New Year Day Retreat, Mornington Peninsula VIC

The New Year Day Retreat is a full-day wellness retreat on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, led by Kirsty Saunders. It is a quiet, intentional way to welcome the new year with presence, offered to anyone who wants to start the year by slowing down and reconnecting with themselves rather than rushing into resolutions.

The day brings together gentle movement, circle, Spinal Energetics, time on the land and reflective writing. It is held on a Saturday, and everyone is welcomed exactly as they are.

What to Expect

This is a single, unhurried day built around a few simple practices. You will move gently, sit in circle with the other participants, and receive a share of Spinal Energetics, the energetic bodywork approach that Kirsty also weaves through her longer retreats. There is time to walk the land, and time set aside with pen and paper.

That writing time is not goal-setting. The invitation is to return to the qualities already living within you, and to let those guide the year ahead instead of a list of targets. Kirsty describes all of her retreats as held with care, presence and intention, offering a supportive space for rest, reconnection, energetic processing and integration, nature and heartfelt community.

About Kirsty Saunders

Kirsty Saunders is a retreat facilitator with 18 years of experience in the health and wellbeing sector. Her background includes a Health Promotion degree, and she works as a Spinal Energetics practitioner, Biodynamic Craniosacral practitioner, intuitive healer, and yoga and meditation teacher. She is known for creating deeply supportive spaces where people can feel seen and nurtured, and her guiding belief is that the deepest medicine is being truly seen.

Her retreats have a long track record. Her signature women's weekends in Kinglake, Victoria, are now in their sixth year, and a past guest describes leaving with "a profound sense of coming home to myself." The New Year Day Retreat draws on the same care and the same approach, in a one-day format closer to Melbourne.

The Setting

The retreat takes place on the Mornington Peninsula, a coastal region of Victoria. Time outdoors is part of the day, with a walk on the land alongside the circle and movement. Kirsty also offers a midweek day retreat on the Peninsula, the Midweek Sanctuary, which is a separate event.

Before You Go

The day is open to people arriving as they are, and no prior experience with Spinal Energetics, yoga or meditation is described as necessary. Movement is gentle throughout. If you are drawn to a reflective, nurturing start to the year in a small, caring group, this retreat is a good fit.