A Mana we bring you back to the source. We remind you how good the simple things are. Warm sand. The smell of salt water. A breezy mountain top. The touch of the sun on you skin. We relax in the steam room, hike at sunrise, learn pranayama and bask in meditation. We send you home awake, refreshed, connected + whole. Mana is a place to reconnect with yourself + reignite your inner fire. Created from a passion to bring yoga and people together, Patty Perlman joins together a yoga community of like minded people in a fun and inspiring atmosphere.
These retreats are a melting pot of people, from CEO’s to busy mom’s to ER doctors. Post retreat, the Mana Community continues to flourish with yoga classes + events at Mana Yoga Studio in Brisbane Australia. And of course our annual drinks organised specially for Mana Retreaters to reconnect and hang out.
Retreat Food. Fresh, organic and local produce are served daily in delicious and mouth-watering recipes. These recipes are created to assist the detoxifying process, cleanse the organs and digestion and revitalise the body from inside out. Every meal is prepared fresh daily by our chef, and all food requirements are catered to.
These exclusive retreats accommodate up to 12 guests maximum and take place beachfront in Byron Bay, mountain top in Queenstown + Japan, and seaside in Bali. With 15 years of yoga teaching experience and over 25 yoga retreats in Australia and abroad, Patty + the Mana team take you to well-appointed location to provide yoga, meditation, surfing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, pampering, cooking, drinking wine and more in a fun, adventurous and stylish environment.
ERYT 500, Owner
Retreat Leader + Head Trainer
Patty grew up in Acadia National Park in Maine, USA + began practicing yoga in her high school at age 15. She continued her education at university before taking a variety of teacher training’s which will be a lifelong educational journey. Patty has been tracing the globe + exploring the wellness industry to find the best locations + activities for retreat. From Miami to Macau, Mexico to Barcelona, she now spends her time between Brisbane + Byron Bay Australia, hiking and riding her bike with her Australian Shepherd Nala running my her side. In 2019 Patty started Mana Yoga School, a place for aspiring teachers to complete their 200hr yoga teacher training.
Over the past 15 years Patty has studied with:
Douglas Allen, Buddhism Professor of University of Maine 2004
Craig and Shane Perkins, founders of Yandara Yoga Institute in Todos Santos, Mexico 2008 + 2018
Gopala, founder of Rainbow Kids Yoga, Worldwide 2010
Tammy Williams, founder of Sunshine Coast’s Yoga NRG, Australia 2012
Julie Smerdon, founder Shri Yoga, Australia 2015
Lorine Roche, Meditation teacher and Author, USA 2015
Retreat Leader
An Irish native, her love of yoga began 16 years ago when she began attending weekly classes taught at her high school. Sarah moved to Brisbane in 2009 and continued to practice yoga while exploring different class formats and teaching styles. Her personal practice deepened after completing a 40-day challenge with Shri Yoga. This challenge inspired her to train as a yoga teacher, a qualification she completed under senior teacher Julie Smerdon of Shri Yoga.
Sarah leads an alignment-based class in the vinyasa style blending a fluid flow with awareness to the connection between movement and breath. She is passionate about helping people cultivate a yoga practice both on and off the mat.
Sarah is currently studying Health and Physical Education at University and also holds qualifications in Nutrition, Fitness, Holistic and Remedial Massage Therapy and utilises all of these elements to inform her teaching.
Teacher Trainer
Laura has a love for health and the human body with a Masters in Chiropractic, Honours in Health science, Bachelor of Biomedical Science and she is also an experienced Yoga and Meditation teacher. Laura believes movement is the best form of medicine, and it was during her time as a personal trainer that she developed a love for human biomechanics and movement. Harnessing her passion for movement, Laura moved into Chiropractic – working as a facilitator to the body, working with the neuromusculoskeletal system, restoring function and enabling bodies to heal as nature intended. It was here during her studies that Laura discovered the benefits of yoga for the mind and recovery of the body, and undertook training to become a yoga teacher. This work opened her to see that the world of healing is much more than just physical. Through the teachings of yoga and chiropractic it became clear that healing comes from within, and requires balance of mind and body. Laura truly believes in and embodies preventative health. Laura loves working with every day athletes to keep them functioning at their peak and doing the things they love. Equally she has a love for working with pregnant women and women working toward pregnancy. From athletes to yogis, mums and dads to office workers, Laura has a unique approach to cater to all walks of life. Laura is a multimodal practitioner, using manual chiropractic adjustments with myofascial and neuro-emotional release techniques.
Teacher Trainer
Brendan is a clinical naturopath, registered acupuncturist and yoga instructor based in Brisbane. Fascinated by the natural wisdom of the human body, he's passionate about helping people better understand their bodies. Brendan holds a Masters in Applied Science in Acupuncture from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Health Science in Naturopathy from the Australian College of Natural Medicine. He's a member of the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Complimentary Medicine Association. Integrating acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine with naturopathic and functional medicine, Brendan specialises in working with gut and mental health issues, as well as hormonal and inflammatory conditions. He's practiced many different styles of yoga and meditation for over 20 years, with certifications in Hatha, Power, Vinyasa, Yin and Restorative yoga and has been teaching for yoga for 10 years.
Retreat Leader
Grace is a full-time yoga instructor (E-RYT 500) with seven years of international teaching experience. As a former collegiate athlete, she has incorporated years of experience with an in-depth knowledge of the body to fine tune a safe and accessible yoga practice. Her mission is to get you moving and feeling better.
Inspired by the practice of mindfulness, Grace's classes emphasise breath awareness and presence of mind. She will guide you through creative sequencing to harness strength and an accessible meditation practice to calm the mind. Grace is continually awed by yoga's transformative and healing powers and aims to share that sentiment with every student she works with.
Our exclusive retreats accommodate up to 12 guests maximum and take place across the globe, from a beachfront in Byron Bay to a mountain top in Queenstown.
Guests welcome from age 18+
We carefully teach to welcome beginners and challenge seasoned yogis
All food is gluten and dairy free
We serve fish and vegetarian
Couples, friends and solo yogis of all ages attend our retreats
Most guests are 25 – 70 years old
70% women, 30% men on most retreats
You will learn about yoga, meditation, chakras and meridians
Of course we have wifi and chocolate
Yes you can bring wine
Parking available