Spring Heart Opening: Yoga, Dance, Sound immersion

 

1.45PM ARRIVAL

Bring your own water bottle, yoga mat, bolster, cushions, blanket and settle into the beautiful Bancoora Inn space. 

Bring something personal for our Spring altar and take it home fully charged with love, compassion and shared abundance for yourself.

 

 

2.00 pm – 5.00 pm

Our afternoon begins with a gentle, restorative Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra practice, lovingly guided by Alita, inviting you to soften, settle and arrive fully in your body.

 

From this place of deep relaxation, Jacqui will guide you into an expressive dance embodiment of Shakti — the divine feminine life force. Through intuitive movement, we will flow into the sacred, traditional Indian Garba dance, honouring the Cosmic Womb, the source of creation, transformation and life. We will complete our dance journey with beautiful chants to the Mother Goddesses of Creation, celebrating the divine feminine within and all around us.

 

Finally, surrender into a deeply nourishing sound immersion with Demir, who will gently cocoon you in waves of sound, guiding you inward towards the stillness, beauty and magnificence of your own heartspace.

What a luscious afternoon of movement, stillness, sound and connection!

 

Our three-hour journey will unfold as a continuous, flowing experience, with no scheduled breaks. You are, of course, welcome to take a bathroom break whenever you need.

 

Throughout the afternoon, Alita, Jacqui and Demir will lovingly hold space for your experience, supporting a sense of safety, care and emotional wellbeing as you journey at your own pace.

 

Come as you are, open your heart, and allow yourself to be carried by the flow.

 

Immerse yourself in the transformative sound journey of a multi-instrumentalist, intuitive sound artist, performer, and facilitator whose work bridges the realms of music, ritual, and soulful connection. Through original songs and spontaneous improvisation, Demir creates beautifully woven soundscapes that blend acoustic instruments, ancient ritual tools, and expressive voice. Each sound immersion becomes an exploration of the threads that connect us across cultures, times, and cosmic influences—a journey through vibration, emotion, and the shared human need for expression and belonging.

Participants are invited to rest, listen, and feel as layers of tone and resonance awaken inner landscapes, inviting harmony, stillness, and a renewed sense of connection to self and the greater whole.

 

 

 

Garba Dance of the Sacred Feminine is a traditional Indian “dance of the womb” that honors womanhood and celebrates Shakti, the feminine principle. Rooted in spiraling anticlockwise movements through the feet and hips, it offers a meditative flow that nurtures balance, change, and transformation. Your dance embodiment will explore three divine aspects of the Mother Goddess—Bhvaneshwari, Mother of the Universe; Durga, Mother of Power and Protection; and Lakshmi, Mother of Beauty and Abundance. The dance begins by acknowledging Shakti within, then develops embodied movement into improvisation and choreography, celebrating the divine dance of body, mind, and spirit. 

Jacqui is an ethnochoreologist, multidisciplinary artist, and community arts practitioner whose work is inspired by nature, ancestry, and place. Her teaching weaves Western Classical Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Tai Chi, Yoga, Feldenkrais, and Laban Movement Analysis, enriched by training with the Soni School of Garba Dance in Mumbai and a Master’s in Ethnochoreology (First Class Honours) from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. As Director of Wild Moves International since 1991 Jacqui offers a deeply embodied and global approach to movement, rhythm, and connection with spirit and land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alita has been teaching yoga since 2010. She’s passionate about sharing the many benefits of classical style Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra (guided deep relaxation) with anyone from absolute beginners to seasoned yoga practitioners. Her teachings include turning inwards being mindful of breath and body to find a balance between comfort and challenge, creating space for the body and mind to strengthen, rejuvenate and relax. During our Spring Heart Opening Retreat Alita will offer a Hatha yoga practice focusing on our heart chakra, Anahata, to help facilitate the flow of radiant inner beauty & love which can lead us to a blossoming of new beginnings, as well as help open our hearts to Lakshmi, goddess of well-being, harmony & abundance who personifies generosity, compassion, and empathy. Practice will conclude with a mini Yoga Nidra for relaxing and restoring radiance of the heart.