Our Breathwork Retreat with Dr Ela Manga

Ensconced in a valley of wind-sculpted sandstone mountains, an ancient alchemical process is underway. A mother SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is feeding off and growing in a bubbling breathing brew of sugar and tea turning into a health-giving tonic that restores the gut microbiome, our vast internal ecosystem. Speckled eggs are being gathered up from the chicken coop. Stainless steel canisters are filled to the brim with creamy milk from the cows that have just been milked by hand. The wind catches the scent of fresh bread to be breathed into the deepest part of the lungs.

It is here, at Oaklands Farm Stay, a family run Farm Stay near Van Reenen’s pass, where we spent the last four days resting, walking, breathing and being nourished during our recent Umoya Immersive Retreat. The intention of the weekend was to experience a reconnection with everything we have become untethered from by living in the city to experience an environment that is deeply supportive of the body’s self-healing intelligence.

We explored the breath and biome as a language of reconnection. Together, they form the foundation of our health and support the body’s capacity to regulate, adapt and heal.

The breath pulses through us about 22,000 times a day from the ocean of air that we share with all of life. In the same way, a free and open breath influences every system in the body. The diaphragm, our primary breathing muscle, gently massages the digestive organs with every breath, supporting circulation, digestion, lymphatic flow and nervous system regulation. Everything is connected. 

And the biome, this vast universe of bacteria, fungi and microorganisms is what connects us to the very earth that we are a part of and will return to. A balanced and healthy biome is foundational to our immunity, mental health and vitality. Around 90% of serotonin, essential for mood, emotional regulation and wellbeing, is produced in the gut and depends on the health and diversity of the biome. In turn melatonin, the hormone that regulates our sleep and recovery cycles, is produced from serotonin. Everything is connected.

Since returning from the Immersive, I’m feeling really inspired to learn even more about caring for my biome. Starting the day with a shot of Kombucha Vinegar or Beet Kvass has already made a difference to my mood, sleep quality and hormonal balance.

Breath and biome are both simple foundations of health that we have taken for granted and disregarded for so long. While we may not always have access to retreats in the mountains or long days immersed in wild places, we all have access to breath and biome, small daily acts of reconnection. When we spend a little more time tending to the ecosystems within and around us, we remember that we are an expression of nature and that the body, much like nature itself, is always moving toward balance when given the chance.