RETURN TO CALM
- Karen Kinnersly
- Jun 19
- 4 min read
In a world of constant stimulation, the simple act of stillness becomes a profound way to heal. In the Northern Rivers, where nature holds you and the community supports your inner journey, there are countless ways to return to calm.
WRITTEN BY ALISON BONE
From immersive retreats and deeply restorative breathwork sessions to mindful movement and sacred tea ceremonies, these local offerings invite you to slow down, soften, and find the peace that lives within.
THE BREATH AS A BRIDGE
Wondering what breathwork is all about? If you’ve ever taken a deep breath to calm your nerves, you already have an idea. Breathwork, involving the practice of conscious breathing techniques and exercises, offers a wide range of benefits – from relaxing the body and stilling the mind to regulating emotions and releasing stored trauma. “There is a quiet power in the breath – a bridge between chaos and calm,” says Amanda Jane, certified breathwork and conscious mindfulness coach and founder of Rise Temple Studio in Burringbar. As well as regular gatherings and retreats, Amanda offers online courses that invite you to slow the mind and soothe the nervous system so that you can experience deep transformation in your own time and space. “Through gentle daily practices participants can shift from spirals of overthinking, limiting beliefs and inner negativity into clarity, presence and calm,” she explains.
RECONNECTION TO SELF
For those craving inner stillness, meditation is the gold standard as it trains the mind to focus on a single point of attention thus reducing mental chatter and over thinking. Whether you are new to meditation or looking to deepen your practice, it’s hard to beat the full immersion that a dedicated retreat brings. Away from the distractions of daily life it’s easy to reconnect with yourself and with nature while also learning valuable life skills and practices that you can pack into your wellness toolbox and take home with you. Sangsurya in the beautiful Byron hinterland offers a range of meditation retreats throughout the year, with an invitation to nurture, heal and transform. Their signature Insight Meditation retreats are based on traditional Buddhist techniques with a focus on mindfulness, and the peace of mind that comes from being present in the moment. With nourishing farm-fresh meals, periods of silence, and practices designed to ground and restore, it’s an invitation to heal, reset, and rediscover the deep quiet within.
A SPACE TO CONNECT
The best wellness practice is the one that works for you, and to help you find it, Open Sky Wellbeing in Mullumbimby offers a range of healing modalities within a serene, beautifully designed space. Curious to experience sound healing? Join Citadel for a gentle but profound healing journey that combines sound healing, breathwork and energy healing. Research shows that sound vibrations can slow down our brainwaves inducing a dreamlike state that cultivates a sense of stillness and deep relaxation. Sometimes known as a sound bath, it’s about allowing music and frequencies from various instruments such as singing bowls, gongs, tuning forks, digeridoos – or in the case of Citadel, a beautiful singing voice – to wash over you, bringing you into a state of harmony. Open Sky also offers Yin yoga – a practice that encourages the body to relax in a gentle pose which helps to calm the breath and quieten the mind. There are Qi Gong classes too, and sacred tea ceremonies which invite you to take a pause from everyday life and engage in the soothing practice of ritual. Sign up for a Stillness Membership to enjoy unlimited tea ceremonies, sound healing, Qi Gong and cacao ceremonies.
MINDFULNESS IN MOTION
What if inner calm could be found not in stillness, but in movement? Enter Nia — a unique and uplifting blend of dance, martial arts and healing practices designed to reconnect you with your body’s natural rhythm. Set to global music, Nia fosters creativity, self-expression and joy through mindful movement. “Dance has the capacity to restore harmony in body, mind, emotions and spirit; it’s mindfulness in motion,” says Rebecca Kelly, a Nia Black Belt instructor and conscious movement facilitator, who teaches weekly classes in Kingscliff, Brunswick Heads and Federal. “The origin of the word ‘rhythm’ is Greek, meaning to flow,” she adds. “When we are experiencing dissonance and disharmony in our lives, we limit our resilience and ability to resonate with the natural rhythms of life. Dancing gives us a way to feel the beat or pulse needed to feel connected and balanced.”
NATURE’S THERAPY
Sometimes, returning to balance is as simple as stepping into the forest. Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), this gentle form of nature therapy invites us to move slowly and mindfully through the natural world, engaging all the senses. While we all know the benefits of being in nature, forest bathing introduces a greater degree of mindfulness to the experience, which naturally leads to a sense of stillness. With so many gorgeous rainforests and swathes of ancient bushland around us, the Northern Rivers offers endless opportunities to let nature still your mind and soothe your nervous system. Tune in to the rustle of the breeze through the treetops, the satisfying crunch of leaves underfoot, and the refreshing scent of eucalyptus."Nature has much to offer, it’s our true healer but we forget this,” says Tracey Jarrett, founder of Three Little Birds Nature Therapy, who offers guided walks in various forests across the Northern Rivers and beyond. “Being still in nature reconnects us to our self, it grounds us in the present moment and reminds us we are part of something greater.”
HEALING THROUGH SOUND
Sound can be a powerful ally in the journey back to self, and Lion Hearts Breathwork, founded by Kristy Ferrari, offers a deeply restorative way in through 9D Breathwork sessions. A relative newcomer to the wellness space, 9D Breathwork is a multi-dimensional experience designed to access the subconscious mind. By combining conscious breath with guided visualisations, immersive soundscapes and therapeutic vibrational frequencies, the practice creates a transformational space for emotional release and deep nervous system repair. “Breathwork, and in particular 9D Breathwork, gives space to feel and release any suffering held in the body and subconscious mind,” says Kristy Ferrari, founder of Lion Hearts Breathwork. “It allows us to bypass the monkey mind creating an opportunity to heal and move forward with a sense of connection peace and joy.” Kristy offers regular breathwork and sound healing sessions in Bilambil Heights and Kingscliff.
Comentários