Stillness Sanctuary

12/02/2026

There is this beautiful concept in Ayurveda ~
Svastha - a deep abiding in one's essential nature.

The Sanskrit term meaning "to be situated in oneself," commonly used to mean healthy, balanced, or in one's natural state. Derived from swa (self) and stha (to stand/abide).

This is really at the heart of what health means from
an Ayurvedic perspective.
Aligned with your Prakriti.

The dynamic journey of healing is an understanding and adjusting that which is out of balance - vrikriti towards that which is in balance and fluctuating in harmony with ever changing circumstances.

So when clients and students come to me with the question or concern around,
'what is my dosha' as some kind of static, cooky cutter application of the complexity of being human, I gently guide them away from that limiting belief towards something much deeper and ever present within.
This is the journey of healing in Ayurveda ✨💫💛

13/01/2026

No breath, no life
How do we experience and shape this living force that animates every cell of your body?
from your very first gasp of air to your last sigh out.

Come explore the essence of your life
through the essence of life ~ our breathing.
Life is breath,
Breath is life
Let’s explore
Together ✨💫💛

Sunday 25 Jan
1 ~ 5
Noordhoek
Cape Town

08/01/2026

EVERY BREATH COUNTS
Take a journey with a breath of air

To start the year well and establish a good foundation,
I am offering a half day

✨BREATHING RETREAT
Sunday 25 January
1 ~ 5

At the beautiful Centre in Noordhoek
Teas served

Our life begins with our first breath

This is an invitation to connect, release, expand, deepen and enhance your breath and your life.

We will explore opening your full natural breath to flow freely.
Once established, we begin to shape the breath to enhance particular effects eg. vitality, calming, balancing, cleansing

Each pranayama having a specific effect on our systems.
When we tired, low energy, when we frazzled and needing calm, when our system are clogged and the life force blocked and the breath can purify our subtle channels.

Takeaway ~
Breathing bouquet 💐
6 simple breathing practices:

To Balance
To Calm
To Invigorate
To Cleanse
To Clarify
To Rejuvenate

These practises can be done lying down.
Everyone welcome 🙌🏽

06/01/2026

Let’s start the year creating good, sustainable, hugely beneficial daily habits.
We all breathe all the time, so we may as well learn how to get the fullest out of each breath.
Releasing, opening, enhancing, deepening, making each breath more effective.

BreaTHING retreat coming up
Earmark
Sunday 25 January

Let’s set a good foundation to last a lifetime ✨💫💛

03/01/2026

Some thoughts and reflections on health and fitness for the year ahead.

One can be fit and not healthy.

Fitness can be measured and it’s very helpful, but limited.
I can measure my heartbeat, the strength of my muscles, the density of my bones, the amount of oxygen in my cells, how many steps in a day, my cardiovascular fitness etc etc the lists are long and ever increasing and evidently giving us a predicted outcome.

But health is something else, something much deeper and inclusive of the nature of being human in a body.
How does one measure the balance between our thoughts, hearts and cellular function.
Ones muscular strength can be great and simultaneously our hearts very contracted and and our minds scattered with a nervous system totally out of whack.
There is a tremendous emphasis on health being on that which is measured and seen; how thin or fat, how delineated are the muscles, 💪🏾 how far one can run.

Health is so much more ~ are we feeling calm and spacious, compassionate and open hearted, grounded with a flexible mind and deeply connected and embedded in the natural elemental world?

Wishing you all wonderful health and healing ✨💫🌟💛🙌🏽

28/12/2025

It’s the time of year to reflect on cycles.
Endings and beginnings…
I think it’s useful to have this construction of time,
giving us the opportunity to take stock and look back at the last cyclical year of the summer, autumn, winter and spring seasons.

What stands out about the last year,
what were the major themes in our lives that we were faced with,
who were the significant people,
and what did this phase bring with it?

And to set intentions and create foundations for the year ahead;
what would your top priorities be,
what do you wish to build on,
what are we grateful for?

