Can't find what you're looking for?
If you are looking for products please go to the Ananda Shop.
For anything else, please contact Cathy by one of the following methods:
If you are looking for products please go to the Ananda Shop.
For anything else, please contact Cathy by one of the following methods:
content
See all Retreats
Intimacy starts with knowing self first, then getting to know your partner integrating a beautiful, harmonious relationship that connects two people emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Your relationship with your partner is and should be one of the most important and cherished priorities in your life and when honoured with dedication and commitment, everything flourishes with abundant growth, harmony, contentment and love which then creates prosperity into every area of your life.
By making the conscious and committed time and effort together to sit and just BE in each other’s company, energy and sacred space will definitely help enhance more passion, love and joy into your Unity and let’s face it, that is something every single person who is in a relationship is looking for. The focus is not about the body, it’s about connection and intimacy or in other words we could look at it like emotional connection. When we learn skills and techniques that embody emotional connection the domino effect is passionate and exhilarating physical intimacy. So to enjoy the icing you first have to make the cake which is what this Retreat is all about.
Intimacy, like anything in life has to be learned and what an exciting discovery to behold. After many years of studying and teaching in the field of Tantra that I teach, there are two major ingredients to the act of 'beautiful intimacy' known in Tantric terminology as “Sacred Union” and that is emotional connection and physical connection.
When we concentrate and focus on the exploration of emotional connection first, we integrate all of the principles of friendship, trust, communication, joy, safety and love into our scared union, this builds the core foundation for intimacy. There is no greater liberation than allowing ourselves the freedom to surrender to the deepest abyss of the oceans of our emotions, from our light to our dark. To feel vulnerable present and safe with our beloved, allows our hearts to open and connect deeper into the heart of love.
The practice of Tantra teaches us to become the witness, the observer of the play of life and the roles of the masculine/feminine at play. A woman embodied in her heart, her Shakti will know instinctively how to honour and appreciate her lover. For him, her femininity feeds him nourishment and love and becomes an insatiable thirst to let her go. A man embodied in his Shiva essence, the powerful wise and strong yet gentle and aware masculine will understand how to cherish his woman and saturate her with his love, he will know how to touch her, where to touch her, what to say, when to say it and when to walk away. This is one of the reasons throughout time men were known as “gentlemen”. They knew how to treat and respect a lady. It is only through his Shiva presence that a woman will feel safe, safe to surrender to the power of the flame and passion; she will know in that moment that she represents every woman in the Universe to her beloved.
When couples connection is celebrated in this joyous harmonious dance, we experience the union of duality, spirituality and love through the soul, physical ecstasy through the body and the senses and the spirit comes alive, fully conscious of the unconscious.
As you experience higher stages of bliss and love, all boundaries dissolve, allowing you to merge with your higher self and spirit as well as the entire Universe as one. These states are indescribable. It is like an endless wave, there is no beginning, no end, a beautiful ocean of eternal bliss, the journey of Tantra.
DATES: 15th and 16th FEBRUARY 2025
TIME: Saturday 9am to 5pm - Sunday 9.30am to 4pm
VENUE: Pullman Bunker Bay Dunsborough W.A.
COST: $997 (incl GST) per couple (**Please see inclusions and exclusions below**) $797 for returning couples
Your Celebrating Sacred Love Retreat Includes:
Excludes:
Accommodation and Breakfast
Accommodation is available at Pullman Bunker Bay Resort at a discounted cost for couples attending this retreat.
Please note: It is not a requirement to stay at Bunker Bay to attend the Couples Retreat. You can choose to stay anywhere in the surrounding area.
Due to peak season in February and weekend dates at the Resort their policy requires a minimum booking of two nights for weekend stays, regardless of whether a promo code is used.
Promo Code for 2 nights accomodation is EVENT1
Includes:
The Sanctuary is renowned Australia wide for bringing couples together in a safe, professional and respectful environment. There is strictly no nudity involved at this Retreat and boundaries are to be adhered to at all times. Celebrating Sacred Love Retreats are a fun filled, dynamic and profound way to experience more love, joy and pleasure in your relationship and a deeper insight into the world of Sacred Love.
Hi, I'm Catherine Wood, the founder of the Sanctuary of Ananda. I am delighted to be facilitating my 32nd Couples Retreat "Celebrating Sacred Love" at the stunning Pullman Bunker Bay Resort in Dunsborough W.A. I am extremely passionate about what I live, breathe and teach and have experienced first hand the amazing life changing gifts and benefits that Tantra brings.
I believe that the word “Tantra” has been used with much misunderstanding in society today that many have been misled by the glamour and perception that Tantra is just about physical pleasure when in actual fact the true path of Tantra is Sadhana, a journey of discarding the layers of the personality nature through a deep inner soul searching journey that goes way and beyond the confines of just the form (the body). Tantra is a science of unlocking and decoding life’s many mysteries and discovering the mystery of self, self-realisation, self-knowledge and self-love.
Your partner is your "mirror", a mirror to show you more of who you are from your highest aspect to the lowest. Real intimacy starts with being able to see both dualities in each other and sharing with loving gentle kindness "the blind spots" that hold us bound to old patterns and imprints which can continue to sabotage growth and deeper connection. To merge together deeper is a surrender and willingness to shed away the glamour of what holds you back from being your true intimate self.
There is no such thing as the 'perfect' relationship because the dynamics of relationships contain many facets from communication all the way through to touch. Relationships have to be continually worked at, nourished with patience and devotion otherwise the years go by and before you know it stagnation and feelings of not being cherished, appreciated and honoured creep in.
