Samadhi Yoga Australia

Check out our latest newsletter (it's been a while lol!)
Welcome to Spring - and latest retreat updates 🥰 - https://mailchi.mp/91d83c82ca3a/welcome-to-spring-and-latest-retreat-updates

Hello from sunny Cairns ☀️
We are entering spring tomorrow and I’m so grateful to be living up here .
I’m still in awe of the weather here in FNQ, it soothes my soul and makes me happy .
Feeling at peace .

Did you know you get to choose how you feel?
Choose happiness 🥰

Happy weekend all 😘🌺🙏

☀️

Thank you Sandy for your wonderful feedback on our recent retreat to Vanuatu with Ronnie .
We absolutely loved having you join us again , and we look forward to seeing you next year ( Sandy has retreated with us 3 times already 💜)

“A retreat run by two very experienced and dedicated yoga teachers, an island paradise destination and activities and massages included. What a treat!
The combination of yoga with Ronnie before breakfast and yin with Tanja at sunset provided a perfect start and end to each day.
Tanja and Ronnie not only provided a contrast in their class offerings, but also in their approach and personalities and the combination worked extremely well to provide a very rounded retreat experience. Reflections Retreat, was the perfect venue.
It was like being in our own personal piece of paradise. The accommodation, food and massages were amazing and Brad, Gillian and their staff did their utmost to ensure an enjoyable stay for all.
There was no shortage of activities - a local village visit, a creek walk into the jungle, a day out to Port Vila and a local farm and river, kayaking and my personal favourite, snorkelling.
However, there was still plenty of time for some chatting, reading, dozing, or just enjoying the views from one of the hammocks hanging in the shade of the coconut palms.
The retreat was the perfect opportunity to disconnect and switch off from everyday life. For me, it was an opportunity to focus on myself and trying to get back to feeling like me again.
After a recent loss in the family, I arrived at the retreat feeling stressed and very “stuck” in the grieving process. My mind was full with the noise of constant thoughts and chatter and my sleeping had become very disturbed. At the end of the retreat, I felt relaxed, my mind was clear and calm, and my normal sleep pattern had returned.
I’ve arrived home rested and energised and feeling able to move on with the grieving process and with life in general. Thanks Tanja and Ronnie for an amazing experience and for helping me find the old me again! “ Sandy

Not long before we release our dates for 2025 🙌

Breakfast for champions 🥰
Oats fried in Ghee to remove gluten , cooked with almond milk and water in equal amounts , added blueberries and collagen powder, and topped with Paleo seed mix for some crunch . Yum💜

Happy Wednesday all 💫

You can find me at all day today :

10-1115 All Levels

Shop open 1-4pm -come and browse our yoga books , props and apparel or chat all things yoga with me 🥰

430pm Beginner Level 2
545pm Yin Yoga liver & Gallbladder sequence

Happy days 🙌

❤️

Yoga is much more than postures (asanas).
Its highest aspect is called “Samadhi” _ the experience of the pure Self, deep within. 💫

📸 The Shala 💜

Reviews from our last retreat are starting to come in , this one is from the wonderful and kind David Burston Training, Confidence Unlimited, who always has a smile on his face and I’m so proud of How far he’s come in his yoga journey .
After a severe work accident that nearly left him unable to move or walk, he has managed to come back in strides , and after 6 months of yoga, and now the retreat has taken him leaps and bounds .

Another proof that yoga is for everyone, and at any stage in your life . You just gotta give it a go ( David’s words ☺️).

“The Vanuatu retreat with Tanja and Ronnie, and very minimal online access, was a wonderful way to unplug for the pressures of life, while getting some valuable body restoration happening.
The delivery of the Yoga with Ronnie in the morning session and Tanja with the sunset evening Yin Yoga session gave balance, while the lapping of the waves at the shore side venue, was an added bonus.

The snorkeling was a great way to relax the body, as was the bushwalking and kayaking, all working on different muscle groups. The farm visit and the cooking class was another education into the tastes and methods of a very different culture.

