Emma Flick has been learning practices of yoga and meditation for the past 28 years and she is sharing them with the people who are lucky enough to join her on her 3/4 acre property in Jan Juc that she has started sharing with the rest of the world. Hosting two eco villa’s and a ‘tiny house’ as well as the most breath taking separate yoga studio you have ever seen. Emma is also a qualified Trauma Sensitive Yoga instructor and very passionate about working with children and teens to help them to be equipped with the remarkable tools of attunement and emotional regulation.
WHAT IS… Deśa Retreat?
Deśa Retreat provides restful luxury accommodation, person centered private and group yoga classes, education and experience in food growing and preparation practices and a holistic approach to health and well-being.
All the services we provide relate to the realization of individual and collective human potential. The aim of our offering is to establish emotional safety through providing a warm welcoming space, where people are able to meet themselves as they are and discover their present moment truth. Through welcoming others into presence, via connection with nature, breath, movement and voice, we aim to support others to discover their unique flow of creativity and wisdom. This then becomes the congruent guidance people are looking for to maintain a balanced happy life.
HOW DID DEŚA RETREAT COME ABOUT… + come to life?
Through her studies in physical education, hotel management, social science, yoga and meditation, Emma has been exploring the key principles of holistic well-being for 28 years. Deśa a Sanskrit word meaning “place” or “space”, was created to be a place of experiential learning, self-discovery and community connection. The human species is facing an array of social, environmental, and economic challenges, with 2020 being a year of unprecedented chaos on all levels. The individualistic, materialistic and capitalistic way in which humans have lived on planet earth for decades, is proving to be unsustainable.
At Deśa we believe change will come through the mobilization of every individual to return to a “simple living, higher thinking” approach to life. We aim to guide people back to the home truths of living in harmony with mother nature and therefore themselves. To see themselves as part of, not separate to nature, to step back into the flow of nature through growing food, composting, recycling and tending to all of nature as an extension of tending to themselves. We aim to build healthy connected communities by inspiring others to be leaders of change in their own communities.
HOW LONG HAS DEŚA RETREAT been up + running for?
Deśa has evolved in 2 key stages. The accommodation was completed in October 2017 and involved the creation of 2 new luxury eco villas that can be rented as one joint accommodation or 2 separate dwellings. They are both powered by solar, hydronically heated, and all water to the villas moves through a sophisticated filtration system. The second phase involved the renovation of the main house and the creation of the yoga studio.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE about your job?
I love connecting people with the free resources within themselves that they often don’t realize they have. Primarily teaching breathwork that can quickly and profoundly change physical and mental states of being. I love seeing people experience the softening of the stress on their faces, the easing of tension from their body, and also connecting with people from all over the world and learning from others who come to stay at the retreat. I also love incorporating music and mantra into yoga classes to make them a unique and grounding experience.
IS YOUR JOB EXCITING… or do you just get to sit back + relax all day?
Teaching yoga and serving guests really is such a pleasure and a privilege for me. I do find it exciting and stimulating to meet new people, hear their stories, and connect deeply through practicing yoga together or even chatting to them on arrival or during their stay. It is a really rewarding job that I feel very grateful to have been able to create for myself.
EVERY BUSINESS NEEDS AN ADVISER… who do YOU turn to when you’re in need of help?
Mandy has been the main adviser for me at Canny. I really love how she came to see the retreat at our first meeting so she could get a sense firsthand of what I was doing. I feel she really cares about my business and wants to see it succeed.
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE… what’s planned for the future of Deśa Retreat?
I would like to begin to run longer, more comprehensive retreat packages, involving food, accommodation and yoga. Perhaps even inviting in other highly respected practitioners to help co-facilitate a range of different offerings.
I am also really passionate about working with children and teens and running more courses to help young people be equipped with the remarkable tools of attunement and emotional regulation. Learning these tools early is critical for supporting resilience and equanimity to life’s ups and downs. There is always a peaceful place inside ourselves regardless of what is going on around us, but sometimes we need a little help trying to access it. I would love to teach more children in my community and beyond these critical life tools.
HOW DO I GET IN CONTACT or find out more about Deśa Retreat?
INSTAGRAM @desaretreatjanjuc
FACEBOOK @desaretreat.com.au
EMAIL emma@desaretreat.com.au OR call 0400820279