JOIN BROOKE ELLISTON AND MERRYN PENNINGTON

What You’ll Receive:

• Revitalising Yoga Practices: Start each day with long, rejuvenating yoga sessions designed to reconnect you with your body and awaken your senses while you receive hands on assists from Brooke and Merryn.

• Expert Training in Yoga Assists: Learn the art of yoga assists, deeply informed by the principles of touch and the wisdom of Zenthai Shiatsu.

• Retreat-Style Immersion: Immerse yourself in the stunning natural beauty of Crescent Head, complement your training with morning surfs, and unwind with evening campfires and deep belly laughs with new friends.

• ZenThai Bodywork with Merryn and Brooke: Dive deep into the art of touch through specifically curated Zenthai bodywork sequences tailored to complement our assists. These sessions offer the opportunity to both give and receive, allowing you to gain valuable hands-on experience. You'll build competence and confidence that translates directly into delivering intuitive assists, empowering you to cultivate this transformative skill.

• Confidence in Touch: Gain confidence in the art of touch, with plenty of opportunities to practice both giving and receiving bodywork and assists.

• Skills in Subtle Awareness: Develop your ability to listen to the subtle cues of the body and harness the transformative power of following the lines of energy in your assists.

THE intention

This training uniquely combines Zenthai therapy with skillful yoga assists, offering a profound structural and energetic approach to the art of assisting asana. Why incorporate Zenthai Shiatsu? This modality is a therapeutic blend of yoga asana, Zen Shiatsu, Thai Massage, and osteopathic techniques, all woven together with deep presence and focused intention. When you pour your whole presence into a point, the receiver's presence is drawn there too, generating the therapeutic bio-effects.

Assisting is not about trying to 'fix' a body; it brings awareness to places that have been silent, disconnected or too tense—supporting the body’s to release its own fixations naturally.

While many assisting courses emphasise technique—an important element—this focus can lead to more fixation on 'getting it right' or a rigidity in the clinical approach. In contrast, Assists Artistry places greater importance on the 'threads' of touch—focusing on 'how to touch' rather than simply 'what to do'. This approach respects each body's individuality and natural dynamics, engaging with it in a way that doesn’t impose learned techniques on top of the body or manufacture desired outcomes. This method steers away from the stress of remembering 'do this assist for this pose', allowing for a more connected and supportive interaction.

Retreat from the everyday life

With the collective energy of the group, a retreat of this kind brings the benefit of months of practice, in just a few days.

The ‘everyday life’ is the environment that reminds us daily of who you think we are, as a personality and as an identity. By taking yourself out of the familiar, you can transform what is routine, automated and subconscious, and replace it with thoughts, feelings and actions that are aligned with your visions + dreams.

This time together is precious. By retreating for a period, you are invited to step out of the olympic levels of stimulation + distraction of the daily world. This is a space to be open, playful, to reinvent and free.

ACCOMMODATION

A simple and tasteful bush & beach retreat with 5 separate cottages surrounded by leafy outlooks and ocean-views just a few minutes drive from Crescent village. Each cottage is equipped with its own kitchen, living room, bathroom and wrap around deck. Set on 28 private acres, our venue is on one of the untouched backroads, just a stones throw from a spoilt selection of magic surf beaches and national park.

LOCAL WHOLE FOODS

All meals will be thoughtfully cooked up by masterful chefs using healthful, organic and vegetarian produce. We accommodate for all food preferences and intolerances. Dishes are intended to support the schedule and flow of the retreat with the understanding that food is one of the most important parts of a self-love container.

INCLUSIONS

• Lunch and Dinner: Enjoy two healthful, nourishing meals each day provided by our masterful onsite chef.

  Training Manual: A comprehensive manual for notes and home revision.

• Full Program Access: Participate in all classes, workshops, and training activities for your 50-hour certification.

• Cottage Accommodation: Stay in shared accommodation in one of five large cottages.

• Complete Amenities: Each cottage is equipped with a self-contained kitchen, deck, fireplace and living room.

• Proximity to Nature: Just 5 minutes from the infamous Crescent Head beach.

• Leisure and Equipment: Free use of property. Optional leisure activities such as surfing, volleyball or beach swims during free time.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

8:00am — Dynamic yoga flow

9:15am — Breakfast (self-catered)

10:00am — Assist workshop

12:00pm — Scrumptious lunch

FREE TIME

1:00pm — Theory/philosophy

1:30pm — Zenthai Shiatsu Bodywork

3:30pm — Break

4:00-5:00pm — Practice assists in class

6:00pm — Dinner

7:30 — Fire Pit, campfire, music + chill

Non-Refundable AU$1,000 deposit to confirm your place.
Remainder due 1 month prior to retreat start date, non-refundable after that time.

*Please note if circumstances change due to natural disasters or other extraordinary event the retreat may be cancelled last minute, in which case you will be fully refunded.