FAQ for retreat guests

The Krishna Village is an eco yoga community and retreat centre with a vibrant and diverse community of travellers, locals and residents of all ages, who come looking for an inspiring yogic experience on a working organic farm within an established spiritual community. At any given time, we host about 50-100 visitors from all over the world: Retreat guests who take a week out of their busy lives to relax, do some yoga and gain a fresh perspective on life; Yoga Teacher Trainees on their path to becoming fully fledged teachers; participants of a whole array of trainings and courses; and a big bunch of Karma Yogis and full time volunteers – mostly backpackers who help us run the Krishna Village and our big organic gardens so we can share this wonderful space with you at really affordable rates.

So if you seek the absolute quiet and seclusion of a strict ashram environment, you might find Krishna Village to be too busy and lively for your taste. Same if you are expecting the same level of perfection that an expensive resort will be able deliver. Our luxury is of a more transcendental nature, and what some people find 'too busy' is the very reason why others are coming and loving it: a genuine, open-minded community experience and the inspiring immersion in the Culture of Bhakti Yoga.

This will be your place if you are coming to experience yoga as a sustainable lifestyle and meet a variety of fascinating people along the way. If you are willing to share your journey and get curious. If you want to fall in love with the beautiful landscape and cuddle a cow. If you enjoy vegetarian food. If you are keen to join a variety of yoga classes, taught by experienced teacher trainers, travelling yogis and yoga teacher trainees under supervision. If you aren't scared to have chat with the devotees at the Hare Krishna temple up the hill, the single mum in the room next door or the Brazilian backpacker who is building a new pizza oven in the community kitchen. If hearing volunteers from 12 different countries and 4 continents teach each other funny songs while harvesting tomatoes and weeding the gardens brings a smile to your face. If you love seeing things growing, evolving and changing, vibrantly alive and perfectly imperfect. That's our kind of abundance, the inspiring journey we'd like to share with you ... 

There are a minimum of two yoga classes offered daily. The classes are mostly Vinyasa or Restorative style, either facilitated by our head teachers, or by our yoga teacher trainees under the supervision of their trainers. Either way, they are viable for beginners, with options given for more experienced participants.

We also run Yogic Living classes after lunch, with various topics that can range from philosophy and guided meditation to Ayurveda, nutrition, and more. These classes normally start with a 30 minute Kirtan (singing meditation with a variety of mantras), followed by a 1hr class by one of our Krishna Village teachers.

In addition, if you are interested in learning more about the Hare Krishna philosophy and spiritual path of Bhakti Yoga, you are welcome to attend the daily program at the Radha Govardhanadhari temple, 500m uphill from the Krishna Village.

For details, please scroll down to see an example schedule.

The Krishna Village has a core group of resident teachers and a whole bunch of friends and graduates who come along as guest teachers. They share their knowledge on special events, or fill in when the regular crew is on their well deserved holidays or adding to their skill set. During our Yoga Teacher Trainings, our trainees also teach a variety of classes under the supervision of their trainers. Below are those faces you are most likely to see on a regular basis:

Lila Kirtana is an internationally experienced Hatha and Vinyasa yoga teacher with over a decade of teaching experience. She is a committed bhakti yogini with a love of sharing the joy of yoga with the world. Lila is our head teacher and leads the yoga teacher training supported by a team of yoga teachers. Lila is also a talented Kirtan singer and performs regularly around the Tweed and Byron Shire.

Michael 'Laxmivan' began his yoga journey at the age of 20 when he left his profession as a studio musician and joined a bhakti Yoga Monastery. For the next 10 years he travelled Australia, New Zealand and India as a celibate monk, daily studying the traditional yogic canons and engaging in strict daily yogic sadhana. As a yoga teacher trainer, Michael brings with him great integrity and depth, forged by more than 31 years of strict, yet joyful daily practice. His teaching is full of compassion, humour and authenticity, with a deep respect for tradition, but without being over zealous.

Children are very welcome at Krishna Village and they usually love the farm, the cows and calves, and all the friendly people around here.

