For the seeker
who knows
longs to walk
the path of freedom
Shamanic
Medicine
Retreat
March 12 -15, 2027 · Blue Mountains
A 4-day immersion into breath, body, ceremony and the unconscious. For those ready to move beyond understanding their patterns and experience something deeper.
a mindful application process to align the right container of people
AS FEATURED IN
Most patterns
did not
begin with you.
You inherit more than your eye color, your mannerisms and your family name.
You inherit ways of surviving.
Ways of loving.
Ways of withholding.
Ways of staying small.
Ways of keeping the peace.
Ways of carrying responsibility that was never truly yours.
What if healing isn’t only about changing your life, but changing what continues through your lineage?
The child who learns not to create trouble may become the adult who cannot say no.
The family that survived through emotional silence may produce generations who struggle to express what they feel.
A lineage shaped by scarcity may continue to brace for loss, even when there is finally enough.
You are born
into stories
already in motion.
Before you ever make a conscious choice about who you want to be, you enter a family system with its own history.
But what helped one generation survive can become the very pattern that limits the next.
And because these patterns are often learned before you can name them, they can feel less like something you are doing and more like simply who you are.
Ancestral work is not about rejecting where you came from.
It is about meeting your lineage with enough awareness that you can honour what gave you life without unconsciously repeating everything that came with it.
You cannot change
what you are
unwilling to meet.
You may already understand your family story.
You may know where certain patterns came from.
You may recognize the roles you learned to play, the emotions you learned to suppress, or the ways you adapted in order to belong.
But understanding something intellectually does not always change how it plays out in your life.
This retreat gives you a different way in.
Through breathwork, somatic practice, shamanic journeying, ceremony, energy medicine, movement and time in nature, you are invited to meet these patterns beyond the level of analysis.
You begin to notice what happens when you stop asking only:
“Why am I like this?”
and begin asking:
“What if I no longer had to carry this in the same way?”
Johnson Chong
Bestselling author of Sage Sapien: From Karma to Dharma, creator of the deck SAGE Oracle: A Mythic Journey through the Medicine Wheel, TEDx speaker, shaman, and founder of SAGE Journey. For over a decade I’ve guided individuals through breathwork, coaching, and shamanic healing at organizations like Unilever, Facebook, and Nike.
I’m initiated as a paqo shaman of the Andean Q’ero priests and a Four Winds Energy Medicine Health Coach. But more than any credential — I’ve walked this path myself.
That knowing is what I spent years translating into a structured process that reaches where nothing else has. I call it The SAGE Journey™.
But What Exactly Is
The SAGE Journey™?
A structured path of transformation that moves through four stages — in the body, the emotions, the mind, and the spirit — so that change is not just experienced, but fully embodied. Each stage has its own medicine. Each one builds on the last.
Serpent
The body has been holding what the mind has been explaining. Stored tension, inherited patterns, the weight of an identity built for survival. Before anything else can shift, these need to be released — not processed. Released. The Serpent teaches you to shed what was never yours to carry.
Puma
Once the body begins to release, the emotional landscape opens. Old responses surface. Patterns in how you receive, protect, and connect — become visible in new ways. The Puma teaches you to respond rather than react.
Hummingbird
With the body released and the emotional field settling, the mind becomes available for something it couldn't access before — genuine reorientation. The Hummingbird stage is where identity shifts not through willpower, but through clarity.
Condor
The final stage is the one that anchors everything else. Something underneath all of it becomes accessible — a deeper sense of self that exists prior to the patterns, prior to the conditioning, prior to the identity built for survival.
A heart to heart conversation about whether this is a right fit for you.
Four days.
One unfolding journey.
Each day builds upon the last, giving you the space to arrive, open, go deeper and integrate what you discover.
ARRIVE
You arrive in the valley, meet the group and create your intention for the days ahead.
Through breath, music and expanded awareness, you begin moving beneath the thinking mind and opening to what is ready to be seen.
