The UNLIMITED Spinal Cord Injury Retreat is an intensive, athlete-centred experience designed to help people living with spinal cord injuries reconnect with possibility and challenge perceived limitations.
Created by people living this journey every day, the retreat brings together world-class coaches, health professionals and members of the spinal cord injury community for a unique week of learning, training, connection, and growth.
Whether someone is newly injured or decades into their spinal cord injury journey, the retreat is designed to meet participants where they are and help them move forward.
More Than a Retreat
We believe that anyone living with a spinal cord injury is an athlete.
Every day requires determination, resilience, adaptation, problem-solving, and physical effort. The work involved in navigating life with a spinal cord injury often exceeds what many people understand.
By referring to participants as athletes, we acknowledge the commitment, discipline, and courage required to keep moving forward.
This mindset is central to everything we do.
The retreat is built around the belief that while circumstances may have changed, potential has not.
What Athletes Will Experience
The Unlimited Retreat is designed to support both the body and the mind.
Intensive Physical Rehabilitation Training
Athletes will have access to daily rehabilitation-focused training sessions delivered by experienced professionals who understand the complexities of spinal cord injury.
Training may include:
Functional movement and rehabilitation exercises
Strength and conditioning
Mobility and flexibility work
Balance and coordination training
Individualised guidance tailored to each athlete's goals and abilities
Whether an athlete is newly injured or years into their journey, the focus is on maximising potential, improving physical wellbeing, and developing skills that can continue to be built upon long after the retreat ends.
Wellness, Mindset and Mental Resilience
A spinal cord injury impacts far more than the physical.
Throughout the retreat, athletes will receive coaching sessions designed to nurture both personal growth and emotional wellbeing.
Sessions may explore:
Building resilience through adversity
Managing stress and overwhelm
Goal setting and future planning
Confidence and self-belief
Practical wellbeing tools for everyday life
The body can only advance as far as the mind allows it. This retreat will support athletes to reach their potential, starting with their mentality.
Why Intensive Rehabilitation Matters
Global research shows that intensive, repetitive, task-specific training leads to significantly improved outcomes for people with spinal cord injuries.
How?
Neuroplasticity allows the brain and body to adapt and recover
Higher intensity = greater functional gains
Access to specialised equipment accelerates outcomes
Ultimately:
The difference isn’t just effort — it’s access.
This retreat brings that access to Aotearoa.
A Holistic Approach
The retreat recognises that wellbeing extends beyond physical health.
Our programme is based on Te Whare Tapa Whā framework, recognising the pillars of holistic wellbeing:
Te Taha Tinana: Physical Wellbeing
Te Taha Hinengaro: Mental Wellbeing
Te Taha Wairua: Spiritual Wellbeing
Te Taha Whānau: Social Wellbeing
By bringing these elements together in one environment, we create opportunities for meaningful and lasting change.
Our WHY
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Our WHY *
People deserve the right to experiment with different rehabilitation forms and decide what works best for them.
Anamia went searching for what worked for her, and found it at Making Strides in the Gold Coast. She has experienced progress that was deemed impossible with the level and nature of her injury. Additionally, Ana had the opportunity to access other resources, including private coaching sessions with Charlie Gordon, to help her emotionally and mentally. Being surrounded by opportunities and people who believe as deeply as she does, has enabled Ana to be UNLIMITED, and she wants others to experience the feeling.
From experience, there is an extensive list of considerations that come with travelling with a spinal cord injury which make it pretty intimidating, and Anamia quickly recognised her privilege in being able to access the rehab of her choice. And so we wondered: why should people need to travel hours overseas simply to access different forms of rehabilitation?
We want to bring diversity into Aotearoa. different rehab, different people, new progress. In 2024, six months after her accident, Ana presented a speech talking about the three things that are getting her through - power of the mind, Mauri (energy), and the power of faith. These were all strengthened with her experience overseas, and we want to strengthen those aspects of other recovery journeys.
The framework that will hold all of this together is Te Whare Tapa Whā. It speaks to how we understand health — not just as a body to fix, but as a whole person to care for. The physical, the mental, the spiritual, the family and community. When all four walls are strong, the whole structure holds.
The offerings are real and they are accessible:
Two weeks targeting all pillars of Te Whare Tapa Whā, to set SCI Athletes up with the best building blocks for recovery.
About Anamia
From Athlete to Founder
Before her injury, Ana was an multi-sport athlete and Joyce Fisher Trust Scholar.
At 17, her life changed overnight after sustaining a C5 spinal cord injury. She lost the ability to walk, to use her hands, and to sit independently.
But she didn’t lose her mindset.
Through intensive rehabilitation and belief, Ana has experienced progress she was told wasn’t possible.
Now, she’s turning that experience into action — creating a pathway for others to access the same opportunity.
““Anyone with an SCI who trains as hard as we do is an athlete.””
— Anamia Rangihaeata