However, to guarantee a smooth stay for everyone involved (you as the parents, your kids, the other guests and our team), please make sure to adhere to the following rules:

(a) Your kids need to be supervised at all times by a parent or qualified carer. Asking a friendly volunteer or fellow retreat guest to watch them while you go to yoga does not qualify here, as this is a legal matter of child protection, which can solely lie in your own hands. If you have difficulties in that regard, e.g. because you have unexpectedly fallen sick, please speak to reception and see if they are able to help.

(b) Please do not bring under 12-year olds to yoga classes and workshops, so as to not distract your fellow guests. A 5yo running around a yoga class giggling while your fellow guests are trying to focus, or an 8yo playing on their iPad in a corner and then walking over to ask you a question before walking out ... are all unacceptable in the context of a yoga retreat centre. If you would like to attend classes, bring another grownup who can watch your children while you attend the Krishna Village program. Over 12yo's are very welcome to attend classes if they are committed to staying for the whole experience - we are thrilled to introduce them to the world of yoga.

The Krishna Village advocates the notion of ahimsa (non violence) as one of the key aspects of yogic living, seeing animals as beings with souls just like humans. Meat, fish and eggs are therefore not allowed onto the grounds of the Krishna Farm, whether at Krishna Village itself or around the ashram. We will, however, provide you with 3 delicious vegetarian meals per day to support your healthy yogic lifestyle. It is your choice what you choose to eat outside of the retreat centre, however many of our guests adopt vegetarianism as they progress in their commitment to yoga and begin to shift their awareness about their interconnectedness with the world.

We follow a vegetarian diet that draws on multiple cuisines from all around the world, often with an Indian-style fusion. As our retreat centre is catering for 100+ people most meals, we are unable to make individual adjustments. However, we do our best to always offer a variety of options. People with nut allergies are advised to self-cater.

Breakfasts are an offering of porridge, kitchari [a dahl and rice stew with veggies], bread and butter, and fruit salad. Occasionally they have pancakes, and warm drinks like sweet chai. Most of the breakfast dishes are vegan.

Lunch has a lot more raw food, and is all vegan and mostly gluten-free or will have a gluten-free substitute. We have different types of salads, coleslaw, and some vegie/lentil soup or stir-fries, and always smoothies and teas. In previous courses those people who were not able to eat very much raw food would bring their own container to take some kitchari at breakfast, or would cook their own lunch at the camp kitchen.

Dinner is usually Indian-style, and almost always consists of rice, dahl, veg curries, fried bread, salad and desserts like halava [semolina], sweet rice, and sometimes cake. Quite often the curries have home-made paneer cheese, and may use sugar [mostly in the desserts].

Every 12 days we abstain from eating grains for an entire day [a special day called 'Ekadasi'], but otherwise we eat a very grain-based diet with lots of lentils, chickpeas, oats and rice.

Self-catering is possible if required - in our community kitchen is a large fridge where you can store food items, and cupboard space for dry goods. Best, bring a sturdy plastic box to store personal items. Definitely bring some snacks, coffee & teas, and perhaps some cereal or breakfast things if you do not want to eat a cooked breakfast every day.

Our lovely kitchen team also stocks some absolutely fabulous snacks and sweets at the reception fridge, so swing by if you need a treat!

Sure! That's how many of our guests feel – and we don't have any expectations in that regard. The purpose of Krishna Village is to provide a space where you can explore the yogic path and your own spirituality in a friendly, encouraging and open minded environment.

The Krishna Farm as a whole belongs to ISKCON, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness - a non-for-profit organisation that has the purpose of living and teaching Bhakti Yoga, a spiritual path of seeking union with the Divine through loving devotional service to the Divine and our fellow living beings. So the original purpose of the farm is to be a temple community. Hence, devotees going about their daily prayers will be a familiar sight when you come to the Prasadam hall (the dining area) near the temple for your breakfasts and dinners. You might hear them sing Grace before eating, but it's completely up to you whether you'd like to join in or not. The only request we have of you is to follow our basic rules (e.g. vegetarian diet and no intoxication) and to dress modestly when coming to the Prasadam hall to eat, as it is part of the temple compound. For details, please have a look at our Code of Conduct.

