Joy and Pleasure Retreat:
Reclaim Your Spark
You work hard.
But when was the last time you truly had fun?
Life is full. Your calendar is packed. Your responsibilities are endless.
You’ve spent years building your career, your business, your life – checking all the boxes of success. But somewhere along the way, joy became an afterthought. Fun started to feel frivolous. Who’s got the time when you’re building a business? And pleasure? This became a luxury you rarely prioritise.
It’s time to change that.
Welcome to Joy + Pleasure
A retreat designed to reignite your sense of play, deepen your connection to meaning, and surround you with people who get it—because they, too, are seeking something more.
Meet Your Hosts:
The Guides to Your Joyful Rebellion
Brook McCarthy
A business coach, marketing mentor, speaker and facilitator who’s obsessed with the meanings we bring to work, and derive from work. Brook loves encouraging joy, play, experimentation, and self-expression as our birth rite. Brook helps you reconnect with what truly lights you up – so joy isn’t just something you only experience on retreat, but something you design and weave into your days, business, and life.
Kate Jackson
The jolliest, most generous cook you’ll ever meet, Kate is also a health and IT project manager with a clinical background as a physiotherapist. As well as catering for our retreat, Kate brings significant experience as a leader in health, building and developing teams to integrate technology to support clinical collaboration. Kate is highly experienced at working with a diverse cross-section of people and bringing out the best in them.
What awaits you
Think of this retreat as a playground for your soul. A time to reconnect with yourself – and perhaps a friend who you haven’t seen for too long! Bring good eggs! They don’t need to be business owners, perhaps this is something they aspire to be, and would love the background on this. Treat yourself to three nights away, to reconnect with yourself – we’re here for a good time, not for a long time.
About your venue, Nu Leaf Retreat
We can’t reclaim our spark, revel in pleasure and provoke our joy without a retreat worthy of this, yes?
Nu Leaf, cocooned in trees in the lush Hunter Valley, just north of Sydney, set on a 15-acre property, has everything you need to properly unwind, rejuvenate, and taste the elixr of possibilities for your new life, once you return home.
Enjoy the indoor heated mineral pool, outdoor pool with a sun deck, jet spa, and steam room. Do a workout in the gym, or simply gaze at the trees.
Book ahead a treatment at the on-site day spa (this is extra), or bring your favourite book to curb up somewhere comfy, and remember who you are.
Here’s a taste of what’s included
(please note, this is subject to change):
Yoga + movement
When you’re running you own business, movement becomes even more important to build resilience, grit, slow down your thinking, restore and rejuvenate. These sessions will be catered to all bodies, with plenty of options to suit you.
Meditation & visualisation
Tap into the power of your subconscious mind and experience bliss and relaxation like you’ve never felt before. To cultivate your wonderous future, we need to work deeper than the conscious mind.
Marketing and messaging
Your magnetic brand needs more than colours and font. We bring your brand to life by weaving stories that inspire, engage, and provoke your ideal clients to take action, while rendering your competitors irrelevant.
Natural, consent-based selling
This highly practical workshop pulls out the essential elements of effective sales – social intelligence, rapport, flirting, clarity and direction. Learn how to sell one-to-one as well as one-to-many, working with storytelling, and playing to your natural communication strength with confidence and ease.
Optional wine tour
This optional activity brings together the elements of wine, fashion and design, underpinned by a true rebellious spirit. Our host, Lisa McGuigan, curates her ranges and selects varietals from the most renowned terroir across Australia.
Crafting afternoon
Keep your hands busy with an afternoon of knitting, crocheting or embroidering (take your pick) while yapping away with other amazing women in business.
Cards Against Humanity night
The best way to bond is over a little wicked humour and your hosts, Brook and Kate, are exceptional at this!
Dress-up theme party
Nothing says “party” like a dress-up theme. It’s time to bring back the art of hosting, and the (important) role of being a good guest. We’re celebrating life, business and everything you’ve endured, and what’s yet to come. Theme TBA.
Party tricks / circus class
Learn a new yoga pose that will make you the life of the party (or at least leave people talking). The best, most underrated sales tactic.
Who is this for?
