BURNOUT PRESCRIPTION. Physio-Led Burnout Recovery Retreats
- Wed – Sun 5 Day Retreats
- Treats the physical symptoms of burnout. Talking optional.
- Personalised Treatment Protocol. And Goats
- Farmstay vibe, run by healthcare professionals
- Feel Good Guarantee
Next retreat: 19-23 August →
A physio-led burnout recovery retreat in Victoria.
The Burnout Prescription is Australia's only physio-led burnout recovery retreat: an evidence-based, individually tailored physical protocol built to reduce the physiological symptoms of burnout. Wednesday to Sunday in Benalla, two hours north-east of Melbourne. Designed for occupational burnout as defined by the WHO (ICD-11 QD85), and for carer burnout, which the WHO is yet to catch up on.
Float therapy, infrared sauna, massage, red light and graded cold-water therapy, reformer pilates, physio-led movement and a tailored digital detox, sequenced to settle the body first so the brain can follow. More info →
Run by an AHPRA-registered physiotherapist and an ESSA-accredited exercise physiologist. All-inclusive from $3,499. No decisions, no woo-woo. Farm-stay rustic-luxe.
We treat the physical symptoms so the brain can fix itself.
Burnout retreats are all talk. Literally: talk therapy, group sharing, seminars about your nutrition, sleep or stress. Or a weekend of sound baths and goal-setting, complete with suspicious mushroom tea… Strange, for a condition that lives in the body: the shot nervous system, the 3am wide-awakes, the bone-deep exhaustion and the apathy you can't explain.
By the time you're clinically burnt out, the last thing you want to do is talk about it. So we don't start there. We start with the physiology, because you can't fix the brain while the body is still running on cortisol. And wellness wank isn't a strategy you can take home. Less talk. More physiological reset. No white coats, no giant egos, no ocean views, no crystals.
Start here.
When you're burnt out, reading is effort and decisions are a chore. So pick the bits that matter to you and ignore the rest. We've tried to make it as easy as we can - because we get it.
01
Is this you?
Burnt out or just not your best. We can do that.
Burnt out, exhausted, or just need a tune-up?
This works for people who are properly burnt out - and for people who just aren't running at their best and want to get ahead of it. Proactive, reactive, biohacking your immunity or just trying to come back a nicer person. If life's not quite fun right now, you're in the right place.
Read this first → Or take the Burnout Assessment →
02
What is the Burnout Prescription?
The plain English version
What is the Burnout Prescription?
Five days. A personal program built around your specific circumstances. Evidence-based treatments that compound across the week. Plain English here - or skip straight to the nerdy science if that's your thing.
Plain English version → Show me the science instead →
03
A day in the life
What does a week here look like, day by day?
A day in the life
It's a proper retreat - relaxing, enjoyable, and yes, occasionally involving mini goats. Your personal program runs underneath all of it, doing the clinical work. Jill and Darren are everywhere, apparently.
Day by day breakdown →
04
Why us?
What makes us different from the rest
Why us?
The only retreat in Australia that combines a clinical burnout protocol with this environment, this team, and this level of individual tailoring. Here's what that means in practice.
What makes it different →
05
What's included (and the science behind it)?
Every therapy, and the evidence behind it
What's included (and the science behind it)?
⚠ Warning: contains scienceThere's a real difference between what feels relaxing and what genuinely shifts your cortisol, CRP, IL-6 and HRV. This section gets into it. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Show me the science →
06
Who are Jill and Darren?
Qualifications, workboots, and lived experience
Who are Jill and Darren?
Healthcare professionals with the clinical credentials to back what they do - and the personal experience to understand what you're going through. They've been here too. That changes things.
Meet Jill and Darren →
07
When and how much?
Dates, pricing and what's included
When and how much?
Upcoming retreat dates, what's included in the price, and how to secure your spot. Everything runs Wednesday to Sunday. All-inclusive from arrival to checkout.
Dates and pricing →
08
Quick answers
The questions we get asked the most
Quick answers
Can I come alone? What if I hate cold water? Do I have to do everything? Is there phone signal? The questions we hear the most, answered without corporate nonsense.
Read the FAQ →Is this retreat for you?
Burnt out. Exhausted. Or just needing a tune-up?
