A place to pause & nurture wellness
Renew. Reflect. Reconnect.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or simply in need of a real break—welcome.
Life moves fast, and it's easy to lose touch with what truly nourishes you. Here, you have space to slow down, breathe, and return to yourself.
Nestled in the foothills of Kahurangi National Park, Aotearoa New Zealand, Creating Balance offers two ways of cultivating genuine wellness.
You can experience this through stay at Creating Balance Nature Retreat—a private adults-only sanctuary in Golden Bay, where nature and simplicity offer the conditions for true rest and renewal.
Or through guided mindful somatic practices grounded in integral yoga, meditation, and conscious living—where we walk alongside you to deepen inner clarity, emotional balance, and a more integrated relationship with yourself.
Choose your experience
Nature Retreat
Step away from the demands of daily life into a thoughtfully curated retreat set among native bush, ocean views, wildlife, and mountain stillness. Here, you can unwind at your own pace—whether journaling, breathing fresh air, wandering nearby bush trails, enjoying a digital detox, or letting nature do its quiet work. This is your space to honour yourself, naturally.
1:1 Integral Yoga
Our private sessions weave ancient and contemporary mindful somatic practices grounded in integral yoga, meditation and conscious living to connect you with your core, nurture self-care, and support inner growth. These focused experiences offer practical ways to ease stress, calm the mind, and restore balance—ideal for those seeking a meaningful reset or deeper self-connection.
Therapeutic Yoga
Explore the therapeutic benefits of trauma-informed yoga—recognised in trauma research for helping the body release and integrate held experiences. Through mindful movement, breath, embodied awareness, and practices that support nervous system regulation, our individual and small group offerings complement therapy, providing everyday tools to cultivate agency, resilience, and emotional balance.
HELLO,
We’re Priyadhara and Atmabhava, founders of Creating Balance.
From our Nature Retreat in Golden Bay, we offer a mindfully held space to be with nature and care for your wellbeing while contributing to a more balanced, life-nurturing world.
After more than 20 years of training, teaching, travel, and service in integral yoga, meditation, and conscious living, we found our home on a permaculture property and began a new chapter.
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Here, we weave sustainability and mindfulness into daily life, from organic gardening and regenerating native bush to nurturing vitality within ourselves and our community.
We’ve witnessed firsthand how deeply time in nature restores clarity, balance, and trust—through this way of living and through our own nature immersions around the world.
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We’ve also experienced the profound benefits of mindful somatic practice, both in our own lives and in supporting others.
Our whole-person approach has evolved through years of lived experience, integrating insights from contemplative traditions and the sciences of mind and body, including psychology and integrative nutrition, to cultivate wellness and inner alignment between our values and our actions.
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From this understanding, we founded Creating Balance to support people in bringing wellness into everyday life in ways that nurture sustainable living, deeper connection, and a sense of wholeness in relationship to self, others, Earth, and the wider web of life.
The Nature Retreat and our guided mindful somatic practices are offered independently, each supporting reconnection with your core, the natural world, and a more balanced, vibrant way of being.
Begin where you are. You’re warmly welcome here.
“Priya and Atma have dedicated their lives to acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to assist others with their inner journey. Together, in their beautiful sanctuary, Priya and Atma bring a strength and loving kindness that enables you to let go, find deep rest, rejuvenate and ultimately blossom firmly seated in your true self.”
— David Bott, CEO
What awaits you here
If you’re in need of space for yourself—you're in the right place.
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Cultivating wellness is about honouring and integrating the whole of who you are—body, mind, emotions, spirit, relationships, experiences, and the way you live.
It encompasses mindful living, intentional nourishment, connection with nature, and a willingness to grow—recognising that true wellbeing emerges when health, clarity, and purpose move in harmony with the natural world.
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Through a stay at Creating Balance Nature Retreat, you can connect with nature and with yourself.
Here, you can slow down, listen to the land, and allow nature’s rhythms to regulate your nervous system, settle the mind, and awaken a deeper sense of belonging.
The natural world becomes a living mirror—reflecting our wholeness and reminding us that caring for ourselves is inseparable from caring for each other, and for all life on Earth.
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Personalised to your unique path, our way of working supports you to discover your strengths, build confidence, and make meaningful changes aligned with your goals and values.
Through our guided mindful somatic practices, we walk alongside you in cultivating wholeness, self-awareness, and a deeper relationship with yourself.
With conscious movement, intentional breath, deep relaxation, contemplation, and bodymind science, we support you in nurturing wellness across all dimensions of your life.
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True self-care goes deeper than rest. It means developing an honest relationship with yourself—learning to feel what your body is telling you, tending to your emotional and mental landscape, and gradually building a steadier, more nourishing way of being in daily life.
Get in touch
If you're curious about how mindful somatic practice could support your journey—or want to learn more about a stay at Creating Balance Nature Retreat—we'd love to hear from you.