Meditation and Yoga - Silent 3-night Retreat with Kynan Tan and Margery Ai

A silent 3-night meditation and yoga retreat in the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW 

About this event

Dates: Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 April 2025, arrive 4pm Thursday, depart 2pm Sunday.

Cost: $330 - $570 depending on the type of accommodation. This price includes three meals each day. It does not include payment for the yoga and meditation teachers, which is made by donation (dāna or generosity) after the retreat. Early bird discounts are available until Sunday 23 March. Registrations close Monday 21 April.

Capacity is limited to a maximum of 15 participants. This retreat has been fully booked the last six times it has run.

Description

Sthira-Sukham Asanam

(Allow your posture to be steady and joyful)

-- Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, 2:46

This special retreat brings together yoga practice with silent meditation to enable a deeper embodiment of awareness. Yoga asana (movement and posture) can be usefully thought of as a way to prepare the body and mind for meditation. Yoga opens and energises the body, helping you to sit more comfortably for extended periods and become more aware of sensations in the body. Meditation practices allow us to go deeper into the mind and body and to connect with an awareness beyond the body.

Each day there will be a morning yoga flow sequence and an evening restorative yoga practice, guided meditation and instruction, a 1:1 interview, a dharma talk with Q+A, and alternating sitting and walking meditation sessions. There will also be three nourishing meals and time for rest and enjoying the lovely bush surroundings. We will observe noble silence from the first evening until lunch on the final day.

This intimate silent 3-night retreat allows practitioners to deepen their practice. The retreat is a supportive environment to settle into stillness much more than is typically possible with the busyness and complexities of daily life. The beautiful, serene environment allows space for cultivating awareness and equanimity and for connecting to the body and exploring the mind. You will move towards cultivating calm and clarity, opening the heart, and connecting with experience in ways that bring freedom.

This silent retreat is structured to provide an environment where all retreatants can receive as much support and guidance as is helpful for them to move forward in their practice. This is a student-centred retreat, which means that while we will offer both yoga and meditation instructions, we will provide options and modifications, and be responsive to each student's needs and find ways to collaboratively assist them to deepen their individual practice.

All retreat participants have the option to talk with the teachers prior to the retreat to ensure that we support you as well as possible and that the retreat experience is beneficial. There will also be an optional post-retreat integration call for bringing the practice back into daily life.

Suitable for all levels of experience in both meditation and yoga.

Testimonials

"The retreat with Kynan was very effective and helped me with my meditation practice. The venue is beautiful and well-maintained and the schedule is easy to follow. Kynan has a student-centered approach which means he takes care to consider the needs and level of each individual participant as well as offer practices which suit the group as a whole. He is very knowledgeable about both the theory and practice aspects of meditation and I learned a lot from his retreat." -- Nina

"I am deeply comforted by the consistent and thoughtful way Kynan facilitates a meditation space. He offers realistic expectations to participants, meets you where you're at in your practice and pushes you when needed. Alongside all this he maintains a delightfully warm and calm demeanour - truly a great teacher." -- Lillian C

"This retreat was everything I'd hoped it would be and more! It was my first silent multi-day retreat, so I was a bit unsure what to expect. Kynan offered so much guidance, encouragement, and humor the whole weekend. I walked away feeling grounded and more connected to the world around me." -- Rachael C

"This was an extremely well-run and thought-out retreat, focusing on individual need, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Its emphasis on what works best for the individual, rather than adherence to any particular technique or tradition was a relief. I was particularly taken with the high-quality of instruction and talks provided by the Kynan, as well as the excellent and friendly services provided by the retreat manager and chef." -- Richard C

About the Teachers

Kynan Tan

Kynan Tan is a meditation teacher who takes a collaborative approach to helping students deepen their meditation practice. He came to meditation after struggles with stress, anxiety, and depression and found the practice to be transformative. He believes that meditation has enormous potential for creating positive change and opening up new ways of relating to our experience. 

Kynan draws upon a number of different modern and traditional techniques of contemplative and introspective practice. He is a longtime practitioner of the stages of śamatha-vipassanā (as presented in the book The Mind Illuminated), Rob Burbea's insight meditation techniques, nondual awareness, and brahmavihārā practices (mettā, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity). Kynan brings his experience as an artist, musician, and programmer into his understanding and sharing of meditation in a way that is clear, practical, and creative. 

Kynan has recorded guided meditations for SBS, and has taught classes at Carriageworks, City of Canada Bay Libraries, and Melbourne University Contemplative Studies Centre. He teaches the Pragmatic Dharma Club at the San Francisco Dharma Collective, regularly leads residential retreats, offers one-on-one instruction, and teaches online meditation courses. He is the co-creator of Sit Down and Practice, a free 42-day meditation course. Kynan has sat a number of retreats, including a month-long solo retreat in 2021.

Margery Ai

Margery Ai is a yoga teacher, counsellor, and avid meditator.