The Burnout Prescription attracts all kinds. People who are properly burnt out and know it. People who can feel it coming and want to get ahead of it. People who are performing fine but running on fumes and quietly wondering how long that's sustainable. People who just want five days to reset, recover and come back firing. You don't need a clinical diagnosis. You just need to know you could be better.
The name might say Prescription. The vibe is anything but clinical.
You're showing up. You're getting things done. You're fine, technically. But somewhere between fine and good there's a gap, and you know it.
The long weekend didn't cut it. The sleep-in helped for a day. You've tried the things that used to work and they're not landing the same way. That's not a willpower problem - it's a signal.
Good. So are we. Everything here is selected for its evidence base. If the science isn't there, neither is it.
For five days, we handle the hard stuff. Your program is planned, your meals are sorted, and your only real job is deciding what to do with the gaps in between. Spoiler: you'll probably rediscover what doing nothing feels like.
We're healthcare professionals who'd rather make you laugh than impress you. The treatments are evidence-based, the activities are genuinely enjoyable, and some of them are genuinely fun. You'll leave with things that work in your real life - not a folder of handouts you'll never open.
Wednesday to Sunday. Arrive with the worst of the week behind you. Leave Sunday afternoon with enough runway to ease back in - or take Monday off and properly enjoy the new you for a day before real life resumes.
Swipe to see more
Not sure if you're burnt out or just tired?
The Burnout Assessment takes 4 minutes and gives you a clearer picture of where you're at and what's likely to help.
And if the answer is 'just tired'? Five days here sorts that too, before it grows into something with a diagnosis code.
Take the Burnout Assessment →Reality check
Is burnout a real thing?
Short answer: yes. It has a diagnosis code, national statistics and a blood signature. Receipts below.
The year the World Health Organization formally recognised burn-out as an occupational phenomenon (ICD-11, code QD85). It isn't a mood or a character flaw. It's a diagnosis.
Australians experienced burnout in the past year - surpassing the global average. Most did nothing structured about it.
run dry first.
Unpaid carers and young adults are among the groups most likely to be burning out, per the same national data. Pouring from an empty cup is not a metaphor - it's physiology.
brain scan.
Burnout isn't just in your head - it changes your head. MRI studies show measurable thinning in the prefrontal cortex of burnt-out brains versus healthy controls. It's physical, and it's real.
receipts?
We go deep on the science of burnout - and the recovery that actually works - over on the Burnout Prescription Substack. Personal anecdotes, references, and the occasional nerd alert.
Read the Substack →
Swipe for more →
What to Expect
Results you can actually feel.
Not promises. Just what we consistently see after five days of doing this properly - and why the effects compound the way they do.
Most guests notice a shift from Day 2 or 3. It doesn't disappear - but it stops running the show.
Deeper, longer, fewer 3am wake-ups. The sleep environment, blue-light protocol and daily nervous system work compound quickly.
More than you'd expect, even where it's been around for years. Burnout lives in the body as much as the mind.
Guests regularly describe "thinking clearly for the first time in months." Decision fatigue lifts when your nervous system isn't in overdrive.
Slowly, and without having to force it. That's usually how you know it's real rather than just willpower.
Plain English version
What is the Burnout Prescription?
It's a five-day retreat. Wednesday to Sunday. Ten guests maximum. You have a private cabin with an ensuite. Every meal is made fresh on site. All therapies, activities and accommodation are included in the price.
Before you arrive, we sit down with you - properly, not a form and a link. You tell us what's not working: what's keeping you awake, where you're carrying the tension, what you need to function like yourself again. Then we design your protocol.
Not a program. A clinical protocol. Specific treatments, in a specific sequence, for specific durations, targeting the problems you've named. The order matters. The combination matters. The sequencing isn't arbitrary - float before red light, sauna across consecutive days rather than ad hoc. Cold plunge too - ideally. If the idea makes you nervous, we ease you in on Day 3 at a higher temperature. You'll be ready by then. Every decision has a reason behind it. That precision is what separates this from yet another winery weekend.
On retreat, the protocol runs underneath everything else. You float. You move. You eat properly. You sleep without an alarm. The clinical work - reducing cortisol, resetting your nervous system, bringing inflammation markers down - happens while you're doing things that feel more like a holiday than a treatment plan. You set the priorities. We design the solution.
