The Lilypond Day Retreat
Daylesford, Victoria
Our Story
Annabel Holder Brown and Nicholas Brown are co-founders of The Lily Pond Day Retreat. Annabel is a qualified Kinesiologist and Nicholas is a qualified Massage Therapist and AromaTouch Therapist.
Both Annabel and Nicholas have experienced extraordinary healing journeys which they are happy to share with you...
Annabel Holder Brown
“I started on my search for answers at 28, after a nasty back injury left me in constant pain. I tried most therapies and they had little or no long-term effect. I would go back and forth to the Chiropractor feeling bent over and sore. I couldn’t sit in a chair for long without feeling in pain. I felt very sorry for myself.
When I turned 30 I was not in a happy place. I look back at photos and wonder who I was? I was anxious, with a social phobia, fatigued, overweight and very depressed. I had lost my spark. I was seeing a Naturopath for a year or so, but just couldn’t get rid of the anxiety. Finally she suggested I try Kinesiology. “What’s that?” I asked. She replied “I don’t really understand it, but it is supposed to be good for stress.” I decided to give it a try.
After my first Kinesiology balance I realized it was something special. I felt better, new hope filled my heart. The very first thing my body chose to work with was Myrrh Essential Oil. Not knowing much about Myrrh except that it was one of the gifts the Wise Men gave to Jesus, I was amazed that it helped with deep grief. I wondered, how did my body know that? Finally an intelligence or wisdom greater than my conscious mind could guide me to some answers.
Fast forward a number of years. I had left the difficult relationship I had been in, started studying Kinesiology and was still receiving regular balances. I was preparing to move back to Victoria and my family. During the last Kinesiology session before I left, my therapist chose a different oil. I felt it ignite my energetic body like a fire. “Wow” I said, “What was that?” When she said Lemon Oil I couldn’t believe something so simple could be so healing.
This was my first real awareness of frequency and vibrational matching. When the body receives the right frequency the healing can take place. Years earlier in my 20s I had read about the aura of plants and flowers and the oils they produce. I had loved oils since I was a child, but didn’t feel like they were alive or carried the full frequency of the plant. I searched for the right therapeutically potent oils to use, but couldn’t find them.
I continued my Kinesiology training, experiencing many amazing things as I learned about healing and health from a new perspective. I began to open my heart and heal. The high walls around my heart started to crumble and love tumbled in. I am forever grateful to everyone who worked with me during those times. It was a long road but I felt so supported by those around me. Recovery from relationship breakdown is a difficult thing, but I always knew I could end up worse or better, and the choice was mine.
After I finished a Diploma of Kinesiology at Kinesiology House in Carlton, I had to decide where I was going to live and I chose Ballarat. Not knowing anyone in Ballarat except my brother, I wondered how it was going to go. But things opened up for me as I hung up my sign and started ‘Ballarat Kinesiology’. I was led by my heart and my spirit to people who needed what I did and the business started to grow. I felt divinely led and people would often say “I saw your card three times so knew I should come”. That blew my mind.
In 2013 I joined doTERRA and Nicholas I started working together. I couldn’t believe I had finally found the oils I had always been looking for. I remember going to a wellness fair with Nicholas and my Mum who had just lost a very dear friend. Some friends offered Mum an AromaTouch session and suggested Mum have an aura photo beforehand. Even the lady at the Aura Photo counter was dubious. After the session we had a second photo taken and Mum’s aura was a totally different colour! She had gone from a pale yellowy colour to a beautiful green, so I knew the oils were working on a frequency level not just chemically. Mum said she felt more connected to her feelings, less in her head and more relaxed. Nicholas and I were very excited by this and couldn’t wait to learn the technique ourselves.
In 2015 my Mum had a stroke. This was a defining moment in my life, as we are very close. I felt so overwhelmed by trying to save her that I thought it would consume me. However through the experience I gained a lot of wisdom. In hindsight I can see how it helped change our direction. After the stroke I asked Nicholas if he would be open to living with my parents, and to his credit, he said yes. So I started looking for a place where we could all live.
That’s how we came to Daylesford and found the beautiful place we now call The Lily Pond Day Retreat. It is everything I had envisioned for a place of healing for both our family and our clients. My Mum and Dad also live here with us and take loving care of the garden. We all feel so much peace here. Coming here has enabled me to combine all my great loves: Water, Essential Oils, Kinesiology and AromaTouch. I feel so grateful.”
