Let yourself Bloom at Melbourne’s newest spiritual-fest

If your idea of a good weekend involves sipping kombucha and doing breathwork while nibbling on a vegan curry and shopping for new essential oils, Super Bloom is the festival for you. Held at Melbourne’s iconic Abbotsford Convent over a weekend in April, Super Bloom brought together everything to do with the mind, body, and spirit. More than one hundred sessions covered everything from meditative breathing techniques to vulva painting, and classes covered tantric practises, raw vegan desserts, and even some pop-up lessons from the School of Life. Over fifty speakers also took the stage, sharing how-to wisdom on healthy relationships, waste-free cooking, and ‘extreme wellness’. If you’re a bit of a cynic, this might all sound like a lot to take in: after all, some of us would rather spend the weekend eating meat and staying up late instead of indulging in vegan cooking and practising yoga. But the festival’s program was pretty free and easy, much like the topics it celebrates. Guests could drift in and out of classes and workshops as they pleased, and take some time out on the sunny lawn of the Abbotsford Convent while they rested and relaxed between speakers. To keep things light, roaming performance artists circulated throughout the grounds, allowing guests to partipate in silent discos and even, if they were lucky, take a quick nap while being guarded by The Sleep Keepers. Sound mysterious enough yet? Keep an eye on superbloomfestival.com for your next chance to unleash your inner yogi, and free your mind.