Keep reading
The rest of this page covers the science behind each therapy, how a week unfolds day by day, and what's included in the price. Skip to whatever matters most to you.
Five days. Compounding effects. A protocol you keep.
The therapies here aren't one-off experiences. They're a deliberate daily sequence designed to stack. By Day 4, your body is responding differently than it did on Day 1. That's not placebo - that's physiology.
You're here. That's the hard part done.
Wednesday is intentionally the busiest day. Not because we want to exhaust you - because the fastest way to stop mentally rehearsing everything you left unfinished at work is to be fully somewhere else. You get a proper tour of the property, walkthroughs of every wellness space so nothing feels unfamiliar tomorrow, and an introduction to the wildlife shelter. You'll try aerial yoga for the first time - beginner friendly, no experience needed, just your body and a silk hammock.
You'll meet Jill and Darren properly - not in a formal orientation way, but in the way you meet people when you're doing things alongside them. By the time Sunday arrives, you'll feel like you've known them for years. That matters, because the next four days work better when you trust the people guiding them.
The day finishes with Aerial Yin: Cortisol Wind-Down. Slow, supported, designed to take your nervous system all the way down. The goal is to hit the pillow from comfortable exhaustion. Not doomscrolling. Not staring at the ceiling. Just genuinely tired, in a good cabin, with tree frogs outside and nothing urgent until morning.
121 Grant Drive, Benalla - 2 hours from Melbourne, a world away from your inbox
Your stress cues are location-specific - the same desk, the same sounds, the same inbox that triggers the same cortisol response. Physical relocation interrupts that pattern immediately. A full, varied first day accelerates the transition. Aerial yin at the end is deliberate: the combination of gentle inversion, supported stretching and slow breath work activates the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering heart rate and cortisol in preparation for the kind of sleep you've probably been missing.
Sleep was already different
Most guests report sleeping differently on night one. Not perfectly - but differently. The blue-light blocking lighting meant melatonin wasn't being suppressed all evening. That's not nothing, after months of screens until midnight.
Thursday is your first full day and the rhythm starts to make sense. Reformer Pilates: Switch On to Switch Off in the morning - physio-led, restorative, calibrated for a depleted body rather than a performance. The name is deliberate: activating your muscles is one of the most effective ways to deactivate your stress response. Then the wellness areas are yours. Float tank, red light therapy, massage, hydrotherapy - all open, no booking required. You choose the order, the timing, how long you stay. Some people do all four. Some do two and sit by the pool. Both are right.
In the afternoon there's Myofascial Release: Where Stress Lives in the Body - hands-on, practical, and probably responsible for a few "I didn't realise I was holding that" moments. Burnout doesn't just live in the mind. This session makes that very clear. Mini-goat happy hour happens at 5:30pm, which turns out to be a non-negotiable highlight for virtually everyone. Dinner, then mulled wine and tea by the fire pit. By the time you head back to the cabin most people are moving at about half their usual pace. That's the point.
Medical-grade whole-body red light - daily, included, no extras
Self-directed recovery is itself therapeutic. Decision fatigue is a genuine feature of burnout - every choice, however small, draws from a depleted resource. A day where the structure exists but the decisions within it are yours begins to rebuild a sense of autonomy without the cognitive load. Red light therapy upregulates mitochondrial ATP production and reduces oxidative stress. Hydrotherapy contrast trains the autonomic nervous system. Myofascial release targets the chronic tension patterns burnout stores in the body. They compound.
You may feel tired. That's exactly right.
By Friday the novelty of Wednesday has settled, the fullness of Thursday is done, and something quieter arrives. You might feel it on the bike tour - a pleasant heaviness, the kind of tired that feels like rest rather than depletion. That's your nervous system standing down. It's been waiting for permission.
The guided bike tour of Lake Benalla goes out in the morning - flat, easy, genuinely beautiful. Come back, have lunch, and then do exactly what you feel like. Nap. Float. Sit by the pool with nothing in particular happening. Have a long sauna. Today is also the day most guests choose to try the cold plunge for the first time - the two days of sauna and hydrotherapy mean your body is ready for it. You'll have been briefed on the protocol. Nobody is pushed. But most people who try it on Friday are glad they did.
