Our Philosophy
All our retreats and events are designed to create meaningful connection to self, nature, and community.
Humans evolved as part of the interconnected natural world. Living in harmony with the seasons and building social networks is what ensured our survival. Modern living has caused a disconnect.
Long working days, not enough sunlight, sitting in chairs, compressing our feet into shoes, walking on hard, even surfaces, eating processed unnatural foods, living under the constant stresses, strains and unseen threats of life take their toll.
At Peaceful Warriors our aim is to help you reconnect with meaning, feel what it is to be alive and encourage you cultivate sustainable daily movement and mindfulness practices to enable you to thrive.
All our retreats and events are designed to create meaningful connection to self, nature, and community.
Humans evolved as part of the interconnected natural world. Living in harmony with the seasons and building social networks is what ensured our survival. Modern living has caused a disconnect.
Long working days, not enough sunlight, sitting in chairs, compressing our feet into shoes, walking on hard, even surfaces, eating processed unnatural foods, living under the constant stresses, strains and unseen threats of life take their toll.
At Peaceful Warriors our aim is to help you reconnect with meaning, feel what it is to be alive and encourage you cultivate sustainable daily movement and mindfulness practices to enable you to thrive.
How Do We Do It?
Nature
Reconnect to essence
It is often said that nature is our greatest teacher, showing us the most complex aspects in the simplest way, you just have to listen.
Just like the natural world goes through seasons or rhythms, so do humans. We are, after all not separate from it. Our seasonal retreat offerings honour this cyclical pattern, as does the daily retreat schedule. We rise early with the energy of the sun, taking in natural night upon waking, as well as ensuring quality rest and recuperation to help you feel rejuvenated, balanced and less stressed.
We chose our retreat locations very carefully to ensure there are ample opportunities to be and move in nature. Be that on barefoot hikes, climbing trees or simply a quiet spot to sit, listen and observe the goings on around you.
Breath
Get the fundamentals right
There is no life without breath, it is fundamental, essential, and we often take it for granted. But is your breath pattern supporting your health in the best way it could?
Breathing is mostly an involuntary process, but we can intervene and consciously control how we breathe. When this is done well and with correct understanding, it can change our entire physiology and directly impact our mental state.
Breathwork doesn’t have to be complex or dramatic. By regularly practicing controlled yet simple exercises, you will experience a major boost in overall health as well as build your capacity to adapt and appropriately respond to stressful situations.
The toolbox:
Yoga, meditation, pranayama techniques, breathwork.
Yoga & Meditation
Cultivate inner power & find your centre
The bedrock of our retreats is yoga. We believe that to connect and engage positively in the world, it is necessary to do the inner work first. Yoga provides time to connect within, to develop awareness and a strong, felt sense of being centered. Once you have this core connection established, the trials and tribulations of life can be experienced with a little more ease and grace. Who doesn’t want that?
We offer a range of styles of yoga and meditation techniques, grounded in both science and tradition.
The toolbox:
It’s all yoga, really.
Movement
You are made to move
We are interested in training the body to be capable, resilient, strong, and adaptable.
Can you squat down to pick up something heavy without straining your back? Can you reach the thing you need on the top shelf with ease? Can you negotiate obstacles in your path with confidence? Jump from a height and land confidently? Or even climb a tree like you did when you were a kid?! Natural movement training brings more freedom and aliveness to the body as well as increasing overall levels of fitness and wellbeing.
We focus on fun and sustainable movement practices that will improve the function of your nervous system, increase your bone and joint health, reduce pain, and enable you to live with freedom and ease.
The toolbox:
Yoga, natural movement, primal movements, parkour, strength training, acrobatics, Qi Gong, adventure sports, martial arts, combat sports, freediving.
Play
You are never too old for child’s play
It’s easy to get bogged down in the seriousness of life. But it needn’t be like that all the time. Work and play are not necessarily opposites and when you can imbue everything you do with a sense of playfulness, you become more human.
Everywhere in the world children play and explore when they have the opportunity. There is plenty of research that suggests children learn best through play. As adults we tend to focus on ‘work’, and ‘play’ becomes something left behind.
In fact, playful activities can make you more focussed, alert, and creative as well as increase your brain power. And of course, lighten the emotional load a little and put a big smile on your face.
The toolbox:
Theatre games, roughhousing, partner acrobatics, dance, music
Rest
Give yourself a break
We are often overstimulated by electronic devices as well as our internal thoughts and feelings. This overstimulation can inhibit your brains natural resiliency and plasticity, as well as decrease your cognitive function and habit control.
When we give the body and brain the opportunity to take non-sleep deep rest (NSDR), the nervous system can take a break from the fight-flight-freeze sympathetic state and move towards a restful parasympathetic state. Brain wave activity slows to Delta frequency, the same you would achieve when in a very deep, restful sleep.
