19 – 21 March 2027
The Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges, Victoria, Australia
Just over an hour from Melbourne
About The Retreat
Designed for high achievers who feel like they’ve surrendered command of their time and vitality, the Power of Pause Retreat offers a welcoming chance to pause and refocus. If you’ve spent years juggling the demands of work, family, and life’s endless responsibilities, and now find yourself feeling overwhelmed by being constantly “on”, this retreat is designed just for you.
Set against the peaceful backdrop of the Macedon Ranges, The Power of Pause is a three-day retreat at Cleveland Estate designed to help you step away from the noise, pace and constant demands of everyday life.
You’ll join a small, thoughtfully curated group for an experience centred around a 24-hour screen-free pause – creating space for unhurried meals, meaningful conversation, reflection and genuine connection.
Guided by David, Vikki and Tanya, the weekend brings together neuroscience, storytelling, mindset work and restorative well-being practices in a way that feels both grounded and deeply nourishing. Each session is designed to help you slow down, understand what is driving your stress, reconnect with yourself and create the space for greater clarity and intentional change.
The Power of Pause invites you to step away from the constant demands of everyday life and create space to breathe, reset and reconnect with what truly matters.
Over the weekend you’ll move from reacting to life from a place of busyness and depletion to making conscious choices with deeper clarity, energy and purpose.
You’ll return home feeling renewed and equipped with practical tools and strategies to create greater balance, allowing you to be more present for yourself, your loved ones, your work and the communities that matter to you.
Hold My Place
Who This Is For
What's Included
Your spot includes everything you need from Friday lunch time to Sunday afternoon
to take your well-deserved pause:
Charming Accommodation
Enjoy two peaceful nights at the historic Homestead, complete with private ensuite rooms and beautiful grounds for rest and contemplation.
Savour Gourmet Food and Wine
Relish delicious meals prepared using local ingredients, served family-style at a communal table. Enjoy a selection of organic teas, coffee, and regional wines, from an elegant Chardonnay to a bright Pinot Noir. We provide accommodations for dietary requirements as needed.
Sacred Time
Experience a full twenty-four hours tech-free, offering a true chance to unwind, consider how constant technology connection affects your life, and reconnect with yourself.
Guided Sessions
Engage in facilitated group exercises led by David, Tanya, and Vikki that blend neuroscience, wellness practices, and ancient wisdom. Each session is designed to give you the space and tools you need for deep reflection and for making real change in your life.
Grounding Activities
Participate in optional morning yoga, and at your leisure, enjoy nature walks, meditation, and journaling on the serene grounds.
Welcome Pack
Take home a thoughtful collection of gifts and informative materials to support your journey both during the retreat and beyond.
What To Expect
Here’s a taste of what to expect during the retreat:
FRIDAY
On Friday, we’ll prepare and enter the pause, including setting boundaries for the tech-free period. At 6:45pm, the 24-hour pause starts with a ritual, followed by a long, sumptuous dinner, and concludes with personal reflections.
SATURDAY
Saturday is about reclaiming time, agency, and purpose. You’ll have the chance to begin your day with optional morning yoga or time on your own, followed by a relaxing breakfast and discussion. After a break, you’ll participate in facilitated workshops on managing stress, owning your time and energy. Following an unhurried lunch, the afternoon sessions focus on holistic work-life balance, the sanctity of time and availability for work vs. family, and laughter therapy.
The pause formally concludes at 6:45 pm, followed by dinner, fireside conversation, and a nighttime ritual.
SUNDAY
We’ll conclude the retreat on Sunday with reflections and facilitated activities to integrate the Power of Pause into your life beyond the retreat. You’ll once again participate in optional morning yoga or time on your own, a relaxing breakfast, and meaningful discussion. After breakfast, you’ll learn practical frameworks on how to protect and preserve your time and attention that will help you bring the calm of the retreat into your day-to-day life. The retreat concludes at 1:30 pm after a group lunch where you will have the opportunity to connect with participants once again and reflect on your insights from the retreat.
Your Sessions
FRIDAY
The Philosophy of Sacred Time with David Werdiger
Why deliberate pause is the foundation of a life well lived
An introduction to the framework and focus of the retreat: why deliberate pause is a structural need, and why ancient wisdom, refined over three thousand years, has more to teach us about attention and presence than any modern productivity system. David sets the stage for what you’ll experience over the next two days and why it matters.
SATURDAY
From Pressure to Presence with Tanya Levy
How to create space, clarity and calm in a high-demand life
Discover how stress quietly shapes the way you think, feel and respond, and learn how to create greater space within yourself. Through practical tools and guided strategies, you’ll explore how to regulate pressure, reconnect with the present moment and move through life with greater clarity, calm, and intention.
Who Owns Your Time? with David Werdiger
Mapping your energy zones and reclaiming the hours in your day
A practical workshop on identifying your energy zones, understanding how you spend your hours, and recognizing where your time has been taken from you. You will leave with a clearer picture of what deserves your attention and what has simply been consuming it.
