July 12th - 15th | ByronshireHeld
A deeply held retreat for women navigating grief, trauma, nervous system healing, and a return to self
Welcome
There comes a point where you know you need more than just a break.
More than a few hours to yourself. More than pushing through. More than telling yourself you are fine because life still needs to keep moving.
Held was created for women who have been carrying grief, trauma, loss, emotional pain, or the quiet exhaustion of being the one who keeps holding it all, without leaving anything for yourself.
It is a space for you to soften, to breathe, to release some of what has been held in your body, and to allow the lost fragments of yourself through pain, trauma, or grief to begin returning to wholeness.
This is not about becoming someone new. It is about coming back to yourself and to what is already true within you.
Our Story
Held was created for women who know they need more than just a break.
It is for women who have been carrying so much for so long, and who know there comes a point where you cannot just keep pushing through, holding it all together, and expecting your body, heart, and nervous system to keep absorbing it without cost.
Grief changes us. Trauma changes us. Pain changes us. Life changes us. And often, without even realising it, we begin to lose connection with ourselves. We disconnect from our body, our breath, our truth, and the parts of us that once felt whole.
Held is a space to step out of the noise of everyday life and into something more intentional. A space where you are supported to slow down, to soften, and to begin listening to what your body has been holding. A space where you do not need to perform, fix, force, or become. You are simply invited to arrive as you are.
Through breath, stillness, reflection, nourishment, nature, connection, and deeply guided inner work, this retreat is designed to support grief, trauma, nervous system healing, and a return to self in a way that feels grounded, safe, and real.
This is not about rushing healing. It is not about pretending everything is okay. And it is not about leaving as a completely different person. It is about creating the space for something honest to happen within you. It is about allowing what has been held in the body to soften. It is about making room for release, reconnection, remembrance, and the gradual return of the lost fragments of yourself to wholeness.
Held is for the woman who is ready to lay some of it down.
The woman who is ready to be supported.
The woman who is ready to come back to herself.
The Venue
Held will take place at Wybalena Organic Farm, a purpose-built retreat venue set on 170 acres in the Byron Bay Hinterland, surrounded by serene countryside and untouched bushland. The farm is booked exclusively for our retreat, which means the space is entirely ours to drop into, exhale, and be held by.
Wybalena offers the most beautiful accommodation, a light-filled yoga studio, private nature trails, and wellness facilities including an infrared sauna, magnesium pool, ice bath, outdoor fire pit, and outdoor showers.
Retreat bookings also include exclusive access to the space and a complimentary guided walk of the private trails.
What drew me to Wybalena is that it does not feel like a venue you simply stay in. It feels like land that safely holds you. There is space to breathe there. Space to soften. Space to hear yourself again. From the studio overlooking the valleys, to the fire pit under the trees, to the bushland and the quiet rhythm of the farm itself, everything about this place supports the kind of work we will be doing together.
Even the name Wybalena means “resting place; refuge,” which feels deeply aligned with what Held is here to offer.
Who this retreat is for…
Held is for the woman who has been carrying a lot for a long time.
The woman who looks like she is managing, but knows there is so much more sitting underneath the surface. The woman who has kept going because she had to. The woman who has learned how to hold everything together, keep moving, and keep showing up, even when something in her knows the cost has been high.
It is for the woman who is tired. Not just physically, but deeply. The kind of tired that comes from holding grief, pain, trauma, overwhelm, responsibility, and life itself in the body for too long.
This space is for the woman who knows she needs more than just a break. More than a few hours off. More than trying to push through and tell herself she is fine. It is for the woman who knows she needs space to breathe, space to feel, space to soften, and space to hear herself again.
Held may speak to you if grief has changed you. If trauma has left its imprint on your body. If life has pulled you away from yourself. If you have spent so long being what everyone else needed that you can feel how little has been left for you.
And this is not only about grief in the way people usually think of it. Yes, it may be the grief of losing someone you love. But it may also be the grief of what life has taken, what pain has changed, what trauma has buried, or the parts of you that got left behind just to survive.
Held is for the woman who is ready to stop abandoning herself in order to keep going. The woman who is ready to be supported, gently and honestly, as she begins coming back to herself.
What you will experience inside Held
Held has been created as a space where you do not need to arrive with anything figured out.