When we are in this hypnagogic state (the trippy place between wakefulness and sleep) there are fewer thoughts and distractions which allows the reinforcement of newly formed knowledge and strengthens neuroplasticity. So yes, resting can make you smarter.
The toolbox:
Restorative yoga, yoga nidra, silent time, star gazing , massage
Community
We all need social connections to survive and thrive
Humans are social beings, and the need to belong is deeply ingrained in our nature. There are multiple health benefits that come when we are united with others: sense of self, memory function, support, personal growth.
Most people come to our events on their own and leave with lifelong friends.
How Do We Do It?
Nature
Reconnect to essence
It is often said that nature is our greatest teacher, showing us the most complex aspects in the simplest way, you just have to listen.
Just like the natural world goes through seasons or rhythms, so do humans. We are, after all not separate from it. Our seasonal retreat offerings honour this cyclical pattern, as does the daily retreat schedule. We rise early with the energy of the sun, taking in natural night upon waking, as well as ensuring quality rest and recuperation to help you feel rejuvenated, balanced and less stressed.
We chose our retreat locations very carefully to ensure there are ample opportunities to be and move in nature. Be that on barefoot hikes, climbing trees or simply a quiet spot to sit, listen and observe the goings on around you.
Breath
Get the fundamentals right
There is no life without breath, it is fundamental, essential, and we often take it for granted. But is your breath pattern supporting your health in the best way it could?
Breathing is mostly an involuntary process, but we can intervene and consciously control how we breathe. When this is done well and with correct understanding, it can change our entire physiology and directly impact our mental state.
Breathwork doesn’t have to be complex or dramatic. By regularly practicing controlled yet simple exercises, you will experience a major boost in overall health as well as build your capacity to adapt and appropriately respond to stressful situations.
The toolbox:
Yoga, meditation, pranayama techniques, breathwork.
Yoga & Meditation
Cultivate inner power & find your centre
The bedrock of our retreats is yoga. We believe that to connect and engage positively in the world, it is necessary to do the inner work first. Yoga provides time to connect within, to develop awareness and a strong, felt sense of being centered. Once you have this core connection established, the trials and tribulations of life can be experienced with a little more ease and grace. Who doesn’t want that?
We offer a range of styles of yoga and meditation techniques, grounded in both science and tradition.
The toolbox:
It’s all yoga, really.
Movement
You are made to move
We are interested in training the body to be capable, resilient, strong, and adaptable.
Can you squat down to pick up something heavy without straining your back? Can you reach the thing you need on the top shelf with ease? Can you negotiate obstacles in your path with confidence? Jump from a height and land confidently? Or even climb a tree like you did when you were a kid?! Natural movement training brings more freedom and aliveness to the body as well as increasing overall levels of fitness and wellbeing.
We focus on fun and sustainable movement practices that will improve the function of your nervous system, increase your bone and joint health, reduce pain, and enable you to live with freedom and ease.
The toolbox:
Yoga, natural movement, primal movements, parkour, strength training, acrobatics, Qi Gong, adventure sports, martial arts, combat sports, freediving.
Play
You are never too old for child’s play
It’s easy to get bogged down in the seriousness of life. But it needn’t be like that all the time. Work and play are not necessarily opposites and when you can imbue everything you do with a sense of playfulness, you become more human.
Everywhere in the world children play and explore when they have the opportunity. There is plenty of research that suggests children learn best through play. As adults we tend to focus on ‘work’, and ‘play’ becomes something left behind.
In fact, playful activities can make you more focussed, alert, and creative as well as increase your brain power. And of course, lighten the emotional load a little and put a big smile on your face.
The toolbox:
Theatre games, roughhousing, partner acrobatics, dance, music
Rest
Give yourself a break
We are often overstimulated by electronic devices as well as our internal thoughts and feelings. This overstimulation can inhibit your brains natural resiliency and plasticity, as well as decrease your cognitive function and habit control.
When we give the body and brain the opportunity to take non-sleep deep rest (NSDR), the nervous system can take a break from the fight-flight-freeze sympathetic state and move towards a restful parasympathetic state. Brain wave activity slows to Delta frequency, the same you would achieve when in a very deep, restful sleep.
When we are in this hypnagogic state (the trippy place between wakefulness and sleep) there are fewer thoughts and distractions which allows the reinforcement of newly formed knowledge and strengthens neuroplasticity. So yes, resting can make you smarter.
The toolbox:
Restorative yoga, yoga nidra, silent time, star gazing , massage
Community
We all need social connections to survive and thrive
Humans are social beings, and the need to belong is deeply ingrained in our nature. There are multiple health benefits that come when we are united with others: sense of self, memory function, support, personal growth.
Most people come to our events on their own and leave with lifelong friends.
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