This time of the year, the Mana Retreat Centre looks absolutely stunning. Many of us are driving up and down SH25 and seeing the signs of Mana, but perhaps have never had the chance of visiting personally.
In early January, 7-13, 2023, Coromandel Town resident Peter Grunwald, is leading his annual retreat as he has done for the past 30 years. He has seen Mana developing from the humble beginnings to its present day with abundant gardens, beautiful manicured lawns and wide swept views across the Manaia Harbour and the Coromandel ranges.
This is the superb environment to discover the close distance of humming bee’s and blooming flowers, the colourful gardens in the middle distance to the sweeping views of the far beauty which we enjoy every day here on the Coromandel.
When brain and eyes are healthy and well-connected our eyesight and vision are flexible and pliable, yet due to stresses in our life we have forgotten how to use eyes and brain to our own advantage. The 2023 retreat will focus on the relationship how eyesight and vision, body posture and movement, how our emotions and thoughts and spiritual virtues work effortlessly in combination – in the close and far distance.
"It’s the brain – not the eyes - which see’s and processes the incoming information," says Peter, "because of the neuroplasticity of the brain, the eyes are flexible and can change – and not only change in getting worth. With the right physical, emotional and mental tools, inquiries and practices, they can adapt their shape and become healthier, even after years of wearing glasses or contact lenses."
Many come with symptoms such as presbyopia – it’s the condition where near distant vision becomes blurry from age 40 onwards – but also far- and near-sightedness from a young age, cataracts, glaucoma, squints, lazy eyes, floaters, macular degeneration and more.
Fuelled by Peter’s training in the somatic Alexander Technique in the early 1980’s, he originally discovered patterns and relationships between the eyes and the entire visual system affecting the head-neck back and body posture, organs and body movement. Different visual abnormalities are reflected in our body, in the stance such as our head moving way forward and our back tighten and shorten. Changing our body posture alone is not enough in changing the visual system nor the eyes.
Peter says, "Including our brain’s function of presence and envisaging allows our brain synapses to function in such a way that the eyes will subtly follow and affecting our body posture and organs to its better alignment."
Additionally, he researched emotional aspects such as fears, anxieties or present day uncertainties which play into our physical eyesight deteriorating.
"Those rising emotions are part of being a human being, but holding on to them comes only out of survival or trauma, which is essentially unnecessary to hang on to. Partaking in the retreat" says Peter, "will give you constructive practices to undo those old patterns of emotional attachments."
Many participants in the retreat benefit for their eyesight, vision, body posture and emotional freedom. Time will allow for applications such as reading clearly and understanding effortlessly, writing or computing with ease and poise, increased presence and clarity in communication, creative visualizing, effortless singing or playing an instrument and much more. Surprize yourself with a new vision for the New Year.
And finally, the relaxing environment and the vegetarian food served by a wonderful and loving team are nourishing the whole experience which the Mana Retreat Centre stands for.
For more information visit www.eyebody.com and manaretreat.com.
Written by Jade Ferriere.
