Shanti Yoga

A wonderful meal cooked by our talented Ayurvedic Chef Sonja.
Sonja cooks at the retreats and sells meals at the centre. As well as teaching and doing many other tasks at the centre in Southport.

Come to Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat to experience a Spiritual Retreat, with Shantiji.

Thank you Sonja , for the stunning photo.

And this is Darren with Maya.

Darren is an integral part of our Sangha.
He is always ready to lend a hand and help out.
Thank you Darren.

Meet Maya, Shantiji's new dog.

With Maya is Linda, one of our senior teachers.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY

Yesterday, 21st of June, marked the International Day of Yoga
Yoga is the systematic methodology for unfolding this inner potential through Self-realisation, offering solutions for both individual fulfillment and social harmony. However, much of modern practice reveals significant gaps in how yoga is presently perceived and justified. Yoga has failed to develop an adequate public conception of its true significance. It is more than a simple leisure pursuit, peripheral ornamentation, therapeutic exercise, or an act of self-expression; it is a form of intelligibility—a way of knowing and being-in-the-world—that is essential to the existential quest for meaning.

Yoga's holistic, non-pathologising approach is thought-provoking and soul-searching. It invites healthy introspection and covers deep-seated convictions across cultures. Its forms are legion, many rooted in the cultural development of nations.

The practice of yoga is a deeply, personal challenge. Taken as a stimulating invitation to an inner life, it is best described as a voyage of discovery and a pilgrimage of faith, far removed from the technical and commercial demands often imposed by contemporary methodologies.

Every form of knowing has an ethical dimension and represents a way of en-acting, of relating to, and being-in-the-world. Yoga encompasses ethical, aesthetic, and spiritual dimensions that embody trust, reaching beyond the superficial world of appearance. This engaging and significant study embraces silence and sound, stillness in movement, a rising curtain on health and healing, and the relation of an embodied ‘story’ to the practitioner’s inner feelings.

The exploration is intended to be both profound and transformative. By drawing on a vast history, and engaging in stimulating, critical dialogue you are invited to challenge conventional thinking, transcend the boundaries of academic study, and explore the deeper, insightful meanings of your own journey.

We must each seek to re-ground and re-vision how we think about yoga, ensuring its science, arts, and traditions are recognised for their intrinsic and ethical nature and impact on our lives.

Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat is located in a remote hinterland region in South east Queensland, near the New South Wales border in Australia. Home to resident recluses and hidden yogic traditions, this sanctuary offers a striking alternative to modern assumptions about success and fulfilment.

We live in an age of degradation and decline. Our attention spans are shrinking, our identities are increasingly inflated, and our lives are organised around stimulation, convenience, and instant gratification. While we are more connected than ever, many feel lonelier, more distracted, and increasingly anxious. It is possible to have unprecedented access to information and wellness while remaining profoundly spiritually malnourished.

From my perspective as a teacher and spiritual guide, this malnourishment is a cultural condition and a symptom of a failing paradigm, revealing the shadow of scientific materialism. Many feel intuitively that something essential—the soul—is missing, yet they struggle to find environments organised around radically different values. Consequently, many continue to prioritise the fleeting gratification of the senses.

Sanctuaries such as Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat matter not only for their beauty and ancient roots but also because they quietly challenge the very foundations of modern life. In a world increasingly dominated by consumer culture and digital distraction, Nirvana offers a rare alternative rooted in purity, depth, and stewardship.

To enter the retreat is to step into a different dimension. Far from the modern compulsions of constant Wi-Fi, commerce, and perpetual acceleration, the sanctuary is governed by the rhythms of the natural world and the timeless principles of the dharma. While this simplicity can initially feel unfamiliar, it eventually allows the nervous system to settle into a state of presence and peace.

Our mission at the retreat is one of stewardship rather than consumption. Restoring this property from a former dairy farm towards its original rainforest state is exciting, and we are committed to a long-term vision of regeneration.

