Yoga and Creativity - Yoga For Good Annual Retreat 2025

We warmly invite you to our Yoga For Good Annual Retreat this September 21-23, for three days of nourishing, uplifting, calming and transformative yoga and creative practices with our wonderful like-minded community!

Come along this Spring Equinox to explore the theme of Yoga & Creativity, to cleanse, reflect and reconnect through ancient Yoga Tantra practices.

Experience yoga and creativity practices, talks and workshops, and a special appearance from Rishi Yoga Diwali live via Zoom, an experienced yogini and practising artist whose work bridges spiritual practice and creative expression, who facilitates transcendental Yoga Tantra practices.

You will be guided in creating your own Yantra – a sacred geometric pattern used in Tantra Yoga practices. Selecting colours and painting with intention becomes a meditative practice that encourages focus, calm and deep presence, and the Yantra can be used for deep meditation.

Relax at Swami’s Retreat Centre in the Sydney hinterland, among pristine bushland and beautiful gardens where yoga has been practised for over 60 years and the large yoga hall offers an atmosphere of creativity, beauty and quiet spiritual depth.

WHAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE

Take part in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies including a traditional fire ceremony with peace mantras, beautiful yoga music with renowned singer and musician Carmella Baynie, heart-based DRU practices, and connecting with the elements at the Spring Equinox to refresh, renew and welcome the new season.

Experience transformative Yoga Tantra practices with expert yogini and artist Rishi Yoga Diwali, such as creating and meditating on your own Yantra – a sacred geometrical yoga image, to take home for your own meditation practice. Also practice the Chakra Shuddhi meditation, to enhance wellbeing, activate the body’s energy centres for peace, purification and empowerment, and access higher states of consciousness.

Attend any (or all) of the 9 yoga and meditation classes over 3 days, with a variety of styles to suit all levels of experience – Hatha, DRU, Restorative, Ryoho (Japanese elemental), and Pair Yoga – along with Yoga Nidra and Breathing Practices, to revitalise your body, heart and mind.

Take time out to relax and socialise with like-minded souls out in nature, sitting around the firepit under the stars, enjoying music together, to experience upliftment, tranquility and community.

Hear from our Yoga Grant recipients about their journeys to inspire you along your own path.

Enjoy Swami’s delicious vegetarian meals, peaceful bush environment, and facilities including spa, steam room, pool and gym, or maybe book a massage, to nourish and rejuvenate your body, mind and soul.

Receive the beautiful Yoga For Good 2025 Retreat Booklet complete with Yantras, Mantras, and Yoga and Creativity wisdom, to inspire your home practice.

Choose from a range of affordable accommodation including share and single rooms with ensuite options, glamping and camping, to suit your needs as well as your budget.

* All classes and workshops are optional, and facilities can be used anytime.
* See below for sample retreat schedule

Everyone is welcome in the yoga and creativity sessions – beginners and advanced practitioners alike! These activities invite full engagement of your heart, mind and body. You will be guided and inspired at each step in this spiritual practice, being shown examples of Diwali’s yoga-inspired artwork throughout the sessions. We will provide basic art materials, and you’re welcome to bring any extras if you like.

SPECIAL GUESTS

RISHI YOGA DIWALI – YOGINI & ARTIST

Rishi Yoga Diwali has spent many years contributing to the community as both a yoga teacher and spiritual artist, immersing herself fully in yogic life and leading a yoga centre for several decades. With a vibrant sense of humour that lights up a room, she brings warmth and clarity to her teaching. In this retreat, she will join us live via Zoom to share practical ways to explore the sacred geometry of the Sri Yantra through sensory experience and creative expression, leading us to create our own Yantras and meditate upon them for cleansing and expansion of consciousness.

CARMELLA BAYNIE – SPIRITUAL SINGER & MUSICIAN

Carmella Baynie brings a special magic of sound, voice and connection, lighting us up with her infectious joy and laughter. An acclaimed and enchanted singer and experienced facilitator of yoga, meditation and voice, Carmella has been opening people’s hearts through sacred sound since the age of seven, in Sanskrit, Latin and Aramaic in concerts and workshops worldwide. Carmella will lead a traditional yoga fire ceremony and share her beautiful yoga music at the retreat, and share a special song in Wayupa Wuuruuk – the first Aboriginal-inspired holistic training system, inviting connection to the elements and spirit at the Spring Equinox.