You do not need to know exactly what needs healing. You do not need to have the right words for what you have been carrying. And you do not need to come in ready to share everything all at once.
You are simply invited to arrive as you are.
Across our time together, you will be held inside a carefully guided experience that allows space for both depth and gentleness. There will be moments of stillness, breath, reflection, connection, nourishment, nature, and deep inner work. Moments where things may soften. Moments where things may move. Moments where you may simply rest, breathe, and let your body begin to feel safe enough to exhale.
This is not a retreat built around pressure or performance. It is not about pushing for breakthroughs or forcing release.
It is about creating the right conditions for your body, heart, and nervous system to begin settling enough for something honest to happen.
Inside Held, there will be space to reconnect with your body. Space to listen to what has been sitting underneath the noise. Space to release some of what has been held. Space to reflect, to breathe, to ground, and to begin allowing the lost fragments of yourself to come back into your awareness.
There will be moments of quiet. Moments of connection. Moments of truth. Moments of ceremony. Moments of being witnessed. And moments where the deepest work may simply be letting yourself stop holding it all alone.
What you experience will be your own, and it does not need to look like anyone else’s. This space is not about comparison. It is about giving yourself permission to be met exactly where you are, and supported in what is ready to unfold.
What makes Held different
What makes Held different
Held is not a retreat built around fixing you.
It is not about coming in broken and leaving as someone else. And it is not about being pushed into healing before your body is ready.
What makes Held different is the way it honours the body, the nervous system, and the deeper truth that healing cannot be forced. It has to be felt as safe enough to begin.
This retreat was created with that in mind.
It is a space where depth and gentleness can exist together. Where grief, trauma, emotional pain, and overwhelm are not rushed, bypassed, or dressed up to look neat. They are met with honesty, care, and the understanding that what has been held in the body for a long time needs the right conditions to begin softening.
Held is also not about teaching you a method or asking you to perform healing in front of anyone. It is about being inside an experience that allows something real to move. An experience that gives your body space to breathe, your heart space to feel, and the lost fragments of yourself space to begin returning to wholeness.
There is intention in every part of this retreat. In the pace. In the rhythm. In the land. In the nourishment. In the practices. In the spaces between. It has been created to support not just emotional release, but reconnection. Not just insight, but embodiment. Not just a moment away, but a deeper return to self.
And that support does not end when the retreat does.
A private WhatsApp group will be created for the women attending Held, so there is space to reconnect, share, and stay anchored in the weeks and months that follow. For three months after the retreat, I will be there in that space to support the integration of what has opened, shifted, and begun, so the return to yourself can continue in a way that feels grounded, held, and supported in real life.
What makes Held different is not just what happens here. It is how it is held.
With care.
With honesty.
With depth.
With reverence for what the body has carried.
And with the understanding that sometimes the most powerful thing is not becoming someone new, but finally feeling safe enough to come back to yourself.
What you may walk away with
Every woman’s experience of Held will be her own.
There is no one way this work is meant to look, and no expectation that your healing needs to happen in a certain shape, pace, or timeline. What unfolds for you will be personal. Honest. And your own.
What Held offers is the space for something real to begin.
For some women, that may look like finally exhaling for the first time in a long time. For some, it may be feeling more connected to the body again. For others, it may be the release of emotions that have been held in for years, or a deeper understanding of what has been sitting underneath the surface.
For many, it will be a sense of having laid something down. A sense of no longer carrying it all alone. A sense of coming home to parts of themselves that have felt distant, buried, or lost.
You may walk away feeling softer. Clearer. More connected. More aware of what your body has been asking for. More grounded in yourself. More able to recognise what is true within you, and what no longer belongs.
You may walk away with a deeper understanding of your own grief. A gentler relationship with your nervous system. A renewed connection to your body. A stronger sense of where you end and everyone else begins. Or simply the quiet knowing that something has shifted, and that you are no longer standing where you were before.
Held is not about leaving as someone different.
It is about leaving with more of yourself than you arrived with.
And it is about knowing that what began here does not need to end the moment you go home. The work of coming back to yourself can continue, gently and honestly, with support around you as it does.
Nourishment
Nourishment is a deeply important part of Held.