OPEN
You begin exploring the patterns, emotions and inherited ways of being that may be shaping your life beneath the surface.
The afternoon workshop gives you space to work with what has emerged and begin connecting your experience to the deeper story underneath it.
DEEPEN
You are given an entire day to go deeper.
Without needing to rush back into ordinary life, you have the time and space to stay with what is unfolding — allowing another layer of your experience to reveal itself.
INTEGRATE
You return to the body through movement and begin grounding what you have experienced.
Together, you reflect on what has shifted, what you are taking with you, and how you want to relate differently to the patterns you recognised.
Phil Barlow
Live Musical Alchemist
Phil has a soulful voice that empowers and inspires. He is a dynamic artist known for his versatile performances. Blending heartfelt healing songs with earthy blues rock, he captivates audiences at both intimate gatherings and festivals. A passionate advocate for wellness, Phil also uses his music as a powerful tool for self-discovery and transformation. He is a firm believer that music can be a pathway to healing. As such, he shares deeply healing songs, music meditations and transformative poetry on his app ‘Peace Mind Music.’
You can find his 4 albums in all major streaming platforms. True Evolution (2019), Break Free (Fire, 2022), Break Free (Heart, 2022), Golden River (2024).
Eugenia Ali
Assistant facilitator,
Psychotherapy, Shamanic Mentorship
Eugenia is an integrative therapist, healer, and facilitator whose work bridges psychology, neuroscience, and shamanic wisdom. Through the synthesis of somatic therapy and shamanic breathwork, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, and energy medicine, her sessions are designed to help people release emotional blockages, reconnect with their bodies, and cultivate clarity, resilience, and self-compassion.
She has completed Johnson’s Level 1 Facilitator Training Program and is currently apprenticing with him in Shamanic Energy Medicine and Somatic Healing studies, where she continues to refine her ability to integrate modern therapeutic practices with ancient wisdom traditions.
Eugenia’s approach honors both science and soul—inviting clients to transform pain into purpose and to live from a grounded, heart-centered awareness.
She is based in Sydney, Australia, and works with clients both in person and online.
Jonathan Symonds
Chef, Counsellor, Shamanic Mentorship
Jonathan is a counsellor, coach, and energy medicine practitioner who bridges modern psychology with ancient wisdom traditions. Drawing from talk therapy, mindfulness, meditation, somatic therapy, and Reiki, he supports clients in transforming emotional and energetic blockages into deeper self-awareness and purpose. His work is grounded in the belief that healing is not about fixing, but remembering — uncovering the wisdom, resilience, and clarity that already reside within.
Jonathan is currently undergoing Johnson’s Level 1 Facilitator Training Program and is also furthering his studies through apprenticing in Shamanic Energy Medicine and Somatic Healing work. He continues to refine his East-meets-West approach, integrating counselling and energy work to help clients reconnect with their inner guidance and live more consciously aligned lives.
He is based in Sydney, Australia, and offers sessions both in person and online.
Step out of your everyday world
and immerse yourself amongst ancient mountains.
12 participants.
4 days.
One powerful container for deep ancestral healing.
Everything is designed to create the time, space and support to step outside familiar patterns, work deeply with inherited ways of being, and integrate what emerges.
Inside the Retreat
2 Shamanic Medicine Ceremonies
Two distinct ceremonial journeys allow the work to unfold progressively across the retreat, creating space to meet deeper emotional, energetic and ancestral material.
Shamanic Breathwork Journey
Breath, music and expanded awareness create a pathway beneath the thinking mind, opening space for what the body and inner world are ready to reveal.
Healing Workshop
An exploration of the emotional, relational and intergenerational patterns that may be shaping the way life, relationships and experiences are approached.
Fire Ceremony
A ritual space for acknowledging what is ready to be released, honouring what has brought the journey to this point, and consciously choosing what will be carried forward.
Yoga + Embodied Practice
Grounding movement and breath support the return to the body, helping the retreat experience settle and integrate throughout the four days.
