Retreats
Retreats
Retreating from our external world is an opportunity for intensive Self care - a simple remedy for modern life stresses. The business of life can overtake us and we can easily lose our way. In this state we can feel like something is missing, or we need something more.
Giving ourselves permission to let go of the distractions of everyday life, supports us to turn within. Here we find our inner treasures, peace of mind, a lightness of being and a background sense of calm and happiness.
Cameron’s retreats are a full immersion experience. They attend to all levels; physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual. Every retreat includes Ancient Wisdom teachings and practices from Chinese Medicine, Yogic Philosophy, and Indigenous peoples ways of being.
We follow a daily schedule attending to all levels; for the body-mind-emotions balance, we use daily movement practices including Yoga and/or Qigong. For the mind and spirit we have daily study sessions introducing foundations for lifelong wellbeing. All sessions are interactive and curiosity-led, with plenty of time for question and answers.
Qigong
Qigong is one of the eight limbs of traditional Chinese Medicine based on movement and breath practices. Qigong literally means ‘master the Qi’. It has been used for centuries to keep people well by free-flowing the circulation of Qi- energy, and blood. Qi and blood are inseparable, like the current in a river and the tides in the oceans.
Qi is called the ‘commander of the blood’ and ‘blood is the mother of Qi’. Qi functions are to warm, move, transform, nourish, hold and protect. When our Qi is strong we can stand up and take our place in the world. Living in full bodied presence helps us to feel nourished and protected. It gives us energy to transform our life challenges to grow and evolve.
Qigong enhances wellbeing by optimising the free-flow of the meridians (energy pathways). Qi provides the functional power for all the internal organs. Strong qi flow nurtures and maintains balance for the body-mind.
Chinese medical language and frameworks explain the interconnections of the body-mind-spirit. On this retreat we will introduce the foundation principles of the Chinese medical model showing the body-mind as one system. You will take away tools to strengthen the internal organs, boost your everyday energy levels, and harmonise your mind and emotions.
Nature
Throughout the ages people have retreated to sacred sites in Nature to reconnect with the original harmony that exists inside us. Being in the presence of Mother Nature is one of the fastest ways to return to our original Self, which by design is whole and beautiful. Bring to mind the ‘original innocence’ of a young child, this sweet quality exists as our divine nature.
The natural environment is full of rejuvenating life force. We quickly reset by walking, climbing, swimming, sun and moon bathing, standing in the rain, feeling the wind, gazing into a fire, or standing on a rock or mountain top.
Nature puts our tiny little lives back into perspective. Immersed in her beauty we are reminded that life is always moving forward. Things reach a tipping point. They shift and change which is the driver of our evolution. Our lives can always refresh and renew, as surely as the sun rises and sets.
Testimonials
Using higher views of seeing and being, we expand our perspectives and discover new life possibilities.
"What the retreat did for me was quiet my life in significant ways. Since I returned from the retreat, I have noticed that my days are often buoyed now by a greater since of peace and a larger understanding of the broad spiritual context we all live in. I have more strength I can call upon in myself. I also have more empathy for myself and for others".
Susan Conley, Beijing Retreater, Author of "Landslide"and other books
Retreats are an opportunity to pause and revision our lives.
"For me the retreat was a discovery of the world from a different perspective. Cameron opens doors for new perceptions of nature, life and the universe. She not only shares much of her vast knowledge and wisdom but, most importantly, offers tools to experience it and implement it into daily life. The retreat started me off into a new phase of my life. Now, the memory of the time spent together serves as a reference, it brings me back to center and reminds me of the bigger picture"
Stefanie, Schau, Beijing Retreater, Psychologist
Apply these teachings to everyday life for closer connections
“Immediately after this retreat I could tell something had changed. I connected with my patients almost immediately. Where it sometimes took 10 minutes of digging and questioning before people showed me their true worries or fears, now almost within a split second people would open up and showed me their emotions. And I didn't do a thing, it was all effortless. I figured that because I changed inside, my presence had changed, which was more inviting for my patients to show or share their vulnerability”
Dr Morintje Schraeder, New Zealand Retreater 2017
Retreats are a time for reconnecting to deeper parts of ourselves and resetting to what is natural to us.
"I started at the retreat as a wife, a mom, a family doctor and as the retreat unfolded, I shed those roles and just found myself and to be connected to myself was the most powerful gift I could have been given. Since the retreat, I take better care of myself and my family and friends and my colleagues and patients. I am connected in a way I never was before".
Dr Marie Shieh, Beijing Retreater
Viewing life through the frameworks of Ancient wisdom gives us new ways of showing up to life.
“I met Cameron in Bali in 2019 during a 30-day Qigong teacher training, and what stood out to me was her ability to truly listen — not only with the mind, but with the body and heart. She approached Qigong and Chinese medical theory not as something to collect intellectually, but as a lived language for understanding inner life. The way she engaged with the teachings showed a natural sensitivity to the connections between organ systems, emotional and mental expression, and the physical body.
Cameron has a grounded and attentive presence that allows space for real transformation. She understands Qigong as a healing practice — one that balances, supports, and settles body and mind — and she embodies this understanding in how she moves, relates, and holds space with others.
What I appreciate most is her authenticity. She doesn’t try to impress or perform; she allows the practice and her way of being to speak through her. This quality creates trust and safety, and it’s what enables these teachings to genuinely transform lives.
Marco Bartolomeo - Yoga and Qigong teacher, Tenerife