SANCTUM: Self compassion in relationship, Ubud
SANCTUM: Self compassion in relationship, Ubud
Villa Beji Indah, Jalan Nyuh Bojog, Mas, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Indonesia
Up to 11 in group
Apr 22 - 26, 2026
Retreat Highlights
- Self-compassion in relationship. The work builds understanding of the practice of compassion and self compassion, and is about staying open and loving without disappearing, and learning boundaries that feel alive rather than defensive.
- Evidence-informed and expertly held. The program is curated by Associate Professor Dr Amy Finlay-Jones (trained across multiple established compassion-based approaches), with a strong emphasis on safety, pacing, and attunement.
- Learn through the body, not just the mind. Somatic grounding, breathwork, yoga, massage, movement and meditation create an embodied foundation so compassion becomes something you can live, not just understand.
- Place is part of the teaching. Nyuh Kuning is described as “old Bali” — traditional, unhurried, alive with daily offerings and community — and the retreat weaves in cultural learning through respectful encounters guided by local knowledge holders.
- Rhythm is spacious (so the work can land). Quiet mornings, deep late-morning sessions, open afternoons for rest or village walks (with optional 1:1 support), and intentionally unhurried evenings.
- Designed to travel home with you. There’s dedicated time for integration, plus written materials that translate insight into practical pathways for daily life and relationships. All guests can access ongoing resources.
- A genuinely restorative to stay. Light-filled suites with private bathrooms and serene outlooks to gardens, pool, or forest — with the sense that your accommodation is part of the retreat itself.
About this Retreat
Amy is an Associate Professor, therapist, and contemplative practice facilitator who is dedicated to helping others cultivate more balanced, connected, and meaningful lives through compassion and mindfulness practice. She is a skilled group facilitator with over 10 years of experience delivering mindfulness- and compassion-based approaches in clinical, community, and organisational settings.
Amy’s teaching draws on many years of personal practice, her passion for social justice and activism, as well as her lived experience of long-term chronic illness. She founded Kindful in 2015 to support the cultivation of compassion as a means of creating positive change in the world.
Amy is a certified Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) facilitator and a trained Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher, and trained at Stanford University and through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion to deliver these programs. She is also trained to teach the Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living program and the Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens program.
Amy holds Masters degrees in Clinical Psychology and Health Economics and a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She is involved in ongoing research that investigates the effects of compassion training on intra- and interpersonal wellbeing. She has developed several online self-compassion training programs, and is the lead editor of the Handbook of Self-Compassion (together with Kristen Neff and Karen Bluth).
Alla is a seasoned psychologist dedicated to bringing compassion and clarity into everyday life. With a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and over fifteen years of clinical experience across Australia and Singapore, she has guided individuals and groups through trauma-informed, attachment-aware, and evidence-based therapeutic practices.
She works at the intersection of nervous-system regulation, contemplative practice, and human connection — a terrain where grounded science meets lived experience. Her approach moves beyond symptoms to what she calls “relational presence”: a capacity to meet oneself with clarity, to listen to what the body knows, and to stay connected in relationships without losing one’s own inner ground.
In retreat settings, Alla offers compassionate guidance rooted in her wide training: psychological therapies such as CBT, ACT, DBT, schema therapy and mindfulness-based modalities, all applied through a gentle, practical lens attuned to the body.
She creates safe, welcoming container spaces where emotional honesty becomes possible, and where the messy, tender work of reconnection and repair can be done without pressure or hurry. Her work helps people reclaim their inner steadiness — so they may care for others from a place of wholeness, not depletion.
Whether in individual sessions or as part of group work at the retreat, Alla’s style is reliable, grounded and compassionate — putting nervous systems at ease, opening hearts, and helping inner wisdom and connection flourish.
Details of this retreat
A retreat on self-compassion in relationship • Nyuh Kuning, Bali
So many of us move through life carrying more than anyone can see — tending, holding, giving, reaching — until something essential in us grows faint. We pour ourselves into work, into family, into love, into responsibility, and somewhere in the flow of caring for others we begin to drift from ourselves.
Sanctum is an invitation to return.
To return to the part of you that longs for steadiness in relationship, for warmth that doesn’t cost you your centre, for love that includes you as much as everyone else. To return to the delicate space where self-respect and tenderness can live side by side. To return to the simple truth that you deserve the same care you so freely offer.
Over four days in Nyuh Kuning — a village shaped by ritual, community, and the daily gestures of devotion — we explore the art of meeting ourselves and one another with presence. Through compassion-based practice, relational inquiry, somatic grounding, and cultural encounters, we explore what it means to stay open without disappearing, to repair without collapsing, to love without losing the thread of who we are.
This is a retreat for those who feel everything deeply, who give easily, who long for connection yet find themselves exhausted by the weight of it. For those who want to cultivate boundaries that feel alive rather than defensive; who want relationships that breathe. For those who sense that compassion is not a soft skill but a way of belonging to life with their whole being.
Here, you are invited to listen — with the body, with the breath, with the part of you that already knows how to come home. You are guided into the kind of awareness that restores dignity to your inner world and creates space for repair, reconnection, and genuine intimacy.
Sanctum is where you tend the relationship you have with yourself so that all your other relationships can begin to flourish.
So many of us move through life carrying more than anyone can see — tending, holding, giving, reaching — until something essential in us grows faint. We pour ourselves into work, into family, into love, into responsibility, and somewhere in the flow of caring for others we begin to drift from ourselves.
Sanctum is an invitation to return.