The interaction with the locals, including the staff and the school and market at Lelepa Island gave us a valuable insight into the local way of life. If you are going to a new destination I belief it is important that you do not see, just the tarted-up tourist sights, but get to understand the local people.

The resort, our hosts, and the food was amazing, and the small size of the group of eight worked very well. If you want a real break, coming away with a healthier body, then I would thoroughly recommend it.”

“They whose happiness is within,
whose contentment is within,
whose light is all within,
attain eternal freedom.”

📸 creek Walk - Vanuatu

💜

Somewhere over the rainbow .. 🌈 lies this magical retreat space in Vanuatu .
I have just come home from running my second retreat over there and I cannot wait to return .

This is a retreat with a difference.. we give back in so many ways when we head over there .

Yes there’s twice daily yoga , yes there’s amazing food, yes the accommodation is beautiful , but best of all we get to meet and live alongside the locals who are there to teach us about their culture, their lives and their choices to keep living a basic, traditional life .

I’m about to launch my 2 retreats in 2025 with 2 wonderful co- hosts , and .

2 very different retreats , 2 different co-hosts, same magical space .

Reach out if you’d like to know more and be sent the details before everyone else - we can only take 10 students with us on each retreat!

Dm me your email and you’ll be the first ones in the know 🥰💫

Final full day here in paradise .. a special treat this morning for our practice with Brad teaching us, so nice to be a student again!
A perfect snorkel at the home reef and some chill time at the pool - who could ask for more ??

Keep your eyes peeled for the pre-release of our retreat dates for 2025 here at with .

It’s been a wonderful 10 days here, feeling very grateful and relaxed on this final day in my second island home 🙏💜

Yes there’s lots of yoga on retreat , but we also do other fun activities while we are here !

We had 2 great pop - up workshops with Ronnie :

- Nose versus mouth breathing
- sleep: how can we get the best sleep possible

We had a fabulous day on Lelepa Island , where we visited the local primary school and the village, that still lives in the traditional way totally self sufficient.

The Ni Vanuatu people are such beautiful, genuine and caring humans, their smile lights up the day and even though they live a very simple life they have been voted the happiest people 2 years in a row now .

Of course there’s also plenty of time to relax, the Power hammock is very popular 😁

Day 3 , this place already feels like home .
My buddy Chase helps when I miss my 3 fur babies at home 😻

Off to our big Day excursion to Port Vila and Eden on the River for a farm visit and cooking lesson 🤩

We are ready for you 💫💜🙌

The Yoga School Reflections Retreat Vanuatu

Hello and farewell Cairns for the next 11days as I’m heading off to run my next retreat in Vanuatu with The Yoga School 🙌🇻🇺🌴☀️🌺🙏

One of the best things about what I do - “ when you love what you do it’s not work “ and it’s so true.

I love making a difference in people’s lives , seeing their smiles after class, the chatter and uplifting energy that’s present - their questions and interests about how they can improve their wellbeing, that’s what I live for and thrive on .

Yes , I love what I do and I’m so grateful I get to do it .

See you soon in paradise- Vanuatu here we come 💫💫💫

New breakfast favourite: warm chia pudding with Ghee, soaked dates , raisins and blueberries ☺️
Perfect for a cold winter morning 🙏

Chia is high in omega 3 protein , and ghee helps lubricate joints and gut lining 🌺

Only 7 days until our Early Bird ends for our next retreat to - save yourself $100 if you pay your deposit before 1st August 💫

Dates: 15-18th October
Cost : from $1190 Twin Share p.p.

Only 4 spots left for this all inclusive retreat !

💫 Twice daily yoga
💫 all meals
💫 Ayurvedic Cooking class
💫 Sound healing event with
💫 all props
💫 3 awesome teachers from
💫 swims in the pool or lake
💫 nature hikes
💫 lots of laughs with your fellow students 🥰

🌺 massage optional extra with the lovely Jacqui

Full details on website at
Samadhiyogaaustralia.com

Full moon blessings dear ones 🌝💜🙏

I shared this beautiful poem in my yin class tonight , it really resonated with me int this deep, still time of year 💫

“Just for now, without asking how, let yourself sink into stillness.

