Tara Rokpa Centre

Marico Mountain and Gravel Biking Weekend
2021-02-19 18:00 - 2021-02-22 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | North West Province
Come and enjoy the smorgasbord of riding options available at this wonderful Marico biking destination. Bring your mountain or gravel bike, or both. Tell us what you are looking for and we will design a route for you. Popular options include the Water Wonderland tour (see below), which includes a swim at the Marico Oog, or the Langkloof Loop, for the intrepid MTB community.

Your guide, Mike Draper, has been riding the valley for many years and is keen to share its delights with you.
Accommodation
We will stay at one of TRC’s comfortable farmhouses, with access to a farm dam pool to cool off after your ride.
If you’d like to come with a non-riding partner, they are welcome to relax at the farmhouse or attend the retreat being held at TRC. For more information about available retreats, click here.
Cost and Booking
Cost per person includes your guide, accommodation, and vegetarian meals.

Camping (own tent)
R1200

Dormitory
R1400

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
R1700

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R1900

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R2100

Single use of ensuite room (if space available):
R2300

Please use our online booking form, which can be completed easily on a phone or tablet.

Water Wonderland Tour
A ride to the enchanted Marico Eye, pristine source of the Groot Marico river. This ride is all on district gravel roads and is suitable for families and those new to off-road riding. Warm up on a long, steady pull up from the valley, out into big sky country, then either roll down directly to the cooling delight of the crystal-clear Eye, or continue along the ridge, past the old slate quarry, followed by an exhilarating drop. Stop and enjoy the view if the shaking gets too much.
Now you will have some work to do, to return to the Source. Keep in mind the refreshing dip to come, as you start to climb. Finally, back at the Eye, its time for that reward. Put on swimming goggles and paddle amongst the lilies while swallows and dragonflies skim the surface nearby. Dry off in the sun and then flop down under the willows for a sumptuous picnic. Time even for a nap perhaps, before its back on the bike. A small climb sets you up for a wonderful freewheel back to the start.
Langkloof Loop
Various options on this ride all require a reasonable level of skill. A combination of jeep track and cattle paths comprise a grin-inducing ride. Start with a climb out of the valley for a gentle introduction to the rugged terrain. If you top out without walking, hats off to you! A short zoom on the wide protea-studded plateau ends with a sharp down. The loose surface calls for a cautious approach.
Once on the valley floor, it’s time to open up through the acacia forest. A few bumps on this gradual down will disappear with decent attack velocity. After 7km of beautiful flow, it’s time to pay the piper. Pain is its name! This climb is tough but rideable. Steep to start and gradually leveling out, a few last undulations return you to the plateau. The next down is steep and rocky. Full suspension pays dividends here, and on the next section along the valley, criss-crossing the river. A foot-down may have you backing up for another go.
Up on the other valley edge, the foot-down turns into hike-a-bike for 300m. Then it’s back into some flow on cattle paths and across rock slabs, followed by a loose rocky down. The bottom is concreted. Trust me, you’ll be relieved! Time for a well-earned lunch. What’s next? Leg assessment will determine. There are plenty of gems left. Maybe even a hammock?

New Year No Intentions Retreat
2021-02-19 18:00 - 2021-02-21 14:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
with Lucy Draper-Clarke

“The best laid schemes of mice and men

Often go awry,

And leave us nought but grief and pain,

For promised joy!

Robert Burns

As 2020 showed us, we have entered a time of disruption. How many of us set goals and intentions for the new year, and then had to take a swift left turn?

For 2021, we will explore the idea of “No Intention”. Instead of developing a wish for the future, and imagining specific outcomes, we will learn how to create the conditions for the future to emerge in the present moment. This requires a shift from the head to the body and heart; a shift from the logical mind to the more mysterious, creative and intuitive self. Goals and intentions tend to be made from our conscious mind but, like the hippo, there is far more under the water than we can see. The unconscious mind is constantly gathering information, and our invitation is to explore this vast capacity to bring our dreams into reality.

Find out how to create the conditions for clarity to arise, through developing a daily meditation practice. This might be a moving or sitting meditation, journalling, contemplation or reflection. We will learn how to ensure that our daily practice becomes the one non-negotiable part of our life. Increasing our times of solitude and quiet enhances our ability to receive the guidance that helps us make subtle adjustments to our life, so that we live in greater alignment and joy.

Programme:

After the first evening of introductions and grounding practices, we will wake up to gentle moving and sitting meditation sessions in the Octagon, followed by healthy breakfast in the open dining area. There will then be an extended ‘No Intention’ workshop before tucking into a filling vegetarian lunch. Participants can either rest in the afternoon or visit the nearby waterfall in Tara’s Valley, or die Oog – the Eye. This is the 14m deep source of the Marico river, and popular with swimmers and divers. Our Saturday evening practice will be Expressive Movement, which takes us through a full dance wave; from finding Presence, Expressing what we notice in our embodied mind, Releasing blocks and old patterns, then moving to Dreaming and Integrating, where our future might emerge in the moment. Later, we can sit together at the open fire and watch the magnificent night sky.

Cost:

Includes accommodation, all meals, tea, and snacks, and facilitated moving and sitting meditation sessions. Cost is dependent on your choice of accommodation. The food is ovo-lacto vegetarian, with vegan/gluten-free options available on request.

2-night retreat:

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available): R3200

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person): R3000

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person): R2800

Dormitory (per person): R2550

Camping (own tent & bedding): R2350

Single-use of twin rooms is also available on request, at a supplementary cost.

Bookings:

Click on this link to book.

A 50% deposit secures your place. This is non-refundable but is transferable to another TRC retreat. Do not let your inability to pay prevent you from attending. Contact Tara Rokpa Centre for scholarships, payment options, and volunteer trade opportunities.

For general retreat information about what to bring, please click here.

About the Facilitator:

Lucy Draper-Clarke has a doctorate in mindfulness and teacher education and loves to run retreats as well as support yoga teacher training schools. She has practised yoga for 20 years and taught yoga and mindfulness in Southern Africa since 2006, while also offering embodied practices at Wits. While doing so, she has been lucky enough to study with inspiring Buddhist mindfulness, Vinyasa yoga teachers, and Expressive Movement dance therapists. Her light-hearted and compassionate approach to teaching allows participants to explore their inner worlds through a joyful, yet transformative practice.

Seeking Happiness with Alan Muller and Pippa Cope
2020-12-24 18:00 - 2021-01-03 14:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
A TRC Xmas/ New Year Retreat
“Every man wants to be happy, but in order to be so he needs first to understand what happiness is.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
“If happiness is indeed a way of being, a state of consciousness and inner freedom, there is essentially nothing to prevent us from achieving it.” Matthieu Ricard.
We will look at what happiness is and how to foster it.
Programme:
Talks, guided meditations, painting mani mantras.
Nurture with Nature: Exploring the Five Tibetan Elements.
Mindful Movement based on restorative yoga and somatics.
Other activities:
Walks, swimming, star gazing, reading, birding, doing nothing.
Various activities in the surrounding area – please consult info@marico.co.za
Cost:
R5000 for 10 nights, including all meals, for a twin room with a shared bathroom. There are a limited number of single rooms, and rooms with en suite bathroom – a supplement will apply for these rooms.
Plus dana for Alan and Pippa.
Bookings:
Please click here to go to our online booking form.
A 50% deposit will secure your booking.
Facilitators:
Alan Muller took refuge in 1997 with Akong Rinpoche. In 2003, he completed a one-year closed retreat under the guidance of Lama Yeshe Rinpoche at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. During this period, he took novice monks vows. Alan remained a novice monk for six years and now presents courses and retreats as a layperson.

Pippa Cope offers mindful movement, including somatics and Donna Farhi-inspired yoga. She has been involved with the Tara Rokpa Therapy process for 20 years as a senior helper in South Africa and Zimbabwe and has offered workshops in Canada. Pippa has been resident at TRC for over 15 years as jack of all trades. She previously spent her professional life working as an Occupational Therapist, Social Worker and Community Development manager.

The Four Immeasurables with Alan Muller and Pippa Cope
2020-12-16 18:00 - 2020-12-20 18:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
A Self-Compassion Retreat
“If we learn ways to practice love, compassion, joy, and equanimity, we will know how to heal the illnesses of anger, sorrow, insecurity, sadness and loneliness”
Thich Nhat Hanh
We will look at how we can develop the four immeasurables in daily life and through meditation.
There will be guided Healing Relaxation sessions and gentle mindful movement.
The programme will be gentle and will allow for space to do your own thing.
You can extend your retreat to the Xmas Retreat.
Cost:
R2400 for 4 nights, including all meals, for a twin room with shared bathroom. There are a limited number of single rooms, and rooms with en suite bathroom – a supplement will apply for these rooms.
Plus dana for Alan and Pippa.

Bookings:
Please click here to go to our online booking form.
A 50% deposit will secure your booking.
Facilitators:
Alan Muller took refuge in 1997 with Akong Rinpoche. In 2003, he completed a one-year closed retreat under the guidance of Lama Yeshe Rinpoche at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. During this period, he took novice monks vows. Alan remained a novice monk for six years and now presents courses and retreats as a layperson.

Pippa Cope offers mindful movement, including somatics and Donna Farhi-inspired yoga. She has been involved with the Tara Rokpa Therapy process for 20 years as a senior helper in South Africa and Zimbabwe and has offered workshops in Canada. Pippa has been resident at TRC for over 15 years as jack of all trades. She previously spent her professional life working as an Occupational Therapist, Social Worker and Community Development manager.

