Raga Retreat Australia 2027

Imagine beginning the year with your voice open, your mind quiet and your intentions carried on sound. Raga Retreat Australia 2027 is a yoga retreat in the Byron Bay Hinterland, NSW, where Indian classical raga, Nāda Yoga, meditation and the subtropical landscape of the Northern Rivers come together over five nights and six days.

Led by Shivam Rath, a Byron Bay-based slide guitarist, composer and retreat facilitator, this is the third annual Australian Raga Retreat. It treats raga not as performance but as a living practice of listening. At its heart is the Soundkalpa, an intention set and cultivated through sound, voice and vibration, so that what you hope for in the year ahead is heard, felt and woven into the way you live. The retreat takes place on Bundjalung Country, and it falls over the Australia Day long weekend.

If you love yoga, music, nature, kirtan, chanting or simply the experience of beautiful sound, this retreat is designed to meet you where you are. No previous Indian classical music experience is required.

What to Expect

Raga is built on nature, the seasons and times of day and night. Learning it asks you to bring head and heart into alignment, so that the mood and devotional feeling of each raga can be conjured. Through call-and-response, guided improvisation and vocal exploration, you gradually learn to recognise and sing within these melodic frameworks.

The program weaves together:

- Daily Indian raga and rhythm workshops
- Voice, mantra and group singing
- Yoga, meditation and Nāda Yoga
- Nāda Nidrā, which is Yoga Nidra accompanied by live music
- Soundkalpa, intention through sound
- Tea ceremony, ecstatic dance and movement
- Fire ceremony and evening music
- Forest walks and swimming holes
- Guest teachers and musicians
- Optional instrument exploration and private sessions

Meals are nourishing vegetarian and plant-based, and there is time built in for rest, nature, practice and connection. The retreat is an intimate conscious community, hosted by Shivam Rath and Allana Beltran, with special guest facilitators and health practitioners to be announced.

About Shivam Rath

Shivam Rath is a Byron Bay-based slide guitarist, composer, producer, music teacher and retreat facilitator. A second-generation Indian-Australian musician, he integrates traditional raga training with yogic philosophy and meditative practice, treating music as both artistic expression and transformative sound practice. He is also a yoga teacher, trained in both Indian classical and Western yoga lineages.

His main instrument is the 22-string Indian slide guitar, which he performs as the Crystal Slide (also called the Chaturangi). He describes it as a combination of the sitar and the Hawaiian slide guitar, shaped by the Indian classical system, with sympathetic strings that resonate with the scale or mode being played.

Venue & Logistics

The retreat will be hosted at one of two Northern Rivers venues, about 30 minutes apart, with the final choice confirmed as bookings develop, depending on participant numbers, accommodation preferences and availability.

- Alcheringa Dreamtime Land, Upper Main Arm: a simpler, off-grid experience with camping and rustic accommodation, bordering Mt Jerusalem National Park, with sunrise views towards the ocean.
- Ecoasis Mami Wata, Uki: a higher-comfort experience with private or shared studios, the Rainforest Pavilion and the Temple Garden Tea House, and sunset views towards Wollumbin.

When booking, let the organiser know whether you prefer a private or shared studio, or camping and your own accommodation, so the configuration can be shaped around the group.