Step out of your life, and come home to yourself
A personal retreat built entirely around you — for detox and weight loss, emotional healing, your relationship, or your spirit. Only one or two guests at a time, 45 minutes from Christchurch.
An Ayurvedic cleanse that finds the real reason
Five days of gentle Ayurvedic panchakarma — cleansing, with nourishing food cooked for your body type, yoga and meditation each day. Most guests release three to six kilograms in a week, and a good deal more besides. We look for the real reason the weight has stayed, not just the symptom.
- A gentle fasting day, then colon or liver cleansing
- A royal Ayurvedic treatment most days
- Meals for your body type, with cooking tips to take home
- The Journey and the Enneagram for the emotional root
Clear what has held you back, at the root
At the heart of every retreat is The Journey method, paired with the Enneagram — a gentle, powerful process that reaches the emotional root of what holds you back, beneath the thinking mind. Many people find a few sessions reach what years of talk can miss.
- Two guided Journey processes using the Enneagram
- A Zyto Compass reading for subconscious patterns
- Ozone saunas and cranio-sacral balancing
- One or two guests at a time — never a group
Find your way back to each other
A retreat for two — to talk honestly, soften old hurt, and remember what brought you together. Choose a healing or a pampering version, over three or five days, with counselling on where to go next in your relationship.
- Time and space, just the two of you
- Bath oils, homemade chocolates and a romantic dinner
- Counselling on where to go next, together
- Pampering sessions from the day-spa menu
How a retreat unfolds
There is no fixed programme. Each day is shaped around you — but it tends to move like this.
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Arrive and settle
You arrive, breathe out, and leave the city behind. We talk over what you are hoping for.
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Discover
A long, honest conversation about your life — and we establish your Enneagram type together.
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The work
The Journey processes, bodywork, and — if you are detoxing — your Ayurvedic cleanse.
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Integrate
Rest, walk the coast, eat well, and let the shifts settle in their own time.
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Return home
You leave lighter, with practices and food ideas to carry the change forward.
A day at the retreat
Unhurried, and entirely yours. A typical day has a gentle shape.
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Early
Wake gently
Up reasonably early — and, if you are detoxing, we begin the day's cleanse.
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Morning
Yoga & a coastal walk
Morning yoga or stretch on the deck above the ocean, then a walk along the coast and breakfast.
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Midday
Session & lunch
Your session time, a nourishing lunch, and space to relax and read in a hammock.
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Afternoon
Rest & reflect
Time to catch up with journal writing or reading, or a treatment.
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Evening
Meditation & dinner
Guided meditation, dinner, and perhaps a hydrotherapy bath before bed.
Everything is included — no extras
So much therapy, yoga, meditation and good food, all in one price.
- One-to-one counselling
- Morning yoga or stretch and evening meditation
- Healthy, nourishing meals — special diets catered for
- Private accommodation
- A special bodywork session each day when detoxing
- Use of the spiritual and health library
- Chi machine, acupressure mat, shiatsu massager and vibration machine
- Use of the Tachyon cocoon
- The new scalar frequency machine
Airport transfer $60 one way. Extra nights $200 per person, including all meals, yoga and meditation.
Choose your retreat
Every retreat is all-inclusive — therapy, bodywork, yoga, meditation, accommodation and food. Prices in New Zealand dollars.
Ultimate Bliss — Emotional retreat
$1,390 per person · 3 days / 2 nights
The Journey and the Enneagram, for emotional healing.
- Two Journey processes using the Enneagram
- Two ozone saunas
- One cranio-sacral or massage
- One Zyto Compass emotional reading
Ayurveda detox & weight loss
$2,150 5 days / 4 nights · 7 on request
A full panchakarma cleanse, tailored to your body type.
- A gentle fasting day, then panchakarma cleansing
- Meals for your body type, with cooking tips
- A royal treatment each day
- The Journey with the Enneagram, plus a Zyto reading
Couples retreat
$2,580 per couple · 3 days / 2 nights
Healing or pampering, for two. Five days from $3,200.
- Everything in the Ultimate Bliss retreat
- Bath oils and homemade chocolates
- A romantic three-course dinner with champagne
- Counselling on where to go next together
All retreats are all-inclusive. Extra nights $200 per person. Airport transfer $60 one way. Couples 5-day from $3,200.
An ocean sanctuary in Diamond Harbour
Nestled in an untouched corner of Banks Peninsula, overlooking the sea — 45 minutes from Christchurch, yet a world away. Wholesome food guests call divine, fresh air, birdsong, and the space to finally exhale.
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The kitchen window, looking out to the harbour -
Food cooked for your body type -
A private room overlooking the ocean -
The garden -
Time to do nothing at all
Getting here
We are at 10 Rawhiti Street, Diamond Harbour 8971 — about 45 minutes by road from Christchurch, or a short, scenic ferry from Lyttelton. We will meet you on the sunny side.
- 45 minutes by car from Christchurch
- 10-minute ferry from Lyttelton — we meet you at the wharf
- 10 Rawhiti Street, Diamond Harbour, Banks Peninsula
From people who came
I can't recommend highly enough. I came to shunyata for a detox retreat and ended up with so much more than just a detox. Paru is amazing and works with you to be your best self and heal the parts of you you may not even realize you needed! All wrapped up in a safe loving beautiful environment with amazing healthy food made with love. Finished off last day of retreat with a dance circle in the village which was incredible. Thank you Paru for helping me with my journey. You rock!
Recently returned from a 5 day couples retreat with Paru at her rustic retreat in beautiful Diamond Bay. We arrived not really knowing what to expect, but also knowing that our 33 year old relationship needed serious "tlc" given that it had reached breaking point a few times in the past few years. And through a process of both one on ones, as well as one on twos, we gained a deeper understanding of ourselves, some of our ongoing issues & how to better accomodate our differences, culminating in a renewal of our passion for each other. So whilst it's still early days, we're in a far better place to face the future together. Thank you Paru, from the bottom of our hearts.
I recently returned from a 3 day Ultimate Bliss Retreat with Paru. After years of struggling with historical baggage which damaged my relationships and health I finally decided to ask for help and trust another. My trust was greatly rewarded. Paru is a kind, strong, and loving being. She made me feel very much at ease despite my social anxiety and were able to get immediately to work. The tools she provided me with, the insight into myself; and the honest, safe but firm holding of me to my truth; has been a catharsis. After years of struggle, pain, and confusion I am finding joy again. By the end of the second day I walked past the mirror and did not recognise the smiling relaxed face looking back at me. I cannot express the depth of my gratitude to Paru. This retreat has helped me leave my baggage behind and given me the tools to make a beautiful life going forward, it may have even saved my marriage. As a man, a husband, a father, a son, a fellow human being on this Earth, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your journey starts with a conversation
Tell Paru a little about what you are seeking. There is no pressure — just a real conversation about whether this is right for you.