Fierce Compassion Yoga Retreat
2020-12-04 18:00 - 2020-12-06 14:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
~ GET TO KNOW YOUR SPIRITUAL WARRIOR ~

Are you ready to join Mel and Lucy to explore Fierce Compassion in your yoga and mindfulness practice?
We will take the opportunity to:

Explore our conscious awareness through the body, heart and mind
Stay present with challenges to develop equanimity
Bring curiosity and courage to our shadow aspects
Transform difficulty through resilience
Befriend our experience and extend love to all beings

Programme:
We will wake up to a gentle yoga and mindfulness session in the Octagon meditation hall, followed by healthy breakfast in the open dining area. There will then be an extended yoga workshop before tucking into a filling vegetarian lunch. Participants can either rest in the afternoon or visit the nearby waterfall in Tara’s Valley, or die Oog – the Eye. This is the 14m deep source of the Marico river, and popular with swimmers and divers. There will be a discussion on Green Tara and Kali, the compassionate and fierce warriors. After the evening practice, we can sit around an open fire and watch the magnificent night sky.
The accommodation for this yoga retreat will be in simple farmhouses with twin/double rooms and en suite and shared bathrooms. Three single rooms are also available. There is also a dormitory/family room, and a campsite.
Cost:
Includes accommodation, all meals, tea and snacks and facilitated yoga and mindfulness sessions. It is dependent on your choice of accommodation. The food is ovo-lacto vegetarian, with vegan/gluten free options available on request.
2-night retreat:

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R3200

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R3000

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
R2800

Dormitory (per person):
R2550

Camping (own tent & bedding):
R2350

Single use of twin rooms is also available on request, at a supplementary cost.
Bookings via this link.
A 50% deposit secures your place. This is non-refundable, but is transferable to another TRC retreat. Do not let your inability to pay prevent you from attending. Contact the Tara Rokpa Centre for scholarships, payment options and volunteer trade opportunities.
For general retreat information about what to bring, please click here.
About the Facilitators:
Lucy Draper-Clarke

Lucy has a doctorate in mindfulness and teacher education and loves to run retreats as well as support yoga teacher training schools. She has practised yoga for 20 years and taught yoga and mindfulness in Southern Africa since 2006, while also offering embodied practices at Wits. While doing so, she has been lucky enough to study with inspiring Buddhist mindfulness, and Vinyasa yoga teachers, and offers both yin and yang styles of yoga. Her light-hearted and compassionate approach to teaching allows participants to explore their inner worlds through a joyful, yet transformative practice.
Melanie Castleman

Mel is an internationally recognized and esteemed Yoga Teacher, known for her passion, unique approach, and inspirational instructing style. She embodies physical, spiritual, and mental strength, with a touch of ferocity!
​As a Forrest Guardian in training, Mel gravitates towards Forrest Yoga and Forrest inspired vinyasa. However, she has trained in many different styles and adapts her instruction to individual and group needs. Through this process, she has developed her own unique style of teaching and has a dedicated following in South Africa and globally.
​With lots of attention to detail and breath Mel weaves a web of connectedness throughout the room, facilitating a slow but fluid flow. Her classes and retreats are creatively sequenced, light-hearted, with the right amount of intensity for gentle transformation.

​

Speak Your Truth, Listen Deeply: an ONLINE Mindful Communication Retreat with Lucy Draper-Clarke and Felicity Hart
2020-06-06 15:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | Zoom Room, South Africa
When interacting with others, we often find ourselves triggered and then communicate in ways that hurt or harm – ourselves, the other, or the relationship between us. We have not learnt how to use mindful and authentic communication.
“When you are busy judging people, you have no time to love them.” Marshall Rosenberg
We will practice both intra-personal and inter-personal mindfulness in order to cultivate skills of empathy, compassion and a better understanding of self and other. Contemplative dyads are a way to promote social connectedness, something that we are often lacking in daily life where our time is dominated by digital devices. We will practice deep listening in this safe online setting, in order to learn skills that can increase feelings of closeness and strengthen relationships with our friends and partners.
Together, these practices will help us communicate more consciously so that we learn to be aware of our feelings and needs, make requests and stay open to the feelings and needs of others.
Mindful Communication Practices
We will draw on the principles and practices from Non-Violent Communication, and base these within a framework of mindfulness. These practices help us to increase awareness, compassion and ease with ourselves and others.
Although, we want to communicate honestly, but haven’t been taught to do so. Very often, we desire to share our feelings and needs, but fear that they won’t be heard or that our needs will remain unmet.
The retreat will show us a way of being very honest, without any criticism, insults or put-downs. We learn to be aware of our feelings and needs, make requests and stay open and respond to the feelings and needs of others.
The principles and practices you will learn on this retreat, will help you communicate consciously and with compassion. We learn to increase our capacity to communicate in a way that helps us to connect, find what is alive in ourselves and others in order to create relationships built on authenticity and understanding.
This is an online version of the retreat that we usually host at the Tara Rokpa Centre.
Who Can Attend?
If you resonate with any of the sentences below, this afternoon mini-retreat may be especially helpful for you. I…
* was taught to think and communicate in ways that involved judgment
* am not aware of my own feelings and needs and those of others
* am afraid that speaking honestly could be unskillful, leading to harm and hurt within my relationships
* have been afraid to express anger, or other difficult emotions, without causing harm or feeling ashamed of my own feelings
* fear connecting and being curious about what is alive in myself, without judgement.
Facilitators
Lucy Draper-Clarke has a PhD in mindfulness and has practised yoga for 20 years. Her light-hearted approach to teaching allows participants to learn through a joyful, yet transformative practice.
Felicity Hart is a life coach, yoga teacher and mindfulness facilitator. She has a PGC in Mindfulness-Based Interventions from Stellenbosch and offers life coaching that is mindful of you as a whole person, facilitating a deep and integrative process.
Bookings
To book, please email Lucy on this link.
She will send you the pre-retreat pack, and the Zoom link.
Costs
R450 per person.
We will donate R50 to the Tara Rokpa Centre, to support the Centre at this unprecedented time.
If you would like to attend, but cannot afford to do so, please get in touch for our bursary places.

A Weekend in Dewachen
2020-05-15 18:00 - 2020-05-17 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
In the sutras the Buddha said that in the beginning compasion is like the seed without which we cannot have any fruit; in the middle compassion is like water to nourish the seed we have planted; in the end compassion is like the warmth of the sun that brings the fruit to ripening. Thus without copassion there is no seed of enlightenment, no path to enlightenment, and no fruition of enlightenment. The genuine heart of loviing-kindness and compassion is crucial in achieving one’s own freedom from suffering, and in achieving freedom for all sentient beings – Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
This weekend, we will focus on the practice of Chenrezik, or Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of the compassion of all of the Buddhas. This practice is suitable for everyone, even those who do not consider themselves to be Buddhist.
The meditation of Chenrezig is not just a fragment of the Dharma, it encompasses all aspects of the spiritual path. It is complete in itself and allows us to develop all the qualities necessary for the path and the six perfections of the mahayana – Chenrezig Lord of Love, Bokar Rinpoche.
We will look at the various aspects of the puja, including the visualisations. We’ll learn about the benefits o and how to write the famous six-syllable mantra. We’ll dip into the six realms and the mind poisons, and their purified aspects. And we will recite many mantras and dedicate the practice to our friends and families, communities and the entire world.

My body, the bodies of others and all appearences are the perfect form of the Sublime One. All sounds, the melody of the six syllables. All thoughts, the vastness of the great Jnana.
The retreat will be guided by senior practitioners.
Cost: R1000 for the weekend.
To book, click here.
A 50 % deposit will secure the accommodation of your choice. The deposit is non-refundable but transferable.

To the Core: Restoring Gut Health
2020-05-08 18:00 - 2020-05-10 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
All disease begins in the gut – Hippocrates
Gut health is the foundation of well being. You are responsible for your gut and your gut is responsible for the critical functioning of your body’s major systems.
It may seem impossible to restore balance for optimal health in this stressful environment of instant and canned lifestyles.
Join Jeanne and Pippa on this holistic journey to restore health to the gut, the ‘second brain’.
Included:
● 3 Workshops: Learn to make staples for gut health from precious traditional recipes:
Workshop 1: Connect with your Ancient Heritage – The 3 K’s – Kombucha, Kimchi and Kefir
Workshop 2: Ditch the Hunter, Be the Gatherer – Vegan Cheese and Aquafaba Meringue
Workshop 3: Greener Home Essential Oil Essentials – All Natural Trio: Room Fragrance,
Tooth Powder and Kitchen Disinfectant
● Restorative postures and awareness breathing for gut health with Pippa
● Joyful cooking together of inspiring, creative and healing meals for gut health – Saturday lunch and supper and Sunday lunch. All meals: the emphasis is on homemade and home-crafted!
● Friday night supper – a selection of artisanal dairy and vegan cheeses made by Jeanne
● Beverages for gut health – including Golden Shake with Turmeric and Real Ginger Beer from your own starter Ginger Bug
● A comprehensive Recipe Folder with notes
● A Gift Bag containing an essential oil treat and your own large Kombucha SCOBY with Kombucha in a 3l glass bottle to enable you to continue making kombucha at home

Key Concepts:
Holistic gut repair
Food as Medicine
Mindful Meals (you are HOW you eat)
Buzzzz words:
Rejuvelac
Lacto-fermentation
Pre and probiotics
Pre-order extras to take home at special prices for this weekend only – email Jeanne at maricorat@webmail.co.za for the stock/price list. Includes: milk kefir culture, extra kombucha scobys, muslin cloths, beautiful hand made and locally made pottery fermenting crocks.
Please email Jeanne if you need any additional information.
Costs:
The costs include accommodation, meals, a voluntary environmental levy of R60, facilitation fee, gifts.

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R2900

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
R2700

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R3100

Single-use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom:
R3200

Single-use of ensuite room (if space available):
R3300

Dormitory
R2400

Camping (own tent)
R2200

To book:
Please fill in the mobile-friendly online booking form.
A 50 % deposit will confirm your booking.
Banking details:
Bank: First National Bank
Branch: Bedford Gardens Branch
Branch code: 252155
Account name: Tara Rokpa Centre
Account no.: 6211 1707 157
Reference no.: “retreat name + your name”

Your Facilitators:
Jeanne qualified as a nutritionist, chef and caterer . Over the past 30 years she has undertaken a personal journey to explore gut health and the effect of the gut on immune, brain and hormonal functioning and the healing power of traditional foods and loves to share her experience and insights. She is also an environmental warrior and friend to TRC since its inception. She and Pippa have been close friends for 15 years.
Pippa Cope offers mindful movement, including somatics and Donna Farhi-inspired yoga. She has been involved with the Tara Rokpa Therapy process for 20 years as a senior helper in South Africa and Zimbabwe and has offered workshops in Canada. Pippa was a pioneer and resident at TRC for over 15 years as jack of all trades. She previously spent her professional life working as an Occupational Therapist, Social Worker and Community Development manager.

Still Action ONLINE: Inward Practices for Outward Impact
2020-05-02 15:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | North West Province
Context

All over the world, communities are fractured, people are growing more isolated and we feel internal dis-ease and disconnection. What can we do, in our individual and collective lives, to create a shift – a tipping point – to a more inclusive and cohesive world?
The Wisdom Traditions of Africa and the East give clear practices and guidance. Our teachers and ancestors invite us to see more clearly, to become ‘enlightened’, not simply for our own benefit, but to bring cohesion, unity and joy to the world in which we are embedded. Our happiness is the happiness of others; the joy of others transmits to us.
The impact of our actions is not always as important as our wholehearted intention. Our interconnectedness means that every action carried out with the wish to benefit others can have a far-reaching effect. We might be a parent, wanting to raise children who have the awareness and adaptability to cope with their future world, or the leader of a company or an NPO. The scale at which we work depends on our personality and our skill set. Our impact, though, can be enormous, if we keep focused on moment-by-moment actions guided by intention.
Contemplative Practices
During the Still Action ONLINE Retreat we will explore ways to move within, through a range of contemplative practices, in order to act in the world with greater impact.
Dr Ela Manga will offer Breathwork practices and many insights from her book ‘Breathe’.
Dr Lucy Draper-Clarke will share a range of sitting and movement practices, from her up-coming book ‘Awareness in Action‘. These include yoga, mindfulness and compassion practices, as well as shadow integration work.
Aspiration
Our wish, as your facilitators, is that by the end of the retreat, you will:

Feel confident with one or more inward practices, which you can commit to every day, in order to keep aligned and replenished.
Identify your unique offering and purpose in this world, based on your personality and skill-set.
Find clarity on ways to bring this into the world for the benefit of yourselves and others.
Connect with a like-minded community who will keep you strong when the road seems long.

