PORTUGAL RETREAT IMMERSION

18 - 25 May 2025

‘gestures of becoming’

‘Look around you, love. Slowly. Do you notice this sunset? It’s the only one you’ll ever see. Tomorrow, you’ll see another one when you come to this edge - but then it will be another sunset, incalculably different from the ones you’ve already seen. Such is the miracle and wonder of the world. Everything moves, nothing stays or congeals long enough to ever be fixed into being. Everything is caught in the trance of becoming.’

Bayo Akomolafe

This week long retreat is an opportunity to step away from our day to day habits and patterns, give ourself some space to rest into the emerging flow of nature, and to dive into a diverse range of practices designed to reanimate your capacity to sense your relationship to self, other and the wider world to which we belong.

On retreat we have the luxury of time. Practices are extended and unhurried. There is space for depth, for rest and for sensitive enquiry to facilitate a return to our capacity to be.

Taking a week out of daily routines to immerse ourselves in practice, presence, nature, beauty, community and nourishment can facilitate a return home to our deep inner rhythms. It is an opportunity to be inspired, to sit with oneself with others, to digest and process our life experiences, and to be held in our process. It is a time to have an adventure, to rest deeply, to settle into original biorhythms with nature, to clear stagnation and to slow right down to remember what is underneath all of the layers of complexity and come back to the utter simplicity and joy of being.

With many of us practicing online these days, it is also a beautiful opportunity to bathe in the collective presence of shared practice, to meet those on this path with us, and to reignite and deepen our practice.

Yogis across the ages have been inquiring into the nature of existence, embodiment, and the microcosm of the human body within the macrocosm of nature. Our bodies are nature unfolding, in this moment, now. Our practice is bringing our awareness back into the landscape of our body so that we can return to a felt sense of presence, unity, integration, belonging and wonder.

This retreat is a 7 day offering of diverse, simple and potent practices designed to help us return to a sense of vitality, clarity and a heightened awareness of our own precious aliveness, held in the wild beauty of Portugal’s valleys, beaches and forests.

It is easy for life to become so fast, busy and over stimulating that we feel fragmented, 'in our heads', dissatisfied, anxious or overwhelmed.

As we immerse ourselves in our practice and take time out from our daily routines to be in nature, we can slowly recalibrate our nervous system and tend to our body, mind and spirit to regenerate, reset and remember our inherent wholeness. Through creative and inspiring movement practices that are both dynamic and somatic/restorative, breath awareness, subtle body inquiry, yoga philosophy and sacred sound we will fill our cup, truly receive, inspire our senses, and leave with a growing sense of absolute wonder at the nature of existence itself.

location

Located at Portugal's Southwest Atlantic Coast, bordering Algarve, Orada combines spectacular wild surf beaches and the countryside tranquility of the Alentejo region. 

1,5 hours away from Faro airport and 2,5 hours away from Lisbon,  this isolated evergreen valley creates an abundant oasis where two creeks come together, nourishing ancient lush forest and wildlife. 

This will be our 5th year at Monte da Orada, and we can’t wait to share our home away from home with you. The centre is the home of a beautiful permaculture project, much of the food we eat will have grown on the land itself. There is a beautiful bio-pool to enjoy, a sauna to warm our bones, an aqueduct to float down, outdoor and indoor practice spaces with beautiful nature views, and lots of land to walk and get lost in.

ACCOMMODATION

There are many beautiful accommodation options to suit your preference, budget, and level of nature immersion! From ensuite private rooms in the beautifully reconstructed farm house to nature bungalows a little further set back into the valley, shared dorm rooms, and a beautiful tipi and treehouse.

Investment

£1,100 - £1,900

Price includes: 3 extended practices per day (with one day off), an evening Kirtan (chanting), accommodation and 3 beautiful farm to table vegetarian meals per day

Does not include: Flights, airport transfers, surfing lessons, bus/ taxis to the beach, massages and treatments. 

Please note, deposits are non-refundable unless you find someone to replace you on the retreat to take your spot.