Spring is a time for fresh new beginnings and the perfect season to stretch out and relax at Peppers Salt Resort & Spa.

The Spring Retreat is designed for all ability levels from beginners through to experienced.  Based on Ryoho yoga therapy combining traditional Indian Hatha poses with the meridian based healing arts of China and Japan, the Spring Retreat will address specific issues including detoxification, flexibility, joint problems and eyesight.

The aim of the retreat is to be a relaxed weekend away in beautiful surrounds with the opportunity to enjoy yoga classes, an indulgent spa treatment and wholesome food. It’s not a ‘hard core’ yoga boot camp’.

Priced from $474* per person twin share, the all-inclusive escape includes accommodation at Peppers Salt Resort & Spa, six yoga classes with me, yoga mat, Golden Door Spa treatment, wholesome meals inspired by The Golden Door cook book and prepared by Roughies Restaurant & Bar, full use of resort leisure facilities and more.

Non-residential packages are available from $340* per person including all yoga classes, mat, Golden Door Spa treatment, two dinners and two lunches.

Featuring all the luxuries you would expect of one of Australia’s leading resorts, Peppers Salt Resort & Spa offers multiple pools including a large tropical beach lagoon, a network of walking and bicycle tracks, an unspoilt surf beach patrolled 365 days a year at its doorstep, the indulgent Golden Door Spa and award-winning Roughie’s Restaurant & Bar.

Providing the ultimate beach break on South East Queensland’s doorstep, SALT is located just 20 minutes from Gold Coast Airport, 60 minutes from Ballina Airport and less than 90 minutes drive from Brisbane through the new Tugun Bypass.

For bookings or further information phone 02 6674 7777. For more information visit Peppers Retreats & Resorts.*Conditions apply. Subject to availability.

Class 1 – Blood pressure and circulation
Class 2 – Circulation and energy 
Class 3 – Flexibility and hormones
Class 4 – Hearing, eyesight and awareness
Class 5 – Heart and blood pressure 
Class 6 – Balance and confidence
Class 7 – Confidence, strength and vitality

Buy online at my Shop. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter is when the water element in the body is most prominent. This energy system is linked to the structural integrity of our body and its shape, our sense of identity, our hormonal and nervous systems, our bones, sexual energy and reproductive functions. In nature, winter is the season for hibernation – a time for resting and restoring and the perfect time to focus inwards and build strength and stability in the body.  This is the ideal time of the year to deal with issues including lower back pain, stress and hormonal imbalances.

This all-inclusive weekend includes accommodation at Peppers Anchorage Port Stephens, five yoga classes with Kris McIntyre, meditation and relaxation sessions, healthy meals prepared with the special touch of Peppers executive chef Ludovic Poyer. Prices start at $460 per person (twin share) or $235 per person (non-residential package).

We’ll also be including winter activities to build strength, connect to the water element in nature and develop a meditation practice. You also have the option to indulge in massage and beauty treatments (at an additional cost).

The weekend is designed to give you the option de-stress and unwind or just enjoy a relaxed weekend away with your partner or a group of friends. It’s not a ‘hard core’, boot-camp style yoga retreat, but you’ll have the opportunity to work hard if you wish to.

The weekend is open to beginners, but a basic level of fitness is required. Non-residential and non-yogi packages (for accompanying companions) are also available.

For bookings, contact Kristen Hammond on (02) 4984 2555 or email anchorage@peppers.com.au

The program:

Friday 14^th May 2010

2pm onwards:  Check-in
6pm:                    Yoga in Main Guest Lounge or Thurlow
7.30pm:              Light welcome dinner
9.00pm               Guided relaxation/ Yoga Nidra meditation (bring a shawl or blanket) 

 Saturday 15^th May 2010

6.00am:                Meet in Reception for bus to Tomaree Headland
6.15am:                 Morning hike up Tomaree Headland
7:30am:                 Yoga (1 hour) at base of Tomaree Headland
8.45am:                 Breakfast (on the Terrace outside Merretts)
9.30am:                 Free time & spa treatments
11.30am:               Cooking demonstration and food talk with chef and Kris
1pm:                       Lunch (as per cooking demonstration)
2pm – 5.30pm      Free time & spa treatments
5.30 – 6.30pm:    Yoga in Thurlow conference room
7pm:                       Dinner (light)
8.30pm – 9:00pm: Meditation session 

Sunday 16 May 2009

6.30am – 8am:         Paddle in the Outriggers off the beach next to the resort
8.00am – 8.30am:  Yoga on Glover Lawn (1/2 hour stretch class – wet weather contingency Thurlow Room)
8.30am:                      Breakfast (on the Terrace outside Merretts)
9.30am – 11.30am:  Free time & Spa treatments
11am:                           Guests check-out of rooms and leave luggage at Reception
11.30 – 12.30pm:       Winter food and yoga talk with Kris
12.30 – 1.30pm:         Lunchtime yoga wind-down on Glover Lawn (wet weather contingency Thurlow Room)
2pm:                             Late lunch & departure (plus spa treatments)

I love Daily Addict … so that’s why I’m offering a special offer for readers. Join me for a super start to the weekend – bending and stretching in Rushcutters Bay Park every Saturday morning.

