Six Senses Introduces a New Retreat for Women’s Whole-Life Wellbeing

What if women’s wellness wasn’t about fixing what feels wrong, but learning to listen to what the body is asking for? That is the thinking behind The Yin Way Retreat – The Way of a Woman, a new Six Senses-led retreat created to support women through the full spectrum of life, from fertility and pregnancy to postpartum, perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

Launching at Six Senses Kanuhura in the Maldives from October 1–4, 2026, followed by Six Senses Kyoto from December 11–14, the retreat brings together modern science, traditional Chinese Medicine and ancient Eastern wisdom in an intimate setting designed for reflection, restoration and renewal.

At a time when women are increasingly questioning one-size-fits-all approaches to health, The Yin Way arrives with a different proposition: wellbeing should evolve with the woman.

The retreat is built around the principles of Yin – rest, receptivity, reflection and cyclical living – drawing from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoist philosophy. Rather than encouraging women to constantly optimise, achieve and push through, it asks what might happen if we occasionally did the opposite: slowed down, paid attention and worked with the body rather than against it.

For Hati S. Malinova, Six Senses Wellness Director and Integrative Health Expert, this shift is long overdue. With more than two decades of clinical experience spanning female and reproductive health, postpartum care, counselling psychology and Traditional Chinese Medicine, including 12 years at a female health hospital in Shanghai, Malinova will lead both retreats. “Women’s wellness has often been treated as a narrow conversation, focused on fertility and menopause, but it is much broader than that,” she explains.

That broader perspective is at the heart of The Yin Way. Brain fog, disrupted sleep, fatigue, changing cycles, stress and hormonal fluctuations can leave women searching for answers across fragmented areas of healthcare and wellness. The retreat aims to connect those dots, giving women a space to explore their individual health with both clinical insight and a sense of curiosity.

Importantly, this isn't about turning every stage of female life into a medical problem. Instead, The Yin Way explores the idea that change can be understood, supported and even embraced. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, perimenopause and menopause can be viewed as a “second spring” – a concept that shifts the narrative away from decline and towards a new chapter. As Malinova puts it: “Hormones are not the problem.” The challenge, she suggests, is that women have rarely been given the knowledge or tools to understand how their bodies change and how lifestyle can support them.

A wellness experience designed around the individual

Each retreat welcomes a small group of women, creating an environment where conversations can become more open and personal. Guests may arrive with different concerns, but communal meals, workshops and relaxed conversations create the opportunity to discover that many of the experiences they have considered uniquely their own are actually widely shared, yet the programme remains highly individualised.

An integrated wellness screening on arrival helps shape each guest's personal journey, with ‘Sleep With Six Senses’ and ‘Eat With Six Senses’ principles incorporated throughout. The high-tech, high-touch approach combines group experiences with personalised treatments and therapies designed around areas including stress management, sleep, circadian rhythms, cortisol regulation, cycle balance and hormonal wellbeing.

At Six Senses Kanuhura, the experience takes on the restorative rhythm of island life. Daily Yin yoga and sound healing sessions encourage guests to settle the nervous system, while hormonal health workshops open conversations around topics that are often difficult to discuss.

At the Alchemy Bar, traditional herbs and botanicals provide an introduction to natural approaches to wellbeing, while personalised spa treatments, communal meals and time spent by the ocean create space to simply slow down. A dolphin cruise adds another element of unstructured time, something that can feel surprisingly luxurious in a world dominated by schedules. Guests stay in Beach Villas with private pools, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Maldives.

Ancient wisdom, Japanese ritual

In Kyoto, the retreat takes on a more contemplative character. Six Senses Kyoto, located in the historic heart of the city, provides a setting where Japanese tradition and Eastern healing can meet modern wellness science.

Guests will explore kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with lacquer and gold, using its philosophy of embracing imperfection and change as a metaphor for life's transitions. Ikebana, Qigong, Daoist meditation, labyrinth walks and specially prepared herbal teas become part of the experience.

Expert-led seminars explore women's health and hormonal balance through both traditional knowledge and contemporary science, while biohacking, hydrotherapy and contrast therapy introduce more modern approaches to recovery.

Food also becomes part of the ritual. Evening dinners draw inspiration from Japan's 24 sekki, or micro-seasons, combining seasonal ingredients with Eastern dietary therapy and flavours traditionally associated with women's wellbeing.

Ultimately, The Yin Way isn't asking women to become another, supposedly improved version of themselves. Its philosophy is gentler: wellbeing begins with understanding the version of yourself that is already here.

In a culture that often celebrates women for how much they can carry, achieve and endure, there is something quietly radical about being encouraged to pause, rest, listen and discover that slowing down can be a form of strength.