Venue: ONLINE!

And one day, we’ll be back to use the many ‘classrooms’ at the Tara Rokpa Centre to hold the space for our inner and outer unfolding. The lack of cellphone network gives us the rare opportunity to connect deeply with the people and environment around and within us.

Meditation and movement sessions will take place in the earthy, nurturing space of the Octagon.
Discussions and connections naturally occur in the open-air dining hall, over delicious vegetarian meals.
The natural world, particularly the top of Tara’s Waterfall, will be the space to connect with the wisdom of nature, and give birth to our deepest aspirations for the future.

Facilitators
Dr Ela Manga, author of international best seller ‘Breathe: strategising energy in the age of burnout’ is a medical doctor, author and speaker committed to conscious living and bringing heart back into the art of medicine. Her training as a medical doctor was just the first step towards her true vocation as a co-creator of health and a catalyst for change.
Dr Lucy Draper-Clarke is an educator, writer and researcher-practitioner, with a doctorate in mindfulness and teacher education. She has been teaching yoga and mindfulness for over 15 years. She is lecturing at Wits, with Drama for Life, and conducting research on Contemplative Activism.
Her current focus is on bringing yoga and mindfulness practices to those engaged in social change, such as teachers and activists, giving them the skills to alleviate stress and increase resilience, and enabling them to work with compassion, presence and joy. She runs Heart-Mind Consultancy and leads courses and retreats around Southern Africa, particularly the Tara Rokpa Centre.

A retreat participant once said, “Lucy is a warm, wise and wonderful teacher, embodying fully the heart-mind connections she gently encourages in others. What she offers comes directly from her heart, enabling her to provide exactly what is needed spontaneously in the moment.”
Her light-hearted approach to teaching allows participants to learn through a joyful, yet deeply transformative practice.

Costs
2.5 hour online retreat: R450, with R50 per person being donated to support Tara Rokpa Centre at this time.

Booking
Please click on this link to book with Marj Murray.

Marico Mountain and Gravel Biking Weekend
2020-03-27 18:00 - 2020-03-29 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
This event has been postponed until 30th April due to the declared National State of Disaster in response to the Corona virus.

Come and enjoy the smorgasbord of riding options available at this wonderful Marico biking destination. Bring your mountain or gravel bike, or both. Tell us what you are looking for and we will design a route for you. Popular options include the Water Wonderland tour (see below), which includes a swim at the Marico Oog, or the Langkloof Loop, for the intrepid MTB community.

Your guide, Mike Draper, has been riding the valley for many years and is keen to share its delights with you.
Dates
These events happen regularly, so if you can’t make it for one, join us on the following weekends:
30 Apr – 3 May 2020
Accommodation
We will stay at one of TRC’s comfortable farmhouses, with access to a farm dam pool to cool off after your ride.
If you’d like to come with a non-riding partner, they are welcome to relax at the farmhouse or attend the retreat being held at TRC. For more information about available retreats, click here.
Cost and Booking
R2000 per person includes your guide, accommodation in twin rooms (shared bathroom), vegetarian breakfast and lunch, with an evening meat braai. For a double/twin en suite, add R250 (if available).
Please use our online booking form, which can be completed easily on a phone or tablet.

Water Wonderland Tour
A ride to the enchanted Marico Eye, pristine source of the Groot Marico river. This ride is all on district gravel roads and is suitable for families and those new to off-road riding. Warm up on a long, steady pull up from the valley, out into big sky country, then either roll down directly to the cooling delight of the crystal-clear Eye, or continue along the ridge, past the old slate quarry, followed by an exhilarating drop. Stop and enjoy the view if the shaking gets too much.
Now you will have some work to do, to return to the Source. Keep in mind the refreshing dip to come, as you start to climb. Finally, back at the Eye, its time for that reward. Put on swimming goggles and paddle amongst the lilies while swallows and dragonflies skim the surface nearby. Dry off in the sun and then flop down under the willows for a sumptuous picnic. Time even for a nap perhaps, before its back on the bike. A small climb sets you up for a wonderful freewheel back to the start.
Langkloof Loop
Various options on this ride all require a reasonable level of skill. A combination of jeep track and cattle paths comprise a grin-inducing ride. Start with a climb out of the valley for a gentle introduction to the rugged terrain. If you top out without walking, hats off to you! A short zoom on the wide protea-studded plateau ends with a sharp down. The loose surface calls for a cautious approach.
Once on the valley floor, it’s time to open up through the acacia forest. A few bumps on this gradual down will disappear with decent attack velocity. After 7km of beautiful flow, it’s time to pay the piper. Pain is its name! This climb is tough but rideable. Steep to start and gradually leveling out, a few last undulations return you to the plateau. The next down is steep and rocky. Full suspension pays dividends here, and on the next section along the valley, criss-crossing the river. A foot-down may have you backing up for another go.
Up on the other valley edge, the foot-down turns into hike-a-bike for 300m. Then it’s back into some flow on cattle paths and across rock slabs, followed by a loose rocky down. The bottom is concreted. Trust me, you’ll be relieved! Time for a well-earned lunch. What’s next? Leg assessment will determine. There are plenty of gems left. Maybe even a hammock?

TRC Experience Weekend
2020-03-13 18:00 - 2020-03-15 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
Have you ever wondered what happens at a retreat centre?
This is your chance to find out! We are offering an introductory weekend for those who would like to experience the range of activities that take place at Tara Rokpa Centre (TRC).
TRC is a welcoming, down to earth centre within a UNESCO biosphere reserve where you can connect with yourself, your community and the earth. It is in a hidden valley, free from the disturbance of the digital world: such a rare treat in modern life where we are constantly on call.
During this weekend, you can reconnect with what it means to be human; relaxed, at ease and in touch with the world around you. Bring your family and take part in the experiences on offer. Alternatively, you are welcome to hike, swim, swing in a hammock or read a book.
The resident community at TRC each have their own skills and interests. They are very willing to share these with visitors. After supper on the first evening, Pippa Cope will guide you through a Healing Relaxation practice. This is a chance to slow down and feel grounded once again. She will then lead movement sessions before breakfast, so that guests can bring balance to body and mind. From Saturday morning, the programme is structured so that you can attend all the sessions for a full experience, or take time off to relax and replenish.
The permaculture stewards will give visitors an introduction to Permaculture tour on Saturday, and then a short workshop on Sunday. Brenda Shelley will offer the Poetry of Photography, during walks in the bushveld. She will assist participants to balance both the creative and the technical aspects of photography; linking the heart and the mind. Alan will give guests an introduction to meditation techniques, which can help to train the mind in becoming more aware and at ease.
Pippa offers mindful movement, including somatics and Donna Farhi-inspired yoga. She has been involved with the Tara Rokpa Therapy process for 20 years as a senior helper in South Africa and Zimbabwe and has offered workshops in Canada. Pippa has been resident at TRC for over 15 years as jack of all trades. She previously spent her professional life working as an Occupational Therapist, Social Worker and Community Development manager.

Alan completed a one-year closed retreat at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. He was a monk for six years and now presents courses and retreats as a layperson. He supports long-term (6 month retreats) in Tara’s Valley Retreat House, and is also very keen to support beginners with a meditation practice.

Brenda would like to share her love for photography so that visitors can touch into the spirit of place. She was a professional photographer and worked as a freelance visual artist in the USA and Cape Town, specialising in travel, fine art and fashion photography.

Come and try a weekend of reconnecting with the people and the environment around you, as well as learning new skills and practices to take care of yourself. This is your chance to remember how it feels to be free from the digital world, and let your mind quieten down to the pace of nature.
The Programme:
Friday
4 – 6 pm: Arrival and settling in
6:00 pm: Supper
7:30 pm: Guided Meditation/Relaxation
Saturday
7 – 8 am: Yoga
8 – 9 am: Breakfast
9:30 – 10:30 am: Intro to Meditation
11 am – 12:30 pm: Tour of the Permaculture site
1 – 2 pm: Lunch
2 – 4 pm: Free Time
4 – 5:30 pm: Guided Walk
6 – 7 pm: Supper
7 – 8 pm: Meditation/Relaxation/Drumming around the Campfire
Sunday
7 – 8 am: Yoga
8 – 9 am: Breakfast
10 am – 12 pm: Permaculture/Healing Relaxation/Meditation Activity
12:30 – 1:30 pm: Lunch
1:30 pm: Departure

Costs:
The costs include full board from supper on Friday to Lunch on Sunday, as well as an optional environmental levy of R60. Dana will be appreciated by the facilitators.

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R1500

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per Rperson):
R1300

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R1700

Single use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom:
R1800

Single use of ensuite room (if space available):
R1900

Single en suite room (if available)
R1800

Dormitory
R1000

Camping (own tent)
R800

Bookings:
Please book here. A 50% deposit will confirm your place.

Yoga Journey Retreat
2020-03-13 18:00 - 2020-03-15 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | North West Province
Join me for three days filled with things that nourish our souls, facilitates our inner journey, and nurtures our existence of body and mind, as well as soul, including like-hearted company and great food.

Yoga classes
Mindfulness sessions
A complimentary journal
Working with Intention workshop
One hour Yoga Nidra
Accommodation
Meals

Arrive on Friday afternoon, take time to settle in, and get to know your fellow participants.
After supper each evening there will be a Yin Yang session followed by Yoga Nidra before bedtime.
In the morning we will wake up to a gentle yoga and mindfulness session followed by breakfast, a short workshop playshop, and a yoga flow session.
Participants will have the afternoon free to either explore their environment and the waterfall or to rest.
Costs:
The costs per person include accommodation, meals from Friday evening to lunch on Sunday, a voluntary environmental fee of R60, and a facilitator fee.

