Coming Home - Embodying Wellbeing
Description
This weekend immersion invites you into a gentle, playful, and grounded exploration of your inner landscape. Through somatic practices, breath awareness, Buddhist wisdom, meditation, and sound, we cultivate the capacity to meet life with clarity, balance, and kindness.
Across two days, participants will be guided through trauma-sensitive experiential sessions designed to nourish the nervous system, restore ease, and reconnect body, breath, and awareness. Whether you are new to contemplative practices or an experienced Buddhist practitioner, this workshop offers a safe and supportive environment to deepen your relationship with presence.
The immersion weaves together moments of quiet, rest, gentle activation, subtle energy awareness, connecting with nature, contemplative dance, and a Dharma sonics session on Saturday evening. Offering opportunities to explore inner qualities through both stillness and expressive movement. The overall intention is to create a nourishing space where you can be curious, soften, reconnect, and explore what inner balance and well-being are for you.
Throughout the weekend, you will:
learn body-based tools to regulate and stabilise the nervous system
cultivate awareness of breath, posture, and emotional balance
explore Buddhist-inspired frameworks in a secular-friendly way
deepen awareness of the energy body pathways
practice self-kindness, compassion, and explore presence
start noticing when you are present or have “checked out”
connect with community in a supportive and nurturing environment
create a nature based mandala together
rediscover the natural ease, play, and vibrancy of being in your body
Dates & Times
Day 1 – Saturday 11th April
9:00am – 6:30pm
Day 2 – Sunday 12th April
9:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday Evening Special Event (Open to All)
On Saturday evening from 5 - 6:30pm, Dharma Sonics invites you to a Buddhist mantra singalong with Yeshe Reiners & friends—an immersive evening of voice and sound that opens another pathway home to presence. This special evening is open to all, warmly welcoming those not attending the full weekend to join in and share the joy. We will reach full capacity at 25 people. With 15 retreat participants there will only be an additional 10 spots available.
About Yeshe Reiners
Yeshe is a renowned musician. Inspired by a recent healing crisis to deepen his Buddhist studies and practices using mantras for personal healing, Yeshe’s music has entered a new phase as his spiritual and musical paths merge more deeply. Mantras that have been significant to his healing have been reconfigured with his accompanying Kamele Ngoni and Mbira, creating a distinct African influenced rhythm and tonality.
Catering & What to Bring
Morning and afternoon tea will be provided each day.
Please bring your own lunch and a water bottle.
Please bring your own yoga mat if you have one. Meditation cushions and blankets will be available; however, you’re welcome to bring your own favourite cushion or bolster to support your comfort.
Facilitators
Zangmo McDermott
Zangmo McDermott is a qualified Somatic Shiatsu bodywork practitioner who has been exploring bodywork for 24 yrs with a deep curiosity about the mind/body connection. Zangmo is a Buddhist Nun, a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, an instructor with Siddhartha’s Intent Global community, and completed a Three year retreat under his guidance 2009-2012. The groups she offers were developed in response to people expressing that they are overwhelmed by the pace of life, find it difficult to meditate and feel disconnected from their bodies. Influenced by the work of Julie Henderson, Tony Richardson and her experience as a meditator and bodyworker, the groups took shape. Living in the Yarra Valley in Victoria., she loves the sense of local community and enjoys walking with friends, cooking and sharing food as part of creative expression and self-care. Zangmo also loves learning about people's diverse expressions of their spirituality and is passionate about all phases of life, including conversations about living well and dying well. She has a deep love and connection with animals and lives with her best buddy Toby love bug, a 5 year old Bordoodle.
Giselle Martins
Giselle Martins is a qualified mental health and wellbeing therapist with over a decade of experience supporting individuals through evidence-based therapeutic approaches and embodied, contemplative practices. She has worked internationally with diverse communities and has supported hundreds of clients through one-on-one therapy, workshops, and retreats. Trained in counselling and psychology across New Zealand and UC Berkeley, California—studying directly with Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing—Giselle integrates somatic, trauma-informed, and contemplative methods into her work. She is also a certified Taiji and Qigong instructor. With over fifteen years of Buddhist practice in the Vajrayana tradition, Giselle studies under her root teacher, Lama Yongdu Chokyi Gyaltsen, and has received transmissions and empowerments from H.E. Drikung Lho Ontul Rinpoche, including Drikung Yangzab Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings. She weaves this contemplative depth into her therapeutic work, guiding individuals toward inner balance, resilience, and embodied wellbeing.
Timetable
Day 1 - Saturday 11th April
9:00–9:30am – Settling in & Morning Tea 9:30–10:00am – Welcome, Acknowledgement to Country, & Introductions 10:00am–12:00pm – The Vibrancy of Breath, Movement & Stillness 12:00–1:30pm – Introducing the Nature Mandala & Lunch Break 1:30–3:30pm – Awareness in Action 3:30–4:30pm – Open Discussion, Reflection, & Dedication 4:30–5:00pm – Afternoon Tea 5:00–6:30pm – Dharma Sonics
Day 2 - Sunday 12th April
9:00–9:30am – Morning Tea 9:30–10:00am – Welcome back, Acknowledgement to Country, & Check-in 10:00am–12:00pm – Awakening the Energy Body 12:00–1:30pm – Nature Mandala & Lunch Break 1:30–3:30pm – Transitions: staying present with our hearts open when things are constantly changing 3:30–4:30pm – Open Discussion, Closing Circle, & Dedication 4:30–5:00pm – Afternoon Tea & Farewell
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