The information and exercises that I teach at these Retreat's will provide you with a set of tools to start creating a relationship that nourishes you to your very core. When our relationship with self and our beloved is flourishing, this expansion flows into all areas of our life.
I really look forward to meeting you and sharing this amazing journey, a journey that will change your life.
Love and Blessings,
Catherine Wood
Founder of the Sanctuary of Ananda 2004-2024
*****Professional, Caring and Private Setting - Limited Places*****
We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to express our deepest gratitude for the incredible experience at the recent Tantra couple retreat. This was our second retreat with you, and once again, it was a profoundly transformative experience for both of us.The retreat allowed us to refresh our memories and helped us immensely in moving out of the “village of the mud” that we sometimes find ourselves in. Your guidance and support have been invaluable, and we are so grateful for the safe and nurturing environment you create.
Your help in previous sessions has also been of great significance to us, and we can see the positive changes and growth in our relationship thanks to your teachings. Each session with you has brought us closer and helped us understand each other on a deeper level. Please extend our heartfelt thanks to Paul and Rita as well. Paul’s presence and support were much appreciated, and Rita’s assistance was exceptional, ensuring everything ran smoothly and seamlessly.
We look forward to future opportunities to learn and grow with you. Thank you once again for everything you do.
Jonti and Dolly (Couples Retreat 2024)
My hubby and I attended a recent Couples weekend with Cathy and her team at the Crown. What an absolutely beautiful weekend. To say this weekend totally transformed our relationship is an understatement. You don't need to be in trouble to attend, just an honest and openness to want to reconnect and be open to making your relationship better. If you have this you will not be disappointed. The connection and friendships formed with the other couples on the weekend was awesome as well (no there was no keys in the bowl) just making sure you know it’s not that kind of weekend LOL But if you honestly want to get that feeling back like you had when you first met, then invest in this weekend, you won't be disappointed. Cathy and her team create a fun, sacred and safe space to grow as a couple. You will find out so much about each other but also grow so much as an individual and learning about what makes you you.... Can’t wait to do our next course. Thank you so much Cathy. You absolutely teach true, honest, open raw connections and that love is just not physical. We are so much better for attending your weekend. xxx
Krista and D (Couples Retreat 2023) GOOGLE REVIEW
Thanks so much for such a profoundly delicious, inspiring, and beautiful weekend for Anton and I. We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend together.
Anton and Tamara Perth (Couples Retreat 2023)
Cathy thank you so much for your time at the Bunker Bay Couples Retreat. It was a beautiful setting for such an amazing weekend of love and heart connection. You impart your wisdom in a practical, fun and loving way and we really appreciated your guidance. I’ve been telling all our friends to sign up for your next one! Thank you x
Dean and Lisa (Couples Retreat 2020)
Hi Cathy,
Stewart and I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to you for your wisdom and teachings...
It has indeed taken our relationship to a whole different depth and level... so has my love for him...
I couldn't be any happier & grateful to have shared this journey with Stewart and him experiencing it for the first time in such a safe and sacred environment.
Your classes were held so beautifully and restored my faith in the essence of tantra...
Now it’s all about being committed to our practices and most importantly our own selves...
Thank you for the detailed manual and exercises.
Much love and gratitude,
Shah and Stewart (Couples Retreat 2019)
Hi Cathy,
Thank you so much for an awesome weekend and an experience that will be a highlight in our lives. It was one of the best weekends we have shared and has already drawn us even closer together.
Already Barbara’s brother and wife are keen on experiencing the Retreat and we would highly recommend it to anyone in the future.
We are definitely interested in furthering our journey through some of your workshops in the future.
You are an awesome teacher and Richard and Ania were great to gain knowledge from.
You are an inspiration and someone who we will look upon that has helped improve our lives as individuals and our relationship.
Thank you once again from Barbara and myself and we look forward to meeting again
Tony and Barbara (Couples Retreat 2019)
Hi Cathy,
We are in awe of how much this weekend has done for us. We are so thankful for your amazing soul and your sacred path, we have been blessed.
Much love to you
Sarah and Craig xx (Couples Retreat 2019)
Dearest Cathy,
Trying to express our time in Bali in words is a little tricky.
I 'felt' it was an experience that has moved us both to a whole new level of compassion and love.
We both feel we have transitioned our relationship yet again to a whole new level, this time with such ease and grace.
As humans we service our cars, homes and bodies regularly and relationships also need that time and attention.
Spending quality time together with other couples who also want to brush up in the love department is really a booster for all involved.
Servicing our relationship has become a must for us, vitally important individually, as a couple and companions raising a family- we all benefit, the kids included. What a great gift to give our children, happy loving parents!
For Greg the quality time spent with the men was a real highlight, sharing experiences and goals in a supportive atmosphere was really powerful.
Setting some new relationship and personal goals is proving already to be a wonderful tool to staying on our own path.
Having a refresher around self-care and daily practices reinforced the learning and embeds it deeper into my being. Realisations around self-care are always warmly welcomed.
I cherish you, as a teacher, a friend and mentor, your kind open heart is a gift to all who cross your path. The wisdom you share is valuable beyond measure. The way you hold space for the group is ever-present.
Play is the way of the heart, to find joy in the moments.
For anyone sitting on the fence wondering about taking this journey, I would say do it - do it for your self do it for your family, do it for humanity cause really this world needs all the love it can get.
The safest most nurturing time for all involved.
Thank you; see you again for the next tune up.
Much love,
Jesse and Greg (Couples Retreat 2016)