The Krishna Village started off in 2011 as a volunteer project to help maintain the large organic gardens and grow veggies for the community. It is located  about 500m from the temple area, on the same property. In 2013/14 we started to develop it into a retreat centre, which now has a big yoga hall, several massage rooms, a reading room, community area with pizza oven and camp fire, and offers a variety of daily yoga classes and talks. We usually host about 50-100 retreat guests, yoga teacher trainees, other course participants and volunteers and any given point in time. Within this beautiful setting, we are aiming to allow our guests to dip their little toe into our culture and experience a blue print of what life could look like if you lived it by spiritual principles. You can participate in a variety of elements (vegetarian diet, yoga, kirtan, japan bead meditation,...) and pick and choose which of those might have some relevance for your own life.

At the Krishna Village, we teach a lifestyle that's in alignment with our philosophy, but purposefully leave it up to each guest to choose whether or not to participate. Our practice of kirtan (mantra singing) is a daily habit - for a few minutes after the morning yoga and for 30 mins before our Yogic Living classes (a variety of beautiful mantras and bhajans in Sanskrit and English). If you are keen to delve deeper into the devotional side of things, you are most welcome to ask our reception team, and of course visit the temple. We will be happy to show you around and answer your questions. 

On Mondays at 11am we run a Weekly Welcome Tour for all new guests to introduce the farm, the history and our offers in much more detail, and answer any questions you might have.

The Krishna Farm simultaneously functions as a pure ashram environment for devotees and a retreat centre for visiting guests and volunteers. Many of our guests come for the purpose of giving up unhealthy habits like cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. Seeing a packet of cigarettes or smelling alcohol breath makes it harder for them to let go and simultaneously undermines the atmosphere of purity, health and spirituality. Therefore you should only come if you are happy to completely abstain from intoxication on and off the property during your stay.

Please note that in this regard we have a zero tolerance policy in order to keep things fair and unmistakable. If people are going out on weekends to drink or get intoxicated that’s completely fine and none of our business, but in that case they cannot continue their stay with us.

The lunches we serve at the Krishna Village community kitchen (Sun-Fri, 12:30pm) are mostly raw and cater for vegan as well as gluten-intolerant guests. There are also nut free options available every day.

The daily breakfasts and dinners, as well as Saturday lunches, are served at the prasadam hall near the temple and usually consist of a variety of traditional Indian style vegetarian dishes. Meals usually include vegan options, but we can’t make any guarantees, as the Indian kitchen can include ghee (cleared butter).

So if you have severe food intolerances or strict dietary needs, please let us know about them upfront and – if required – bring your own food in addition to what’s provided. The Krishna Village community kitchen is equipped with fridges, a stove, a pizza oven and plenty of pots and pans, so you can self-cater if required.

To get to Murwillumbah from the Gold Coast or Byron Bay, please have a look at our “How to get here" page – there are regular bus connections to & from all major towns/cities in the area.

If you need transport, please call reception on 0457 429 900 several days in advance to get help with your travel arrangements.

Just a couple of things might prove handy:

• Sunscreen and a hat

• A water bottle to keep yourself hydrated

• A torch to walk around safely at night

• Snacks / chocolates / tea or whatever else you need. Murwillumbah, the closest town, is about a 10mins drive away, so it’s handy to have the most important things with you. We are selling yummy vegan treats at reception though...

• Laundry powder – we also sell individual wash packets for $1

• If you are camping, a warm sleeping bag – we are in the subtropics, but nights can still get chilly. And a tarp to cover your tent would be a good idea. When it rains, it can get heavy, and a bit of extra protection can make a big difference!!

Your Krishna Village retreat is meant to give you just the right balance of classes and down time. Make sure to explore the beautiful surrounds, head to massage rocks or the beach for a swim, visit Tyalgum and Uki, cycle the Northern Rivers RailTrail, or read a book in a hammock. All classes are optional, so you can pick and choose whatever suits you and gives you the experience you desire.

At the Krishna Village we offer a range of accommodation options spread out over the property of ‘New Govardhana’, from creatively renovated container rooms in the village proper to private pine cabins set in the hills overlooking the valley. Please have a look at our Accommodation Options page to get all the information you need.

Most activities and items are covered with your retreat fee: accommodation, food, and access to the classes. But a few extras can arise:

Additional food: We offer freshly made treats and snacks at the Jagannath Cafe, and for those, we charge separately

Washing machine & dryer

Gift shop: We sell a range of beautiful jewellery, yoga apparel, clothes, essential oils and books