Come along ready to cleanse, relax and revitalise with the Yoga and Yoga Tantra classes and workshops at the Spring Equinox, joining a traditional Yoga Fire Ceremony, yoga music, delicious vegetarian food and natural bush surroundings with the beautiful Yoga For Good community.

Feedback from 2024 Retreat Participants:

“The variety, the wonderful environment, the fantastic teachers, the amazing participants, and the length of the retreat all worked well.”

“A healing retreat for healers with a high standard of techniques to learn, excellent networking opportunities, and genuine loving people.”

About the Yoga For Good Foundation

The Yoga For Good Foundation offers an annual retreat for those who value yoga and its role in enriching our communities. This gathering is a space to honour yoga’s deep-rooted traditions while embracing its evolving forms as a catalyst for personal and collective transformation. Our grant program and community classes continue to support innovative projects that extend the reach and impact of yoga in meaningful ways.

RETREAT DETAILS

DATE & TIME: 3pm Sunday 21st – 3pm Tuesday 23rd September

Tickets available for whole or part of the retreat.

LOCATION: Swami’s Yoga Retreat, in North West Sydney area on beautiful bushland acreage at 183-185 Pitt Town Road, Kenthurst, NSW 2156.

ACCOMMODATION: a range of accommodation options available – see below.

COST: ranges from $400 – $745 for whole retreat, and $120 – $245 for day passes.

For further retreat details see https://yogaforgood.com.au/yoga-day-annual-retreat/

RETREAT DETAILS

Tickets

FULL RETREAT
Sun 21st Sept 3pm to Tues 23rd Sept 3pm, includes 3 days, all meals, 2 nights’ accommodation.
From $450 to $795, ranging from camping, glamping and rooms, share & single with ensuite options – see accommodation options below.
Save $50 with early bird discount before 1st July.

SUNDAY PASS
Sun 21st Sept 3-9pm, includes all meals.
$120.

MONDAY PASS
Mon 22nd Sept 6am-9pm, includes all meals.
$295.
Save $50 with early bird ticket before 1st July.

TUESDAY PASS
Tues 23rd Sept 6am-3pm, includes all meals,
$195.

* Tickets are non-refundable but transferable.
** See Sample Retreat Schedule below

Ticket details: https://events.humanitix.com/yoga-for-good-annual-retreat-2025

Accommodation Options

Rooms = two nights accommodation, all meals, full retreat facilities, share or single with ensuite options.

Glamping = glamping tent with separate bathroom, forest view, two nights, all meals, full retreat facilities, share or single options.

Camping = own tent or campervan, two-nights, all meals, full retreat facilities.

Accommodation details: https://events.humanitix.com/yoga-for-good-annual-retreat-2025

Retreat Facilities

Beautiful yoga hall surrounded by serene bushland surroundings

Delicious and healthy vegetarian meals

Spa, steam room, swimming pool, gym

Massage (book a massage in advance through Swami’s website or on arrival)

Getting There

Come to Swami’s Yoga Retreat by private car or taxi, typically less than 1 hour’s drive from Sydney CBD. Swami’s is located in North West Sydney at 183-185 Pitt Town Road, Kenthurst, NSW 2156.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who is this retreat for?
This retreat is for anyone who would love to come and relax, and enjoy yoga and creativity in a beautiful natural environment with a wonderful community, and deepen their spiritual practice.

I’ve never done yoga before – can I still come?
Of course you can! We cater for all levels of yoga experience and fitness, providing options for complete beginners as well as experienced yogis.

I’m not artistic – can I still come?
Yes of course! Rishi Yoga Diwali and the Yoga For Good Retreat Team will guide you through the practice of creating your own beautiful Yantra, with materials provided. And don’t worry – if your Yantra doesn’t turn out as you would like, we will have other Yantras for you to meditate on.

Can I just relax and enjoy the surroundings and facilities, without attending all the classes?
You sure can! You are free to attend as many or as few of the classes as you like – you can make it your own retreat, with the right level of activity to suit you.

What is Yoga Tantra, Yantra, Mantra and Kirtan?