The food across our retreat has been carefully crafted to support both the land we are on and the work we are doing. Every meal is being prepared with intention by Missy Moo Foods, with a focus on grounding, supporting the body, and creating food that feels both comforting and nourishing as energy moves and deeper work unfolds.
All meals will be vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free, with care taken to cater for food allergies and dietary requirements. This is not just about feeding you while you are here. It is about offering food that supports the nervous system, honours the body, and feels in integrity with the pace and intention of the retreat.
The meals inside Held are part of the experience itself. They are there to nourish, steady, and support you. To meet the body with care. To offer warmth, grounding, and gentleness. And to reflect the deeper intention of this retreat - not just to hold emotional healing, but to hold the whole woman.
Venue Facilities
Magnesium Pool
The magnesium pool is there to support the body in letting go. Magnesium helps to calm the nervous system, ease tension, and create a sense of physical grounding. It offers a quiet space to soften, especially after deeper work, where the body can begin to integrate what has been moving.
Infared Sauna
The infrared sauna is there to support the body in releasing. The gentle heat works deeply to help the body let go of stored tension, encourage detoxification, and support the nervous system in softening. It offers a quiet, contained space where the body can continue to process, unwind, and integrate what has been moving, without needing to push or force anything.
Ice Bath
The ice bath is there to support the body in regulation and reset. The cold offers a powerful way to bring the nervous system into the present moment, helping the body shift out of overwhelm and into a more grounded, steady state. It can support resilience, clarity, and a deeper connection to the body, while also offering a space to meet yourself gently in discomfort, without needing to resist or push it away.
Accomodation Options
The accommodation has been chosen to support rest in a way that feels simple, comfortable, and grounding.
There are a range of options available, from private cabins to shared spaces, depending on what feels right for you.
Each space offers a quiet place to land, soften, and have time to yourself when you need it, while still feeling connected to the retreat as a whole. Pricing reflects the different room types, allowing you to choose the level of space and privacy that best supports you.
Stunning Nature Walks
The land itself is a big part of Held.
There are four beautiful nature trails on the property, offering space to move, breathe, and reconnect in a way that feels natural and unforced.
One of the days includes a guided walk, allowing you to experience the land more deeply, alongside a silent meditation walk, where you are invited to be with yourself, the environment, and the present moment without distraction.
It is a simple but powerful way to come back into your body and reconnect with what is around you.
Evening Fire Pit
The fire pit is where we will come together each evening before dinner.
It offers a space to gather, to be with one another, and to gently release what has come up throughout the day. There is something powerful about sitting around the fire, allowing what no longer serves you to be acknowledged and let go of, without needing to hold onto it.
The elements play an important part in Held. They support the body, ground the experience, and help reconnect you not only to yourself, but to the land you are on. The fire becomes a space for both reflection and release, held in a way that feels simple, real, and supported.
The Flow Of Held
Held has been created as a gentle progression.
Not something you need to keep up with. Not something you need to get right. But a space that allows you to arrive, soften, move through what is ready, and begin integrating what unfolds.
Sunday - Arrival and grounding
This is a space to land. To step out of your everyday life and into something slower, quieter, and more intentional. You’ll have time to settle into your room, the land, and your own space before we come together in the evening to open the retreat. This first evening is about beginning gently. Coming back into your body, setting intention, and allowing yourself to arrive, not just physically, but emotionally as well.
Monday - Softening and reconnection
This day is about slowing down. About beginning to reconnect with your body, your breath, and yourself in a deeper way. There will be guided sessions, breathwork, and space to start noticing what has been held, without needing to push or force anything. This is where the nervous system begins to soften, and where you start to hear yourself a little more clearly.
Tuesday - Deepening and release
This is where the work deepens. Not in a way that is overwhelming, but in a way that allows what has been sitting underneath to begin to move. There will be space for emotional release, expression, and deeper inner work, alongside moments of grounding, nature, and integration. This is where many women begin to feel the shift. Where things start to soften, move, and make a little more sense.
Wednesday - Integration and return
The final morning is gentle. A space to reflect, to ground, and to begin gathering what has shifted. There is no rush to leave or to move on too quickly. Just a supported space to begin integrating the experience, so you leave feeling more connected to yourself, and more able to carry this forward into your life in a way that feels real.