Just for now, lay down the weight you so patiently bear upon your shoulders.
Feel the earth receive you, and the infinite expanse of the sky grow even wider as your awareness reaches up to meet it.

Just for now, allow a wave of breath to enliven your experience. Breathe out whatever blocks you from the truth.

Just for now, be boundless, free, with awakened energy tingling in your hands and feet.
Drink in the possibility of being who and what you really are – so fully alive that the world looks different, newly born and vibrant, just for now.”

Words by Danna

Winter is the most “yin” time of year. It’s a time when the natural world slows down and the days are generally darker.
A yin yoga sequence for the winter emphasizes forward folding which helps one to turn inward.

It also targets the Kidney and Urinary Bladder meridians in Chinese medicine. Meridians are considered channels where Qi or the basic life force of the body flows.
The Kidney and Bladder meridians are related to the winter and so targeting these channels helps to create balance in the wintertime.

If you feel called to slow down and turn Yin-ward, join me for a nourishing class this Sunday 4pm The Yoga School , I’ll be adding a little something to celebrate full moon 🌝💜🙏

Come join me tomorrow Friday 1030am for our gentle fitness class for seniors 💜🙏

There comes a day when you realize that the fear never really goes away,
that if you really want something,
you have to be willing to do it afraid.

And maybe this is the only way you ever get to discover your fullest potential.
Maybe you just have to dive right in and face the thing that scares you the most.

Because in the end,
it’s not the rejections and so-called failures that will haunt you.
It will be your own potential left unexplored.

So maybe you don’t need to wait until you overcome your fears to take the first step forward.

Maybe you just need to know there’s something more important than fear. Something greater.
Something worth fighting for.

And maybe overcoming your fears is the least important part of your story anyway.

Maybe what matters is that you’re scared but still determined.
Shaky but still standing.
Afraid but still willing to try.

- Zanna Keithley

📸 taken in WA 2018 Kalbarri NP

One of my favourite classes are those I’m teaching for this lovely bunch of Seniors at the Cairns & District Seniors Association .

It’s so rewarding to see their happy faces after class and they are so grateful- and cheeky ! Ages range from 50ties to 90ties!!

I now teach 2 Fitness classes on Tuesdays 1115am and Fridays 1030am , these are partly taught in the chair with dumbbells and some standing exercises for those who are able to.

I’ve decided to offer a special Wellness Retreat for Seniors at the beautiful Chambers Wildlife Lodge at Lake Eacham .

Dates are locked in for Thursday 29-31st of May 2025, view the full description on Facebook or my website.

It’s a wonderful way of giving back to our older community, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it 💜🙏

Warming Ayurvedic Dahl - suitable for all doshas but especially Vata Dosha due to red lentils being used (this is the only lentil Vata can easily digest ).

This recipe is one of my staples, it’s easy to make and full of flavour . I especially like the addition of quinoa instead of rice , to add a boost of protein . The kale is optional, as not ideal for Vata 😅.

I tbsp coconut oil or ghee
1½ cups dried red lentils
1 tbsp ground cumin seed
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder / flakes
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger root, grated
½ bunch coriander, roots and leaves chopped separately
1 litre water or vegetable stock
½ cauliflower, chopped small
1 medium sweet potato, chopped small

Tip - I use split red lentils , this brings the cooking time down to just 30min 😊

Remove any stones or debris from lentils, and wash until water runs clear. Soak for 2-5 hours in water, then drain.

Heat a frying pan to melt oil or ghee. Add onion, garlic and ginger and stir until soft. Add dry spices and heat until mixed and aromatic (around a minute). Stir in lentils, then transfer to a slow cooker with water, coriander root and vegetables. Cook for 4-6 hours on low.

Recipe by Katie Graham 🙏

If you’d like to learn more about Ayurvedic food and yoga, join me at Tinaroo Lake Resort for our next retreat from 15-18th October - we only have 4 spots left !
This retreat is run in collaboration with The Yoga School, early bird ends 1st august where you can save $100 💜🙏

“That which you put your attention on grows greater in your awareness. So put your attention on progress, goodness, and success.”

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Transcendental Meditation