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R3080

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
R2860

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R3260

Single-use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom:
R3360

Single-use of ensuite room (if space available):
R3460

Dormitory
R2640

Camping (own tent)
R2440

To book:
Please fill in the mobile friendly booking form.
A 50% deposit will confirm your booking.
Banking details:
Bank: First National Bank
Branch: Bedford Gardens Branch
Branch code: 252155
Account name: Tara Rokpa Centre
Account no.: 6211 1707 157
Reference no.: “Retreat name + your name”
Your Facilitator Nadya Booyse:
I have been teaching since 2011 until 2017 and in that time, I have acquired roughly 1000 hours of teaching, not to mention training, retreats and workshops. I love what I do and it has taking me on the most unplanned route through my life. When I started my Yoga TT, I was desperately searching for answers and purpose in my life. I landed in a space where I did not necessarily find answers, but I did find a way to make peace with the world while I looked for them. I would like to share what I found, the experiences that I had, with others who might be able to benefit from them. Being a teacher doesn’t make me superior or all-knowing though, and so I have never stopped doing workshops and courses since I started my journey. I don’t believe that yoga means anything if it can’t be applied to your life. Whether Patanjali’s Sutras, or simply remembering to breathe when life throws a curve ball, yoga has been instrumental in my life, and since I am not all-knowing yet, it continues to do so. www.journey-keeper.com

The Three Teachings Retreat with Khenpo Lekthong
2020-03-03 18:00 - 2020-03-08 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | North West Province
“The Three Trainings” are essential teachings and instructions on ethics (morality), concentration (meditation), and wisdom.
We need to develop our ethics, meditation, and wisdom in order to transform our current afflicted mental states and hence progress on the path. The Three Trainings are important both in Buddhist and worldly contexts; learning to lead a more wholesome life by benefiting others and refraining from harm, making the mind more emotionally balanced, and developing both practical wisdom and rational analysis.
The retreat starts on Tuesday evening 3 March and finishes on Sunday 8 March at lunchtime.
There is also the option of only coming for the weekend from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 March.

Khenpo Lekthong became a monk when he was 15 years old and graduated from Karma Shri Nalanda Institute of Rumtek monastery (monastery of HH Karmapa in Sikkim.) He studied mainly Buddhist philosophy and also some languages, western philosophy and comparative religions. After Khenpo Lekthong graduated, he taught in Rumtek for some years, after which time he focused more on research. Khenpo’s speciality is focussed around Karma Kagyu religion and history. Presently Khenpo Lekthong lives at Ralang monastery, the monastery of Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche, heart son of HH 16 Gyalwa Karmapa, where he works for Rinpoche as a translator. Khenpo is a Buddhist author and speaks fluent English.

Cost:
The cost covers food and accommodation. In order to make these teachings available to all, we are offering a flat rate of R500 pp per night. If you can afford the normal TRC rates and would like to book single or en suite rooms, please contact us for availability.
3 – 8 March: R2500
6 – 8 March: R1000
Dharma teachers are not paid for teachings. Dana (a monetary offering) to the teacher is a way of expressing your appreciation for the teachings.
Booking:
To book click here. A 50% deposit will secure your booking.
For payment options, click here.

Experience The Heart Sutra Over Valentine’s Weekend with Ava Avalos
2020-02-14 18:00 - 2020-02-16 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
In the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, come study and explore the mysterious wisdom of the Heart Sutra, known in Buddhism as ‘The Prajnaparamita.’ This ancient and sacred text will form the foundation of Zen Buddhist Mindfulness Practices to open your heart – including sitting, walking, dancing & singing.
The workshop will be facilitated by Dharmachayra Ava Avalos, MD, a seasoned practitioner of Zen.
Both beginners and experienced are welcome (teenagers too!)
Costs (includes all meals from dinner on Friday to lunch on Sunday, bedding, beverages and facilitator’s fee):
Twin/Double room ensuite bathroom (per person): R2,500
Twin/Double room with shared bathroom (per person): R1,800
Single room with shared bathroom: R2,000
Dormitory: R1,100
Camping (bring your own tent): R850
Queries: tararokpacentre@gmail.com
Booking: Please use our mobile-friendly Online Booking form to book.
A 50 % deposit will confirm your booking. Here is the link to payment options.
Facilitator:
Ava Avalos, MD, is an ordained Zen Dharma Teacher in the tradition of Plum Village & Thich Nhat Hanh. Based in Gaborone, she specialises in HIV/TB medicine and teaches yoga and dances as often as she can

New Year Intentions Retreat 2020
2020-01-24 18:00 - 2020-01-26 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
“Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of our intentions.”
Sharon Salzberg
New Year Intentions
For 11 years, Lucy has been running New Year Intentions Retreat at the Tara Rokpa Centre – inspiring participants to find their sense of purpose. Taking time away from daily demands to reflect on the past year, and to set intentions for the future, provides a potent space for growth. Intention-setting does not need to be difficult. We can simply connect with what brings us joy, makes us feel energetic and alive, and commit to focusing on these activities over the year ahead.
To tap into our sense of purpose, or ubizo or raison d’etre, we combine contemplative practices with a wish to engage in the communities and the world around us. We will develop a deep understanding that compassion and altruism circle back to bring the greatest happiness to the giver, as long as our basic needs are also attended to.
Activities
We will integrate our body, heart and mind in a gentle, unfolding process of yoga and mindfulness, providing the opportunity to reflect on what inspires and energizes us. By trusting our ability to tap into our own talents, we can lead our lives in a way that also brings benefit to others. Yoga and mindfulness practices will tune us into both our supportive and sabotaging patterns, while compassion practices will provide us with skillful ways to accept ourselves just as we are, in order to create the conditions for transformation to take place.
Please bring a yoga mat, a journal and pen or pencil, as well as stretchy, comfortable clothes for both yin and yang yoga practices.
About the Facilitator
Lucy Draper-Clarke has a doctorate in mindfulness and teacher education. Last year she published an online course through the Insight Timer app, entitled “Finding Joy in Life through Intention Setting”. This was based on the retreat practices she has developed since 2009. She has practised yoga for 20 years and taught yoga and mindfulness in Southern Africa since 2006. She has been lucky enough to study with inspiring Buddhist mindfulness, and Vinyasa yoga teachers, and offers both yin and yang styles of yoga. Her light-hearted and compassionate approach to teaching allows participants to explore their inner worlds through a joyful, yet transformative practice. For a personal reflection on previous New Year Intentions retreats, please follow this link.

For more information about retreats at TRC, please follow this link.
Bookings
For the online booking form, please click on this link. A 50% deposit will secure your choice of accommodation. The deposit is non-refundable, but transferrable to another retreat within a year.
Costs
Accommodation is priced to cater to everyone, but even so, please do not let your inability to pay prevent you from attending. Contact us for volunteer trades or payment plans. Partners are welcome to attend and pay for accommodation only. TRC members, SAGA/SWIFT members, and past participants may request a 10% discount.
2-night retreat

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R2800

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
R2600

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R3000

Single Rooms (Office Block)
R2500

Single use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom:
R3100

Single use of ensuite room (if space available):
R3200

Single en suite room (if space available):
R3100

Dormitory (per person):
R2300

Camping (own tent & bedding):
R2100

Prices are per person, and include accommodation, meals, tea/coffee, facilitation fee, and environmental levy.
For more information about retreats at TRC, please follow this link.

Nudging the Player: A Very Serious Play Retreat with Anthea Moys and Roberto Pombo
2019-11-22 18:00 - 2019-11-24 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.
– Carl Jung
After a 2-year hiatus, facilitators Roberto and Anthea have become even MORE serious about play than they were originally and they would love to share some of these learnings with you. Come dive in with us and treat yourself to a glorious weekend retreat dedicated to the art of PLAY!
Play is often considered a ‘waste of time’, a frivolous, useless activity reserved only for children. We are told to ‘Grow up! Get a job! And get serious about life.’ Increasingly, however, play is seen to be crucial, not just for children but for adults too – with special benefits for all parts of one’s life. You cannot force anyone to play. Most of us have forgotten what our relationship to play is. Evolutionary science shows that play is part of our DNA. It is how we learn and how we communicate with one another. It prepares us for the world ahead.
So, it is just about remembering; nudging the player that is dormant inside all of us. In this retreat we invite you to ‘exercise the play muscle’ inside you. Playing is about engaging ambiguous, uncertain and sometimes scary spaces or experiences with a sense of joy, curiosity, experimentation and ‘what if?’ as opposed to a ‘winning mentality’. By creating conditions for multiple options to emerge, not just right or wrong answer, win or lose, we take the expert out of the room, and invite in the fool. In this way we create safe spaces for creativity to flow.
In our experience, this approach is the most conducive, inspiring, life-affirming, character enhancing and FUN way to do things. We learn and connect more when we are having fun… ! This retreat aims to create a safe space for us to play where we can be a bit silly, find our playful self and learn how to incorporate play into our daily lives more readily.
“I can’t recommend this retreat enough. I arrived home full of hilarious stories and with a spring in my step. You will belly laugh, dance around, explore something new and fool around with art supplies. You won’t be bored for a second, but you will also have time to chill in a hammock and stare at the clouds.” – Mehita Iqani (Play Retreat 2017).
WHAT TO EXPECT:

What is play for you? The weekend will be packed with a variety of activities exploring different types of PLAY. We have some ‘nudges’ that may involve make believe and pretend play, daydreaming, risky play, ritualIsed play, musical play, (non)competitive game-play plus a little bit of play theory.
Have you forgotten how to play? The activities will be focused on non-competitive games that are designed to challenge you to think less, laugh, learn and play more, and in so doing, allow you to rediscover and connect to your playful spirit (wherever it may be hiding). We will explore games that: engage you in developing your quick responsive skills; stimulate joyful stupidity; promote child-like curiosity; require strict in-the-now awareness; and encourage you to purely laugh and have fun.
Process-driven (not goal oriented) play: an invitation OR permission to… surrender! The focus here will be on quantity and not quality. Leave the ego and the judge at the door. Activities that will assist this process will include: playing with chance and the sub/unconscious, automatic drawing and writing and improvised theatrical play.
Embodied and mindful practice: adventuring and wandering into the wilderness of the Groot Marico as an explorer, investigator, quiet and gentle observer and responding creatively and curiously to what is there.
Dressing up, hide and go seek, treasure hunts, zombie games, ghost stories, musical chairs, broken telephone, squash sardines, cat ‘n mouse, singing games and a silent disco…

YOU WILL LEAVE WITH MAD SKILLS IN HOW TO USE PLAY TO:

Facilitate the learning process: Playing is about trying different things out and seeing what happens. In this way we learn more because we adopt an open and positive perspective. We are not stuck on just ‘trying to find the right answer’.
Assist with interpersonal relationships, communication and collaboration: Play assists with active listening and exchange – a lot of play is about saying yes. Improvisational play is about being generous and open to what the other person has to offer – and working with what is. Not what it should or could be, but what is.
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Plato.
Assist with ‘sitting with ambiguity’: Often – we don’t know what the outcome will be, what the future holds. This makes us nervous, uncomfortable and sometimes it even paralyses us. Because play is about trusting the process, we learn to work with this feeling of ambiguity, uncertainty and unknowingness. No condition is permanent.
Relieve stress and anxiety and be more productive: play boosts our energy, is full of surprises and gets you moving!
Adopt divergent ways of thinking, as opposed to convergent ways of thinking: divergent thinking is an exploratory thinking process where many ideas are possible. Convergent thinking is about trying to get one right idea. This is how most of us were taught in school – that there is only a right and a wrong way to do things! Play inspires divergent thinking and minimises the fear of ‘getting it wrong’, so we are inspired to take more risks. In this way the creative process is much more organic, generative… and FUN!
Access your inner child (#hippiealert we know we know) and never be bored again: For most of us our experience of the world is largely visual. Through our phones and computers, our lives are saturated with thousands of images every day. We are forgetting how to make our own images! When we play, we jump-start our imagination, wonder and curiosity at the world. Make-believe, pretend and daydreaming can all assist with this process.
Live a happier life: Play makes you happy. Be it though dancing, singing, drawing or just daydreaming.