At 4pm, Myofascial Release: Your Feet Hold Your Stress. A follow-on from Thursday's session - this time working from the ground up, releasing plantar fascia and the neglected tension patterns in the feet and lower legs that chronic stress and long working hours compress into the body's foundation. People are consistently surprised by how much is stored there.
Tonight is your DIY dinner - the guest kitchen, something in Benalla, or an early night with whatever's in the snack situation. No one is expecting you anywhere. The wellness rooms stay open. Friday night at LFOC tends to be where it lands. What it feels like to be tired without being stressed about it. It's a different sensation entirely.
Two private infrared saunas - daily access, no booking required
The "dip" reflects the body's temporary increase in perceived fatigue as the sympathetic nervous system begins to release its chronic high-alert state. This is a necessary part of recovery, not a regression. The combination of gentle outdoor movement (bike tour), an unstructured evening, and open-access wellness gives the nervous system space to process the transition without demanding performance from it. The fact that it feels worse for a few hours is the system adjusting, not failing.
Something shifts, usually around breakfast time.
By Saturday, something has changed. It's not dramatic. It's noticing that you slept through without waking. That you've stopped checking your phone as often - not because anyone asked you to, but because the pull has quietly eased. You might notice it at breakfast, in the way you're actually tasting your food.
A second Reformer Pilates session in the morning, and by Saturday it feels different to Thursday's. Your body knows the equipment, your nervous system is quieter, and you'll find you can go further with less effort. That's not coincidence, that's four days of compound work showing up in the body. Then the bushwalk to the WildSide wildlife release site. Genuinely beautiful, unhurried, a complete change of perspective. Picnic BBQ lunch out there. This is where the animals LFOC has rehabilitated are released back to the wild. It's hard to explain why standing in that space lands the way it does, but most people find it puts something back in perspective that had quietly gone missing.
After dinner, Darren runs the self-defence workshop. If that sounds like an odd inclusion on a burnout retreat, it makes complete sense once you're in it. It's not about threat scenarios. It's about being fully present in your body, making decisions under mild pressure, and discovering what you're capable of when you stop second-guessing yourself. Guests leave it feeling more awake than they have all week - in a good way.
Physio-led movement - second Reformer Pilates session on Saturday morning
Multiple days of compound parasympathetic activation begins to show in measurable ways - reduced resting heart rate, improved HRV, lower cortisol. Nature exposure independently reduces cortisol and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The self-defence workshop introduces something different: controlled, low-stakes activation of the stress response in an environment where you're in control of the outcome. This builds capacity rather than depleting it, and the contrast with the week's restorative work makes the effect more pronounced.
Better by Sunday. Built to stay that way.
Sunday runs the same schedule as the other mornings - aerial flow and meditation at 10am, pool and wellness facilities open until checkout. What's different is how you show up to it. The low-grade static that followed you in on Wednesday isn't there anymore. You're not running a mental to-do list while you're in the hammock. You're just in it.
Cacao and biscuits before you go. Checkout is 12:30pm and there's no rush to it. The morning is yours.
What you leave with is more specific than a feeling. You know which therapies your nervous system responded to - because you've tried all of them across five days and your body has an opinion now. You have a scaled-back version of this that works inside a regular week: not the full programme, but the parts that moved the needle. And you leave knowing your own early warning signs - what it looks and feels like when the load is getting ahead of you, before it gets clinical. That tends to be the part that lasts.
Aerial savasana - fully supported, completely off the floor, nowhere else to be
That's your five days. Picture yourself in it, then pick a date.
Check Dates & Book →What's included in a burnout recovery retreat that targets the physical symptoms?
Tap any therapy for the evidence behind it →
Accommodation · Meals
Ten cabins. Real food. Zero major decisions.
Your cabin is your recovery base. Rest isn't a gap between activities here - it's a core part of the programme. Naps are actively encouraged. Sleeping in requires no explanation.
Everything in the cabin is there for a reason. Blackout blinds and blue-light blocking lighting work together to protect your sleep architecture. Luxe bedding and electric blankets because being genuinely comfortable matters when your nervous system is recalibrating. Organic toiletries because the details count. And if you fall asleep to tree frogs, that's not a bug - that's the farm.
