Here are a selection of retreats in New Zealand and Australia that are specifically focused on people affected by cancer. I am adding to these as I learn of them:
NEW ZEALAND
Casting for Recovery
Casting for Recovery provides retreats at no cost to participants, which allow people whose lives have been profoundly affected by breast cancer to gather in a beautiful, natural setting and learn to fly fish.
It offers participants an opportunity to experience the peace and solitude and the chance to be in the moment that fly fishing provides. The retreat also incorporates a range of other services to promote well-being. The 2.5 day retreat weekend is one of fun and support with the mission of our trained volunteers being that of empowerment and achievement to what ever level you are capable of.
Puna Wai Ora
Puna Wai Ora Mind-Body Cancer Clinic and Healing Center is located in Whangamata, New Zealand, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Whangamata has a very healing energy and is an ideal location to heal from cancer and to remove yourself from the stress of everyday life. Glen and Arthur run the retreat centre and provide therapy options that aim to support the healing of any emotional cause to cancer. It costs $65 per night to stay here including all food and a shared dinner and therapy sessions are based on what you can afford http://www.alternative-cancer-care.com/Cancer_NZ_Retreat.html.
Whangamata
Emotional Support Retreat for People Affected by Cancer
This retreat is facilitated by Jasmina Kovacev at the Mana Retreat Centre in the Coromandel. This is a one week retreat which includes learning the likely emotional reason behind the cancer, therapies to heal the shock of diagnosis and fears relating to cancer, as well as nurturing food within a healing environment. Each person will have individual sessions plus group work. The retreat is one week of transformational work mixed with fun in a nurturing environment providing healing to body, mind and soul. For more information, please contact Jasmina on (021) 036 0506 and see the Cancer Retreat http://www.eft-emofree.com/cancer-retreat.html. In 2013, retreats are planned for January and July.
I attended this retreat in January 2012 and here are a few of the things that I got out of the retreat:
Nutrition
- For seven days, we ate mostly raw food which was sugar and dairy free. Including lovely desserts each night. Twice a day, we had vegetable juices and …the food and juices were delicious. I will definitely take some the recipes into my own cooking.
- Because the food was organic and a lot grown at Mana, there was a different feeling about eating the food. I appreciated it more and have been eating more consciously since then. The benefits of that are that I am eating slower which means I am digesting the food better (plus eating a bit less).
- By the end of the week, I didn’t crave anything chocolate (and actually threw away chocolate biscuits I had on the last day). That is very new for me.
Emotional Healing and Sleep
- During the week, my sleeping improved a lot. I had the confidence to go off my half -sleeping tablet each night. I think the main reason is that we had done some group work (and individual work) on reducing the fear of cancer and recurrence. One of the DVDs we watched had a woman talking about her cancer with inspiring words, something like: “imagine if I made a peace and accepted the cancer, it could stay there for the rest of my life if it wanted but I would accept it”. She said she had changed her personality in order to be a person that could think that way… and then the cancer disappeared.
- The retreat was holistic and we focused on emotional and mental healing for around a quarter of the time. It was good to work through things like the shock from diagnosis and also big stresses in our lives.
Energy levels
- My energy was good during the retreat. I think the routine of the retreat suited me. Tai Chi at 7.30am, breakfast at 8am and then meditation. A few times, I had a walk at lunchtime. After lunch we did yoga (laughter yoga or yoga nidra). After dinner, we had meditation again and the meditations included creative visualisations. Combined with that, Jasmina http://www.eft-emofree.com/cancer-retreat.html used EFT to help us clear beliefs that were getting in the way of full health. During the week, everyone started to look very healthy. You would never have guessed that any of our group was affected by cancer.
Education seminars
- Each day, Jasmina delivered a seminar on a different aspect related to cancer such as nutrition, environmental factors, water, being around positivity etc. All of it was a great reminder and my aim is to keep up the vegetable juices and gradually improve my nutrition.
- All the seminars (and other activities) were coordinated to achieve the most success for everyone.
Coping skills
- We had a seminar on coping skills and what to do when we got home. It was really good to prepare us for this as living at Mana (so beautiful) is a bit of a parallel universe. It is really easy to eat well and do juices when the food is prepared for you by a team. Jasmina encouraged us to just focus on one change at a time. There is also a lot of positivity and energy gained from using hopeful and positive language, even the difference from the words ‘fighting’ cancer to healing cancer. I am doing my best to change my language and focus from what is wrong to what is going right.
- We are also going to do a two week support phone call plus agreed to meet for a reunion in two years.
- Jasmina went through an Action Plan so that we could easily take home our positive activities post-retreat.
Just Do IT
- I would really encourage anyone affected by cancer to attend this retreat. A week is a good amount of time to really get through a lot of topics and start retraining us into new habits. Jasmina was an excellent programme director: she has a lot of skill and expertise from years of working with people going through cancer. She put so much energy into the programme and helping us all individually. Jasmina is planning more retreats for mid January and August 2013. I hope to be there again and please contact Jasmina if you are interested at canceremotionalretreat@gmail.com.
AUSTRALIA
The Gawler Foundation – Life and Living Healing Cancer Retreat
The Gawler Foundation provides a range of internationally renowned healing cancer retreats and programmes that embrace an integrated approach to health, healing and wellbeing that includes the body, emotions, mind and spirit.
In particular, they offer the Life and Living Cancer Retreat. The aim of the programme is to help you to develop full confidence in establishing a healthy, healing lifestyle.
The Quest for Life Foundation Founded by Petrea King
The diagnosis of cancer impacts profoundly into our lives. The Quest for Life program is a nourishing and uplifting program for men and women living with cancer or other serious illness. This residential program is designed for people seeking ways to actively contribute to their own healing and make meaning of this challenging experience. The program explores many avenues of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual healing and encourages participants to find their own best answers
