Mind Empowerment
NZ Bariatric Life Coach specialising in weight loss & weight management
Retreat
with Sonia McIndoe
Retreat for Sustainable, Embodied Change
After Weight Loss Surgery or Medication
A retreat where insight becomes integration - and change finally settles
For those who are serious about weight loss and long-term weight management, looking for the missing piece of the puzzle. Not more information that leads to more on your ‘to-do’ list.
But the space to practice, embody, and truly embed the tools, techniques, and strategies that create lasting change.
Across this immersive retreat weekend, you won’t just learn what to do - you’ll experience how it feels to live it.
Guided by three of NZ's top facilitators in this space, through a carefully designed journey aligned with your phasic day flow, we work with your body’s natural hormonal rhythms and energy cycles - timing learning, embodiment, and restoration for maximum impact.
This is where insight becomes integration. Where knowing turns into being. Where change finally settles into your nervous system - and sticks.
Maria Gorham
Sonia McIndoe
Sally Duxfield
This retreat is for you if...
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You’ve had weight loss surgery and know the physical tool worked - but the real work is now about mindset, habits, and regulation.
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You’re on a medicated weight loss journey and want to ensure your success is sustainable, embodied, and aligned - not reliant on medication alone.
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You’re focused on maintaining your progress and don’t want old patterns quietly creeping back in.
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You’re ready to stop fighting yourself and start working with your brain, body, and nervous system.
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You’re worried about success sustainability. Food noise, FOMO, emotional eating - stress, boredom, loneliness and everything in between has you reaching for food again.
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You’ve done learning before - courses, programs, coaching - but want to embed the tools so they become who you are, not something you try to remember.
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You value depth, safety, self-awareness, and personal responsibility.
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You’re ready to prioritise you - without guilt, pressure, or perfection.
This experience is about integration. Taking what you already know… and finally letting it land in your body and nervous system.
This retreat may not be the right fit if:
You’re looking for a quick fix or a rigid plan
You want someone to tell you exactly what to eat or how to exercise
You’re not ready to slow down, reflect, and engage in deeper inner work
And that’s okay - timing matters.
Let me reassure you gently... you do not need to be:
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At a specific weight
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At a specific stage post-surgery
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“Perfect” with habits
You simply need to be willing, open, and ready to show up for yourself.
Why this retreat exists
- and why it's different
If you’re here, chances are you’ve already done something brave and life-changing. You’ve invested in weight loss - through surgery, medication, or both.
You’ve learned the rules. You know what you should be doing. And yet… something still feels harder than it should. Because knowing isn’t the same as being.
Many people reach this stage and notice:
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Old habits creeping back during stress or exhaustion.
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Food noise returning when life gets busy
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An inner battle between “I know better” and “I’m automatically reaching for food almost in a robotic state”.
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Relying on willpower instead of feeling steady and regulated.
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Feeling disconnected from their body, even after doing everything “right”.
This is the part of the journey that no one prepared you for.
The physical tool helped.
The appetite changed.
But the nervous system, identity, habits, and emotional patterns are still running old programmes.
And without space to slow down, integrate, and practise differently, those old patterns don’t disappear - they simply wait and reappear.
This retreat exists because:
Lasting weight management doesn’t come from trying harder. It comes from working with your brain, hormones, and nervous system - not against them.
It comes from learning how to:
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Feel safe in your mind & body
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Feel truly comfortable in your own skin
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Regulate emotions without using food
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Make choices that feel aligned, not forced
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Live your values without burning yourself out
This retreat was created to fill the gap between intellectual understanding and lived change.
To give you the time, guidance, and support to finally let the work land.
What makes this retreat different
This is not a retreat where you leave with a notebook full of ideas…your head spinning with a ton of “should’s” - and return home wondering how to actually live them.
This retreat is designed for integration.
It’s the missing bridge between: knowing what to do and being someone who naturally does it
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You will work with your body, not against it.
Across the weekend, everything is intentionally aligned with your phasic day flow - using your natural energy and hormonal rhythms to time learning, movement, rest, and reflection.
This allows change to land more deeply and sustainably, instead of relying on motivation or willpower.
This is experiential, not informational. You won’t be overwhelmed with content.
You’ll be guided to practise, feel, embody, and integrate the tools in real time - so they settle into your nervous system and become part of how you live.
Nervous system regulation is the foundation.
Rather than pushing, fixing, or forcing change, we prioritise safety, calm, and regulation. This is where clarity returns, urges soften, and aligned choices become easier.
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Structure without pressure.
There is a gentle, supportive flow to the weekend - with guidance, choice, and spaciousness built in. You are never forced to share, perform, or push beyond what feels right for you.
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Small group, deeply held space
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This retreat is intentionally intimate. You are not lost in a crowd or rushed through an experience. You are seen, supported, and guided at a gentle pace.
