Revitalising Love Retreat

A private Retreat for Couples to Reignite & Restore your Intimate Relationship

If you’re ready to restore a compelling connection in your marriage (or committed relationship), rekindle your love for each other & create a new blueprint for your life together  – then join your therapist Izabella Siodmak on this private couples retreat

Are you longing to lay to rest the real source of the conflict between you and your partner? Yearning for a more meaningful relationship with the man or woman you’ve expectantly committed to? Sensing the possibility of tapping into the forgotten magic of a togetherness that seems like a lifetime ago?

It’s a bright, sunny morning as you arrive at Natural Attitudes into a world of lush green hills and random trees, birdsong, kangaroos and timber cottage floors. As you breathe in the fresh air, you feel a subtle stirring in your heart. And a lot of nervousness in your stomach. There’s much at stake here over the next few days. And you’re unsure of what exactly to expect.

Watching the sun set against the mountains from the comfort of your warm bubbling private spa, you reflect upon your first day. The first session together with your partner surprised you in how much was revealed and shared. This was already different from the usual way of communicating at home. The questions the therapist asked led to some surprisingly useful insights about yourself and your partner too.

The presence of a third party gives you the safety to reveal more of yourself and what you may normally hold back … the deeper thoughts that you’d kept in check and any corresponding resentment, fear, sadness, anger, disappointment or shame that you hadn’t acknowledged.  As you unpack this in the individual session, you begin to discover the actual obstacles, release them and replace them with greater clarity and ease. By being  away from the usual distractions and taking the time and space to focus on yourself and each other (with the therapist’s support) you embark on a truly transformative journey on both the inner and outer level.

This retreat really helped my wife and I work through our issues and gave us invaluable tools for success. We feel more confident in our future together as a result.

Tristan James

When the previous closeness and connection turns to feeling worlds apart, it can feel devastating, especially when whatever you try now seems to make things worse. Misunderstandings, built-up grievances, disappointments and betrayals have a way of accumulating until it all feels like too much.  Conflict or withdrawal (or both) instead of closeness and connection, becomes the new norm and  it can seem like you’ll never dig yourself out of the hole.  Through your retreat journey, however, we’ll tap into the power of  various modes of communication that unlock the heart … restoring the energy that fuels intimate connection and love again.

We’re ready to improve our relationship 

So why should you and your partner attend this relationship retreat?

  • It’s the perfect opportunity for you to reinvest in your relationship, give it the attention it deserves and the care that it requires to thrive

  • Be expertly and effectively guided into the unconscious root causes of your reactive triggers so that deeper understanding and  healing can begin

  • Honour your longing to reconnect to what really matters and how important your intimate partnership is

  • Develop new, effective relationship skills that are specifically beneficial to your relationship as well as your personal growth

  • Experience everything being taken care of  so that you can relax, feel nurtured and supported on all levels during your revitalising relationship retreat

Energizing, uplifting, empowering. Marriage saving!”

Joanne Rodney

The Benefits

What can you expect after immersing in an exclusive, private retreat where you are the only couple in residence?

+ The level of love in your heart to expand in an overflow that readily reaches your partner and inspires deeper connection and intimacy

+ Greater confidence to sustain and support your connection as you take home with you unique and specific to your partnership practices and tools

+ Richer understanding of each other and yourself which inspires more compassionate responses to each other rather than contempt.

+ A reduction in tension, stress, anxiety, withdrawal and emotional charge which supports you to engage more healthily with your partner. A reset of your nervous system allows you to respond more lovingly rather than defensively as a result.

Would the reduced tension, stress and conflict be worth attending this exclusive, private relationship retreat in the mountains near Maleny?

We believe the answer is a unanimous yes.

“My experience was more than I could have ever hoped for. I leave full of optimism about life and our future, having arrived anything but, Thank you from the bottom of  my heart to you both.

PS loved the kangaroo … moments watching them … made my day!”

Brandi

Brandi

The Venue

Natural Attitudes is nestled within Crystal Waters Eco-Village on an acre of beautiful, private land. Although only 1.5 hours from Brisbane, Queensland’s capital, you really do feel like you’re in another world. The healing energies of nature is strong here and one of the many reasons why this site was chosen for the construction of the retreat. No pollution, fresh creek water, ample space for our organic veggie gardens and a positive ley line intersecting the property are some of the other reasons this place is so prized.

You’ll enjoy ample space and the gorgeous mountain views from your self-contained 2 room cypress cottage with a huge deck. Then, when it’s time for your therapy session, massage, embodiment practices you’re just a short 20 meter stroll to the treatment room. If you need anything else to make your experience more comfortable we are available 24/7 within the main building near the clinic space.

In your spare time you can enjoy hilly nature walks or go to Pebble Pond for a refreshing swim. For those less active moments, your cottage has a day bed on the deck to rest, or fall asleep on! Your private spa and sauna is a few steps away right outside your bedroom. Inside your cottage there is a tempting selection of books, CDs and educational DVDs to further inspire you. You’ll enjoy how each distinct component of the retreat experience has something valuable to contribute to you.

