Here’s what it’s really like to rest and reset at SOMA
Take a peek inside the luxury Byron Bay retreat
You’ve seen it on the TV screen, in magazines and social media – a luxurious, modern sanctuary set in the lush subtropical hinterland of Byron Bay.
That stunning infinity pool overlooking rolling hills is pinned to a thousand vision boards; celebrities gush about the beauty, elegance and deeply restful atmosphere of the minimalist styling.
But what is it really like to stay, recharge and reset at SOMA?
Your chance to find out is here.
We’re hosting our next retreat, RESET YOU at this beautiful sanctuary in October, where a small group of guests will come together to deeply restore, nourish and relax. The big shift we’re adding is that instead of guests longing to run back to the retreat within weeks of returning home, our experience offers a new approach to work and life that will sustain your recharging practices. At RESET YOU, you’ll have an immersive experience where you can practise your new rhythm in a setting designed for clarity and consciousness.
How do we know what this picture postcard location looks and feels like? In March, we (selflessly!) put SOMA to the test, hosting a foundher team retreat, followed by Elana hosting and facilitating a business planning offsite over two days and nights for a strategic advisory client at this breathtaking location.
Only, this wasn’t your typical team gathering and client workshop, as our days at SOMA just happened to coincide with a once-in-500-year flood event. Safe to say, everyone who arrived at SOMA that week (16 people) was carrying more than their usual load of stress and tension in navigating the next chapter of VUCA.
The great escape
With the team excited to meet for the first time in two years – and in some cases, the first time ever – we knew being at SOMA would be a wonderful experience. What we didn’t know was just how powerful it would be until all five of us arrived on the Sunday afternoon.
Each one of us had been affected in some way by the floods that had hit the east coast of Australia, from south-east Queensland to the Northern Rivers region. Miraculously, we were all still able to attend.
Mentally exhausted, physically tired, muddy and frazzled, we gathered in the light and airy entrance, and felt the weight of the past week begin to melt.
Held lightly within this space, which is designed to be in constant conversation with nature thanks to its huge floor-to-ceiling windows, we could breathe. The gentle palette of polished concrete and honeyed timber, accented with the raw beauty of crystals and handmade rugs, offers a kind of sensory oasis. It signals rest to burnt-out minds, a whisper that here, you can simply be.
“Arriving at SOMA felt like I had stepped into a completely different world,” shares Cass, foundher’s community lead. “The moment I stepped out of the car and inside the SOMA main building, I felt the tension flowing out of my body. I had been volunteering with flood clean-up in Lismore that whole day, and SOMA provided the much needed shift into a happier mindset.”
SOMA is designed to feel like a home, not a hotel, inviting you to exist comfortably in your own skin, and it’s incredibly effective. By the evening of our first night, we were padding around barefoot, casually preparing a simple meal in the large, shared kitchen and eating (and bonding) together at the communal dining table.
Upstairs, in our huge suites with expansive views of the rainforest and rolling hills, we were able to truly unwind. For most of us, the week up to this event had involved a high level of disruption and distress, so being able to let it go within this quiet space was invaluable. And, not surprisingly, the rooms’ indulgent rain shower head and king-size bed with natural linen sheets made an effective dream team for our weary bodies.
Rhythm and flow
If you’ve heard about SOMA, you’ve no doubt seen the retreat’s centrepiece, an incredible transparent yoga dome surrounded by a thicket of bamboo.
We were keen to make the most of this space, so we agreed to meet at 6.30am for a morning ritual of meditation and gentle movement led by Elana.
Soft rain tapped out a steady rhythm on the leaves as we walked the short path through the forest to the dome. Inside, we gathered in a semi-circle around Elana, whose voice seemed to magically whisper into our ears thanks to the dome’s natural acoustics.
As we stretched, the sun burst through the clouds, sending filtered light through the dome to welcome us into the day.
After such a special start, it’s hardly surprising that when we gathered in the living area to brainstorm a strategic path for the next 90 days of foundher, ideas bubbled easily to the surface. In this space, with a serene view of the pool and the grassy meadows beyond, our minds had a clear runway for big-picture thinking.
“I found that my creativeness during our marketing brainstorming was at its best! Once I got into the flow of the work, the ideas just kept coming,” Cass shares.
We had a loose structure for this day, allowing us to take a dip in the freshwater pool during a mid-morning break, and a tour of the property, with its Zen garden, lotus pond and hanging chairs under ancient fig trees, in the afternoon. Intentionally bringing our pace down to slow and responding to what we felt mind and body needed was the reset we were all craving.
“Not only did I feel relaxed physically, the SOMA experience quickly brought me back to my being mode,” says Penny, foundher’s copywriter. “During my stay another client contacted me with an urgent request, and rather than react and regret, I was able to notice how I felt and respond thoughtfully to suggest an alternative outcome that would help my client without draining my resources. It was a small but important shift that I attribute directly to the sense of grounded calm I was able to embrace at SOMA.”
Clear vision
The next morning brought a change of guests and rhythm. As team foundher departed, feeling rested and recharged, our wonderful client, including the company directors, group CEO and executive team, arrived for a two-day offsite workshop led by Elana.
This offsite’s objectives were focused on communicating, refining and challenging the business’s next three-year strategy. Our partnership focused on this incredibly forward-thinking client’s ability to feel challenged and stretched in their thinking. The environment invited possibility beyond the known zone, and gave them deep nourishment and restoration. These were the skills and abilities needed to step into activating the strategy upon their return.
Our local partner Burbury Whole Foods was still able to provide an incredible catering experience for our guests. They pivoted their menu seamlessly in response to the limited range of local produce available and provided delicious, farm-fresh and nourishing meals across the two days. Burbury’s mission is to share the potential of plant-based food with others, and their menu of vibrant dishes was a highlight.
Like the foundher team before them, this leadership team found that the incredible setting of SOMA supported them in doing their best work and finding a clear vision for the future.
“The relaxing and calm vibe of the environment made it really easy to step away from the day-to-day operational brain and really focus on the strategic objectives of the session,” explained Allie, the client’s head of people and purpose.
“SOMA was the perfect venue. Connected with nature, relaxing and inspiring,” added Sean, head of product and partnerships.
Elana’s influence brought it all together, steering the leadership team towards a collective pathway forward.
“Elana was amazing in guiding the conversation, keeping us on track and elevated as well as ensuring we had time out to gather our thoughts and reflect,” said Allie.
“foundher, well run! The combination of guidance, the elevation of thought and the outstanding venue made foundher invaluable to the success of the offsite.”
The SOMA offsite left them feeling focused and on track. As one of the directors put it, they were able to leave with “a sense of urgency, but focused and purposeful, not panicky.”
“Honestly,” Elana says, “nothing makes you feel more grateful and energised when you’re supporting big work than feedback like this from our brilliant clients.”
The harmony of being and doing
These results reveal our deep purpose and passion for why we are holding RESET YOU at SOMA.
In this restful space, where consideration for who you’re being is at the heart of the interior design, you are supported to be your best self and create change from that place.
Imagine how powerful that could be for you. How would you feel with a process for creating a new rhythm and embedding it into your daily routine? What would you be able to put down at the front door as you enter into this space for four nights?
If you want to create a real shift this year and discover what being and doing in a consciously designed, supportive space can unlock for you, reserve your room at SOMA for our RESET YOU retreat.