Someone else is cooking
Breakfasts and lunches are sorted, every day. Most dinners too.
For a lot of people dealing with burnout, the act of not having to think about food is itself therapeutic. Real food - nutritious, anti-inflammatory, and good enough that you'll want the recipes. Proper coffee throughout the day.
Friday night is deliberately left open: for social rest, an early night, or to get out and explore. Use the fully equipped guest kitchen, head into Benalla for dinner, or just sit somewhere quiet with a glass of something. Either way, the decision is easy and no one is expecting you anywhere.
Most dietary requirements can be accommodated - let us know when booking. If you have specific concerns or complex needs, give us a call before you book and we'll have an honest conversation about what we can manage.
Your cabin, your bathroom, real food, nothing to organise. Ready when you are.
View Dates & Book →Digital Detox · 100% Optional. Strongly Recommended
The phone thing. We've thought about it.
If you're reading this, you already know your phone is part of the problem. Most digital detox retreats just take it off you and leave you to white-knuckle the craving in a quiet room. We don't.
Here's the difference: you're not sitting still, fighting the urge to check it. You're floating, in the sauna, upside down in an aerial hammock, or being closely supervised by a mini goat. Your nervous system gets its break from the screen while the rest of you is too pleasantly occupied to notice it's gone. It's a digital detox that distracts you out of the itch, instead of daring you to resist it - which is exactly why it works when willpower alone doesn't.
Opt in to a partial or full digital detox at any point during your stay. We provide a secure lockbox for your devices, and our direct number to pass on to anyone who might need to reach you in a genuine emergency. You stay reachable when it matters. Your nervous system gets the rest of the time.
Optional · Available Thu, Fri & Sat
The WildSide wildlife shelter experience
LFOC runs a DEECA-licensed native wildlife shelter on the property. If you want to spend time during your retreat assisting with animal care - feeding, enrichment, settlement of animals in care - that option is available Thursday through Saturday mornings and takes about two hours.
It's unexpectedly grounding. It requires full presence - animals don't care about your inbox - and produces the kind of quiet attention that's genuinely hard to access otherwise. It's optional, not scheduled, and nobody will push you toward it.
WildSide · Native wildlife rehabilitation
Assist DEECA-licensed wildlife carers with native animal care. Wombats, kangaroos, possums, and other animals in rehabilitation and release programmes. Two hours, morning sessions, fully guided.
Not included in the standard programme. Available to all 5-Day Burnout Prescription guests. Let us know at booking if you'd like to opt in.
What guests say
Real people. Real results.
"The activities and experiences are thoughtfully designed to help you slow down and reconnect, both mentally and physically. Everything feels intentional and healing. I left feeling calmer, clearer, and more grounded than I have in a long time. If you're feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or just in need of a reset - I highly recommend it. It's a truly special place."
Amanda · Google Review
"Cannot rate this highly enough. It ticked all the boxes for me: great food, evidence-based therapies - none of the silly woo-woo BS - heaps of classes, and most importantly to me, it wasn't one of those pretentious wellness retreats. Jill and Daz are so genuine and down to earth."
Edward Lun · Google Review
"From the moment I arrived, I felt genuinely cared for. The food was abundant and made with love. I loved the floatation tank, infrared sauna, Reformer Pilates, Aerial Yoga, connecting with animals… I arrived feeling stressed and exhausted but left feeling refreshed, grounded, and genuinely renewed. This place is a rare treasure."
Lilly Hawkins · Google Review
Swipe to see more
Ready to check dates and pricing, or want to talk it through first?
What makes the Burnout Prescription different to other retreats?
- Your program. Not ours. Before you arrive, we have a real conversation - not a booking call. We ask about your life, your history, what you need and what you're dreading. Then we build your program around that. You're not slotting into someone else's schedule.
- Everything is there for a reason. And we'll tell you what it is. Ask us why anything is in your program and we'll give you a straight answer. No mysticism, no "trust the process." If the science isn't there, neither is it.
- You will probably laugh more than you expect to. Mini goats have no respect for your personal space. Darren will say something that surprises you. Jill will make you feel like you've known her for years within about 20 minutes. It's a farm, not a hushed spa. That's the point.