“After 4 days at the couples `Revitalising Love Retreat’ I left with a clearer mind, a freshened spirit about the value of myself as an individual and our marriage. We felt it was a perfect time in our lives to have a `reset’ and to improve what is already a happy marriage and to help with our future journey together.

With Izabella’s gentle and professional manner, I came away with adjustments I can make in my daily routine of life etc which I am implementing into my marriage (worked out with assistance from Izabella). She is a master with skillfully accessing the deep issues that are causing old and tired habits we seem to fall into and provides the tools to change this. Discovering ways to remove old habits and establish new habits is revitalising and with my new awareness and clarity I am enthused about the enrichment with our marriage. With some patience from each other we will continue to improve our harmony.

Izabella was very generous with her time. Some of our sessions ran over time, however Izabella always encouraged reaching a natural conclusion to the session rather than going by the clock. This made us feel listened to and encouraged a deeper and more fulfilling
examination of the issue that had arisen. We are very grateful to her for her compassionate
understanding, support, help and guidance.

On another note, the food was not the focus, however the plant based meals were surprisingly filling and tasty. Thank you very much Izabella and Tony.

Tony and Teresa Cawte

The Cuisine

You’d be forgiven for thinking that attending a health retreat means boring, uninspiring, bland food. Well, we like to pleasantly surprise. Our live, plant-based vegan meals are nothing short of tasty, healthy and visually appealing.  A good portion of our fresh ingredients to make some of our signature dishes, come from our extensive organic gardens. For the rest of the ingredients we aim for local or market produce and organic where possible.

Eating foods that are alive and vibrant, full of enzymes and phyto-nutrients revitalises your body’s cells and organs, detoxifying your system whilst we work directly on shedding old emotions and behaviours getting in the way of the relationship with yourself and your partner.

raw-food-retreats

Typical Daily Schedule

You’ll start the day with a tailored, facilitated breathing, sensing, grounding practice for you both to individually arrive into your body. This practice offers the opportunity safely release the blocks that are ready to come out of the body through sound, movement and feeling, leaving you with a greater sense of ease, flow and presence.

From your grounded state we begin to explore partner practices and exercises through the body that allow you to understand yourself and each other more deeply and intimately. These practices can inform all three of us about specific blocks or barriers so that you can be supported in working through the resistances held in your body.

You’ll enjoy a variety of different breakfasts each day that provide a wide scope of nutrients and taste sensations. From raw vegan chia chocolate pudding to raw crepes with a rich, sweet nut filling and nectar-like topping to raw, crunchy granola with a freshly made nut milk you’ll never think of healthy food as boring again.

The Individual Session provides a safe, confidential space for you and your therapist to work on your feelings, beliefs and the blocks and defences to love, sexuality, empowerment, attachment, communication, meeting your needs and any other relational challenges that are arising for you. The individual session includes talk therapy as well as body, or somatic, psychotherapy which accesses and releases what has been unconsciously stored within the body. The body cannot lie so it is here where we can work with a reading of your unique body placement and the history it reveals. We touch on the inner landscape of sensations and begin to weave together new meanings and more wholesome imprints going forwards. Your partner also has their own Individual Session to meet and explore what’s arising for them.   

A variety of live plant-based meals are lovingly prepared for your lunch. Most gourmet meals will include fresh produce from our organic garden as well as including an abundant use of ingredients like sprouts, nuts, salad greens, fruit, seeds and wholefoods.

Your Couples Session will explore the current dynamic between you and your partner and allow a space for integrating what you have been discovering within your own Individual Sessions. This is an opportunity to exchange more deeply between you the parts that need to be seen, heard, held and healed. Your therapist creates a safe space and acts as mediator in guiding you into resolution in places that are usually challenging and confronting, mirroring new ways of communicating and offering suggested approaches for better outcomes. This is a safe space to bring any material that is surfacing for you both to be explored and processed.

This space is designated for bodywork massage and / or energy work to release stored emotions and toxins in the body tissue. It helps the body to open and relax so that your cells are nourished and replenished. Occasionally the Couples Session prior to this time slot will require a longer time for it to come to a natural completion, so this time in the afternoon can also be used to serve that.

You’ll enjoy a variety of fresh, gourmet main meals for dinner. From creamy soups like Mint Cucumber Soup with dehydrated Seed Crackers on a hot summers’ eve to Live Lasagne coated in lavish non-cheese sauce or Mexican Layered Salad, you’ll be amazed at how well your body digests this healthy food and rarely feels hungry. In our ongoing experience with raw alive food consumption, your body is likely to show the differences rather quickly, with improved bowel function, a clearer skin, better sleep and more energy and vitality being typical benefits. 

In your spare time you are encouraged to listen to your body and give it what it needs. There are ample options that may resonate for you alone, or shared with your partner. The surrounding area is great for walks if you need more movement and space to yourself or want to take a swim at the beautiful Pebble Pond. You may opt for the ozone spa when you’re in need of deeper relaxation or far infra red sauna for detoxification. There are plenty of books on relationships, sexuality and self-empowerment in your cottage. DVDs, CDs and all the resources can be enjoyed at any time also that you are not in sessions. The surrounding beauty of nature here at Natural Attitudes, the flora and fauna also provide an endless source of fascination and connection for many of our guests.