Ryoho is a form of Japanese yoga therapy that changes with the seasons and to deal with specific issues including back and neck pain, weight loss and flexibility.

Daily Addict has 10-class passes (worth $100) to give away.  If you’re not one of the first 10 to email us I’m also offering a free trial class to all Daily Addict readers (bring a copy of this along to class before the end of January).

Bending and stretching in beautiful Rushcutters Bay Park is a great way to start your weekend. Now you can join our Facebook page for regular updates on class changes, programs and retreats. You can also connect with fellow yogis! Join here.

A couple of years after filming YOGA TV, I furthered my yoga study by studying Ryoho Yoga with the amazing Andzrej Gospodarczyk and Lisa Foster. Then I had the chance to shoot this DVD for Team Unity Fitness. The DVD has two classes: morning/ beginner (for energy and good digestion) and evening/ intermediate (for stress and lower back release. Nils Vesk from YOGA TV also makes an appearance (Barbs moved to a beautiful place by the sea and had babies!) You can now buy it through my shop.

It’s just like YOGA TV, but outdoors (oh and unfortunately, there’s no Nils or Barbs!) Join me for morning yoga in beautiful Rushcutters Bay Park on Saturday mornings. I teach Japanese/ Ryoho Yoga Therapy which combines traditional Indian Hatha Yoga with the meridian-based healing arts and Five Element Theory of China and Japan. Classes are dynamic (we move around a lot in the morning to wake the body up) and change according to suit the season. Bring a mat or towel and a friend. We meet under the tree near the outdoor exercise area in Rushcutters Bay Park. Classes are $10 per class; $5 for students under 18 years. Yoga Pass accepted.

Saturday mornings: is hibernating for the winter. We’ll be back in the Springtime. Please contact me for updated information about new dates:

For more information kris@krismcintyre.com or phone 0406 074 113.
Join the Yoga in the Park group on Facebook here.

Here’s what some of the Yoga in the Park devotees have to say:

‘It’s the best way I can spend $10.”
- Deb, 51, Artist and Stylist

‘A great group, beautiful setting, yoga that makes you feel alive and a teacher who really cares… Best yoga in the park I know!’

- Andrea, 33, Sales coordinator

‘Yoga in the Park is a wonderful way to enhance your body’s strength and tone. Kris is a great teacher’

- Carole, 61, Feng Shui Consultant

As a yoga therapist, she specialises in content development and presentations for the mass media and is best known for her role as the host of Australia’s YOGA TV (Network Ten and the Lifestyle Channel), which has been on air in the United Kingdom, United States, Turkey, Israel and New Zealand. Kris has studied Ryoho Yoga with Andzrej Gospodarcyk and Lisa Foster, Ki Yoga with Jack Marshall and Zen Shiatsu with Sakis.

She has taught for Elix’r Health Club in Sydney, Virgin Active in Cape Town as well as corporate providers – Karma Yoga and Yoga for the Seasons.  She was co-founder of the Karma Detox Yoga Program and now teaches in Sydney in Rushcutters Bay Park (when the sun is shining), The Centre of Yoga in East Sydney, and runs yoga retreats with Peppers Salt Resort & Spa at Kingscliff, NSW.

As a freelance writer, author and editor Kris specialises in yoga, health/wellness, and travel with a focus on body and soul escapes. Kris currently writes for Australian Yoga Journal, dumbo feather … pass it on and female-friendly travel website, Holiday Goddess. She co-authored Yoga for Switched on Living (Pan McMillan 2002) and has written for marie claire magazine (South Africa) and was a regular columnist and feature writer for body+soul (Sunday Telegraph, News Limited Australia) and Spa Life Magazine in Australia.

As a marketer, Kris draws on her 15 years experience as Group Marketing Manager with Peppers Retreats Resorts & Hotels, and as Group Synergies Manager for Stella Group. She recently worked in the Media Unit of the Australian Red Cross and now works as the Editor-in-Chief/Writer for strategic communication and design consultancy, gen.a. Kris is also the Founder of Exchange for Change – a fundraising campaign in support of Oxfam Australia.