Pricing: Weekend accommodation and all (INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS) vegetarian meals included.

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
R2 880

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
R2 660

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
R3 060

Single use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom:
R3 160

Single use of ensuite room (if space available):
R3 360

Dormitory
R2 440

Camping (own tent)
R2 240

TRC is committed to being accessible to all, so please enquire after bursary places, if you do not feel you can afford the full retreat cost. You can offer your skills and work in lieu of full payment.
A voluntary environmental levy of R60 is included in the price.
To Book:
Please fill in the online booking form for each person wanting to attend.
A 50% deposit (non-refundable, but transferable to another TRC retreat) will secure your place.
Your facilitators:
Roberto Pombo
Roberto Pombo is a very, very serious theatre-maker, educator and performer. He graduated with an Honours degree in Dramatic Arts from WITS University in 2008 and went on to complete a three year intensive training at the acclaimed Helikos International School of Theatre Creation. Some of his performance credits include Robin Orlin’s Dressed to Kill, Kill to Dress; Jerome Bel’s Shirtology; The History Boys directed Alan Swerdlow; Jemma Kahn’s We Didn’t Come To Hell For The Croissants; and The Play That Goes Wrong, directed by Alan Committie. He was most recently seen in the multi-award winning clown show Babbelagtig, directed by Jenine Collocott; and Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class, directed by Sylvaine Strike. Roberto’s passion for theatre is strongly rooted in the world of the clown and the bouffon. He recently completed his Masters dissertation in theatre through Wits University and went on to attend a three month pedagogic training at Helikos under the direction of world-renowned theatre master, Giovanni Fusetti. He currently teaches clown, improvisation and devised theatre work in Johannesburg.
Anthea Moys
Anthea is a very, very serious artist, teacher, play facilitator, lifelong learner and runner. She is interested in play, performance, trusting the process and seeing what happens. In 2008 she completed her Masters at Wits with a focus on play and performance in public space. In 2013 she won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for performance art (inaugural) where she created her “Vs” series which embraced failure and reimagined winning as the act of learning itself. She has travelled widely as an artist and play facilitator. In April 2017 Anthea was the keynote speaker for CounterPlay festival in Denmark, as well as for the Playful Arts festival in Eindhoven in 2018 in the Netherlands. More recently she was a resident artist, researcher and play facilitator at The Capital of Children as part of the LEGO Foundation in Denmark. Most recently Anthea has won a studentship at Northumbria University in Newcastle to complete a 3-year practice-led PhD with a specific focus on sport, play and contemporary performance. Anthea currently lives, learns, works and plays Newcastle, U.K. www.antheamoys.com
Responses from players at the last Play Retreat in 2017:
“The Play retreat with Anthea and Roberto was a huge amount of fun. They have created a brilliant programme full of interactive games and experiences which, as well as making sure that participants get silly, giggle and are encouraged to express themselves, also cleverly teaches about the role of improvisation, experimentation and joyfulness in a full and happy life…. Go play! You’ll remember parts of yourself that the responsible adult in charge of you might have neglected.”
Mehita
“It was so refreshing to be in a beautiful space, to meet new people and play. At first very hard to let go but then with the non judgmental support of your new friends you slowly start to open up and enjoy playing. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I am so glad I did it. I did for myself and I’ll be back. Thank you.”
Bronwyn
“The best thing since sliced bread.”
Jasmina (she doesn’t eat bread and was on a juice diet during the retreat).

Dancing in the Depths
2019-11-15 18:00 - 2019-11-17 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
A retreat in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh
Impermanence moves us into the unknown whether we like it or not. This movement based workshop will provide an opportunity to slow down and embrace the depth of our embodied experience and wisdom in a time of great uncertainty. Cradled in the safe beauty of the Tara Rokpa Valley with waterfalls, fresh air and blue skies – Touching the Earth will provide space for relaxation and healing. Deep Yoga, Zen Practices, Movement and Dance will provide doors to greater joy and understanding. In these times of climate crisis and despair – come and be soothed by the cool breeze of the Dharma. Both beginners and experienced practitioners are welcome.
Your facilitator:
The workshop will be facilitated by Ava Avalos, MD, ordained Zen Dharma Teacher in the tradition of Plum Village & Thich Nhat Hanh. Based in Gaborone, Ava specialises in HIV/TB medicine and teaches yoga and dances as often as she can

Costs:

Costs include all meals from supper on Friday to lunch on Sunday, bedding, beverages, and facilitator’s fee.
Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person): R2,000.00
Twin/double room with stared bathroom (per person): R1,500.00
Single room with shared bathroom (3 available): R2,000.00
Single use of a double room (if space available): R2,000.00
Dormitory: R1,000.00
Camping (own tent): R800.00
To book:
Please book by filling in our on-line booking form. A 50% deposit will secure your choice of room.
Payment options can be found here.

The Poetry of Photography Weekend
2019-10-25 18:00 - 2019-10-27 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
The Poetry of Photography
A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being seen and experienced in the deepest sense. It is a true expression of what the photographer feels about life in its entirety.

Creating poetry not just pictures.

Photography falls somewhere between writing and painting; it is an interpretation of ideas created with the camera.
What makes a great photograph goes beyond what is just in front of you. It is a balance of both creative and technical input, a balancing of the heart and the mind.
The poetry of photography will always be more important than the mechanics of the camera. A photograph is taken both with the mind and the heart. The most sophisticated camera in the world can never replace this.
A photographer needs a short circuit between the brain and the fingertips. Things happen expected more often however more unexpected, one must be ready to catch the image the right split second because if you miss it the picture will be gone forever.
Time stands still just long enough for the shutter to capture that moment, if missed it will be gone forever.
To book, click here.
Your Facilitator: Brenda Shelley
I have been a photographer for more than thirty years, specialising in fashion, beauty, travel and fine art photography. As a freelance photographer in the United States of America, I worked for more than seventeen years in New York, LA, Miami and New Mexico. I have taught photography courses both in the U.S.A and South Africa.
In 2001 I returned to South Africa to pursue my dream of living in the country and living a sustainable life style in harmony with nature; growing lavender, sunflowers and breeding horses. We farmed full time for ten years, using all organic permaculture principles with British Alpine Milking goats and making our own goats cheese.
I am have completed my cultural heritage tourism course to incorporate into my photography courses, specialising in the Overberg region. Photography is a way of life to me. Beyond the camera lie the mysteries of the creative life, shared by those who strive to communicate and express themselves clearly.
It is my visual diary of observations and thoughts kept on a daily basis or at regular intervals; of personal activities, reflections and feelings.
For further information please email me at dragonfly9991@gmail.com

Retreat Cost
The cost includes accommodation, facilitation and an optional environmental levy (R60). Towels and bedding are provided. To book, click here. Prices are per person.

Per person, for the weekend
2 nights

Single shared bathroom
R2 310

Twin/double en suite
R2 130

Twin/double shared bathroom
R1 910

Dormitory
R1 690

Spirit of Place
Photography is a personal testimony a way of seeing the world, and that must be honest, using technology as a medium for capturing reality, not disturbing it. Light is the language of photography – the soul of the world.There is no light without shadow, just as there is no happiness without pain.A photographer interprets reality and camera captures it. You see the world and you make others see it the way you do.A good photograph tells a story, it reveals a place, or event, a state of mind, it is more powerful than pages and pages of writing.

Moving Beyond the Karma and Drama of our Daily Lives with Melanie Polatinsky
2019-10-18 18:00 - 2019-10-20 13:00 (Africa/Johannesburg) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
In the midst of the dramas of our karmic circumstances, it’s so difficult to realise that this is a relative movie AND that we, ourselves, have created the players and places!!
Join us in the tranquil, spiritual setting of TRC for a weekend with Melanie, of MEDITATION and EXPLORATION of our minds beyond our SELF-CREATED SUFFERING.
Melanie Polatinsky is a psychotherapist, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and has been empowered to teach by Lama Yeshe Rinpoche, Abbot of Samye Ling Monastery, in Scotland. She has worked, taught and conducted retreats in a variety of fields for the past 45 years. These include meditation, dream work, death and dying, bereavement, inner child work, relationships, karma and reincarnation, inner peace, the five Wisdoms, discovering your true potential, and many other Buddhist topics including a Dzogchen View of life. She has done several self-retreats in India at Palpung Sherabling Monastery. Melanie runs a Tibetan Samye Dzong Centre in Johannesburg and is involved in ongoing teaching in the above fields as well as many aspects of Vajrayana practice. She also teaches a Bardo group to train people in the death and dying teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as extensive direct work with the dying and their families. Melanie has a private practice in psychotherapy with a Buddhist approach.
Cost:
The costs include accommodation, all meals, beverages and snacks, but excludes dana, an offering to the facilitator.
Single use of ensuite room (if space available): R1800
Single use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom: R1700
Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available): R1600
Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person): R1400
Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person): R1200
Dormitory: R900
Camping (own tent): R700
To Book:
Please fill in the booking form for each person attending.
A 50 % non-refundable but transferable, deposit will secure the accommodation of your choice.

Spring Yoga Retreat - Steven Heyman & Lucy D-C
2019-09-21 13:00 - 2019-09-24 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
It’s time to shake off the winter, and replenish yourself during this Heritage Day yoga retreat. Join Steven Heyman and Lucy Draper-Clarke for a long weekend of yoga, mindfulness and outdoor adventure in the Groot Marico District.
Our first session will begin after lunch on 21st September, and end after lunch on 24th September, but you are also welcome to come a night early (20th September), or stay an extra night afterwards, for complete relaxation!
The Tara Rokpa Centre is a healing centre known for its pristine environment, unpolluted air and fantastic night sky. It lies in a wooded valley, bounded by perennial streams and surrounded by rolling hills.
Yoga Retreat Programme
Yoga in the Octagon
We will wake up to a gentle yoga and mindfulness session in the Octagon meditation hall, followed by healthy breakfast in the open dining area. There will then be two varied yoga sessions before tucking into a filling vegetarian lunch. Participants can either rest in the afternoon or visit the nearby waterfall in Tara’s Valley, or die Oog – the Eye – which is the 14m deep source of the Marico river, and popular with swimmers and divers. There will be one evening yin yoga practice, and on the final evening we can sit around an open fire, telling Bosman tales, traditional to the area.
Facilitators
Steven Heyman
Lucy Draper-Clarke
Steven Heyman from Yoga Works will teach two yoga sessions each day, covering vinyasa flow as well as as partner yoga, balances and inversions. Lucy Draper-Clarke from Heart-Mind will focus on yin yoga, alongside mindfulness and compassion training. The final 3-hour yoga session on Sunday will combine the elements from both teachers into a yoga, breath and mindfulness practice where we will fully experience both Effort and Ease.
Rates
The accommodation for this yoga retreat will be in simple farmhouses with twin/double rooms and shared bathroom. There are a few singles, as well as a dormitory/family room, and a campsite.

