A healing journey, one sense at a time
Small group · 8–12 guests
Zìzài is the state of being entirely at ease. This journey moves toward it the simplest way we know: through the body, one sense at a time, until all five are awake at once.
Arrive in Dali and settle into the courtyard house. At dusk, a welcome tea in the courtyard and a first slow dinner at the long table. An early night.
Movement · none today, simply arriveA day in the food forest, where everything is grown organically and picked when it is ready, not before. Harvest what the season offers, cook it together, and eat it slowly enough to notice: food this alive tastes different. The afternoon stays in the garden, hands in the soil, planting something that will outlast the week.
Movement · qigong at dawn, tea by the fireA temple morning, sitting with the monastics before the gates open, then walking meditation through the pines and a vegetarian lunch within the temple walls. The heart of the day comes at dusk: a singing bowl healing session, lying down as the long resonance moves through the body, doing what words cannot.
Movement · yoga at dawn, walking meditationUp the Cangshan range for the sea of clouds and the long view over Erhai Lake. Walk the high path or take the gentler valley trail; both end at the same tea flask. Golden hour by the water asks nothing of you but your eyes.
Movement · qigong at dawn, mountain walkingA gentle day given to traditional Chinese medicine: a one-to-one consultation, acupressure or tuina massage if you wish, and an unhurried afternoon. After dark, the hot springs in the next valley, where the day dissolves in warm water.
Movement · yoga at dawn, a restorative eveningA morning walk among the aromatic plants of the Cangshan foothills, gathering what the mountain offers. The afternoon is given to aromatherapy: essential oils and old blends, learning how scent reaches the parts of us that thinking cannot. In the evening, the farewell feast, cooked together and shared at one long table.
Movement · qigong at dawn, tea by the fireA day of silence, should you choose it, and most do. No plan, no phone, all five senses awake. This is the day the whole week has been walking toward: 自在, zìzài, entirely at ease in your own company. We gather again at dusk, around the fire, for the closing pot and whatever anyone wishes to say.
Movement · yoga at dawn, silent sittingA sunrise sit for those who wake for it, then breakfast, a closing circle and one last pot for the road. Transfers to the airport or the high-speed rail station, whenever your flight calls.
Movement · an optional sunrise sitVisas. China is visa-free for citizens of more than forty countries, including most of the EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. We confirm your passport's eligibility before you pay anything.
Fitness. If you can walk for two hours at an easy pace, every day of this programme is open to you. Mountain days always have a gentler alternative.
Phones. They work here, and we set you up with an eSIM and VPN before you fly. The quiet day is the only time we will gently dare you to leave yours in the room.
This programme is our design as of today, and may be refined as we confirm partners on the ground. What will not change: the pace, the group size, and the five senses.
Dates, pricing and the full itinerary are shared with our list first.
Thank you. We will write to you soon.