INDIGENOUS HEALING IN ARNHEM LAND, EQUINE LEARNING AT GWINGANNA LIFESTYLE RETREAT, QLD SLOW DOWN AT LON RETREAT & SPA, VIC

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Before you get caught up in the next big superfood or wellness trend, shift your focus back tens of thousands of years to the work of our Indigenous healers. Ceremony and bush healing are key to the Yolngu, a language group found in remote Arnhem Land. It’s here that Lirrwi Tourism’s Gay’Wu women’s tour provides access for female visitors to receive an insight into Yolngu “women’s business” as they open their hearts and country. You’ll learn and heal through bush medicine, cooking, dancing, weaving, and a profoundly moving crying ceremony (Nathi). lirrwitourism.com.au

“The first step in dealing with a demanding lifestyle is learning how to manage our mind to bring balance to our thoughts and emotions,” according to Gwinganna’s wellness advisor, Sharon Kolkka. However, that first step is taken hoof-to-foot with the retreat’s horses in a new program introduced at the recently awarded World’s Best Eco Spa. The Equine Retreat (April, 8-11, 2021) will place you in the ring for equine learning sessions that’ll hold a mirror to your monkey mind and help you better understand your emotional state. gwinganna.com

This luxurious retreat on the Bellarine Peninsula has been overwhelmed with gift-voucher sales for people wanting to give “slow down” time. Lon Retreat &

Spa’s more than 80 hectares of land and mineral pool fed from the limestone caves found below provide the perfect setting for it, with pampering spa treatments like a Rasayana Detox Body Wrap or a Rose Quartz Eye Enhancement available to those staying in one of the seven suites or just visiting for the day. A pop-up outdoor summer yoga program is also on until January 23. Be sure to book ahead. lonretreat.com.au