Recover from burnout, reconnect with life

Personalised retreats on the edge of the Knysna forest, combining science-backed therapies, yoga, and nature immersion to restore energy, balance, and purpose

Are you running on empty? If exhaustion has become your new normal and stress is stealing your joy, it's time to hit the reset button. Our intensive burnout recovery retreat doesn't just offer temporary relief—it rebuilds your resilience from the ground up. In just days, you'll master proven techniques to reclaim your energy, restore your passion, and create sustainable wellness habits that protect you long after you return home. Stop surviving and start thriving again.

Small groups • physical, psychological, and spiritual care

Limited spaces. Book now!

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The science and soul
of recovery

Each day at Vala House is designed to calm your nervous system, nourish your body, and rebuild your inner resilience.

Somatic therapy & mindfulness coaching
Forest immersion and nature connection
Daily yoga and meditation for energy renewal
Cold-water therapy and sauna for nervous system reset
Restorative meals made with local vegan ingredients
Transformational breathwork for emotional release
Sweat lodge for shifting perspective
Optional trauma-informed counselling and coaching

Celi

Thank you all for an unforgettable week of peace, power, inspirations, challenges, movements, the big and little adventures in nature and all the various experiences. Thank you for giving me such a lovely home and place to rest, recover and restart. Hope to see you soon. Take care and thank you for taking care of us!

Lidya

What a week. Thank you for the love and breakthrough that I received here at Vala House. I'm going to take the lessons with me. You're amazing people. Peter, Amy, Nelson, Alex - blessings to you!

Bilal

Vala is for everyone! Here you can heal, rest, relax, as well as grow. There is no judgement and no pressure, and you're always helped with a friendly smile and an open heart. Farewell, but not goodbye. Will see you again.

Packages & Pricing

You can build your own retreat and are welcome to join us anytime, for as many nights as you like.

Standard Room

Luxury Room

R3,200 per night R3,800 per night

Price includes all meals, drinks and snacks, twice-daily meditation, pranayama and yoga, daily saunas and ice-baths, hikes and walks

Stays of three nights or more also include a forest immersion, life coaching, and a somatic healing workshop

Couples sharing receive a 20% discount

Other healing modalities can be added to create a retreat ideally suited to your needs. A list of the activities can be downloaded here

Example duration and pricing below

Package	Duration	Focus	Price - Standard	Price - Luxury
Executive Immersion	14 nights	Comprehensive restoration with 1-on-1 support	R40,320	R47,880
Full Recovery	7 nights	Deep stress and burnout recovery	R22,400	R26,600
Mini Reset	3 nights	Re-energise and decompress	R9,600	R11,400

Only 8 guests accepted per retreat — limited spaces ensure personalised attention.

Start your recovery

Reserve Your Spot with a R5000 Deposit

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What makes Vala House different?

Why Our Guests Recover Faster:

Nature as Medicine: Forest immersion activates the parasympathetic nervous system — proven to lower cortisol and blood pressure.
Somatic-based Approach: Beyond talk therapy, we work with your body to release stress and trauma.
Science Meets Spirit: We measure progress using self-reported stress and sleep quality scores.
Small, Personal Groups: Maximum of eight guests for deep, individual care.
Continued Support: 2 follow-up online sessions to help you integrate recovery back home.

87%

reported improved sleep

78%

reported reduced anxiety

90%

felt more grounded

98%

positive reviews

Delving deeper

We are more stressed than ever before, which is why the demand for wellness retreats is on the rise. In fact, stress is so prevalent, the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year added burnout as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ to its list of International Disease Classifications. Stress can make the immune system less effective, increase the risk of coronary problems like high blood pressure, and has other physical side effects like headaches, nausea, insomnia and fatigue if left untreated — even things like back pain or anxiety and depression can be related to unmanaged stress. If you’re feeling at the end of your tether, a chance to do a deep emotional and mental reset might be just what you need.

Our Burnout Recovery Retreats And Wellness Retreats At Our Wellness Centre In Knysna Are Designed To Treat The Physical, Psychological And Emotional Impact Brought About By Stress.

Our professional intervention is grounded in current research and based on an integrative biopsychosocial approach that attends to your unique well-being. You will leave our wellness retreat with skills that will help you manage your physiological and psychological stress response, a greater insight into your individual coping patterns, options for ongoing health management and a replenished sense of optimism.

We like leaving our burnout recovery and wellness retreat programmes open, because, after all, we don’t want to further add stress by creating a programme that you may find uncomfortable. Instead we offer a range of important services to choose from that significantly aid the recovery process. We also like to assess what services best suit your particular needs.

Programme:

Because all our burnout retreats are bespoke, not every retreat follows this format and this programme is just an indication of what a retreat may look like.

Day 1 - Burnout Recovery Retreat