There are seasons when the world itself seems to pause. The light shifts. The air cools. Something in us recognizes the invitation to turn inward. This November, Sen Wellness Sanctuary welcomes that sacred turning.
The Autumn Sunshine Retreat runs from November 7th to 16th, spanning ten days and nine nights within the protected embrace of Rekawa Nature Reserve in Tangalle, Sri Lanka. This is not a casual getaway. It is a transformative programme designed for those ready to meet themselves with honesty and grace.
All spaces for this retreat are now fully booked. But the story of what unfolds here is worth sharing, as it speaks to the kind of experience we hold space for at Sen Wellness Sanctuary.
The Heart Opens When We Gather
The people who come together here do not arrive by chance. There is always a deeper current beneath the surface, a reason souls converge in a particular place at a particular time. Healing deepens when we allow others to reflect what we cannot yet see in ourselves.
Some arrive carrying grief they have not yet named. Others come seeking clarity in the midst of life transitions. A few simply know it is time to stop running and stand still. Whatever the reason, the group becomes a container for transformation.
The ten days culminate in a heart-opening ceremony. It is the kind of experience that asks everything of you and gives back more than you thought possible. Cacao medicine, breathwork, chanting, meditation—ancient technologies woven together to create something that cannot be named, only felt.
Participants often describe this ceremony as the moment when everything they have been holding finally releases. Tears flow freely. Laughter rises unexpectedly. The heart remembers what it knew before words existed.
A Teacher From The Mountains
This year, we are honored to welcome Venerable Nuptul Tenpei Nyima Rinpoche as a guest teacher for this wellness retreat in Sri Lanka.
Rinpoche was born in the Lho village of Nubri, high in the mountains of Nepal. Recognized at nine years old as the reincarnation of a great meditator and yogi, he spent fifteen years studying under H.H. 4th Dodrupchen Rinpoche, receiving transmissions and empowerments in the Longchen Nyingtik tradition. He completed a traditional three-year solitary retreat at nineteen.
But his path did not end in the monastery.
Rinpoche studied world religions and psychology at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. He trained professionally in Tibetan medicine. He spent a year at Harvard Divinity School as an international fellow, exploring the intersection of ancient Buddhist philosophy and contemporary thought.
He is both a holder of ancient lineage and a bridge between worlds. As Senior Abbot of Sangchen Rabten Norbuling, he cares for over 100 monks and nuns. As founder of Mahasukha Foundation, he works to rebuild communities after disaster and provide education to children in remote villages.
After the devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake, Rinpoche directed international fundraising efforts to reconstruct his monastery and support the villages of Nubri. He currently leads the Serang Primary School project, ensuring that underprivileged children have access to education regardless of gender, ethnicity, caste, or religion. He is also developing Orgyen Ling Institute, an innovative center for higher Buddhist studies that serves both monastics and lay practitioners worldwide.
His presence at Sen Wellness Sanctuary is a gift. His teachings carry the weight of lived practice and the lightness of genuine compassion.
The Beauty Of Change
Autumn teaches us what it means to let go. The trees release their leaves without hesitation. The earth prepares for renewal by first embracing emptiness. This retreat celebrates that same courage. The willingness to shed what no longer serves. The trust that something new will emerge when the time is right.
Transformation does not happen in fragments. The body needs time to soften. The mind needs time to quiet. The heart needs time to trust the process unfolding beneath conscious awareness.
In our modern lives, we are accustomed to quick fixes and instant results. We expect change to arrive on our timeline. But the kind of healing that happens at a retreat in Sri Lanka like this one follows a different rhythm.
The first few days are often the hardest. The mind rebels against stillness. The body complains about early mornings. Old patterns surface with surprising force.
Then something shifts. Usually around day four or five. The resistance softens. The nervous system begins to recalibrate. Sleep deepens. The breath lengthens. Small moments become profound.
By the time the heart-opening ceremony arrives, participants are ready. Not because they have forced themselves to be ready, but because the retreat itself has prepared them. The daily practices, the nourishing meals, the presence of the group, the land itself—all of it conspires to create the conditions for awakening.
What Remains
The Autumn Sunshine Retreat is fully booked for November 2025. But the essence of what we offer here at Sen Wellness Sanctuary remains available throughout the year.
We will continue to hold space for those ready to turn inward. We will continue to honor ancient practices while remaining present to modern needs. We will continue to believe that healing happens not in isolation, but in the presence of others brave enough to do the same work.
If you felt something stir while reading this, trust that feeling. There will be other retreats, other opportunities to gather. The invitation to come home to yourself does not expire.
We will be here, holding space, when the time is right.
About Sen Wellness Sanctuary
Founded in 2014 by Dr Sam Kankanamge, Sen Wellness Sanctuary sits within Tangalle’s Rekawa Nature Reserve on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. We offer transformative yoga, Ayurveda, breathwork, and meditation retreats within an environment designed for genuine practice—tropical forest, pristine beach, and the kind of stillness that allows deeper listening.