- We're not better than you. We've just been doing this a long time. Jill and Darren have the qualifications. They've also been in the trenches. They know what burnt-out people need, and it isn't someone talking at them about inflammatory markers. Workboots, not white coats.
- Netflix. Real coffee. Chocolate. You're welcome. This is not a sanitarium where everything is white, virtuous and slightly disapproving. Your cabin has Netflix. There is good coffee. The food is genuinely delicious and hearty. You should feel at home - because the whole point is building a version of recovery that fits in your real life.
- You might actually get some of it back. Because a physio runs it, the clinical sessions inside may be claimable on Medicare or your private health extras - a rebate no yoga retreat can offer. See exactly what's claimable on our Medicare & private health rebates page.
How your program gets built
This is not a booking form and a welcome pack. Here's what happens before you arrive.
Intake formsA detailed set of questions about your health history, current symptoms, sleep, stress load, and what's brought you here.
A real conversationNot a booking call. We speak with you in person about your preferences, your circumstances, and what you need from the five days.
Your individual programBuilt around you specifically. Not a template. Not a standard itinerary with your name on it.
The walkthroughBefore you start, we go through your program with you. What's in it, what order, and exactly why each element is in there for your situation.
Follow your prescriptionWe'll encourage you to stick to it - because it was designed for you and the sequence matters. Some activities are flagged as optional for tired days. We're not going to be weird about it. But we will gently remind you that it's your own program you're short-changing.
Convinced by the mechanism? The dates are here when you are.
See Dates & Pricing →Who runs it
Built by people who've been through it
The programme was designed by people who understand what burnout does to a body - because at least one of them missed their own entirely. Everything here is drawn from that experience, the research literature, and 50 combined years of practice.
Jill Mentiplay
Founder & Lead PractitionerJill spent years as a physiotherapist while running a wildlife shelter, raising a family, and finishing a thesis. She missed her own burnout entirely. Little Farm of Calm was built out of that experience - and the conviction that people dealing with burnout deserve better than a week off and a suggestion to try mindfulness. She also writes The Burnout Prescription on Substack, filling a gap almost no one else does: a clinician's evidence-based take on everything burnout.
- AHPRA-registered Physiotherapist
- 1000-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (Yoga Alliance)
- BPhysio (1st Class Honours) · BExSci · MSc
- DEECA-licensed native wildlife carer
Darren Mozes
Co-Founder · Movement & StrengthDarren leads the movement, strength, and self-defence components of retreats, bringing 30+ years of exercise physiology to every programme decision. He is responsible for what guests are physically capable of doing by Day 5 that they weren't on Day 1, and he takes that quietly seriously.
- ESSA-Accredited Exercise Physiologist
- 30+ years clinical experience
- Tony Blauer Self-Defence System presenter
When & Where
One retreat per month. Ten spots. That's it.
The 5-Day Burnout Prescription runs once monthly, Wednesday to Sunday, at Little Farm of Calm in Benalla, Victoria - 2 hours from Melbourne. Maximum 10 guests per retreat. No exceptions.
Upcoming retreats · Limited to 10 guests
Loading retreat dates…
Wondering what you can claim back? Because a physio runs it, the clinical sessions may be claimable on Medicare or private health. See Medicare & private-health rebates →
Can't see a date that suits? Register your interest.
At 10 guests per retreat, places go quickly. Tell us you're interested and we'll be in touch to confirm your spot.
121 Grant Drive, Benalla VIC 3672 · 0417 057 056
Pricing · 5-Day Burnout Prescription
All-inclusive. No hidden extras. No early bird pressure.
“Cannot rate this highly enough. It ticked all the boxes for me: great food, evidence-based therapies… none of the silly woo-woo BS. Jill and Daz are so genuine and down to earth.”
This is a prescribed programme, not a sale item. The price is the price - every therapy, every class, accommodation and most meals included from the day it goes on sale.
The 5-Day Burnout Prescription · Wed-Sun (4 nights) · All inclusive
Afterpay available - 4 interest-free payments. Price includes all therapies, all classes, most meals (breakfasts, lunches and most dinners), and private ensuite accommodation. The WildSide wildlife experience is optional and included at no extra cost.
Questions