–Annabel Holder Brown
Annabel is a qualified Kinesiologist, Intuitive Healer and Essential Oils and Wellness practitioner. She has a Diploma in Energetic Sciences -Kinesiology. She has completed further studies in Applied Physiology, Neuro-Kinesiology, Educational Kinesiology and Kinergetics.
Annabel has studied with Charles Kreb & Jacqui Mooney (Learning Enhancement Program), Peter McLellan (Neural Organisation Technique), Marco Rado (Integrative Neuro-cardiology), Hugo Tobar (Neuro-Emotional Pathways, Nutrition, Chakra &Celestial Hologram) and Marshall Rosenberg (Non-Violent Communication).
Nicholas Brown
“Almost 30 years ago, in 1989, I volunteered to join Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and worked in the Mission full time until 2000. Over the 11 ½ years I spent in the Mission, I worked in many countries around the world, including USA, Mexico, Spain, France, Malaysia and India. We worked directly with churches, schools, orphanages and occasionally by ourselves, setting up relief.
Constant training would keep us ready for whatever came across our path. On occasions we would provide entertainment, drama, puppets and unfortunately for the kids, we would sing! I was able to complete several courses while in the Mission, such as a Certificate in Cross Cultural Communications and a Certificate in Leadership training. These have proved valuable over the years.
My first outreach as a missionary was in Fiji. I had it in mind that I was going there to help them, but quickly learned it was the Fijians who helped me. They opened their hearts to me and shared unconditionally. They showed me love. You think you know something about yourself or the world but the humility and generosity of the Fijian people cracked my heart open, realizing only love can change your perspective completely.
It was in India that I experienced a moment of life I wished could last forever. We had been traveling all day in the heat to deliver a letter to a friend in a monastery. Having arrived I had some time to spare and decided to go for a walk in the nearby forest. It was a wonderfully sunny day, particles were suspended in the rays of sunlight that penetrated the canopy of trees in a lightly forested area. The track weaved its way through the forest, a turn here and a twist there. Suddenly I rounded a corner and to my surprise, I was surrounded by thousands of butterflies of all different colours and sizes. Disney could not have created such a beautiful scene. I will never forget it. You may not believe in God, but I do. I have seen him.
In 2002, I was hired straight out of TAFE by Fujitsu, from my very first day arriving in a suit at a site in country Victoria. Over the years I worked my way up the ladder rather quickly and excelled in everything I was given.
The job required a lot of travel, around the state and sometimes interstate. I was entrusted to work autonomously and towards the end of my career with them I was given a job on the 40th floor of 20 Collins Street with my own office. I loved the view and enjoyed maintaining everyone’s computers, laptops and servers. Fujitsu would check up on me every now and then, but mostly I was free to work as I chose.
In 2009 I married Annabel. This was and still remains the best thing I ever did. I moved to Ballarat and decided to leave Fujitsu to find some local work. Having a history and a heart for caring for others and working with computers may seem a strange combination, but it is not strange to me at all.
I do care a lot for those who need help and that drew me to Essential Oils and what they can do. The very first thing I learned working with computers is that your body produces enough electricity to destroy a computer board, which is why technicians wear static gloves. Our body is bio electric and if we did not have this energy we would not be alive. 70% of the human adult body is water and needs this water to communicate electrically with the rest of your body. The more toxins and rubbish we put in our body the harder it is for that current to pass through. This is where Essential Oils come in, they can help remove and flush out these toxins.
At the start I didn’t understand the power of Essential Oils. I was sceptical and thought of the oils as just perfume. That was until Annabel and I were on holiday in Queensland and went on an all-day reef cruise, snorkelling. By the end of the day I realised that I had not covered the backs of my legs with lotion and I was as red as a lobster. We didn’t have any Aloe Vera so Annabel said, “Put some Lavender Oil on your legs.” I wondered, how is that going to help? I was in so much pain I would have tried anything and applied the Lavender Oil. After only 30 minutes the pain had gone. I reapplied the oil twice more before going to bed and by morning it was as though I had not been burned at all. This was amazing, this worked completely. What other things do these oils do, I wondered? I was hooked.
Since this time I have attended many conventions, hundreds of trainings and become immersed in all things oils. I decided to retrain and become a Massage Therapist and learn the AromaTouch Technique, a great way to help de-stress and detoxify the body. Every time I do an AromaTouch Massage, I feel like the oils are giving life back to the person receiving the treatment. I also feel restored.” – Nicholas Brown
Nicholas is a qualified Massage Therapist with a Certificate IV in Massage and Diplomas and IT and has studied Aroma Touch with Dr Hill completing his training on two occasions and is available to teach Aroma Touch training to groups.
“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.”
― Tori Amos