Memories from Harmony With Nature - 2025 Weekend Yoga Retreat

A Yoga Retreat to deepen your Connection to Nature.

This was our first time visiting the magical Kawau Island... and we know it was the right choice to try something a lil' different.

With 15 attendees, three hosts, two chefs and Parohe dog, Sue, we had an amazing, supportive and nourishing pop-up yoga community for our weekend yoga retreat at the stunning Parohe Island Retreat.

Harmony With Nature Yoga Retreat

Check out some of our memories below:

Friday 28th February - Arrival & Opening

Kawau Island is easily accessible from Auckland, and includes a fairly short, 45 minute drive from Auckland's CBD to Sandspit (where the ferry terminal is), then onto the ferry itself.

For geographical context, Sandspit is a small fishing / boating community within stones throw from Warkworth. There is tonnes of parking available for those catching the ferry, and when it comes to Kawau Isalnd, you have many places to visit and explore.

Our journey took us to Parohe Island Retreat - a 55 acre area of the Island which is totally private, and closed to the public. A lot of it is forest and bush, which is exactly what you want when leaving Auckland for a weekend getaway.

Parohe has it's own private jetty, canoes and kayaks, swimming pool, sauna, outdoor baths and shower, outdoor games, a forest-gym created using wood and natural elements, outdoor yoga platforms, a yoga studio, luxury cabins and accommodation nestled in the trees, with more than enough power to stay comfortable.

Guests mostly arrived from 4pm where we collected bags from the jetty, and took an easily stroll through the venue's grounds, dropping people off at their private accommodation as we went.

We congregated in the main seating / dining area, called Enchantment, and enjoyed a welcome drink along with our dinner for the night.

Our outdoor, welcoming circle began after dinner as the sun went down; creating some space to share intentions for the weekend, meet our fellow yogis around the circle, and to talk about some shared agreements and boundaries for the weekend.

Kanuka Yoga Retreats are safe containers for people to connect deeper with themselves, with nature, and with those around them. We honour this safe container with shared agreements like speaking from personal experience, avoiding the need to 'give advice', and acknowledging confidentiality of the sharing circle,

We held the intention of the weekend ahead with Blue Lotus flowers in our hands, and dropping this (along with our spoken intentions) into our communal tea infuser as we enjoyed a hot drink before our evening Restore + Live Music session.

A gentle start to the retreat, with food, chats, opening circle and Restorative Yoga to the sounds of Stu's mystical handpan and acoustic guitar.

Saturday, 1st March - first day of Autumn

Starting with a guided, sunrise mediation on the jetty; this was a real highlight moment for a lot of our guests - the light was beautiful, the morning calm, and we found the perfect space to sit down with a blanket and block, to welcome in the morning.

Raquel shared a guided meditation honouring the rising sun - leaving plenty of quiet, introspective time.

Breakfast was prepared nice and early for those wanting something in their bellies for the day ahead - a spread of chia seed cups, fresh fruits and muesli.

Making our way to the on-site yoga studio, we setup for our first Slow Flow Yoga practice, led by Raquel and with Stu sharing acoustic melodies and handpan sounds throughout the class.

We had all the doors wide open which allowed the gentle breeze to float through the space as we gazed out into the natural surroundings, and enjoyed the heat of the passing sun throughout the class.

Ending with a grounding rest and creating space for a decent free-time block to explore the venue, go for a swim, paddle-board and check out the local scenic lookouts.

So many options to enjoy at this stunning venue which is a huge reason we decided to host a yoga retreat here; we love getting outside, and using the mindfulness skills and functional movement practices in nature, to aid our connection to mother earth and make the most every day!

Let's not forget about an important part of the day - lunch!

Our on-site hosts (i.e. the venue managers and chefs for the weekend) were an amazing couple named Glyn and Vicki. We felt very nurtured by their attentiveness and ability to adapt the menu to our scheduled activities.

We know all the attendees loved having them around; they brought a fun, playful vibration to the retreat which is part of the Kauka Yoga ethos; be playful, be adventurous, breath and move mindfully.

Saturday afternoon arrived as we circled up to enjoy a iced Cacao in the relaxed setting; Raquel sharing more about this ancient plant medicine.

The chat naturally flowed into one of our favourite classes to share - Yoga Beats - with Raquel leading a yoga class, with a twist; incorporation bouncing, spirals, fun movements and play, whilst Stu matches the class energy with his tribal DJ beats.

We were all in the flow for this one and didn't capture any photos or videos from this session... I guess you had to be there. Everyone loved it!

Dinner was ready to go straight after this evening session and we sat down to enjoy another delicious meal from Vicki & Glyn.

Guests were able to choose their flow for the evening with either chats at Enchantment, a sauna / cold shower session or relaxing in their luxury cabins.

Sunday, 2nd March - last day, closing

We always start our Sunday morning slightly later than Saturday, giving everyone a little extra time to rest, sleep or get into their morning the way they like.

The breakfasts were all superb and the chia seed cups were always a favourite!

For our Sunday morning Yoga practice, we decided to offer up two different sessions; firstly a Dynamic, Animalistic Flow with Stu, or a Somatic Enquiry session with Raquel. This allowed us to utilise the outdoor yoga platforms, as the entire group wouldn't have fit one alone.

This worked out super well, and is the added bonus of having two qualified and experienced yoga teachers and facilitators hosting a retreat - going with the flow.

Stu's outdoor, animalistic flow took students on a journey through some primal movements that aren't often shared in traditional ashtanga classes, like monkey hops and bear crawls. Other animalistic postures included eagle, crow, gorilla grip and dolphin.

When it was time for final rest, lying flat on our backs we could gaze up at the blue skies and tall Kanuka trees above. How fitting =)

As the final round of massages took place (from our amazing on-site masseuse, Hemera), we circled up once more for our integration ceremony; closing down the formalities of the weekend, sharing insights learned along the way and communicating thanks to the land, the support and small community we created throughout our weekend on Kawau Island.

People were able to enjoy one last block of free-time, soaking in the sun by the pool and exchanging contact details with the new connections made.

Stu drove around the venue collecting bags as everyone made there way to the jetty, in time for a group snap and for everyone to board the boat heading back to mainland.

A truely magical time and we're so grateful for everyone that walked alongside us!

Hosts for the Weekend

Your experienced guides: Raquel Minh (Trauma-informed facilitator, Yoga teacher, and plant medicine guide) and Stu Larsen (Musician and Yoga teacher) of Kanuka Yoga Space, with the support of Susan Nguyen (Yoga Teacher, Botanist).

What Attendees Have Said?

"Just spent the best weekend in a very long time with a retreat run by the incredible Raquel and Stu from Kanuka Yoga. It was everything I could have wished for and more.

Some things enough beyond my comfort level to challenge me in a very safe and 'I'm going to do this' space; some things within my zone that just added another layer of nourishment and wonderful doses of self well-being.

For me, it was a perfectly blended retreat; lots of choice to connect and interact with others and what was on offer, or choose solo-time to enjoy your own time and the beautiful environment.

Thank you Raquel and Stu - your personal contributions and style made this yoga retreat so special."

Sue Brewster - Harmony With Nature Yoga Retreat

Thanks for being part of our magical Yoga Retreat Community.

Keep an eye on our Kanuka Yoga Retreat page online to see when and where we plan our next Yoga Retreat, and to see more memories from past yoga retreats.

Kindly,

Kanuka Yoga Space