Costs

Accommodation inc. all meals and snacks for 3 nights

Single shared bathroom
R4200

Twin/double en suite
R3900

Twin/double shared
R3600

Dormitory
R3300

Camping (own tent)
R3000

Come the night before, or stay a night after, for a reduced rate of R450 pppn.
A 50% deposit secures the accommodation of your choice. This is non-refundable, but is transferable to another TRC retreat.

The food is ovo-lacto vegetarian. Gluten free/vegan options available (please mention any food preferences when booking). Please bring extra provisions if you are vegan/GF.
Please do not let you inability to pay prevent you from attending. We offer reduced rates, or exchange for volunteer work.
Booking Form
Please book via this link.
For more information about retreats at TRC, click here.
Transport
250km (about 3 hours) from Johannesburg, with 14km of gravel road. Please consider car pooling. If you are happy to offer a ride, please mention this when booking.

Mindful Creativity and Play Retreat with Anton Krueger
2019-08-23 18:00 - 2019-08-28 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
Retreat Overview
On this retreat, we’ll be playing mindfulness and writing games, nurturing our sense of wonder and astonishment at our precious human life. How extraordinary to be alive at all! We’ll explore mindfulness as a creative practice, as a way of encouraging awareness, a way of being present. We’ll be doing workshops geared towards sparking creativity, inspiration and reflection; using writing as a tool of discovery. The emphasis will not be on technical skill, but on meeting, appreciating and enjoying our creative selves.
You need to begin to explore another way to write, to build awareness to write from…To create from joy, to create from wonder, demands a continual discipline, a great compassion…it demands a continual objectivity of spirit, a continual looking out at, and beyond the world created by the senses…”
Thuksey Rinpoche, in Andrew Harvey’s Journey to Ladakh (1983)
Retreat Options
The retreat takes place over five nights, with a shorter weekend option of 2 nights.
Beginning Friday, 23rd August 2019, 18:00
Ending Sunday, 25th, or Wednesday 28th August, 13:00
The retreat will be kept small with a maximum of 12 participants, so that there is enough time to focus on each person’s individual work in group feedback sessions. Those staying for the extra three nights will also receive a one-on-one session of at least 30 minutes for feedback on a work in progress. Writers who have an existing project as well as those just starting out are equally welcome, as no previous experience required.
Retreat Facilitator
Anton Krueger is an acclaimed writer who has won numerous awards for his plays, poems and critical writing. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Drama, Rhodes University, and also helps to run a Samye Kagyu Buddhist centre in Grahamstown. He’s also taught creative writing to children at home schools and at the Michael Mount Waldorf School.
Anton is a member of Mindfulness Africa and has presented papers on Mindfulness and Creativity in Shanghai, Chicago, India, Sweden and Scotland.
The theme of this writing retreat arises from my own recent reflections on trying to reconcile a creative life with one of Buddhist mindfulness practice. I’ve been wondering how we work with our minds when we write, and how writing could benefit from mindfulness, and also become a way to practice. On this retreat, we’ll use different kinds of guided practices (sitting, walking, body scan) as well as practical workshops geared towards sparking creativity and honing writing skills.
Retreat Costs
There are options to join for two nights or four nights, with different costs depending on your choice of accommodation. These rates include all meals, refreshments and teachings. Non-participating partners who wish to accompany participants are also welcome at reduced rates. If you would like to come but can’t afford it, there is the opportunity to work back some accommodation costs at the TRC by helping out for a few hours a day in the garden or the office. Please let me know if you wish to apply for subsidised rates.

Retreat costs (full board)
Weekend
Full Retreat

Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person):
2200
4900

Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person):
2000
4300

Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available):
2400
5300

Single use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom:
2500
5600

Single use of ensuite room (if space available):
2600
5800

Dormitory
1700
3800

Camping (own tent)
1500
3300

To book, please use our online Booking Form.
For more general information about our retreats, please click on this link.

Catch yourself thinking…
Allen Ginsberg

Personal Practice Retreat
2019-04-19 18:00 - 2019-04-27 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | North West Province
Guided by Alan Muller
A traditional 3 year 3 month traditional retreat is out of reach of most people leading modern lives. And it is a great challenge for lay practitioners to find the time or place to complete practices such as Ngöndro – the foundational practices of Tibetan Buddhism. In response to these needs, Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoche and Chöje Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche initiated a space for longer-termed retreats at the Tara Retreat House in a secluded valley at Tara Rokpa Centre.
Here is a rare opportunity to dedicate yourself to your practice for 8 days in a consecrated, supported environment, from Friday 19 April to Saturday 27 April. There will be plenty of time to focus on your personal Buddhist practices, with guidance from Alan. There will be a recorded teaching daily, and also time to take walks in the surrounding bush.
Preliminary programme:
7 am – 8 am: Green Tara Prayers
8 am: Breakfast
9 am – 12 pm: Individual practice
2 pm – 5 pm: Individual Practice
7 pm to 8 pm: Chenrézik Prayers
A recorded teaching will be presented daily – tbc.
Space is limited to 7 people in single rooms – allocated on booking.
Costs: R2200 for 8 days. Excludes dana.
Booking: Please complete the booking form.
A deposit of R1100 will secure your booking.
For more about the Retreat House, read here.

The retreat will be supported by Alan Muller who also lives in Tara’s Valley. He took refuge in 1997 with Akong Rinpoche. In 2003, he completed a one-year closed retreat under the guidance of Lama Yeshe Rinpoche at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. During this period, he took novice monks vows. Alan remained a novice monk for six years and now presents courses and retreats as a layperson. He has formed Ngöndro practice groups since 2004 around Southern Africa.

Homegrown Happiness - Food Gardening Weekend
2019-04-05 18:00 - 2019-04-07 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tikologo Permaculture Project, Groot Marico District, North West, South Africa, Groot-Marico, ZA
Keen to grow your own nutrient rich plate of food?
Join Tikologo for a weekend getaway and learn how to grow your own organic edible garden this season. Facilitator, Coen Meintjes, will guide you through the necessary steps of designing and establishing a Permaculture food garden.
The 2 day food gardening workshop will cover everything you need to know in order to start establishing your very own abundant home food garden.
Edible garden design – site location, planting layers, edges and pathways, functional structures
Preparing vegetable beds – types of soil, double digging, broad forking, sheet mulching, tarping, raised beds
Creating living soil – understanding weeds, compost, earthworms, green manure, herbal teas
Propagation + planting – growing mediums and containers, seed treatment, sowing seeds, hardening off, thinning and planting out, seedling protection
Companion planting – crop rotation, planting with herbs and ornamentals, layers and succession planting
Organic garden maintenance – mulching, protection from the elements, common pest control
Harvesting the goodness – harvesting, extending the yield, saving seed, sharing and returning the surplus
The course will include both theoretical training in the classroom as well as getting dirty with practical sessions in the garden.
Please bring a note pad and pen, gardening clothes, gloves and sun protection. Cameras are welcome too. Bring walking shoes if you wish to hike to the waterfall on Saturday afternoon. And marshmallows should you want to indulge in Saturday night’s bonfire.
Please take note that the workshop starts with Friday evening supper and ends with lunch on Sunday.
DATE
Friday 5 – Sunday 7 April 2019
COURSE FEES R 2000.00
Includes facilitation fee, shared accommodation for 2 nights and 3 healthy vegetarian meals per day
VENUE Tikologo Permaculture Farm
Training Centre Site at Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico district, North West Province (only 250km from Jozi)
BOOKING&PAYMENT Please visit www.tikologo.co.za/booking-form

Living Joyfully
2019-03-21 13:00 - 2019-03-24 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | North West Province
with Chöje Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Lama Katen and Gelongma Lhamo

On this 4 day meditation retreat, Chöje Lama Yeshe Rinpoche will share with us, based on his vast and deep experience, how to cultivate genuine feelings of joy and enthusiasm.
The retreat will start at lunch time on Thursday 21 March, a public holiday, and will end on Sunday 24 March at lunch time.
This retreat offers you a special opportunity to attend authentic Dharma teachings, as well as to partake in practice, a refuge ceremony, and even enjoy a morning walk with Lama Yeshe.

There will also be interview slots available with Lama Yeshe Rinpoche, Lama Katen and Gelongma Lhamo. To book an interview (max 15 min), please email the office.
There will also be a refuge ceremony – if you would like to take refuge, please email the office.

The Programme:
Thursday 21 March (public holiday)
12 – 1 pm: Arrival of retreatants and settle in
1 pm: Lunch
3 – 4:30 pm: Dharma Talk – Lama Katen
5 – 6 pm: Evening Walk
7- 8 pm: The Kagyu Masters and the importance of Lineage – Lama Katen
8 – 8:30 pm: Chenrézik Prayers

Friday 22 March
6 – 7 am: Green Tara Prayers
7 – 8 am Morning walk with Lama Yeshe Rinpoche
8 – 9 am: Breakfast
9 – 10 am: Meditation
10:30 – 11:30 am: Sang Puja
11:30 – 12:30 pm Who is green Tara? Part I – Ani Lhamo
1 – 3 pm: Lunch Break
3 – 4:30 pm: Dharma Talk – Lama Katen
5 – 6 pm: Evening Walk
7 – 8 pm: Open Forum – Lama Katen
8- 8:30 pm: Chenrézik Prayers

Sat 23 March
6 – 7 am: Green Tara Prayers
7 – 8 am Morning walk with Lama Yeshe Rinpoche
8 – 9 am: Breakfast
9 – 10 am: Meditation
10:30 – 12:00 pm Who is green Tara? Part II- Ani Lhamo
12:15 – 1 pm: Meditation (Alan)
1 – 3 pm: Lunch Break
3 – 4:30 pm: Dharma Talk – Lama Katen
5 – 6 pm: Evening Walk
7 – 8 pm: Living Joyfully with Lama Yeshe Rinpoche
8- 8:30 pm: Chenrézik Prayers

Sun 24 March
6 – 7 am: Green Tara Prayers
7 – 8 am Morning walk with Lama Yeshe Rinpoche
8 – 9 am: Breakfast
9 – 10 am: Meditation
10:30 – 11:30 am Talk on Refuge and Vows – Lama Katen
12 – 1 pm: Refuge Ceremony – Lama Yeshe Rinpoche
1 pm: Celebratory Lunch

Costs:
The costs include all meals from lunch on Thursday to lunch on Sunday, accommodation, a supplemental fee to cover the air fares of the teachers, and an optional R60 environmental levy.
The costs exclude Dana (an offering in appreciation) for the teachers and the refuge ceremony, and staff tips.
Twin/double room with en-suite bathroom (per person): R2700
Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person): R2300
Single room with shared bathroom: R2900
Single rooms (Office Block): R2200
Single use of twin/double room (if space available), shared bathroom: R3100
Single use of en-suite room (if space available): R3200
Single en-suite room: R3100
Dormitory: R2000
Camping: (own tent) 1700
Camping: TRC Tent 2000
TRC Daily rates apply for extra nights.
To Book:
Bookings are open – click here for the booking form.
A deposit of R1000 for camping, dorm or twin accommodation, or R1500 for single or en-suite accommodation will secure your booking.
We would like as many people as possible to benefit from this retreat, so there will be limited single accommodation available.
Don’t let a lack of resources prevent you from attending – please contact us for concessions or work exchange.