You’re busy and life is full, but you’re secretly feeling flat and, if you’re honest, a little bit like you’re going through the motions, a passenger in your own life, rather than an active participant.
You want more color, adventure, and play, with a bunch of like-minded, pleasure-seeking people who aren’t afraid to ask for more out of life.
You crave connection – real, deep, belly-laughing, heart-opening connection, not surface interaction. But you also don’t like forced intimacy or weird group-bonding which feels disingenuous (us too!).
You want to step outside your usual routine and rediscover the part of you that loves life (rather than just managing it).
You’re ready to stop postponing joy and start living it, now. You know exactly how important joy is and you’re ready to reimagine your joy-centred life.
You are open to new things. You are willing to have your beliefs challenged and your mind changed.
Who is this NOT for?
You’re looking for a guru to emulate, or a mother figure (we’re not your gal).
You’re unwilling to be vulnerable and yes, you need to feel comfortable first, but you’re wearing a mask and you’re unwilling to let this slip.
You’re unwilling to examine any of your problematic thinking, beliefs, and behaviours that are strangling your joy (and likely, your business.
What you’ll leave with:
A heart full of connection and belonging.
Your 'fridge list' of easy, accessible joys to do daily.
A new skill (or party trick) to break out at your next gathering.
A body that feels more relaxed, more nourished, more yours.
A reignited sense of play, passion, and pleasure.
Joy and pleasure aren’t indulgent. They’re not luxury. They’re your birth rite.
The best moments in life are not about success, but about feeling fully alive. This retreat is your invitation to step into this.
“Working with Brook is an investment in your business and yourself. No fluff, just tried and true, evidence-based methods and processes that work.”
September 24 - 27th
Nu Leaf Retreat, Hunter Valley
Solo rooms: $2500 pp (3 nights; all inclusive; includes GST).
Twin share rooms: $1800 pp (3 nights; all inclusive; includes GST). Secure your spot with a non-refundable deposit of $500. Alternatively, if you want to pay in full via tax invoice, just let us know.
Join us. You joy is waiting.
Got questions?
What are the key details for this retreat?
What are the room options?
We have twin rooms with two beds, and a limited number of solo rooms. Rooms are large and well lit and each has its own ensuite. Most have their own private terrace, with views of the vines and trees.
Do I need to bring a friend to book a twin room?
We appreciate this can feel awkward at times, but we’re also sure that you’ll likely leave with at least one new friend.
Can I book a solo room?
Yes of course! We have a very limited number though, so secure you spot early to ensure you’re not disappointed.
What is the schedule for the retreat?
Our day will start at 7am and finish around 9pm. All activities are totally optional and if you want to chill by yourself, you will be left along to do exactly that. Alternatively, if you want to opt-in to eveyrthing (and then some!), that’s good too. We have deliberately designed our itinerary to leave space for all needs and desires.
How do I pay?
Click the link above to pay your non-refundable deposit of $500 to secure you spot. If the retreat doesn’t go ahead, you’ll receive a full refund; but there are no refunds for change of minds or circumstances; you can onsell your spot (and I’m happy to help facilitate this as best I’m able).
The remaining balance is due by August 31. If you prefer, you can spread your payments across two invoices, billed in July or August, no worries. Email brook@brookmccarthy.com to arrange.
How do I get there? I'm not from Sydney.
Whether you live nearby, or interstate, we can help organise car pooling, to ensure that retreat participants are able to find the retreat. Just ask!
Nu Leaf is located in the Hunter Valley and Pokolbin is the nearest town which has a supermarket, cafes and restaurants.
What if I need to work during the retreat?
I've never done yoga before. Is this retreat for me?
Yes! All bodies welcome. It doesn’t matter if you’re injured or have never done yoga before. We can cater to all people, with plenty of hands-on guidance and alternative moves given to ensure you’re safe and well.
I have an injury and have limited mobility / strength, can I still join this retreat?
Yes not a problem. We can safely accommodate your mobility, strength and flexibility levels. You will never be pressured into doing anything you don’t feel comfortable with, and we’ll provide alternatives and guidance to help you manage your body.
I'm not sure. Can I ask further questions?
Absolutely. Just send us an email at brook@brookmccarthy.com