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Silent Meditation Day Retreat

A Day to Cultivate Deep Presence and Inner Peace

  • Saturday 24 May, 2025

Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Ngatapa Valley, Gisborne

Join Atma and Becs for a one-day Silent Meditation Retreat—a precious opportunity to step away from the noise of daily life and turn inward. Through meditation, gentle movement, and time in nature, this retreat invites you to cultivate stillness and reconnect with yourself in a supportive, nurturing environment.

 

What to Expect

This retreat is mindfully designed to weave together movement, stillness, and self-inquiry.

  • Guided Sitting & Walking Meditation
  • Hatha Yoga (asana, pranayama, mudra, and bandha)
  • Yoga Nidra (guided deep relaxation)
  • Time in Nature
  • Space for Reflection

 

This retreat is open to all experience levels, whether you are new to meditation or an experienced practitioner seeking a day of inner silence.

Why Silence?

Silence is a profound practice that allows the mind to settle, the body to attune, and the heart to listen deeply. In stillness, we create space for insights to arise, awareness to expand, and our inner experience to be met with presence and clarity.

More than the absence of sound, silence is a spiritual practice that nurtures deep rest and reflection. In a silent, meditative space, the body relaxes, awareness sharpens, and hidden impressions naturally surface and release. As we slow down, we become more attuned to our senses, our inner world, and the subtle beauty of the present moment.

At its core, silence is an invitation to return to ourselves.

We will observe silence from 9am until the retreat’s end, with dedicated time for questions and shared reflections at the end of the day.

Retreat Booking & Enquiries

  • Date & Time: Saturday, 24 May 2025, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Location: Eastwoodhill Arboretum
  • Investment: NZD $180 (includes nourishing vegetarian lunch* and arboretum access)

* Your dietary needs are of course taken care of, please specify when booking.

To reserve your spot or ask any questions, please complete the registration form or contact: becs@heartspace.co.nz

Step into stillness for a day and rediscover the peace within.

 

BOOK NOW

 

Venue

Eastwoodhill Arboretum is the National Arboretum of New Zealand and encompasses over 131 hectares planted in exotic and native trees, shrubs and climber plantings. The collection was planted by Douglas Cook and is regarded as the largest and most comprehensive collection of Northern Hemisphere trees south of the equator. Click to learn more and enjoy the beauty of this place.

Optional Accommodation

Extend your retreat experience with an overnight stay (or two) at Eastwood Hill.

Accommodation Options:

  • Studio Room (private bathroom, 1 king or 2 single beds) – NZD $155 per night (first come first served)
  • Twin Room (shared bathroom, 1 queen or 2 single beds) – NZD $95 per night (first come first served)
  • Bunk Bed (shared room & bathroom, up to 8 beds per room) – NZD $35 per night

 

To book accommodation, please contact: bookings@eastwoodhill.org.nz

Kitchen facilities, towels, and linen are provided. Guests will need to arrange their own meals outside of retreat offerings.

Your Facilitators

Atma Okan

Atma is a director of Ashram Yoga and has been teaching for over 30 years. As a senior teacher, she dedicated 12 years to facilitating teacher training and retreats at Ashram Yoga’s Ohui retreat centre, guiding students through both foundational and advanced levels. Committed to sharing the tools of yoga, her work includes developing training programmes, offering mentorship, and creating individualised practices that support physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Passionate about making yoga accessible, Atma focuses on providing practical and effective ways for individuals to integrate yoga into daily life.

Atma Okan
Becs Erickson

Becs Erickson

Becs is a dedicated teacher, student, and guide in yoga, meditation, and holistic health. With over 20 years of experience, she weaves together the ancient wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda with modern science to support lasting, meaningful change.

She has completed her 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training (RYT-500), Yoga Nidra Levels 1 & 2 with Ashram Yoga New Zealand, and further studies in Ayurveda and Yoga Health Coaching through Yoga Healer International.  Through yoga, meditation, breathwork, and lifestyle coaching, Becs helps others cultivate self-awareness and presence. Her teaching is grounded, practical, and accessible, creating space for deep transformation and integration.

What people say

  • Adele Holmes

    Yoga Teacher

    “Learning and now embedding the principles studied through Good Change has not only seen me start to build some great habits, they are now becoming symbiotic to both my personal yoga practice and my yoga teaching – bringing to life the ayurvedic theory we touched on in teachers Training). Becs is a fabulous coach, and has built a beautiful community of humans at all stages of life who come together to learn.”

  • Bridget Scully

    “Good Change has been life changing, but as my tutor says when describing how to make change… ‘in the most underwhelming way’. This course has been a great tool for my belt and works in beautifully with my mission to live more sustainably in ALL that I do. Not just the garden, or the food but equally my energy levels and the daily grind kinda stuff.”

  • Colleen Robinson

    “I feel more alive now, I am not tired all the time, more aware of how what I do affects the way I feel. Having some decent sleep is fantastic, and I feel more focused, and am completing tasks and projects that I had been procrastinating about. I am more in control of my life now and feel like I am achieving more.”

  • Jenny Bain

    “Learning about my body, hearing and trying to understand is the best gift I can receive. Becs has given me tools to grow and learn that you’re never too old to shift into a more easeful way of living. Good Change is a journey into oneself and not intrusive just one foot in front of the other!”

  • Kaz Jones

    DoTerra Ambassador

    “Prior to Good Change I had a never ending list and decreasing fuel to accomplish it with. I have learnt to “stop”, “breathe” and look after my body with the correct fuel and when to incorporate good habits throughout my hectic day. The result is a more nourished mind, body & soul to get through my day more effectively.”

  • Kylla Petersen

    “The impact of Good Change has been so obvious on me that even my husband is now participating in many of the habits. Becs is a great coach and has so much knowledge to share – in an absolute trusted and empathetic way, stepping you through the course. The outcome for me has been a deeper understanding of the “why” and the “how” to live a more relaxed, healthier and content version of my life.”

  • Lassara Hall

    Shiatsu practitioner & Yoga Teacher

    “Rebecca’s classes offer the student three traditions of yoga – pranayama (breath), asana (movement) and meditation. This combination raises the class from another type or form of exercise to a holistic therapy, which incorporates the entire wellbeing of the student.”

  • Marie Solier

    Osteopath & Yoga Teacher

    “Becs is a passionate teacher dedicated to yoga, her personal practice, and her students. I attended her 6-week meditation course, during which Becs thoroughly delivered practical tools whilst keeping theory & philosophy accessible. Each class was workshop quality. Becs has a gift with words. If you are lucky to attend one of her Yoga Nidra, this will feel like a nurturing treat you gift yourself.”

  • Michele Franks

    Pilates Teacher

    “I came in wanting some positive changes with my skin inflammation & to improve my mental state as I had feelings of depression & plenty of negative chatter. I wanted a better work/life balance. Participating in the 12 week Good Change program 3 times has changed my life. I have learned habits that are part of my lifestyle that give me more calm & ease.”

  • Shirley Keown

    “An opportunity to try something a little different and challenging, in a totally safe environment. Keep an open mind – give things a go – surrounded by like minded people – with no expectations – its ok if it doesn’t happen or resonate for you – or you don’t understand – you have permission to seek clarity if not in the group – individually – its ok to ask – its learning about yourself and others.”

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