As we prepare to host our second Awaken event, we look back at the success of our inaugural wellness gathering held in March 2023.

Our first-ever 'Awaken' hot springs wellness gathering was a resounding success, with over 1000 guests joining us on Sunday March 26 for the 12-hour event of dynamic immersion. Attendees were treated to a range of mesmerising experiences, performances and activations, cementing Awaken's place as a regular fixture on the calendar.

In a captivating display of connection, co-creation and empowerment, our community came together with like-minded visionaries and wisdom leaders to create an event like no other. In a particularily warm-hearted display, Awaken visionary Bharat Mitra joined leading wellness experts in bringing this conscious event to fruition - all part of his original vision.

“I see Awaken gatherings in many different places around the world, and ultimately not just in hot springs, but also on mountain tops and in deserts, in forests and in lakes. I am very grateful Peninsula Hot Springs is the birthing place of Awaken, which in my vision will be a global movement, a unifying field of wellness communities to have a shared platform to work together, nurture and be a global family.”

Bharat Mitra - Co-Owner and Chief Mentor of Culture and Wellness at Peninsula Hot Springs,

The event kicked off with a Welcome to Country led by Jaeden Williams, a proud Yalukit-william man of the Boonwurrung, and custodian of Boonwurrung land and waters. From there, guests were treated to a range of experiences, including a free-flowing yoga class led by Shiva Rea and an hour-long talk by Dr Bruce Lipton on the “biology of belief”.

In the ‘Sensory Dome’, Uma Neave Spender led breathwork and told ancient mythological stories, while Lionel Lauch from Living Culture imparted local First Nations bush medicine wisdom and performed a yidaki (didgeridoo) sound healing. Spud Thompson created an ambient sound bath, and guests enjoyed creating personalised herbal bath infusions from the 'bathing bar'.

Attendees enjoyed 'Fire and Ice' contrast therapy workshops, a Wanderlust Elixir Bar, roving 'Silent Disco', and a 'Wellness Village' full of wellbeing practitioners. The venue's new Food Bowl area came alive with bass-heavy beats and performances from artists such as Kyle Lionhart, Garrett Kato, and Mama Kin Spender with the Macapella Choir.

Throughout the day, guests could immerse themselves in hot springs while attending yoga classes and wellness talks at the Amphitheatre. The event concluded with a closing ceremony performed by Uncle Shane Charles, a strong Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung Elder, and his nephew Dylan Charles.

Awaken was created under the collective vision of community, co-creation and conscious wellness. On the day, there was a true feeling of happiness and achievement felt amongst the crew, our wonderful staff and the teams who help bring this incredible event to life. Without the hardworking hands of many, this event would not be made possible.

"This was the largest-scale event we’ve ever held at Peninsula Hot Springs, and I’m delighted to say that it went spectacularly well. Events like this don’t just happen on their own — this was an incredible show of teamwork and coming together to execute a shared goal. It’s a testament to the wellness culture we’ve been cultivating here at the springs over so many years, and I’m profoundly grateful to all staff and everyone involved."

Craig Mitchell - Chief Executive Officer of Peninsula Hot Springs

The success of the Awaken wellness gathering has also demonstrated the importance of coming together as a community to support and uplift one another. Bharat Mitra, along with the team at Peninsula Hot Springs as well as our friends at Awaken, envision a promising future of enlightenment, empowerment, purpose and agility for the gathering in the years to come.

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