I find the reflection itself is helpful, with less setting ourselves up to fail around a list of wishes and do’s and don’ts.

Rather than a New Year’s resolution, which tends to diminish rather rapidly by the end of January,
how can we reevaluate that which is really important and create solid foundations through practices.
Indeed, that which we sow, we reap.
What shall we plant and feed and water in the months ahead that will withstand the winter months.

May all beings be well,
May all beings be free from inner and outer harm,
May all beings be peaceful and at ease,
May all beings be able to take care of themselves and one another kindly and with graceful appreciation of this precious brief life ✨💫💛

28/12/2025

The syllable Hung (Hūṁ) symbolizes the primordial nature of mind —the inseparable unity of emptiness and luminous awareness. It represents the enlightened mind itself, already complete and spontaneously present, rather than something to be created through effort.

Hung is understood as the seed syllable of awakened mind, pointing directly to non-dual awareness beyond concepts and discursive thinking. Its sharp, sealed sound signifies the indestructible, stable nature of awareness, while its use in practice serves as a direct pointing-out symbol, helping the practitioner recognize the ever-present, self-knowing clarity.

24/11/2025

I sit with a deep sense of being filled up with goodness and satisfaction and wellness doing what I really love ~ teaching seeped in dharma, ayurveda and yoga.
Weaving these ancient teaching together that make sense and can be applied to our daily lives.
With immense gratitude to the Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo, the wonderful staff and to Chrisi 🙇‍♀️🙏🏼💛
May all beings be well,
free from inner and outer harm,
peaceful and at ease,
healthy and strong
and be able to take care of themselves joyfully 🙇‍♀️🙏🏼💛

19/11/2025

Much of the aging process is a process of drying out.
Our skins get wrinkly, our hair becomes finer, our bones thin and dry out.
In Ayurveda this is understood as increased Vata ~ air and ether elements.

A most excellent antidote and external therapy is
Abyanga ~ deep oiling massage.
This is especially good now in this very windy season in the Cape. The excess air movements can set our nerves on edge and discombobulate our whole beings.
Enjoy a deep oiling Abyanga with warm oil pouring and massaged into your skin.
You welcome to drop me a message and it would be my honour 🙌🏽

16/11/2025

‘What we need is not to be younger, but to be revitalised, resilient, reconnected with our hearts and re-energized to journey through the learning that is life.
Dinacharya restores our Agni, our inner fire, unclogs our senses, strengthens our mind and connects us to our soul, empowering us to transform our lives’
Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya

It is our daily habits ~ Dinacharya ~ that can change our lives.

15/11/2025

Would be wonderful to see you at the SPECIAL BRC 🙌🏽
Soft mists, gentle rhythms and undulating hills surround and support our exploration of
Everyday Ayurveda and somatic practices.
Daily habits that can change your life 🙌🏽

Welcome to the BRC Perched on a ridge at the head of a valley in the Umkomaas river system in KwaZulu-Natal, the Buddhist retreat Centre looks out on a vista of indigenous valleys, forests and rolling hills receding like waves in the blue distance. Here, for more than forty years people of all relig...

05/11/2025

As the year gallops to a close, it is a good moment to pause and check in with what you need.

I am offering 4 different
Personal mini retreats 💛
to attend to your special needs

1. REST + RESTORE
Are You feeling exhausted burnt out, lack of vitality, low energy and focus?

2. CLEANSE + DETOX
Are you functioning at half your capacity and dragging yourself along feeling clogged up and congested?

3. BEAUTY + PAMPER
Are you needing some pampering and nourishing Ayurvedic beauty treatments that leave your skin glowing, with a unique non surgical facelift and glossy hair?

4. REPAIR + REBALANCE
Have you been struggling with some niggling health issues that just keep bothering you?

Which one resonates with you the most?

Drop me a message and we can chat about how best to attend to your needs and create something special for your personal mini retreat 💫✨💛