RETREAT - " an act of moving back or withdrawing"
Leading up to the retreat weekend (held in November 2025), I had fallen ill and had to isolate myself for 2 weeks to recover. When the doctor gave me the all clear just a day before I sighed great relief! I had looked forward to learning so much more about Tai Chi and Qigong and I was so glad to attend.
Driving away from the daily demands of the city it did not take long before reaching the foothills of our beautiful countryside and the meandering hills. I thought to myself where else in the world can we drive on almost perfectly smooth roads and access such beautiful expanses of the spring green fields, vibrant freshness of the air and wide, open spaces in just such a short time.
Arriving onto the camp site the first thing I noticed were the chickens happily pecking away and roaming around their pen. I immediately thought of the fresh eggs for breakfast to come. It was exciting to see familiar faces as well as others that I looked forward to meeting. It was a relief to find clean cabins and bathrooms, and to be warmly greeted by my lovely roommate Gim. Together we set up our beds, shared healthy snacks and worked out our next morning's bathroom logistics before heading to the main hall for the introduction and harp meditation session. Gim went above and beyond and even super blessed me with a hot cup of tea in bed the next morning to gently wake me up. I truly thought I had woken up in heaven! Thank you Gim 🙂
The introduction on Friday evening was graciously hosted by Senior Instructors Yvonne and Noel Schmidt. Each attendee introduced themselves to the group. Then Yvonne asked the million dollar question for a grand prize of a trip to China. "What is the meaning of the word Yellingbo"? This was a tough one and there were no winners. We learnt that the word Yellingbo means today. It was a great way to bring us to the present and appreciate "being" on this site!. We were then invited to volunteer and share our personal Tai Chi journeys. I found this to be exceptionally enriching as I caught glimpses of how the practice of Tai Chi has changed lives and provided hope, health, and pleasure for people. Thank you to those who bravely and generously shared.
It reminded me of my own journey as just a short five years earlier, I had suffered a shocking case of sepsis and my mobility was severely affected, so much so that I could not get out of bed for months after surgery without falling over. Even after 3 years, I was still randomly falling over whilst walking on even ground. Despite all the treatments ranging from Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, I still suffered pain and instability. Since starting Tai Chi a year ago, the stability in my hips, knees, ankles is slowly being restored and I am not falling over anymore! Once again I am grateful and looking forward to more practice and further recovery.
REFLECT - "to mirror" or "to embody or represent in a faithful or appropriate way"
When asked to share my reflections of the retreat, I quickly consulted the dictionary for the meaning of the word "reflection" It was very apt to learn it meant "to mirror" and "to embody or represent in a faithful and appropriate way". Literally we have been mirroring our Masters and Instructors in practice and trying to represent the methods as closely as possible.
This took on a great meaning for me so I adopted it as an aim for the weekend to improve what I have already learnt as well as learn new Tai Chi techniques such as Bafa Wubu, Baqua, Pushing Hands, San Sou as well as a taste of the sword and the fan routines. We also learnt the Mawang Dui Qigong Dawu Qigoing, Dao Yin Qigong and of course the lovely Lotus Qigong routines. It was a great weekend of expansion and experience of a much broader world of Tai Chi and Qigong to the usual weekly classes. I felt like a kid in a candy store!
REFINE - "to remove impurities or unwanted elements generally typically as part of a process" or "to make minor changes so as to improve or clarify (a method or theory)
One of my favourites was to practise the familiar Celestial Tai Chi 108 Yang form both in small groups on Saturday afternoon and as an entire collective on Sunday morning. It was listed on the program as "Tai Chi Refinement" as Senior Master Chin Min and Grand Master Eng Chor observed and taught us to fine tune and "remove the impurities" from our techniques. The applications of the techniques were particularly helpful to help visualise each movement. I thoroughly enjoyed the practice and repetition as we aimed for higher accuracy and further lowering our stances in "minor" increments.
REFRESH - " to give new strength or energy to"
As the retreat drew to a close we all shared lunch before saying our good-bye and thank you. The sentiment for most was "how quickly the weekend had flown. Indeed it felt too short as I suspect we all enjoyed each other's company and thirst to steep more in all the new and wonderful techniques we had learnt together. As I drove away from the retreat I felt refreshed, re-energised and fortified.
Each lesson and activity had increased my hope of better health.
Each meal nourished my body and replenished energy for further activities.
Each person I met inspired and nurtured me with new and unique perspectives.
Each moment brought more depth, understanding and appreciation of all that was shared.
And I thought to myself, I hope we don't have to wait another 5 years for a retreat...... in fact, how awesome would it be if we could have a Celestial Tai Chi College of Refinement and Wellbeing Resort permanently set up in the Victorian Hills for the purpose of RETREAT - REFLECT - REFINE and REFRESH!!
Sharon Niwa, Student
Armadale Centre
Updated: 27 November 2025