What’s Included (example of a 4 day retreat)

  • 12 Therapy Sessions (8 individual sessions & 4 couples sessions)
  • 2 (1 each) Deep tissue Body-Work massage to release blocks & stresses held in your body
  • Three morning Embodiment Practices – breathing, sensing, grounding and clearing the energy in your body
  • 3 daily morning Embody Intimacy Exercises tailored to revitalise your relationship and rekindle the connection
  • Repairing Ruptures and heal from specific hurts
  • Working with Attachment Styles to support safety & security (and improve ALL relationships)
  • Exploration of accessing and meeting your true needs
  • Effective Communication Skills to foster compassion, intimacy and rebuild trust and connection
  • Private, boutique cottage accommodation for 3 nights & 4 days
  • 6 delicious breakfasts (3 for both of you)
  • 8 lunches (4 each)
  • 6 Gourmet dinners (3 each)
  • Unlimited use of ozone, chemical-free outdoor spa
  • Unlimited use of the 2 person detoxifying far-infra red sauna
  • Complementary use of books, DVDs, CDs
  • Follow up couples Transitional Session via Zoom

The 4 day Revitalising Love Retreat provides adequate space to assimilate your discoveries and integrate changes whilst having time to also relax and rejuvenate. However we understand not everyone can commit to the 4 day retreat due to family or work commitments. We have shorter Revitalising Love Retreats as follows:

4 Day/ 3 nights: AUD $3400

3 Day/ 2 nights: AUD $3000

2 Day/ 2 nights: AUD $2400 total (ideal for weekends for example starting Friday evening & finishing Sunday evening)

 


What’s Not Included

  • Air fares
  • Transfers from Sunshine Coast Airport (or Brisbane airport) are not included but can be organised at an extra cost of $150 AUD return (or $200 for Brisbane). Pick up from Sunshine Coast Airport is just just over an hour (Brisbane 2 hours).
  • If you’d like to catch the train from Brisbane airport to Landsborough we can pick you up from here ($75 return trip). It is a 40 minute drive from here to Natural Attitudes.
  • There is no nudity throughout the retreat process
  • No sexually explicit exercises are involved in any part of the retreat

Who Intensive Couples Retreats are not suitable for

  • If either partner has drug and / or alcohol addictions or drug abuse. 
  • If there has been physical violence, threats of violence or there is a fear of violence for either partner. 
  • If either partner has an untreated or unmanaged mental illness (schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar, psychosis etc). 
  • If there are secrets you are unwilling to disclose eg affairs. 
  • If either partner is currently experiencing suicidal thoughts or have inflicted harm on oneself or another person in the past.

Getting Here

Getting to Natural Attitudes is easy. At an extra cost of $150 AUD return we will pick you up from the Sunshine Coast airport or your nearby beach accommodation (or domestic or international Brisbane Airport or hotel) and drop you straight to the retreat and back. Book your flight to arrive before 8.30 am of the day of your retreat (8am Brisbane) to ensure a 10am arrival. Book your departure flight  for  after 6.30pm (7.30pm for Brisbane). If you have flown in on a previous day, we can also pick you up from your hotel in Brisbane or accommodation on the Sunshine Coast. If you have hired a car you may like to  stay in the mountains of Maleny or Montville for somewhere more quiet. We are 30 minutes from here for a comfortable drive to the retreat.  

sunshine-coast-health-retreat

Your Retreat Therapist

About Izabella Siodmak

My fascination with relationships started when I was 9, sitting listening to my mother’s feelings about her relationship. My exploration of the relationship with our psyche, emotions, spirituality, body and sense of self as well as intimate relationship patterns, dynamics, defensive blocks and conflict resolution is never-ending and informs the private retreats I’ve been facilitating since 2003. My main qualifications include:

  • Certified Exceptional Marriage Mentor (Embodied Couples Work)
  • Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry, Biological Sciences and Molecular Biology)
  • Naturopath, Herbalist, Nutritionist
  • Certified Life Coach
  • Somatic (Body) Psychotherapist

I’ve also completed 50 hour yoga teacher training, reiki level II, relaxation massage, tantra workshops, trauma-informed practices, attachment styles and energy healing all which support me to more deeply sense what’s in the space between two people. Using the knowledge gained coupled with my intuition helps me to effectively get to the root of the issues in your relationship. This saves a lot of time and  frustration. Throughout your Revitalising Love Retreat I weave together effective, correctional relational approaches to support your relationship to thrive. With the right support … the love, compassion and understanding between you both can flow again. 

Your retreat experience is supported by Tony Hayes

Tony Hayes creates your unique and flavoursome plant-based dishes with a naturally healthy whole food approach. He is also a skilled acupressure masseuse, with a sensitive touch for releasing deep tension throughout the body to help you destress and heal. Tony has also trained as a body psychotherapist and provides an aligned supportive energy to your retreat experience.

This feels right for us!