As a life-long lover of embodiment, growing up dancing, swimming, and running, yoga always felt good to her physically. It wasn’t until 2019 when, after encountering a series of existential questions, Margery began deepening the spiritual side of her practice. At that time she travelled to Nusa Lembongan, Bali, completing 200 hours of Ashtanga Vinyasa training at All Yoga School.

Since then, Margery has taught public classes at Manumission Yoga, The Livingroom Yoga School, and Paramount Recreation Club, and private classes for corporates and universities. She teaches with traditional elements from Ashtanga, shares philosophical reflections on the dharma, and allows a generous space for stillness and silence. 

Ultimately, Margery supports you to journey back to yourself. ‘My hope is by the end of class, you will have returned home: to that open and spacious place of pure awareness, your true nature, your essence.’

Venue and Cost

Vejjasala, located just outside the village of Wingello in the Southern Highlands of NSW, is a retreat centre run by the Association of Engaged Buddhists. The name, Vejjasala, means a place for healing. This beautiful retreat centre features recently renovated, comfortable accommodation, expanses of bush land, and lots of amazing wildlife. Full details about Vejjasala, accommodation options, directions, and information about what to bring can be found on the Vejjasala website.

The registration cost includes accommodation and food, with three nourishing vegan meals per day. Please indicate if you have any allergies or dietary requirements. We can accommodate gluten free diets, or if there are specific ingredients you need to avoid, however we may not be able to accommodate all requests.

We work to keep the price of the retreat as low as possible while allowing for us to pay for food and venue hire. The cost for this retreat varies depending on the type of accommodation and there is an early bird discount available. Please click on "Buy Tickets" to see the different options.

You can read more about the accommodation options. Shared rooms will generally be allocated to people of the same gender (please indicate on the form if you are booking a shared room and this is not suitable for you). There is also space available for participants who are able to bring their own caravan (note that it must be a caravan and you cannot stay in a tent, due to the occupancy certificate). Please note that kutis are traditional free-standing single person dwellings away from the house that do not have power, heating, or bathroom/toilet facilities (there are plenty of shared bathrooms in the main house). Please be aware of this when booking as this may not suit everyone.

Scholarships are available via Open Dharma Foundation.

The retreat registration does not include payment for the teachers. This continues the ancient Buddhist tradition where the teachings are offered freely. Payment to the teachers is made by donation (dāna or generosity) after the retreat. Participants are invited to make a donation that feels sustainable and generous according to their situation. These retreats and teachings are possible because of the generosity of others in the past and any dāna given will help make the teachings available in the future.

You can access the venue by driving, carpooling, or taking public transport and then being picked up from the station (generally Moss Vale station as the Wingello station is infrequently used). Transport to and from the venue is the responsibility of the participant, however if you request assistance we will do what we can to ensure you can get to the retreat by coordinating transport options.

Vejjasala is a safe and inclusive space for LGBTQIA+ people.

Fire Danger

Due to its rural location in the bush, Vejjasala Retreat Centre is "not to be occupied" on days with an "extreme" or "catastrophic" fire danger rating (per Wingecarribee Shire Council DA for the property). During the bushfire season, if the forecast before the retreat is for an "extreme" or "catastrophic" fire danger rating, the retreat will not be able to proceed. We will monitor the fire danger, and in the case of "extreme" or "catastrophic" fire danger rating, we will advise all participants as soon as possible and provide a full refund. The on-site retreat manager will monitor the fire danger rating for the duration of the retreat.

Risks and Responsibility

This retreat will be conducted in noble silence, meaning participants will agree to not speak to each other unless necessary (you can always talk to the teachers). This may not be a good environment for you if you are experiencing serious mental health issues, or if you have experienced recent or severe trauma. While meditation retreats are generally beneficial, intensive meditation practice can lead to distress or adverse effects. The teachers and volunteers will do their best to support you but they are unable to provide mental health support. Please consider your own situation and discuss with the organisers and teachers if you have any concerns. The teachers will arrange a call with each participant prior to the retreat to make sure they understand your situation and how to best support your practice.

It should be noted that participants attend these retreats entirely at their own discretion and should consider their own risks and responsibilities in regard to their own health needs. While reasonable efforts will be taken in regard to providing a safe environment, the organisers take no responsibility for individuals’ behaviour or health consequences arising from attending a retreat.

If you experience illness in the week leading up to the retreat we ask that you consider the health and well-being of other attendees. Please contact the organisers to discuss whether it is reasonable to attend. If you cannot attend due to illness, we will arrange a full refund.

Refund Policy

PLEASE NOTE: Bookings may be cancelled 28 days prior to the event with a full refund (minus booking fees). Cancellations less than 28 days prior to the retreat will not receive a refund, unless another participant is able to take your place, in which case you will receive a full refund (minus booking fees). Cancellations less than 14 days prior to the retreat cannot be refunded.

Questions?

Here's a short FAQ about going on retreat.

For more on noble silence you can read the Retreat Code of Conduct.

If you have any questions about the retreat, please email kynan@kynanmeditation.net

This event is organised independently by Kynan Tan, with the Association of Engaged Buddhists as the venue partner.