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Integration across mind, body, and soul
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Mindset, neuroscience, values, movement, stillness, and reflection are woven together - not treated as separate pieces. This is whole-person work.
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This retreat isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about coming home to who you already are - regulated, resourced, and in charge. It is truly life changing - making you the driver of your destiny.
What you'll experience
- the transformation
This retreat isn’t about pushing for change. It’s about creating the internal conditions where change happens naturally.
As the weekend unfolds, something begins to soften. Your nervous system settles. Your mind quietens. Your body feels safer.
And from that place, clarity returns.
Over the weekend, you’ll experience:
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A deep sense of calm and steadiness in your body - not just while you’re here, but through practices you’ll take home and use daily.
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Less internal noise and fewer urges driven by stress, exhaustion, or emotional overload.
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Decisions that feel clear and aligned, rather than reactive or forced.
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A reconnection with your body - learning to trust your body's cues instead of overriding them.
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The relief of no longer fighting yourself to “stay on track”.
This is where weight management stops feeling like constant effort…and starts feeling supported and sustainable.
THE RETREAT FLOW
This retreat is intentionally designed to feel supportive, spacious, and grounding.
There is a clear, thoughtful flow to the weekend - but nothing is rushed, forced, or overwhelming. You are always encouraged to listen to your body and honour what feels right for you.
The retreat follows a gentle daily rhythm, aligned with your natural energy and nervous system needs.
Across the weekend, the flow includes:
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Guided mindset and integration sessions designed to help insights land deeply.
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Nervous system regulation practices woven throughout the day.
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Learning moments paired with immediate embodiment, so tools are felt, not just understood.
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Time in nature, including optional morning bush walks together.
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A fully guided yoga and embodiment session on Saturday.
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Space for reflection, journaling, rest, and quiet integration.
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Depth of self understanding that will gently shift the way you think, feel and show up for yourself.
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A gentle note on choice
There is no pressure to perform, share, or push beyond your edge. This is not about doing more - it’s about allowing the learning and the inner work to settle.
You are always welcome to:
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Step back when you need rest
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Participate fully when it feels right
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Move at your own pace
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Everything is an invitation, never a demand.
This balance of guidance, safety, and choice is what allows real transformation to take place.
Your Facilitators
This retreat is guided by three women who bring experience, integrity, and embodied wisdom.
Together, we create a deeply supportive, life-changing experience that goes far beyond inspiration - into real integration.
More about Sonia Mcindoe,
A DEEPLY EXPERIENCED FACILITATOR - WITH LIVED REALITY AT THE HEART
"Before creating my own retreats, I spent five years as a facilitator with Tailor Clinics delivering and supporting over 80 bariatric lifestyle retreats with the Foundation of Healthy Living programme.
My role went far beyond teaching content. I supported participants through:
• Self-care as a non-negotiable foundation for bariatric life
• Limiting beliefs and the inner narratives that quietly drive behaviour
• Values-led living and identity shifts
• Vulnerability, shame, and how they keep us stuck in old patterns
• Head hunger vs physical hunger - and learning to tell the difference
• Journaling and affirmations as tools for nervous system safety and self-trust
• Goal setting that supports lasting lifestyle change, not short-term fixes.
I also supported, trained and mentored other facilitators, sharing both the framework and the heart of the work - how to hold space with compassion, honesty, and safety. What mattered most, though, was my willingness to be real. I shared openly about the ups and downs of my own journey - addiction recovery, weight loss surgery, maintenance, struggle, growth, and self-repair.
Not from a place of perfection, but from lived understanding. Because people don’t need to be inspired by someone who’s “nailed it” - they need to feel seen by someone who truly gets it.
That experience shaped everything I do now. It’s why my retreats are not about pressure, performance, or pushing harder - they’re about support, embodiment, nervous system safety, and integration.
This is work I’ve lived, taught, refined, and held - for many years, and it’s an honour to now offer it in a space that reflects my own values, depth, and way of supporting you in this powerful retreat."
The details
DATES:
Friday 30 January - Sunday 1 February
Arrival from 3.00 pm Friday
Departure approximately 2.00 pm Sunday
LOCATION:
Arete Retreat in Levin is a peaceful, nature-based sanctuary designed to support rest, reflection, and nervous system regulation. Find out more about this beautiful venue at https://www.arete.nz
Accommodation
Twin share rooms
Beautiful, comfortable spaces designed for deep rest
Transfers
Transfers from Wellington or Palmerston North airports are available on request. Please contact Sonia directly to arrange.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
All retreat sessions and facilitation across the weekend
Guided mindset, nervous system, embodiment, and integration work
Morning bush walks and a fully guided yoga session
Time for rest, reflection, and integration
A small, supportive group experience
Spaces are intentionally limited to keep this experience intimate, safe, and deeply supportive.
