Yoga Retreat and Matcha Tea Making Class

Join Satoyama Yoga and Sakucha for a mindful half-day retreat in the heart of Newtown, Sydney. We invite you to find connection through mindful movement and refreshment in a bowl of tea. Practice skills to nourish your body/mind both during and beyond the workshop.

In this three-hour experience you will:

• Explore a number of mindfulness practices through yoga, tea, eating, walking and more.
• Practice Japanese meridian yoga and learn self-massage techniques to invigorate and rebalance the energetic meridian system.
• Experience the art of tea, in particular, Chado (The Japanese Way of Tea/Tea Ceremony) and its core philosophies.
• Learn how to prepare a nourishing bowl of organic ceremonial matcha green tea and taste other organic teas, such as genmaicha and hojicha.
• Discover the unique health benefits of mindfulness, yoga and matcha.
• Connect with other like-minded people and learn simple partner stretches.

About Sarah (Satoyama Yoga):

Sarah is a compassionate and passionate yoga teacher who believes in the innate goodness of all.

​Sarah was first introduced to yoga during her university Buddhist Studies in Amsterdam in 2012. Ever since she practised various forms, from Ashtanga to Iyengar to Hatha and eventually to Japanese Yoga. She completed her first teacher training in India in 2017 and started teaching soon after.

In 2018 Sarah moved to Sydney where she completed a one-year intensive training in Japanese Remedial Yoga Therapy. Within the tradition of Japanese yoga she feels home, applying theories of Buddhism, Daoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine to her classes.

Mindfulness of the body and movement, correct alignment, and breath awareness play an important role in all of Sarah’s classes.

"Sarah holds a very special space and guides the practice in a loving and respectful way. She simply, yet profoundly offers a path to go back into the body and allow our natural goodness to take place."

About Kelsey (Sakucha):

Kelsey is a Chado (The Japanese Art of Tea) Practitioner (Urasenke), Registered Yoga and Meditation Teacher (Yoga Australia and Meditation Association of Australia) and Chartered Accountant (CAANZ), who is passionate about personal and planetary wellbeing.

Beginning with language and culture studies, Kelsey has been making connections with Japan for nearly two decades. In 2019, she stepped out of the corporate scene in her native Australia and moved to Kyoto. Trading the West(ern Australia) for the East, she sought to refresh her body and mind.

Refreshment was found in a bowl of matcha green tea. A number of serendipities led her to Chado: a new friend, a library book, an accidental visit to a tea shop and meeting a sensei (teacher). She commenced study and tea became a way of life.

Through the practice of tea and mindfulness and with a desire to help others thrive, Sakucha bloomed.

Sakucha’s mission is to help you flourish. Our entire range is mindfully crafted to support your physical and mental well-being while caring for the planet. We offer 100 per cent organic tea packed into home compostable pouches. Our products consider the whole lifecycle and we design out single-use plastic. We ship into and across Australia with carbon-neutral services. Explore the art and science of tea and mindful living with us.

About the venue:

The Sydney Buddhist Centre is part of a worldwide movement: The Triratna Buddhist Community. Triratna draws on the entire Buddhist tradition and expresses itself in a fresh and dynamic way. They have been offering courses in Buddhism and meditation for more than 40 years. Teachers are practising Buddhists who strive to incorporate the ideals of Buddhism into daily life.

The centre offers courses in Buddhism and meditation in a friendly, supportive environment. Meditation techniques can be used by anyone regardless of religious beliefs. Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Buddhist meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity and a calm seeing of the true nature of things. By engaging in meditation you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate new, more creative ways of being. With regular work and practice these nourishing, focused states can deepen into a profoundly peaceful and energised mind.

None. This experience is open to beginners and all levels.
 

• Two yoga sessions
• An in-depth matcha workshop
• Tea tasting (a variety of premium organic Japanese teas)

We will have all of the equipment needed. However, we recommend you bring your own yoga mat for comfort. Wear comfortable clothes that you can move in for yoga and sitting on the floor.