The Embodied Heart Retreat

This retreat is an opportunity to immerse yourself deeply into the intimate space of your own heart. THe main intention of this retreat is to support you to be yourself, and you can expect a space that is held in love and safety so that this can occur. You can expect a space where all of you is welcome.

Structurally, what this looks like is supporting you to drop out of your heart and into your embodied, felt experience. This will be facilitated through group or partnered practices, Bela working with people 1-1 with group witnessing, and other supportive embodiment exercises. We will be assisted by other facilitators who will also offer certain practices that encourage a deepening into honesty and authenticity.

You will receive more of a schedule when you arrive, however you can expect that:

Each day, there will be morning embodiment practices, daily Embodied Heart sessions, space for integration & rest, and gentle evening activities.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be fully catered for, and there will be opportunities for group or solo nature walks, sauna/pool sessions, and time for socialising/connecting with your fellow participants.

Even though The Embodied Heart is incredibly effective online, there is always a distinct difference experiencing any kind of embodiment work in person, particularly when in a group environment.

The retreat is different in that we will be completely immersed together in our experience of The Embodied Heart work. Each day we will be in session, delving deep into the practice of feeling, both individually and together.

An immersion is a powerful way to dive deep into your practice without the day-to-day distractions, and to really allow yourself to sink into the work. Being held in a container is incredibly supportive for cultivating safety, which encourages more of us to reveal and unravel.

We will also be graced with the spaciousness of nature and luxurious facilities that will encourage our integration of the work, as well as morning and evening activities to invite a deeper experience of how to really incorporate the practices deeper into your daily life.

Yes, you can still join. This retreat is available for anyone ready to commit to their own personal transformation, and journey the next step of their emotional evolution and embodiment of authenticity and truth.

It is preferable that you have experienced some level of embodiment and/or self-development work before coming to the retreat. This includes meditation, breathwork, somatic therapy, archetypal embodiment, temple training, and so on. When you apply, you will have a call with Bela to work out if this retreat is the right experience for you.

The Embodied Heart retreat is an immersion that is made up of practices and experiences for the purpose of your personal evolution. This is not a training where you will leave with practices to teach other people. It is recommended that the practices we do together on the retreat are not used in your own therapeutic or teaching services. This is for your own personal experience of deepening into your own intimate feeling practice and embodiment.

Wybalena Organic Farm is located on 170 acres within the Byron Bay Hinterland, resting amongst the serene countryside and untouched bushland of The Pocket. The venue has been purpose built for retreats, and offers a private and quiet location for communities to gather and be held in the deep work that they will endeavor upon.

Wybalena was chosen for the first Embodied Heart retreat because it is spaciously surrounded by nature and has stunning accommodation that we can rest into. We will be gathering in the beautiful yoga studio space each day for our sessions, and there is a magnesium pool, infrared sauna, and lots of nature walks to keep us nourished and embodied through the retreat. The private nature trails range from 10-40 minutes, and there is also a spring-fed dam and a rainforest creek for a refreshing dip.

There are various options for accommodation, ranging from ‘The Banksia Rooms’ with its three double rooms, The Garden Rooms with four private rooms, and four Gumnut Cabins that feature two rooms each with a full kitchen and living space. All of the rooms feature reverse cycle air conditioning and ceiling fans. Rooms have either a private ensuite (Garden Rooms) or are shared with 1-2 other people (Banksia rooms/Gumnut cabins).

It is important to note that the space Bela offers is quite distinct from most therapeutic or self-development spaces/modalities. The Embodied Heart provides you with an immersive group experience that will support you to develop an intimate relationship with your human feeling heart. You will learn how to feel rather than react to life. The experience is curated to support you to honour yourself in ways you haven’t yet known how, and to open into vulnerability while cultivating the internal safety and capacity to truly welcome your honest felt experience.

All linen and 2 towels per guest are provided. Bathrooms offer bath mats, hand towels, body wash, shampoo & conditioner, and hair dryers. Each room is stocked with blankets and hot water bottles. The first aid kit is located in the Main House laundry/storage room.

The water provided at the venue is delicious bore water sourced from the property, and is filtered via natural crushed marble for a balanced pH of 7.

Wybalena is located in The Pocket, which is a 35 minute drive from the Gold Coast and Ballina airports, 15min drive from Mullumbimby, 30min drive from Byron Bay. There are no public transport options to getting to the venue, but there are airport transfer companies available online, car hire service, taxi or Uber.

If flying in, the best option would be to fly into the Gold Coast and either hire a car yourself, or get the Byron Easy Bus to Mullumbimby/Brunswick Heads/Byron Bay, and organise a ride with another participant from there.

There will be a facebook group created before the event and here you can communicate with other participants and organise lifts to the venue.

If driving, you are welcome to come straight to the venue, there is plenty of parking available. If you have space in your car and are willing to take another participant (or two), please let us know in the facebook group.

Phone reception can be limited in The Pocket, but there is wifi provided for the Main House space which is also accessible from most buildings.

• Journal

• Water bottle

• Clothes that are comfortable and versatile, for lots of sitting and movement practice

• Any personal items you need for six days away

• A special item for the altar

Around this time of year in The Pocket, the temperature is typically around 22-32 degrees during the day, dropping down to 20-24 in the evenings. As this is a sub-tropical region, there can be heavy rain and humidity. Best to bring some wet weather gear just in case (ie. boots, jacket), and pack for warm/cool conditions. Have a look at the weather conditions for The Pocket a week or so before the retreat and plan accordingly.

We will be graced with the kitchen wonders of Jonas Crowder. Each day we will share breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, with tea and coffee provided for breaks. Meals will be kept quite simple, with little to no grains/legumes, and locally sourced meat included in one meal per day. Dietary requests will be taken at the time of your application.

Participants are welcome on-site from 3pm on the 17th. We begin the first session at 5pm.

On the last day (22nd), we all need to be checked out of the venue by 10am. We will have a small closing session in the morning before check out.

You will be sent a meditation to support your practice in the lead up to the retreat. This is not mandatory, but highly recommended, as it will offer you an insight into the practices that we will be exploring on the retreat, and prepare you to go deeper into your experience.

There will also be a group call one week before the retreat, to support the group connection. This call will be recorded, however it is recommended that you join so we can begin to cultivate intimacy within the group.

A deposit of $500 is required to secure your place on the retreat, or you can pay in full upfront. From there you can commit to a payment plan which will be secured through Acuity.

The Embodied Heart retreat is a non-refundable event. If you have committed but are no longer able to attend the event, you may transfer your payment towards another offering with Bela. This includes all Embodied Heart events (online and immersions), astrology readings, and mentorship.

The Embodied Heart is the next step in your emotional evolution if you have tried various other modalities and feel like nothing ever really changes for you. That you experience the high of “figuring it out” or something new, but really you’re getting lost in an endless web of personal shadow work. It’s for you if you feel like you spend more time managing your reaction to the perceived threat of feeling rather than actually reaching the core.

You may have noticed that this is something I am very discerning about: that there is a huge difference between emotion and feeling.

Emotion is a reaction to feeling shaped by your ego’s interaction with your felt experiences. These reactions are linked to your beliefs and identity construct.

Authentic feeling is the act of embracing the present moment within your body, as your visceral felt experience arrises. This is separate from any mental interpretations or assigned meanings.

The easiest way to know is if you are in your head. What this means is you are trying to “figure out” who you are and using your known patterns, ideas, and experiences. When you are not truly feeling, you are moving through life habitually, following patterns and addictions rather than being yourself.