Chöje Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche was born in East Tibet, and escaped to India together with Akong Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa in 1959. In 1969 he joined Akong Tulku Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Scotland and in 1980 took full ordination as a Gelong monk from His Holiness Karmapa. He then entered a strict, long-term solitary retreat under the guidance of the Abbot of Karma Triyana, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. He has completed a number of 49-day Bardo retreats of total solitude and darkness, an accomplishment that has made him one of the foremost meditation Masters alive today.
In 1991, Lama Yeshe Rinpoché became the Abbot of Samye Ling and took responsibility for the Holy Isle Project. Following the tragic death of Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoché in 2013, he also assumed overall responsibility for ROKPA International and The Tara Trust, as well as for all Kagyu Samye Dzong Centres worldwide.
Lama Yeshe Rinpoché gives teachings all around the world, participating in numerous interfaith events, where his charismatic presence and good humour enable him to connect with people from all walks of life.
Lama Katen is deputy Abbot of Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and a nephew of Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoche. He received full ordination from Thrangu Rinpoche and studied for many years at Thrangu Monastery in Nepal. He spent five years at Thrangu Monastic College and then undertook the traditional three-year, three-month retreat, followed by a six-month Kalachakra dark retreat. His root Guru, Drupon Rinpoche, has requested him to teach.
Gelongma Lhamo is a fully ordained Buddhist nun who completed a four-year cloistered retreat in 1993 and has lived at Samye Ling ever since. She is an experienced teacher of meditation and Dharma courses and as Secretary to the Abbot at Samye Ling she has learnt how to integrate the peace and stability of meditation into her busy working life.

Thoughts Create Reality
2019-03-08 13:00 - 2019-03-10 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | North West Province
A weekend of challenging and thought-provoking teachings and meditations that encourage our understanding of the ancient wisdom schools of Asian and western thought.
Learn techniques to garden your mind and thoughts, to create a truly beneficial and fruitful reality.

The retreat is facilitated by Mark Joseph, a previously very nervous and anxious person. Through mindfulness and meditation Mark experienced the miracle of being in the present with an open heart. He is schooled in both eastern and western mindfulness philosophy. With over 19 years of experience in teaching, Mark is willing to share all his resources to create a heart felt path for your life.

Marloes Joseph is richly experienced and qualified to teach various yoga styles. She has completed Teacher Training with international yogis and currently teaches at leading yoga studios. Marloes will gently lead you through the practice of kindfulness yoga that is designed to open your heart.

Costs:
The cost per person includes 2 nights’ accommodation, all meals plus lunch on the day of arrival, the facilitators’ fee and an optional environment levy of R60.
Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person): R2480
Single use of en suite room (if space available): R2860
Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person): R2260
Single use of twin/double room (if space available): R2700
Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available): R2660
Dormitory: R2040
Camping (own tent): R1840
To book:
Please book using the on-line booking form. A 50% deposit will secure the room of your choice.
Banking details.

Mindfulness and the Art of Moving Meditation through Chi Kung
2019-03-01 18:00 - 2019-03-03 14:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
The five thousand year old ancient and mystical art of Chi Kung, the art of drawing life force into your being, reminds us to let go of obstructions and imbalances.
Chi Kung is an integration of physical postures, breathing techniques, and focused intention, harnessing Presence. The gentle, rhythmic movements of Chi Kung reduces stress, builds stamina, increases vitality, and enhances the immune system.
Chi Kung’s most powerful influence came from the 28th Buddhist Patriarch in India, Bodhidharma. He took Buddhism to China, and is considered to be the father of martial arts. He taught the monks how to know the divine (consciousness, true nature, spirit) within, and how to be present with this state in this physical reality, thus combating the disease of their frail bodies.
This sacred path has been kept secret for many centuries but is now freely available if you are able to decipher its true meaning. In this workshop you will learn to feel the chi, and the art of moving Chi Kung, and Iron Shirt Chi Kung. This is a form you can practice everyday at home. You will also learn to use mindfulness and energy practically, to heal and transform yourself and others.
Facilitator:
Michael Lewis has been teaching Chi Kung for fifteen years and through his affinity with the east, makes this mystical art accessible. He has an honours degree in drama and is a mindfulness coach and he uses these tools to guide the practitioner on a path of self discovery. He was trained by Tao Master Mantak Chia in the art of Healing Love and Iron Shirt Chi-Kung. He is a multi talented martial artist who practices arts such as Tai Chi, Kung Fu, and Muay Thai kickboxing and has studied with a Kung Fu master in Taiwan in the art of Bodhidharma I Ching Kung Fu (the art of remembering what you already know). Working with energy on a daily basis, Michael has become extremely in tune with energy flow and has helped many people to unblock the resistance that prevents them from realizing their full potential, by shifting energy and clearing negative emotion in the body.
Costs:
The cost for this retreat covers accommodation, vegetarian meals, and beverages from Friday evening until Sunday lunchtime. Note that the cost of this retreat may increase in 2019 – please check back in January for final cost.
The cost excludes DANA, a monetary offering to the retreat facilitator as the facilitator is not paid. Dana boxes will be put out on the last morning of the retreat next to the tea station.
Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person): R1 380
Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person): R1 160
Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available): R1 560
Single use of en suite room (if space available): R2 040
Single use of twin/double room (if space available): R1 600
Dormitory: R940
Camping (own tent): R740
Booking:
To book, please fill in our on-line booking form – one form for each person attending. A 50 % deposit will confirm your booking.

Our Way of Being - a Self-Coaching Retreat
2019-02-01 18:00 - 2019-02-03 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
Finding more Ease in our Way of Being – A Self-Coaching Retreat
Join us for a self-coaching weekend retreat to explore possibilities for how we can bring more ease into our lives. To be human is to live each day through our language, emotions and body. We are often unaware of how effectively (or ineffectively) we are shaping our daily experience through our way of being.
Retreat Outline
The retreat gives us the opportunity to explore practical ways of becoming more resourceful in the areas of our language, emotions and body. A range of concepts will be explained to the group to enable participants to cultivate the capacity to “self-coach” themselves. This will involve exploring possibilities for bringing more ease to a matter that may be challenging or limiting. Participants will be guided through a holistic self-coaching approach for moving forward, utilising a combination of questions and journaling. Ample time will be provided for personal reflection. There will also be lots of opportunity to engage in group discussion, to enable deeper understanding of a range of self-coaching concepts. Participants will not be asked to share details of their personal self-coaching reflections, which can remain private and fully confidential. The facilitator will be available to support participants throughout their self-coaching process.
As a business executive who has spent nearly 30 years in the corporate world, Paddy was recently inspired to offer this retreat by her own mindfulness learning journey, much of which took place in retreat settings.
The unspoilt natural surroundings at Tara Rokpa Centre provide a sense of space and peace that can gently help us take care of ourselves. Be prepared to be accompanied by continuous birdsong by day and a blaze of bright stars in the night skies. (What better TV than this?)
Your Facilitator
Paddy Gray is passionate about helping people to thrive. She is a certified Ontological Coach (Ontology is the study of being human), Organisational Strategy and Culture Transformation Consultant. Her coaching focus is to support leaders be more resourceful in their “way of being”. This allows them to have greater impact and more effectively achieve the results they seek. Her consulting focus is to help leaders cultivate high performance organisational cultures that are human-centric, where leaders lead by example and inspire others to become more self-aware and resourceful.
Based in Johannesburg, Paddy has been consulting to corporate leadership teams in the areas of strategy since 2004. Since 2010 she has specifically focused on helping leaders to proactively shape organisational culture as a strategic imperative for business success. Her experience has particularly been in large enterprises where the culture transformation approach involves cascading employee initiatives at scale throughout the organisation. Prior to 2004 she held various executive roles with responsibility for business unit management, marketing and sales.
Her personal interests include dancing (Argentine tango), yoga and Kangoo bouncing.
Supporting Activities
Pippa Cope lives at the Tara Rokpa Centre. During her working life she was employed in the helping professions as an Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, and Community Development advisor.
For those that are interested, she will offer mindful body movement sessions (gentle movements that are similar to yoga) as optional activities in the program. These sessions are based on years of experience as a yoga practitioner and her Senior Yoga Teacher training course with Donna Farhi , an internationally renowned yoga teacher. It is ‘inquiry based’ exploring things like – how I stand on the earth, move through air, and connect through my core.
Somatic movement is a combination of neuroscience, yoga and body – mind knowledge. It is based on healthy development movement patterns and learning where these might have gone wrong due to habits. The carefully crafted sequences help clear possible blocked pathways which might cause unnecessary tension, pain or discomfort. This gives one the knowledge and ability to take control of possible existing or future problems.
Retreat Costs
The cost is per person, and covers the facilitation fee, accommodation (including bedding and towels), food (including 3 ovo-lactarian vegetarian meals per day, snacks and teas), and environmental levy to support the Tikologo permaculture site:
Estimated cost for 2 nights – prices are subject to a 5-10% increase in 2019
Single Rooms en suite R2360
Single Rooms shared bathroom R2210
Twin/double en suite (per person) R2060
Twin/double shared bathroom (per person) R1860
Dormitory (per person) R1660
Online Bookings
Please complete the online booking form on this link
For more information about retreats at the Tara Rokpa Centre, please click on this link.

