Active Living Retreat

Movement, Nutrition and Mindset with Shannon McNeill

A 4-night immersive retreat at SOMA Lorna Jane

The Retreat

Somewhere along the way, living became complicated.

The advice multiplied. The rules contradicted each other. The pressure to do everything perfectly turned something that should feel natural into something that feels exhausting. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, you lost the thread.

This retreat is where you find it again.

The Active Living Retreat is a four-night immersive experience built on the same philosophy that has shaped how women move, nourish and believe for over 37 years. Not a trend. Not a reset. A proven practice.

Led by Shannon McNeill, Naturopath, Registered Nurse, former Fitness Instructor and one of the most genuinely knowledgeable educators working in women’s health today, the retreat moves across three interconnected pillars: movement for strength and longevity, nutrition for energy and balance, and mindset for resilience and lasting change. Each day builds on the last. Each session is practical, science-informed, and designed not just to inspire you, but to genuinely equip you.

You will move your body in a way that is joyful, efficient, and effective. You will understand food without the noise. You will learn how your thoughts, your stress responses, and your nervous system are all quietly shaping your health, and what to do about it.

You will leave with a personalised Active Living plan that belongs to you. Not a program to follow for a few weeks. A framework to come home to, every day, for life.

This is not about being perfect. This is about practical habits and tools that make Active Living possible.

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MATRESSENCE RETREAT - women practicing yoga in the SOMA Dome

This Retreat is For You If

You want a simple, practical approach to health that fits your life.

You feel overwhelmed by conflicting health information and want clarity, not more noise.

You are seeking more energy, strength, and balance, and a sustainable way to build them.

You are ready to understand how movement, nutrition, and mindset work together not in isolation.

You value a realistic, evidence-informed approach over quick fixes or extreme programs.

You are ready to build habits that support your health for the long term, not just for a few weeks.

You want to leave with a personalised plan that is genuinely yours.

Your Educator & Facilitator

Shannon McNeill

Naturopath · Registered Nurse · Women’s Health Educator

Shannon McNeill is a Naturopath, Registered Nurse, and former Fitness Instructor with a career built at the intersection of science, movement, and women’s health. One of the most genuinely knowledgeable educators working in this space today, Shannon has a rare ability to translate complex health science into something clear, practical, and immediately applicable, without losing any of the depth.

Her approach is warm, grounded, and deeply empowering. Shannon doesn’t teach you what to do. She teaches you how to understand your own body, so that the choices you make are yours, and they last.

Retreat Add on available - 1:1 session with Shannon McNeill

“This is not about being perfect. It’s about knowing enough, and trusting that that is more than enough.”

What You Will Take Home

A clear understanding of how movement, nutrition, and mindset work together and how to use that knowledge every day.

Confidence in how to move your body in ways that support strength, energy, and longevity.

Practical nutrition principles that simplify food without restriction - whole foods, balanced meals, and sustainable habits.

Tools for nervous system regulation, stress resilience, and a more compassionate relationship with yourself.

A personalised Active Living plan - your own framework for movement, nutrition, and mindset, built to last.

Simple daily practices you will use and genuinely want to return to.

This retreat includes

All-inclusive retreat with meals, workshops, movement sessions, group experiences, and daily bathhouse access.

All meals, snacks, and beverages throughout the retreat.

Every meal is a balance of nourishing macronutrients

One of the most powerful habits you can build is the way you eat, and every meal on this retreat is a quiet demonstration of what that looks like in practice. Seasonal, whole, and genuinely nourishing, the food here is not incidental to the program. It is part of the rewiring.

Breakfasts are protein-rich and grounding, designed to stabilise blood sugar and support the cognitive clarity needed for the morning’s learning. Lunches are generous and balanced, built around whole foods that sustain energy without the afternoon crash. Dinners are lighter and unhurried, an invitation to slow down, connect, and let the day’s insights settle. Snacks, elixirs, and teas woven throughout the day continue the same intention: every offering chosen to nourish the brain and body that is doing the work of change.

All activities, workshops, movement classes, and learning sessions.

Every moment on retreat is curated with intention

Every hour on a SOMA Lorna Jane Retreat is part of the journey. The daily program includes ample leisure time alongside interesting activities and experiences that open the mind to new insights and possibilities.

Movement classes encourage strength, mobility, fitness, flexibility and conscious breathing that leave you feeling energised versus depleted. Our workshops provide practical tools that can be woven into a busy life; presented by qualified educators who have been carefully selected for their expertise, lived experience, and genuine desire to uplift and empower. While evening gatherings invite quality conversations, reflection, light celebrations or quiet meditative experiences. This is the time where the day integrates, and when connection with other women deepens.

Daily bath house access: sauna, warm soaking pools, and cold-water immersion.

