June 5-11 | June 12-17 | June 19-25
6 or 4 nights (or shorter if you prefer!)
The Body Knows the Way Home:
A Week of Breath, Sound & Deep Rest
Seven days of morning stillness, deep conscious breath, and the low resonance of singing bowls moving through your body. Of sauna heat and cold water, slow food, unhurried evenings. Of being held in a small group of people who came for the same reason you did — not to perform wellness, but to genuinely rest and reset. This is what restoration actually feels like.
Come home to yourself
through sound and breath
Nestled at the edge of the ancient Knysna Forest, Vala House holds a rare kind of stillness — the kind that doesn't silence you, but finally lets you hear yourself. This retreat gathers that stillness and fills it with intention: seven days of Conscious Connected Breathwork, live sound journeys, forest immersion, Qi Gong, yoga, sauna and ice, beach walks, and nourishing whole food.
We've brought together two gifted facilitators whose work moves in the same direction — towards wholeness, presence, and the body's own intelligence. Come with nothing to prove, nowhere to get to. The work is in the arriving.
What Awaits You
The full weave
SacredPlay Breathwork
Daily Conscious Connected Breathwork sessions, each woven around a chakra theme — moving from root to heart across the week.
Sound Journeys
Five immersive sound healing sessions using singing bowls, gongs, and sacred instruments to dissolve tension and awaken inner listening.
Forest Bathing
Guided Shinrin-yoku walks in the Knysna forest — slowing down, opening the senses, and letting the trees do what trees do best.
Yoga & Meditation
Morning yoga and meditation sessions alternating through the week — stillness and movement, structure and flow.
Qi Gong
Morning Qi Gong — gentle flowing sequences that awaken vitality, balance the Five Elements, and root you in the day.
Sauna + Ice Bath
Daily thermal contrast therapy — the ancient practice of fire and ice to build resilience, clear the nervous system, and wake you alive
Daily Rhythm
Seven days, one unfolding
If you cannot join us for the whole week, feel free to join us for the weekend!
Friday, May 22 | June 5
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2pm: Arrive and settle in
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3pm: Welcome ceremony
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4:30pm: Yoga
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6:30pm: Dinner
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7:30–8pm: Freeflow partner dance (Beyond Tango)
Saturday, May 23| June 6
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6:30am: Meditation
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7am: Qi Gong
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8:30am: Sauna and ice bath
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9:30am: Breakfast
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10:30am: SacredPlay Breathwork — Root Chakra
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1:15pm: Lunch
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3:15pm: Yoga
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4:30pm: Sound Journey
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6:30pm: Dinner
Sunday, May 24| June 7
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6:30am: Meditation
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7am: Yoga
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8:30am: Sauna and ice bath
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9:30am: Breakfast
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10:30am: SacredPlay Breathwork — Sacral Chakra
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1:15pm: Lunch
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3:15pm: Yoga
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4:30pm: Sound Journey
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6:30pm: Dinner
Monday, May 25| June 8
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6:30am: Meditation
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7am: Qi Gong
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8:15am: Forest Immersion
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4:30pm: Sweat Lodge
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6:30pm: Dinner
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7:30–9pm: Bonfire
Tuesday, May 26| June 9
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6:30am: Meditation
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7am: Qi Gong
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8:30am: Sauna and ice bath
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9:30am: Breakfast
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10:30am: SacredPlay Breathwork — Solar Chakra
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1:15pm: Lunch
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2pm: Beach walk + Sound Journey
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4:30pm: Yoga
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6:30pm: Dinner
Wed, May 26| June 9
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6:30am: Meditation
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7am: Yoga
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8:30am: Sauna and ice bath
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9:30am: Breakfast
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10:30am: SacredPlay Breathwork — Heart Chakra
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1:15pm: Lunch
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3:15pm: Yoga
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4:30pm: Sound Journey
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6:30pm: Dinner
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7:30pm: Cacao Ceremony
Thurs, May 27| June 10
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6:30am: Meditation
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7am: SacredPlay Breathwork — Expression Chakra
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9:30am: Breakfast
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10:30am: Closing ceremony
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1pm: Farewell lunch
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2pm: Departure
Your Guides
Two facilitators, one field of grace
Sacred Breathwork · Qi Gong · Embodied Movement
Rahul Mangal
Rahul offers Sacred Play Breathwork — a Conscious Connected Breathwork journey rooted in ancient Yogic and Shamanic traditions, certified through the International Breathwork Foundation (IBF). His work weaves together breath, sound, play, expressive arts, chanting, and movement to guide participants into deep presence, emotional release, and joyful wholeness.
A black belt in Taekwondo and an award-winning Salsa dancer, Rahul's path has evolved into a fluid exploration of Tango, Qi Gong, and elemental embodiment. His playshops create safe, trust-filled spaces to explore expression, intimacy, and presence.
Sound Healer
Palash Jain
Distinguished Yoga Teacher Certified from the Government of India and a seasoned Sound Healer graduated from Rishikesh. Trained in meditation under the esteemed Shree Shree Ravi Shankarji, Palash possesses a profound understanding of spiritualism. With a focus on the harmonious integration of mind, body, and soul, his yoga classes transcend conventional practice. His teachings, deeply rooted in traditional wisdom yet relevant to the modern world, create a transformative experience for his students.
The Container
Vala House
Vala House sits near the forest's edge in Knysna on South Africa's Garden Route — one of the most biologically rich and visually extraordinary landscapes on earth. The ancient Knysna forest provides the outer container; the house itself, the inner one. Everything here is designed to support your return to yourself: the food, the silence, the spaces, and the care.
This is not a hotel wellness package. It is a small, intentional gathering — a maximum of twelve people — held with rigour and warmth by a team that has been doing this work for years.
Claiming
Your place in the circle
Your retreat includes accommodation, all meals, and every session listed — nothing extra to pay once you arrive.
Full Retreat, Luxury Room, 7 Days / 6 Nights: R23,800 per person
Full Retreat, Standard Room, 7 Days / 6 Nights: R20,200 per person
Full Retreat, Luxury Room, 6 Days / 5 Nights: R19,800 per person
Full Retreat, Standard Room, 6 Days / 5 Nights: R16,800 per person
Including:
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6 nights' accommodation at Vala House
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All meals — breakfast, lunch & dinner · whole food, seasonal
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5 breathwork sessions with Rahul Mangal
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5 sound healing journeys with Ancient Auras
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Daily Qi Gong, yoga, and meditation
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Sauna + ice bath therapy each morning
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Forest bathing, beach walks & nature immersion
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Sweat lodge ceremony
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Opening and closing ceremonies