Outer World, Inner World - New Year Retreat
2018-12-28 18:00 - 2019-01-02 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
Outer world, inner world
This 5 night secular retreat, with Donal Creedon, is not based on tradition but informed by ancient and contemporary wisdom traditions.
The particular emphasis for our new year retreat is on how to bring about a direct relationship with the life that is about us and within us of which we are usually unconscious. We will explore seeing and listening as a single movement, which when understood become a welcoming of life without reference to the past.
We may discover that the very act of seeing-listening brings it’s own freedom and through opening the senses they become channels for a global understanding enabling us to live more freely and deeply.
Fortunately we have a wonderful venue and abundant nature as our retreat space, an ideal place to explore our relationship with the natural world and our own inner nature and elements. There will be leisure time for personal reflection and walks.
Retreat Leader
Dónal Creedon is a meditation teacher with many years experience, loved and deeply appreciated for his warmth, openness and sincerity. He studied and practiced with Buddhist masters of the Kagyu practice lineage in Europe as well as in India and Nepal. This involved many years of intense retreat.
Dónal also spent a number of years at the Krishnamurti Centre in Varanasi as resident Buddhist scholar. Thus the radical inquiry of Krishnamurti informs his approach.
In 2017, he published ‘The Main of Light’, a study which examines the teachings of J Krishnamurti in the light of Buddhist teachings, specifically the teachings of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen lineages. The teachings of the Buddha and Krishnamurti both explore the most profound and fundamental questions of human existence. They directly address the questions of sorrow, fear and death, as well as the deepest meaning a human life can attain beyond the travail and illusion of dualism. They point to the sources of sorrow and the ending of sorrow, to the possibility of living a life informed by intelligence and compassion. As Dónal says: “It is my hope that this study will serve as a modest contribution to what I feel is an immensely important area of human exploration. I hope it will stimulate questions not only in Buddhist and Krishnamurti students, but anyone interested in the deep problems that affect our world so grievously.”
Conditions for joining the retreat
Each person should be committed to the full programme and leave personal demands and agendas aside. This is essential. Ethical conduct and sensitivity to others is assumed. Activities such as offering various therapies etc for money is not permitted, however it is fine to help others if needed.
Bookings
Please use our online booking form, which can be completed easily on a phone or tablet. Click here.
Retreat Costs
The retreat fee includes accommodation (including bedding and towels), three ovo-lactarian meals a day, teas and snacks, a contribution towards the retreat leader’s flight costs and a environmental levy. TRC members receive a 10% discount on all length retreats (if they have been members for 6 months already).
Dana (a donation) will be accepted by the retreat leader in appreciation of his teachings.
A 50% non-refundable (but transferable) deposit will secure your place. Please book early as Donal is a very popular retreat teacher and this retreat is expected to be fully-booked. You may not be able to get your first choice of room. Please be as flexible as possible, and we will do our very best to help. Single occupancy of a twin room will only be possible if the retreat is not full as TRC’s primary wish is for as many people as possible to benefit from these retreats.

5 nights

Single use of twin room
R4 310

Single shared bathroom
R4 210

Twin/double en suite
R3 760

Twin/double shared bathroom
R3 210

Dormitory
R2 660

Camping (own tent)
R2 160

Sutra of Life, with Donal Creedon
2018-12-14 - 2019-01-02 | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
Overview
We live in a world where there is tremendous pressure and speed. Violence and fear are everywhere. We are like driftwood, caught in a torrent. Rarely is there a moment of stillness and silence. There is very little space and time to discover what it actually means to be a human being and live naturally and gracefully. Yet it need not be so if we take the time to listen, think and meditate, and to understand ‘the Sutra of Life’.
We have to learn who we are, what we are, where we are and what it means to be a human being. We need to see the truth directly for ourselves. The main point of our retreat is to explore both surfaces and depths of our life, using the maps of mind-heart provided by the Buddha. It involves looking into the shadow lands of the human psyche and as well rediscovering our true nature, our true home.
‘Everyday is a journey and the journey itself is home’.
Bashō
The retreat is particularly suitable for those with some experience who wish to further their practice and understanding. However, beginners who don’t mind jumping in the deep end are welcome. Participants should commit to 4 hours group sitting each day. There will be time for personal practice and study.
Retreat Leader
Dónal Creedon is a Buddhist meditation teacher with many years experience, loved and deeply appreciated for his warmth, openness and sincerity. He studied and practiced with Buddhist masters of the Kagyu practice lineage in Europe as well as in India and Nepal. This involved many years of intense retreat.
Dónal also spent a number of years at the Krishnamurti Centre in Varanasi as resident Buddhist scholar. Thus the radical inquiry of Krishnamurti informs his approach.
In 2017, he published ‘The Main of Light’, a study which examines the teachings of J Krishnamurti in the light of Buddhist teachings, specifically the teachings of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen lineages. The teachings of the Buddha and Krishnamurti both explore the most profound and fundamental questions of human existence. They directly address the questions of sorrow, fear and death, as well as the deepest meaning a human life can attain beyond the travail and illusion of dualism. They point to the sources of sorrow and the ending of sorrow, to the possibility of living a life informed by intelligence and compassion. As Dónal says: “It is my hope that this study will serve as a modest contribution to what I feel is an immensely important area of human exploration. I hope it will stimulate questions not only in Buddhist and Krishnamurti students, but anyone interested in the deep problems that affect our world so grievously.”
Conditions for joining the retreat
Each person should be committed to the full programme and leave personal demands and agendas aside. This is essential. Ethical conduct and sensitivity to others is assumed. Activities such as offering various therapies etc for money is not permitted, however it is fine to help others if needed.
Retreat Options
Those who wish to do part of the retreat will be able to attend for a week, a fortnight or the full 19 night period. The weeks should correspond to the dates below. Less than one week is not acceptable (except for the 5 day secular retreat, over New Year). Participants should be fully committed to the programme, leaving behind personal demands and agendas.
The weeks are as follows:
Fri 14 Dec to Fri 21 Dec (Monday 16th is a public holiday) – 7 nights
Fri 21 Dec to Fri 28 Dec (includes Christmas holiday) – 7 nights
Fri 28 Dec to Wed 2 Jan (includes New Year) – 5 nights
The 5 night retreat will have a secular focus, “On the Art of Looking and Listening”.

Bookings
Please use our online booking form, which can be completed easily on a phone or tablet. Click here.
Retreat Costs
The retreat fee includes accommodation (including bedding and towels), three ovo-lactarian meals a day, teas and snacks, a contribution towards the retreat leader’s flight costs and a environmental levy. TRC members receive a 10% discount on all length retreats (if they have been members for 6 months already).
Dana (a donation) will be accepted by the retreat leader in appreciation of his teachings.
A 50% non-refundable (but transferable) deposit will secure your place. Please book early as Donal is a very popular retreat teacher and this retreat is expected to be fully-booked. You may not be able to get your first choice of room. Please be as flexible as possible, and we will do our very best to help. Single occupancy of a twin room will only be possible if the retreat is not full as TRC’s primary wish is for as many people as possible to benefit from these retreats.

7 nights
14 nights
19 nights
5 nights

Single use of twin room
R5 850
R11 240
R15 090
R4 310

Single shared bathroom
R5 710
R10 960
R14 710
R4 210

Twin/double en suite
R5 080
R9 700
R13 000
R3 760

Twin/double shared bathroom
R4 310
R8 160
R10 910
R3 210

Dormitory
R3 540
R6 620
R8 820
R2 660

Camping (own tent)
R2 840
R5 220
R6 920
R2 160

Click here to book.

The retreat starts at 6pm on the first day, and ends at lunchtime on the last.
Although it is not guaranteed, group transport or car pooling is often organised by TRC, depending on demand. On 14th December, the minibus will leave from OR Tambo at 12 noon, so please ensure that international flights arrive before 10am, to give you time to collect your luggage and pass through immigration. On 2nd January, the minibus will depart after lunch, to arrive at ORT by 5.30pm. Please book international flights to leave after 8pm.
For the weeks in between, it is unlikely that there will be enough people for the shuttle, but TRC will help with car pooling where possible. It is also possible to get the Intercape bus from Park Station to Groot Marico (around R250) and TRC can arrange a lift to the Centre for R100.
For more general retreat information, please click here.

Be your rhythm, be your voice!
2018-11-09 18:00 - 2018-11-11 13:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Tara Rokpa Centre, Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico District, North West Province, South Africa
A weekend of Circle Singing, TaKeTiNa, Body Percussion and Vocal Improvisation
Circle Music has the power to create a space of connection and cooperation. We learn to reconnect with ourselves and others. We give ourselves a full weekend to explore our inner rhythm, the sound of our own voice, the connecting power of the circle and us moving and sounding within that circle.
Circle Singing and Vocal Improvisation
Circle Singing is different from a traditional choir. Imagine a circle of singers, interweaving harmony, melody and rhythm in a spontaneously created world of sound. We will compose as you watch and listen, bringing every member of the circle into a cohesive whole.
Do you think that only some people out there are creative? We’ll teach you a few tools to access your own musical ideas and express them and show you that improvisation is about letting go of preconceptions. We will create a space for the exploration of everyone’s very own sound and creativity. FREEing the voice is as much about creating as it is about listening. You will deepen your experience of collaboration and blend in this session of spontaneous and collective composition.
TaKeTiNa
TaKeTiNa is a musical, meditative yet lively group process for re-connecting us to the natural rhythmic ability that already lies there within us all. The body becomes the rhythm. TaKeTiNa uses voice, claps, and steps, which are gently built up sequentially in simple spacious stages, woven together to form surprisingly complex poly-rhythms. This dynamic tension between order and chaos allows you to repeatedly fall out, and then fall back into rhythm, so you become aware of any unnecessary effort you are making, and then you discover that you can just let yourself be more and more in the rhythm. In this space opposites collide: stillness and movement; emptiness and fullness; tension and relaxation, all become one. In the TaKeTiNa process, musical learning and self-development are always connected. For more info on the TaKeTiNa method, see here.
Who can come?
TaKeTiNa and Circle Singing work for everyone, regardless of level of musical ability, from beginners to professional musicians. It’s safe and fun, and nobody is in the spotlight. Everyone is simultaneously going through their own process whilst being supported by the rhythm and the sound of the group as a whole.
Come, embark on this journey with us!
Workshop Programme

Facilitators
Kathrin Sirtl is the main facilitator for this workshop. She is a singer, originally from Germany, who studied African Music at SOAS in London. Kathrin loves improvising and connecting with others through music and the voice. She sang in a Congolese band in Kinshasa for the last few years, and is currently building a circle music community in Gaborone. Kathrin has studied Vocal Improvisation with Rhiannon and Circle Singing with Bobby Mc Ferrin in the US, and gained some tools and inspiration from the Circle Music Community in Brazil. Kathrin and her partner learnt the TaKeTiNa method from the founder, Reinhard Flatischler and qualified as Basic TaKeTiNa rhythm teachers.
Joyce Moholoagae is a classical singer, choir leader and voice coach, who studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Having taught at SOAS London for years, she is now back to contribute with her experience and skill to the Southern African music scene.
Bookings
Please use our online booking form, which can be completed easily on a phone or tablet. Click here.
Retreat Costs
The retreat fee includes accommodation (including bedding and towels), three ovo-lactarian meals a day, beverages and snacks, and an environmental levy. TRC members receive a 10% discount on all retreats (if they have been members for 6 months already).
*The retreat facilitators will gratefully receive dana in appreciation for their guidance.
A 50% non-refundable, but transferable deposit will secure your place. Single occupancy of a twin room will only be possible if the retreat is not full as TRC’s primary wish is for as many people as possible to benefit from these retreats.
Twin/double room with en suite bathroom (per person): R1 380
Twin/double room with shared bathroom (per person): R1 160
Single room with shared bathroom (only 3 available): R1 560
Single use of twin/double room (if space available): R1 600
Dormitory R940
Camping (own tent) R740
