Wellness Retreats & Workshops

Retreat yourself

Increasingly popular are properties throughout the region offering multiday packages with a focus on rejuvenation. Get a taste of Japan at Hepburn’s Shizuka Ryokan, where guests stay in a traditional inn, with its six serene and minimalist rooms. There’s the chance to indulge in bathing rituals, massage treatments, and yoga and meditation between multicourse meals encompassing Japanese flavours and traditions.

At Acre of Roses in Trentham, there are two charmingly renovated cottages, “sit spots” for watching the clouds and meditating, seasonal fruit and vegetables to pick and walks through the rambling flower gardens that can be extended to Wombat State Forest.

Elsewhere Kyneton’s Maiaveda and Samadhi Retreat near Glenlyon offer specialised retreats focused on detox, stress, ageing and many other health and lifestyle concerns.

For something a little different, Heart of the Horse near Malmsbury offers three- or five-day healing retreats where the intuitive wisdom of horses guides guests back to their true selves. It also has two-hour sessions for those with limited time but a desire to work alongside these incredible animals.