Nature, bathing and spa therapies for deep restoration

Together, the day spa and bathhouse create an opportunity to deepen your connection to self and the natural surrounds. A small yet carefully curated menu of signature treatments has been intentionally created to deliver a deeply satisfying experience for your mind, body and nervous system. The bathhouse provides a sequence of hot, warm and cold hydrothermal therapies that further enhance your restorative journey.

Our therapists work with intention and care, creating space for the kind of deep rejuvenation that supports everything else you experience while on retreat. Whether you arrive carrying tension, fatigue, or simply the weight of a busy life, you will leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more present in your body than when you arrived.

Additional Day Spa therapies are available as an add on

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Invest in Yourself

Every SOMA Lorna Jane retreat is intentionally intimate. It is how we ensure every woman who joins is genuinely seen and supported. If this feels like your retreat, trust that. Places are limited and we would love to hold a place for you.

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King

Indulge in the luxury of silence and space; a king-sized bed and ensuite all to yourself.

Introducing SOMA Lorna Jane, Save 10% on Accommodation*

from $3960 per person

Twin Share

Enjoy the journey with a friend or loved one you are happy to share a king-sized room with.

Introducing SOMA Lorna Jane, Save 10% on Accommodation*

from $3960 per person

Local Day Guest

Join us for the full retreat immersion, including all your meals, and return to your own accommodation to sleep and shower.

from $3520 per person

Our Foundation

Every SOMA Lorna Jane Retreat is rooted in the same philosophy Lorna Jane Clarkson has lived and led for over 37 years: when a woman moves with intention, nourishes herself deeply, and truly believes in what she’s capable of, everything changes. This is not a wellness trend. It is a proven practice. And SOMA Lorna Jane is its most immersive expression.

Set within SOMA Lorna Jane's hinterland sanctuary, our retreats are designed so that the environment itself becomes part of the transformation. Surrounded by rolling hills and rainforest, with architecture intentionally shaped for stillness, connection, and restoration, SOMA Lorna Jane creates the ideal conditions for women to step out of life’s intensity and into calm and clarity.

Facilities include the beautifully appointed SOMA Residence with expansive views across the landscape, a day spa and bathhouse featuring sauna, warm soaking pools and cold-water immersions, two forest Domes, one for mindfulness experiences and one for active strength and movement, and 22 acres of peaceful nature to breathe, explore and restore in.

The daily program weaves together a supportive rhythm of movement, nourishing wholefoods, spa and bathhouse rituals, and deeply satisfying rest. Time in nature: fresh air, sunshine, forest bathing, and swimming; awakens the senses and quiets the mind. Throughout the retreat, quality conversation fosters genuine connection and friendship with like-minded women.

Our featured educators and facilitators have been carefully selected for their qualified expertise, lived experience, and a genuine desire to uplift and empower; always with warmth, depth and a touch of humour.

At SOMA Lorna Jane, we believe a pause can also be productive. Our retreats offer you the opportunity to recalibrate and rise, within an environment that is beautiful, unhurried, and deeply considered.

Discover

Learn more about our upcoming SOMA Lorna Jane Retreats and programs

Active Living Retreat

Shannon McNeill brings two decades of clinical experience in women's health to this program. Movement, nutrition and mindset are each explored in depth, with practical tools and active living experienced across the entire retreat journey.

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Rewire Your Habits

Dr Gina Cleo is one of Australia's leading habit researchers. Across two days of learning amidst the daily retreat rhythm she shares the neuroscience behind why habits form, why they persist, and the evidence-based strategies that change them.

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Nervous System Reset

Tracy Whitton is a restorative yoga teacher, somatic practitioner and founder of The Vagus Nerve Method™. This retreat covers the science of stress and threat response, the role of the vagus nerve, and the somatic practices that create lasting regulation.

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Hormonal Vitality

Led by Dr Keri Krieger and Aiko Neligan, this retreat weaves together the clinical wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a range of experiences from somatic movement to sound healing and Yin Yoga. Education and embodiment in equal measure.

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Balance in Business

Lawrence Mitchell and Rebecca Grainger bring neuroscience, performance research and breathwork together in a program built for senior leaders. Rigorous, evidence-based, and genuinely restorative, this retreat is a business investment in yourself.

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Reset. Realign. Return to Yourself.

Patty Perlman has spent two decades teaching yoga as a complete philosophy for living. This retreat incorporates Yogic practices, conversations and journalling as tools for women who are ready to recalibrate and create a new aligned vision for their life.

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The Longevity Code

Shannon McNeill and our expert team deliver a retreat built around the science of how women age. It included one-to-one consultations, personalised test result reviews, and evidence-based guidance on the microbiome, hormones and longevity.

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