Wholehearted Living: The Gifts of Imperfection, Mindfulness and Yoga Bali Retreat 2025

Six days/Five nights, Sunday 27th July - Friday 1st August 2025

Integrating Brené Brown’s ‘The Gifts of Imperfection: Guideposts for Wholehearted Living’ curriculum together with slow flow yoga, mindfulness meditation, guided deep rest sessions and other creative practices. Includes excursions, nature, cultural experiences and more in a stunning Balinese jungle location.

Eco-luxury, four-and-a-half star resort, 15mins from Ubud, Bali.

This retreat booked out last year - don’t wait to enrol or register your interest below!

Warm yourself this winter with Wholehearted Living:The Gifts of Imperfection, a unique and restorative six-day Mindfulness and Slow Yoga Retreat in beautiful Bali. This retreat grounds and deepens the ideas from Brené Brown’s research by integrating within practices and understandings from the worlds of mindfulness, yoga, compassion and neuroscience.

Fourteen years ago I was blown away by Brenés first TED talk The Power of Vulnerability. I was inspired that – just like our understanding in the mindfulness world – all of her work insists that wholehearted living requires not just a grand theory, but an ongoing process and practice. As a long-term mindfulness practitioner, yogi and relationship therapist, I’ve so loved the creative challenge of integrating ‘the best of’ what is most grounding, sustainable and inspiring into one intensive retreat designed for renewing body, heart, mind and spirit.

Each morning begins with a sunrise mindfulness-based slow flow yoga session, to embody the learning so far and set up the day’s new theme. A spacious breakfast period then allows time for a swim or excellent expresso before joining the in-depth workshops exploring and practicing the ten guideposts that Brené Brown’s Daring Way research identified as essential if we are to live our fullest, most meaningful lives. We explore how each guidepost requires not just cultivation in its own right, but practices to help with letting go of the obstacles, mind-states or patterns that habitually get in the way. Afternoons and evenings will include guided rest nidras, optional local excursions to authentic non-touristy historic or cultural sites or time for a massage or relaxing around the pool. Evenings include a sunset happy hour and/or meal either at our venue or at a restaurant chosen for the view or ambience. The retreat offers time for group connection and fun and also later in the week, a short silent ‘retreat within the retreat’ to enable a deeper rest experience.

At its essence, this is a retreat about daring to show up for the lives we’re actually having - including challenges, imperfections, loss and transitions - as well as laying the groundwork for how we wish to live from here. Most fundamentally, this retreat is about cultivating joy, compassion, awareness, connection and meaning.

 Photos from Maggie’s previous Bali Retreats: The surrounds and atmosphere of the beautiful retreat venue.

What the retreat fee includes:

• Six days program / Five nights accommodation in a beautifully designed Twin-bed or King Single room.
  All rooms have own ensuite (some with large bath), air conditioning, balcony or deck, mosquito nets, & wifi

• Six three-and-a-half-hour workshop sessions, plus daily sunrise slow flow yoga sessions and/or afternoon Nidra relaxation practice (30 hrs total session time)

• All delicious breakfasts and morning teas, plus one additional vegetarian lunch or dinner per day

• Excursions and cultural experiences including but not restricted to: visiting a local village family compound and ancient Temple within the rainforest; walking through lush green paddy fields; traditional Balinese dancing at one of our evening meals; and an authentic water cleansing and blessing ceremony at a local waterfall

• Celebration sunset cocktail on last evening

• Free shuttle bus to and from Ubud to do your own exploring in town

  
  
  

  Not included: Airfares, travel insurance (compulsory), airport transfers (approx. AUD $60 each way), additional meals/drinks/activities.

The Ten Guideposts from The Gifts of Imperfection

• Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of what people think

• Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism

• Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: Letting Go of Numbing & Powerlessness

• Cultivating Gratitude & Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity & Fear of the Dark

• Cultivating Intuition & Trusting Faith: Letting Go of the need for Certainty

• Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison

• 7 Cultivating Play & Rest: letting Go of Exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as Self-worth

• Cultivating Calm & Stillness: Letting Go of anxiety as a Lifestyle

• Cultivating Meaningful Work: Letting Go of Self-doubt & ‘Supposed to’

• Cultivating Laughter, Song & Dance: Letting Go of being cool and ‘always in control’

Typical daily format:

6:45 – 7:45am – Sunrise slow flow yoga practice outdoors 
8 – 9:30am – Breakfast
9:30 – 1pm– Workshop Session (including morning tea)
1 - 4pm Lunch, optional group excursion, or time for rest, swim, massage or your own exploring 
4:30 – 5:30pm – Guided deep rest or creative practice
6 pm – Sunset Happy Hour or relax
7pm – Dinner

Fee

$2,490 Earlybird Twin Share with ensuite (deposit by 15th January), inclusive of GST / $2,690 (after 15th January). Single room supplement $800 (these are premium rooms with large bed and ensuite).

Secure your place by booking and paying first instalment deposit of $490 (earlybird) by 15th January OR $690 (after 15th January).

Payment, Refund Conditions, Travel insurance & other important information - please read before booking

Fee can be paid in full or in instalments. First instalment is the Deposit fee of $490 Earlybird (or $690 after 15th January). If paying in instalments, second instalment $1000 is due 1st March (along with proof of your travel insurance), followed by final instalment $1000 due 1st May. You will be looking for return flights to Denpasar, Bali (Ngurah Rai International Airport) and as our first session will be on arrival day 1pm Sunday July 27th, you will need to be flying into Bali by Saturday 26th July at the very latest and flying out no sooner than the night of Friday 1st August. For competitive prices, it is recommended to purchase your flights several months before the retreat.

A full refund, minus your deposit, is available up to three months prior to commencement of retreat. After 27/4/25, no refunds can be provided for withdrawals or cancellations: please purchase travel insurance that covers any conditions that might impact your ability to attend this retreat. If the retreat needs to be postponed or cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, a full refund will be made or, if preferred, transfer to anotherMindfulPresence retreat.

On booking, we will provide an information document suggesting other areas and ideas for participants wishing to extend their Balinese experience with some additional nights. It is possible to stay on at the beautiful retreat venue after we finish, however we recommend staying elsewhere before the retreat starts - either in another part of Bali or in nearby Ubud.

To secure your place, please submit the Registration form (above) and deposit.

Direct deposit details:
Account name: Margaret O'Shea
BSB: 633000
Account number: 145643953

Indonesia currently requires proof of 2 x Covid vaccinations. To check changing requirements, please go to SmartTraveller Indonesia: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/indonesia