Shanti Yoga is the Yoga of Peace.

Developed by Shanti Gowans Master Yogi.



Come and study with us.

With Love from Shanti Yoga, June 2026

Reflections of the nature of existence
& the teaching of yoga regarding our connection to the divine

The pure consciousness enshrined in the hearts of all beings is the one Source to which all worship and all rivers flow.

You are the eternal energy that manifests as this universe; you did not simply come into this world, but emerged from it, much like a wave from the ocean.

You are not a stranger here.

Everything that happens to you, happens for you.
Every experience reflects your own karma,
belonging not to the superficial ego, but to your deeper self.

In Yoga, the perceptible universe is seen as the gross manifestation of the Cosmic Reality, Brahman, governed by the eternal cycles of Maya Shakti.

Alternately vibrant and dormant,
The process of becoming manifest
and returning to the unmanifest state
Occurs eternally.

Its projections and withdrawals are like day and night,
a wakeful state and sound sleep,
prolonged into aeons
with neither a beginning nor an end.

While vibrant, the universe and the living beings become manifest.
In the dormant state they remain unmanifest.
This process of projection and withdrawal continues eternally.
Cycles transcend time.
Existence is One, yet its manifestations are many.
Cosmic Life permeating the universe
is the divine persistence
through perishing phenomena.

Living beings appearing alongside the universe’s projection
are infinite in number
existing not only on Earth
but also in celestial and nether spheres.

The workings of nature and divine actions are one and the same.
Aided by nature, living beings slowly evolve
from a low order of existence to a higher one,
over millions of cycles
to become human.

While physical forms are subject to death and rebirth,
continuity is maintained through aeons.
The link among them is perfect.

The Jivatman is the individual self
the living soul (atman), enshrined in a physical body.
The Jivatman renews the body through death and birth,
while depending upon the Cosmic Intelligence, Paramatman.

The higher the birth, the more perfected the mortal coil becomes.

YOGA IS THE STILLING OF MOVEMENT IN THE MIND. Patanjali 1:2

"In alignment with Patanjali's philosophy, I have developed Shanti Yoga - the Yoga of Peace"
Shanti Gowans

Come and experience Shanti Yoga with us or come and study with us at the Health Institute Australasia

Vegetable Gardens at Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat.


We live in a world where buying tasteless food shipped across the country, treating wellness like a subscription, and outsourcing our basic needs to corporations has become normal. This isn't just modern life; it is dependency with better branding.

A different life is possible—one where your backyard feeds you, your garden supports your health, and competence replaces convenience. While we are taught how to earn, consume, and outsource, we are no longer taught how to grow our own food, create nourishing spaces, or work with plants for healing.

Gardening is a call to create space for deeper restoration. At Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat, we have been embarking on a Garden Adventure. We are building amazing soil and fostering a new relationship with the earth and deep ecology. This isn't a new concept; it is how humans ate for millennia before we decided soil needed a petrochemical makeover or genetically modified food to withstand chemicals.

Our goal is to grow our own food in a self-sustaining garden, starting with easy, low-effort systems that promote human and planetary health. We are cultivating living ecosystems with pollinator-supporting blooms and companion planting to create beauty that elevates our space.

Furthermore, we are embracing the healing power of growing our own medicine. By using beginner-friendly herbs as our primary pharmacy, we can create simple remedies for everyday life—wellness that doesn't come in a plastic bottle. The roots of true healing are found in plants, medicine, and community.

By growing these skills, we grow our freedom. We are inviting more birds, more blooms, and more life to our doorsteps. It is time to remember:

- How to grow food that truly heals.
- How to work with plants the way our ancestors did.
- How to let the earth do what it has always known how to do.

Gardening is the excuse; falling back in love with life is the side effect.

Join our Touch the Earth adventure.
To find the dates for Touch the Earth days please visit the website.

Shantiji


❤️