Yoga Tantra is a spiritual tradition that seeks to channel universal energy within the human body to promote overall wellbeing, inner peace, and enlightenment. Through specific meditations and practices, Tantra aims to transcend ordinary consciousness.

Mantras are sacred sounds or phrases repeated during meditation to focus the mind and invoke spiritual energy. Mantras are powerful tools for transformation and connecting with higher consciousness.

Yantras are geometric designs used in yoga meditations and practices to harness spiritual power. Yantras represent cosmic truths and help practitioners focus their minds for deeper insight.

Kirtan is the singing or chanting of Mantras to music in community, to inspire spiritual connection and upliftment.

I’m on a budget, what are my options?
This is an inclusive retreat with options to suit everyone’s budget, with accommodation ranging from camping, shared and single glamping, and shared and single rooms with ensuite option, so everyone can come along and enjoy the retreat.

See affordable accommodation options above.

You can also come along for part of the retreat, with a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday pass – see ticket information above.

If I come on the Tuesday only, will I have a Yantra to meditate on?
You sure will! You will be provided with a beautiful Yantra to activate and practice the Trataka meditation with.

MORE TESTIMONIALS

2024 Retreat Feedback

‘Excellent selection of yoga practices and activities’

‘I loved the variety without the pressure to attend everything’

‘The spa, steam room, bush walks and delicious food were excellent’

‘Bushwalks, amenities and food were awesome’

‘Beautiful surroundings and rooms’

‘Glamping and Fires were excellent’

‘Great to have fires inside and out in the beautiful spaces of nature’

What participants loved:

Deep yoga practices and mantras

Yoga, meditation and kirtan

Time between to chat and connect

Time to rest and recharge in nature

Beautiful natural setting

Delicious Vegetarian Food

RETREAT INCLUSIONS

Special guests Rishi Yoga Diwali (Yoga Tantra and Creativity) & Carmella Baynie (Yoga Music and Singing), along with the Yoga For Good 2025 Retreat Team

Opening and Closing Ceremonies:
– Traditional fire ceremony with peace mantras
– Yoga music with acclaimed singer Carmella Baynie
– Heart-based DRU Yoga
– Connecting with the elements

Yoga Tantra practices such as:
– Creating your own Yantra (sacred geometrical yoga image) to take home for your own meditation practice
– Chakra Shuddhi meditation – activating the body’s energy centres for peace, purification and empowerment
– Trataka meditation – meditating on the Yantras to enhance wellbeing on all levels

9 yoga classes over 3 days (join as many or as few as you like):
– Hatha Yoga and Meditation
– Bush Walking Meditation
– DRU Yoga
– Restorative Yoga and Meditation
– Ryoho Yoga (Japanese elemental Yoga)
– Partner Yoga
– Yoga Nidra
– Breathing Practices

Beautiful Yoga For Good 2025 Retreat Booklet complete with Yantras, Mantras, and Yoga and Creativity wisdom, to inspire your home practice.

Discussion with our Yoga For Good grant recipients

Time and space to relax and socialise, including evening music around the firepit

Enjoy Swami’s Yoga Retreat centre, with:
– Delicious vegetarian meals
– Connection with nature in the beautiful bush surroundings
– Full use of facilities including spa, steam room, pool, gym and bookings for massage
– A range of affordable accommodation options (see below)

* All classes and workshops are optional, and facilities can be used anytime.

SAMPLE RETREAT SCHEDULE: https://yogaforgood.com.au/yoga-day-annual-retreat/

Immerse yourself in yoga and creativity to cleanse and revitalise the body, mind, energy and spirit. The spring equinox offers the perfect moment to cleanse and reset after winter and realign your head, heart and hands for the season ahead, preparing our systems for renewal.

This retreat offers an opportunity to explore ancient Yoga Tantra practices, including Yantra, to support inner purification. In yogic tradition, the eyes are the lamp of the body. As you engage with the symbolic language of yoga, you sharpen your awareness and awaken your whole being through deeper mindfulness of the senses.

Join this extraordinary retreat to stay centred and move with greater ease through the changing seasons. Take part in a traditional yoga fire ceremony with mantra and kirtan with Carmella Baynie, using music and sacred sound to spark creativity and connection.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from Rishi Yoga Diwali how to use the sacred symbol of the Sri Yantra for balance, unity and growth.