
To get to Hanmer Springs you can head there easily from Nelson or Christchurch, and you could fly in to either of these locations and hire a car or book a bus to get there.
Are there ride-share or transport options?
If you would like to see if any other retreat attendees are travelling from the same direction as you and keen to share a ride and split costs, email Becks at journeytowellnessnz@gmail.com and she will put the feelers out!
What if I need to cancel?
We have purposely limited this retreat to a small number of attendees to allow for a more personable, intimate experience.
Our cancellation policy is in place to help us manage any expenses that may arise from unexpected cancellations.
No one books a retreat with the intention of cancelling it, but we know that, especially in current times, unexpected events can occur! We have set out the following policy around refunds and cancellations so that you can have some clarity around this:
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We are able to process a 50% refund fee if you cancel within 30 days of the retreat start date
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After this time, sorry but no refunds can be given, however you are welcome to send a friend in your place
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We will not be able to offer refunds or credits for failure to attend or failure to complete the retreat, or for arriving late or leaving early.
If you are traveling from out of town and booking flights for the retreat, we highly recommend organising travel insurance so you are covered, as well as for any vehicles you may be hiring.
I have dietary requirements, will that be catered for?
All meals will be vegetarian. There will also be non-dairy milk provided. If you have specific requirements or allergies please email Becks at journeytowellnessnz@gmail.com
What kind of food are we eating?
Breakfast will be a spread of toast, cereals, fruit, yoghurt, teas, coffee and juices.
Saturday's lunch will be provided; salad and wraps.
Saturday's dinner will be soups and breads.
Sunday's lunch is a chance for you to have seem free time, either exploring a local eatery or grabbing a quick bite on your way to make the most of the hot pools or a massage.
Sundays dinner will be Daal and Naan.
We will also be making bliss balls and exploring a cacao ceremony.
Snacks will be provided; a range of nourishing nibbles, fruits, tea, juice, coffee and other goodies.
Will I be speaking in the group?
There are many opportunities to share in the group. It is up to you how much you share and how often.
As with all group work, we will ease you in to it, helping you to become comfortable in the group setting. We are all like-minded women here to support and encourage one another on our journeys so you will be safe, supported and held.
Only share what you are comfortable with along the way, there is no expectation on you whatsoever and you are always able to 'pass' on talking or sharing.
Who is this retreat best for?
This is the perfect experience for those who are ready and willing to explore their current beliefs, behaviours and patterns and are open to possible change in their life moving forward. It will suit you if you are keen to be in a powerful group change process, where you can go at your own pace alongside some other like-minded souls. It may not be suitable for you if you are not open to groups, or if you are currently at a place of risk or extreme mental distress.