The Art of Balance with Tanya Levy
Creating a life that reflects what matters most
Using the Wheel of Life as a guide, this session invites you to step back and reflect on where you’re currently investing your time, energy, and attention. You’ll identify the areas of life that feel well supported, those that may have been neglected, and where greater balance is needed, creating clarity around what you want to prioritise, re-energise and make more space for.
The Sanctity of Time: Work vs Family with David Werdiger
Protecting what matters most when the demands never stop
An honest conversation about the tension between professional demands and personal presence, and how those who have built the most can sometimes lose what truly matters in the process. David explores what it takes to protect time for what matters, particularly for founders, executives, and family leaders navigating high-stakes lives.
The Joy Advantage with Vikki Friedman
Laughter Wellness for Life
This structured, guided laughter wellness session invites participants to explore the importance of laughter, humour, and playfulness. You’ll be guided through intentional laughter exercises, educational discussions on the science behind the practice, and practical ideas for how to bring more laughter and joy into your daily lives.
SUNDAY
Energetic Intelligence with Tanya Levy
Understanding what affects your energy and learning to protect what matters
Explore the internal and external factors that influence your energy, from your thoughts and emotions to the people, environments and demands around you. You’ll also develop a deeper understanding of healthy boundaries and how to recognise where they are needed, establish them with confidence, and protect your time, energy and well-being with greater intention.
Practical Frameworks and the Mastermind Launch with David Werdiger
Turning the pause into a lasting practice, and continuing the journey together
This is the retreat’s final session, where David focuses on translation. You will be introduced to practical tools and frameworks for embedding pause into your daily life once you return home, including the opportunity to join the Power of Pause Mastermind, an ongoing community of retreat alumni for accountability, connection, and continued practice.
A Typical Day
Each morning begins gently, with optional yoga and breathwork before a nourishing breakfast. Late morning holds the deeper workshop sessions and discussions, followed by unhurried lunches. Observe the afternoon breaks with reflection, walking, or reading. In the late afternoon, the group reconvenes for a second session, often more experiential. The days come to a close after a long dinner prepared by a chef, meaningful fireside conversations, and shared gratitude practices and rituals.
Who You'll be With
David Werdiger
David is a family enterprise advisor, author, and speaker who has spent twenty years working with founders and multigenerational business families. He is the Founder of the Power of Pause Institute, where he helps people reclaim their attention and their time from the technology competing for both, through his writing, courses, and coaching practices.
Learn More About David
Tanya Levy
With thirty years at the intersection of science, spirituality, and human performance, Tanya Levy is one of the most sought-after voices in well-being, burnout recovery, and conscious leadership. A wellness educator, keynote speaker, and retreat facilitator, she specialises in nervous system regulation, emotional resilience, and energy management. Tanya is the founder of InPurpose and also the director of MeTreat Retreats
Learn More About Tanya
Vikki Friedman
Vikki Friedman is the founder of MeTreat Retreats, an internationally award-winning retreat company that focuses on wellness, friendship and fun. She is a passionate retreat organiser, facilitator and wellness practitioner. She is also a certified Laughter Wellness facilitator helping people reconnect with laughter, joy and playfulness.
Learn More About VikkiAbout the
Cleveland Estate
The Cleveland Estate sits in the Macedon Ranges, just over an hour from Melbourne, on land that has been welcoming guests since 1887. It is a working country estate of rolling grounds, vineyards, and native bushland, a setting intentionally selected for how it allows guests to slow their pace, lose the noise, and take a pause.
Accommodation is provided in the historic Homestead. Each room is private and comfortable, featuring its own ensuite bathroom. Meals are cooked on-site from fresh local produce and shared around a communal table. Guests can also enjoy shared spaces, including quiet, relaxing lounges for reading, and sprawling grounds perfect for restorative walks.
Learn More About The Cleveland Estate
Beyond The Retreat
Every participant is invited to join the Power of Pause Mastermind, a private community for retreat alums, featuring monthly virtual sessions hosted by David and access to a shared channel for ongoing accountability and support.
Your Place
Your spot includes two nights’ accommodation at the Cleveland Estate, all meals from Friday lunch through a light Sunday lunch, every session over the three days, and a welcome pack.
Single occupancy
Early Bird
AUD $3,600 inc GST
Standard
AUD $3,900 inc GST
Twin share (partner or colleague)
Early Bird
AUD $3,450 / Person inc GST
Standard
AUD $3,750 / Person inc GST
Payment is processed in AUD at the prevailing exchange rate. A 50% deposit is required to hold your spot.
Early bird pricing is available for the first five participants to confirm. All rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
What Happens Next
Once you register your interest, David, Tanya or Vikki will be in touch personally, usually within a day or two. If the retreat is a good fit, we will send you a payment link to secure your place.