NOURISHMENT
Throughout the retreat, you’ll be lovingly nourished with delicious, protein-based meals and boosts designed to support:
- steady energy
- blood sugar balance
Your food is thoughtfully prepared to inspire and delight, while aligning with weight loss surgery and medicated weight loss needs.
This is not about restriction or rules. It’s about experiencing how supportive nourishment actually feels - calm, satisfying, and sustaining.
You’ll leave not only feeling well-fed, but inspired with simple, realistic ideas you can take home and weave into every day.
Your dietary requirements can be accommodated - please just let Sonia know in advance.
I'm in!
Retreat fee of $2150 includes;
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All retreat sessions and facilitation across the weekend
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Guided mindset, nervous system, embodiment, and integration work
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Morning bush walks and a fully guided yoga session
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Time for rest, reflection, and integration
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A small, supportive group experience
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Nourishing food
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On site accommodation (share twin)
Previous attendees share their retreat experience:
This is what happens when learning becomes lived.
When safety replaces pressure.
When tools move from theory into your body and your everyday life.
If you’re ready to pause, reset, and reconnect - this retreat was created for you
“I can’t recommend it enough. Things landed for me differently - and it has genuinely changed my life.
We stretched ourselves financially to attend, and my husband now says it’s the best investment we’ve ever made. I’ve already put the work into practice and am seeing the benefits. I’ve lost nearly four kilos in the two weeks since coming home.
This retreat didn’t replace the work I’d already done - it brought it to life.”
Sarah Boyce
“This retreat was a lifesaver for me.
I came in living in freeze mode and left back in my conscious mind. I can now eat mindfully and notice my head hunger instead of being driven by it.
I live a very stressful, hectic life - and this retreat gave me the space to pause, reset my priorities, and focus on me. It nourished my body and gave me room to reflect and refocus.
If I can move myself out of freeze and back into conscious awareness, you will blossom too. This is an investment in yourself that truly matters.”
Debra Weeks
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“Beautifully balanced.
A combination of growth and stretch, delivered in a safe and supportive space.
This retreat helped connect the dots for me - refining and clarifying past learnings in a way that finally made sense.”
LeAnne Blakelock
“I was nervous going in, but the environment created felt genuinely safe and supportive. The space, the food, and the chance to disconnect from home life made it possible to truly focus on myself.
Sleep was a massive breakthrough for me. I hadn’t realised how much my food noise and overwhelm were being driven by exhaustion. I’m now finding it far easier to move out of freeze mode and I’m finally starting to feel safe enough to feel the feels that have been locked away for decades.
I came away with new tools, deeper understanding, and a strong desire to keep going on this journey.”
Lucy Barnett
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“One of the most life-changing experiences I’ve had.
The information was deep, but it flowed in a way that felt grounded and usable – not overwhelming.
The neuroscience, yoga, meditation, peaceful venue, and delicious food all worked together beautifully. I left with practical tools I’m already using in everyday life - even small rituals like morning hot cuppa on the deck with my husband.
If you’re wondering whether this retreat is for you - don’t hesitate. You’ll leave feeling supported, capable, and not alone.”
Amanda Nell
“This was my first retreat of this kind and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The quality of the content and facilitation was exceptional.
I realised how out of touch I’d become with my emotions after a lifetime of suppression. I now have a clear plan and feel genuinely motivated to implement it.
If you’re contemplating it - just do it. It builds powerfully on everything you’ve learned before.”
Wim Dunker
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What you'll take home - for life
A regulated nervous system toolkit - simple, powerful practices you can return to again and again
A clear understanding of how to work with your hormones and energy, rather than battling them
A crystal-clear vision of your Future Self - and the inner confidence to step into that version of you
A felt sense of empowerment and self-trust - not just thinking differently, but feeling in charge
A deep sense of connection - to yourself and to others who truly understand this journey
Tools to take home that actually change how you live
This isn’t a high that wears off when you get home.
It’s a shift in how you relate to yourself.
And that’s what makes the change last.
This is your invitation...
If something in you has been quietly nodding while reading this…If you’re tired of holding it all together, pushing through, or trying to “manage” life on willpower alone…
If you know the tools intellectually, but you’re craving the space to actually live them…
This retreat is your pause point.
Not to fix yourself.
Not to try harder.
But to come back into your body, your clarity, and your conscious mind - in a way that feels safe, supported, and deeply nourishing.
Across the weekend, you’ll be guided through learning, embodiment, rest, and reflection - aligned with your natural energy rhythms - so the changes don’t just make sense… they stick.
You’ll be nourished with beautiful protein-rich meals.
You’ll be held in a gentle, non-judgemental space.
You’ll leave with tools you trust yourself to use - because you’ve already practiced them.
No pressure.
No hustle.
Just a powerful reset that meets you exactly where you are.
If now feels like the right time to invest in you, I would love to welcome you.
Please register here.