To return to the part of you that longs for steadiness in relationship, for warmth that doesn’t cost you your centre, for love that includes you as much as everyone else. To return to the delicate space where self-respect and tenderness can live side by side. To return to the simple truth that you deserve the same care you so freely offer.
Over four days in Nyuh Kuning — a village shaped by ritual, community, and the daily gestures of devotion — we explore the art of meeting ourselves and one another with presence. Through compassion-based practice, relational inquiry, somatic grounding, and cultural encounters, we explore what it means to stay open without disappearing, to repair without collapsing, to love without losing the thread of who we are.
This is a retreat for those who feel everything deeply, who give easily, who long for connection yet find themselves exhausted by the weight of it. For those who want to cultivate boundaries that feel alive rather than defensive; who want relationships that breathe. For those who sense that compassion is not a soft skill but a way of belonging to life with their whole being.
Here, you are invited to listen — with the body, with the breath, with the part of you that already knows how to come home. You are guided into the kind of awareness that restores dignity to your inner world and creates space for repair, reconnection, and genuine intimacy.
Sanctum is where you tend the relationship you have with yourself so that all your other relationships can begin to flourish.
Schedule
You will wake gently and settle into silence, tea or coffee, and the morning light.
We begin with an optional, slow, grounding yoga or somatic practice — or you can journal in your room, meditate, or take a morning walk through the village.
We share a nourishing breakfast together.
You will have quiet time for journaling, reading, or a swim before sessions begin.
We gather for the main teaching and practice session on self-compassion, including reflection on self-compassion in relationship.
You will take part in guided, evidence-based self-compassion exercises and small-group inquiry.
We pause for a fresh, abundant lunch.
You will have spacious afternoon time to rest, receive a massage, walk in the village, or sit by the river.
You will have the option of a 1:1 session for personalised support.
We reconvene for an afternoon workshop — creative practice, breathwork, or integration.
You will have time to shower, unwind, and watch the evening soften; you can also opt for a massage or spa treatment.
We share dinner together, unhurried and communal — or, if you prefer, meals can be enjoyed privately in your room.
We close the day early, with space for gentle meditation, reflection, sleep, and deep restoration.
We begin with an optional, slow, grounding yoga or somatic practice — or you can journal in your room, meditate, or take a morning walk through the village.
We share a nourishing breakfast together.
You will have quiet time for journaling, reading, or a swim before sessions begin.
We gather for the main teaching and practice session on self-compassion, including reflection on self-compassion in relationship.
You will take part in guided, evidence-based self-compassion exercises and small-group inquiry.
We pause for a fresh, abundant lunch.
You will have spacious afternoon time to rest, receive a massage, walk in the village, or sit by the river.
You will have the option of a 1:1 session for personalised support.
We reconvene for an afternoon workshop — creative practice, breathwork, or integration.
You will have time to shower, unwind, and watch the evening soften; you can also opt for a massage or spa treatment.
We share dinner together, unhurried and communal — or, if you prefer, meals can be enjoyed privately in your room.
We close the day early, with space for gentle meditation, reflection, sleep, and deep restoration.
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
DEYA Retreats, Villa Beji Indah, Jalan Nyuh Bojog, Mas, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Indonesia
Directions
From Ngurah Rai International Airport (Denpasar), the drive to Nyuh Kuning (Ubud) is typically around 60–90 minutes.
Accommodation
Suites are restful, light-filled, and designed for privacy as well as connection. Each room includes a private bathroom and serene outlooks onto gardens, pool, or surrounding forest. Superior Suites: Queen bed • Private bathroom • Option for additional single | USD $1400 triple · USD $1800 twin · USD $2200 single Standard Suites: Queen bed • Private bathroom • Garden views | USD $1200 triple · USD $1600 twin · USD $2000 single Pool Suites: King bed + daybed • Private bathroom • Private pool | USD $2400 triple share · USD $2800 twin · USD $3200 single Deluxe Suites: King bed • Private bathroom • Generous living space / terrace | USD $1800 triple · USD $2200 twin · USD $2600 single
Program Price - Standard Room (solo)
Program Price - Superior Suite (solo)
Program Price - Deluxe Suite (solo)
Program Price - Pool Suite (solo)
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
A private riverside estate wrapped in jungle: terraced gardens with orchids, lily ponds and butterflies; two serene pools; an open-air yoga shala; and quiet nooks for reading and rest. Wander down to the river path and take in waterfall sounds and sweeping green views—everything designed to feel secluded, spacious, and deeply calming.
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Fresh, nourishing Balinese meals prepared daily, with plenty of refreshments throughout the day. E.g. Nasi Campur, Rendang, Soto Ayam, Sayur Urap, Jamu, fresh fruits, fresh coconut etc.
What's Included
- Five days in Nyuh Kuning, Ubud (22–26 April 2026)
- Four nights of accommodation in a private riverside retreat setting (private suites with ensuite bathrooms)
- Fresh, nourishing meals prepared daily
- All meals and ongoing refreshments
- Guided compassion-based contemplative practice (including meditation)
- Restorative movement / yoga sessions
- Daily facilitated connection in a safe, held small group
- Relational inquiry practices focused on self-compassion in relationship
- Group breathwork
- Optional one-to-one individual sessions
- Creative and sensory immersion drawing on local craft, sound, and ritual
- Cultural learning experiences guided by local knowledge holders
- Space to rest, reflect, and reset nervous system load
- Retreat workshops and materials (including written take-home resources)
- Follow-up practices and resources after the retreat
- Welcome pack, preparation materials, and ongoing support in the lead-up
What's Not Included
- Flights and airport transfer
- Personal (health and travel) insurance.
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