The Sacred Return, Macedon Ranges

Marye in black and white at the edge of a lake, wrapped in a pale shawl among the reeds

The retreat

What it is

Three in the afternoon on the Friday until one on the Sunday. It is built for women who have been managing rather than living, and who would rather do that work in company than alone.

The Sacred Return is a two and a half day women's embodiment retreat for women navigating their awakening journey, women who sense there is more to life than the version they have been performing, and who are ready to meet themselves at a deeper, truer level. This is not a wellbeing escape. It is a threshold experience, a held container where women cross from the life they have been managing into a more soul-aligned, embodied way of being.

It weaves nervous-system regulation, somatic embodiment, ancient ritual, and feminine spiritual practice into a single, cohesive journey of return.

Marye O'Brien, your facilitator, is an Ayurvedic practitioner, an intuitive energy and sound healer. Her work is motivated by her deep desire for a world where all beings feel safe, loved and nourished. Although Marye spent many years in the corporate world, she feels that the road to nourishment is not these external avenues but rather an inward one, a journey to the soul. Her son's stillbirth and subsequent health crisis launched her onto a healing path that has given her insight and wisdom that she shares with a healing kindness.

Marye's gifts extend beyond her work as a practitioner, she is a spiritual teacher and guide who listens with empathy and leads with wisdom. Her approach is deeply rooted in ancient wisdom, and she offers personalised care, touching lives through her profound insights and nurturing presence.

How many
Sixteen places across twelve rooms, so it stays the size where people actually speak.
Who holds it
Marye holds all of it. Ayurvedic practitioner, energy and sound work, and her own long way round through a stillbirth, a breakdown and the years after.
Who it is for
Women on an awakening or healing journey and seeking community, not just content. Feeling the call to embody their spiritual insights rather than just understand them intellectually. Carrying stress, burnout, or a dysregulated nervous system from years of over-giving. Longing for soul alignment, a felt sense of living from truth, not performance. Ready to be witnessed and held by other women in sacred sisterhood.
Food
A vegetarian, seasonal, nervous-system-supportive menu, with an on-site chef. Two dinners, two brunches and a light lunch, plus snacks, tea and herbal elixirs throughout.
The inquiry
Guided journey beneath the performing self. Where have you abandoned yourself? What story is running you? Body-based inquiry.

Friday: Threshold and safetyArrival, food and settling. The first day does not go looking for anything, because nothing opens in a body that does not feel safe yet.
Saturday: Descent, release and re-memberingGrounding in the morning, deeper work through the middle, space in the afternoon and ceremony in the evening. The gaps between sessions are doing as much as the sessions.
Sunday: The returnTurning outward again, and the work of taking it home. That is the part most retreats leave out.

Two women embracing on a verandah, one smiling over the other's shoulder (the same photograph as banner-images-21.jpg)

Three women practising qi gong on the grass, palms raised together

A marble hammam, a carved basin under a brass tap and a copper bowl beside it

An outdoor fire pit at dusk, chairs drawn around it

A woman playing a brass singing bowl, candlelight behind it

Three women talking in a round outdoor hot tub on a timber deck

A yoga class seated on mats in a glass walled studio, a hedge outside

Many hands resting together along a fallen tree trunk in the forest

A lit goddess figure seated in meditation inside a gold lamp arch

Included

What's included

01Two nights in a private ensuite room at Continental House, Hepburn Springs
02All meals, cooked on site by the chef: two dinners, two brunches, a light lunch, and tea and snacks throughout, from a vegetarian, seasonal, nervous-system-supportive menu
03Held across the whole weekend by Marye O'Brien
04Yin yoga and qi gong, not a workout, worked slowly rather than as exercise: waking the body softly, connecting to sensation, energy and breath
05Feminine archetype and embodiment workshop
06Fire ceremony: the Alchemist archetype
07Guided enquiry into the parts of yourself you have been leaving behind
08The Turkish hammam ritual
09Spa deck: mineral hot tub, infrared sauna and cold plunge
10The gardens, yoga room, lounges and the Goldfields Track for walking
11All ceremony materials, a welcome gift and an integration workbook
12A private group afterwards, and one integration call two weeks on
13Optional sixty minute signature massage, $165, limited numbers

If that is the weekend you have been looking for, tell us and we'll hold you a place.

Reserve your place

In a guest's words

I'm not sure I can find the words to explain the magic of Marye's Embodiment Retreat. We gathered at the beautiful Continental House where Marye held a sacred and nurturing space for us to share, learn, grow and heal. Yoga, meditation, sound baths, Ayurvedic treatments, a food as medicine workshop, sharing circles, rest, grounding, connection.

Carmen, Glenlyon, Victoria, after a Maiaveda women's retreat

Cost

What it costs

Sanctuary Solo, private ensuite room$2,195 until May 2027, then $2,495
Sister Suite, ensuite shared with a friend$1,695 each until May 2027, then $1,895
Founders Circle, solo room and a four hour session with Marye afterwards$2,895 until May 2027, then $3,195
To hold a place$500 deposit, then three instalments to 31 August 2027

Before you ask

Worth knowing

What people say after they leave

4.9 from 112 Google reviews. 5.0 from 43 on TripAdvisor. Read more reviews

Yesterday I had the most amazing facial and massage with Claudia. From the moment I walked in I felt instantly nurtured, the whole experience made me feel taken care of. What an amazing place, the products used are beautiful and the ambience throughout was so relaxing. I would definitely book again the next time I am in Kyneton.

The Sacred Return - Women's Retreat

What it is

How many

Who holds it

Who it is for

Food

The inquiry

What's included

What it costs

Worth knowing

What people say after they leave

When you're ready