We are not separate from nature. We are nature.

The same five elemental forces that move through the seasons, the land, and the sky move through the body - through the organs, the emotions, the relationships, and the way we meet the world. Wood holds the energy of vision and forward movement. Fire opens the heart to warmth and genuine connection. Earth nourishes and grounds. Metal refines and releases. Water rests, restores, and holds the quiet will to continue.

Most of us have learned to live from one or two of these forces while the others quietly deplete. We push when we need to rest. We think when we need to feel. We hold on when everything around us is asking for release. Over time, this imbalance settles into the body as tension, flatness, or a vague sense that something essential is missing.

This full day immersion is an introduction to all five.

Drawing on the Elemental Alchemy tradition of Qi Gong and energy medicine, we spend the day moving through each element - learning to sense it in the body, recognise it in daily life, and begin to bring the whole system back into flow. The day weaves together movement, breath, ceremony, plant medicine, and tea practice into a single coherent arc. By the time we close, you will have a clearer sense of who you are across all five elements - where you are strong, where you are asking for nourishment, and what this season is calling you toward.

We gather at Matapōuri Hall on the edge of the Pacific - a setting shaped by sea, sand, and the kind of natural quiet that supports this kind of work.

May in Aotearoa is a time of genuine transition. The long summer light is gone. The mornings are slower. The land is composting what it no longer needs. In the old Celtic tradition, this turning of the year - known as Samhain - was understood as a threshold: a time for honesty, for releasing what the year has asked you to carry, and for orienting toward the season ahead. The Five Elements offer a map for exactly this kind of reckoning.

Come as you are. No prior experience of any of these practices is necessary.

What the Day Includes

– Opening Qi Gong forms and breath practice - arriving fully in the body and the present moment

– Five Elements teaching - the Shen and Ko cycles, organ correspondences, emotional intelligence, and the seasonal wisdom held within each element

– Four Directions Meditation - a guided elemental practice for sensing where you are strong and where you are calling for nourishment

– Embodied movement and circle walks - feeling each element through the body rather than the thinking mind alone

– Cacao ceremony - opening the heart and preparing for deeper practice

– Breathwork - clearing stagnation, building elemental qi, and releasing what the season is asking you to put down

– Embodied dance - moving from each element in turn, allowing the body to express what the mind cannot yet name

– Shared lunch - a nourishing, seasonal kai held communally at midday, provided as part of the day

– Plant medicine and tea ceremony

– Closing ritual and integration circle - bringing the day together and orienting toward what comes next

The Shape of the Day

9:00 Arrival, opening tea, settling in

9:30 Opening circle and intention setting

10:00 Five Elements teaching — the map and the medicine

11:00 Qi Gong forms and breath — moving the elements in the body

12:00 Four Directions Meditation and elemental self-inquiry

12:45 Shared lunch — communal, seasonal, provided

13:30 Cacao ceremony and heart opening

14:15 Breathwork — clearing and building qi

15:00 Embodied dance — the elements in motion

16:00 Tea ceremony and plant medicine

16:30 Closing ritual and integration circle

17:00 Close

Pricing — Sliding Scale

The day includes a shared seasonal lunch. The sliding scale works as follows:

$185 - Community rate, if finances are genuinely stretched right now

$205 - Standard rate, the sustainable middle

$225 - Supporter rate, your contribution helps fund a place for someone who could not otherwise attend

Pay what is honest. Trust yourself to know where you sit.

Location

Matapōuri Hall, Matapōuri, Northland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Matapōuri sits at the edge of one of the most quietly beautiful bays in Northland - a place shaped by sea, sand, and the rhythms of the natural world. The hall is simple, grounded, and well suited to this kind of practice. Full directions and parking details will be sent upon registration.

Registrations open now.

Numbers are limited to keep the container genuine.

Contact the host of Five Elements | A Full Day Immersion | Elemental Flow