Also Included
8 Module Shamanic Journey for Mental & Emotional Freedom
Online course access is provided before the retreat to prepare the mind, body and spirit for the journey ahead.
Complete the modules at an individual pace before arrival, with lifetime access to the course included.
All Gluten Free Vegetarian Meals
Nourishing vegetarian meals are provided throughout the stay, creating space to focus on the retreat experience, rest and integration.
100 Acres of Private Bushland
Surrounded by 100 acres of private bushland, with space to walk, breathe, reflect and reconnect with the natural landscape between sessions.
Hot Tub
Sink into the warmth of the outdoor hot tub, breathe in the crisp mountain air, and let the body unwind between sessions.
Pre Retreat Group Zoom
A group Zoom before arrival provides practical guidance, preparation for the experience, and an opportunity to begin connecting with the retreat group.
Post Retreat Integration Call
A group integration call after returning home creates space to reconnect, reflect on what has continued to unfold, and explore how the experience can be carried into everyday life.
Travel to and from the Retreat Centre
You are responsible for your own transport to and from the centre. A WhatsApp group will be created to help coordinate carpooling between participants.
Accommodation
Choose the level of privacy and comfort that feels right for your stay. Every option includes the complete retreat experience and all meals.
Dorm Share
- 4 single beds in the retreat house
- Ensuite bathroom
- All ceremonies & workshops
- All meals & accommodations
Twin Share
- 2 single beds in the retreat house
- Ensuite bathroom
- All ceremonies & workshops
- All meals & accommodations
Private Room
- 1 King Bed
- Ensuite bathroom
- All ceremonies & workshops
- All meals & accommodations
Camping or
Blow Up Bed
A more accessible accommodation option for those who would like to experience the full retreat while keeping the investment lower.
- Bring your own camping setup or blow up bed
- Stay in the living room or camp on the property
- Access to shared bathroom and house amenities
- All ceremonies & workshops
- All meals & accommodations
100 Acres of Ancient Mountain Bushland
Set within 100 acres of private bushland in the Blue Mountains.
Space to breathe, walk, reflect and reconnect with the land.
Nourishing Meals
Wholesome gluten free vegetarian meals are prepared throughout the retreat.
Simple, grounding food to support the deeper work.
Urban Reset
Four days away from the noise, pace and demands of the city.
A chance to slow down, reset your nervous system and return to yourself.
This Retreat May Be
For You If...
- You've already done significant inner work — but something you understand intellectually still hasn't fully shifted in how you feel, respond or live
- You're ready to move beyond insight into embodied change
- You're open to deep ceremonial, somatic and emotional work
- You feel something calling you toward this journey — even if you can't fully explain why
This Is Not the Right
Container If...
- You're looking primarily for a wellness vacation or spiritual tourism experience
- You want to keep the work purely intellectual or conceptual
- You're unwilling to meet discomfort, uncertainty or whatever may arise with honesty and support
- You have medical, psychiatric or medication-related contraindications that make ceremonial medicine inappropriate for you
What Past Participants Have Said
What Past Participants Have Said
WATCH TESTIMONIAL
My heart, mind and soul are full. My takeaways have been how ritual and movement is. I have absolutely loved the community. It's been really life changing, and it's only been 4 days.
WATCH TESTIMONIAL
I wasn't really sure what to expect. It's been a life changing experience. The breathwork opened up parts of my mind that I haven't used ever, and I would have probably never been able to access without this experience.
WATCH TESTIMONIAL
It was so well organized, considered and beautiful. What I'm going to take away from this is some tangible to dos that I can translate into my everyday life.
WATCH TESTIMONIAL
The most impactful perspective was the breathwork. I honestly wasn't expecting too much from it, but I was surprised to see the impact it had on the way I can reflect about my life.
WATCH TESTIMONIAL
I was really blown away. Johnson managed to tune into the deepest core secrets of my soul. It was a deep healing journey.
WATCH TESTIMONIAL
I found the spiritual journey really enlightening. I've learned deep things about myself, and it's just been really amazing.
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