What a glorious inaugural retreat we had at our new center in Tavira, southern Portugal, June 5-10, 2026! Our group included 22 people from eight countries – the US, Portugal, South Africa, India, Kenya, Brazil, Canada and the UK.
Guest teachers Christine Marie Mason and Tiffani Gyatso guided us through diverse practices of movement, breath, dance, and painting over the six days together. Christine Marie invited us into yoga and silent meditation each morning on the patio under the coconut netting. Her two days of teachings supported us to open our physical, emotional, and energetic bodies to awaken our vitality, and become more aware of areas within ourselves of ‘stuckness’ that can manifest as blocks or limitations in our lives and relationships. In small groups we participated in beautiful exercises that helped us to connect with our own individual presence and energy, and become more aware of how we interact with the energetic bodies of others, and also to reflect sensitively on challenges in intimacy with others.
Tiffani followed with another two days of teachings in vibrant dance and other movement practices, encouraging us to fully occupy our environment and space in creative and life-giving ways that involve the whole body. These exercises sparked new levels of awareness from the tips of our toes to the tops of our heads, and everything in between—including aspects of constriction, expansion, and joy. We had an afternoon of Zen painting that invited us to incorporate wide full body movements as we practiced expressing our internal experiences on paper, rather than trying to render accurate images of objects in the 3D world!
Midway through the retreat, we offered Grof®Breathwork that opened deeper levels of our individual and collective consciousness and subtle bodies. We also had a lovely evening outing to the beach for swimming at sunset, and another trip to a nearby swimming hole with a magnificent waterfall!
This retreat was further blessed with Kirtan led by Adam Bauer, the tireless retreat staff from four countries – Desireé English, Lucille Meyer, Naomi Mwangi, Antonia Michaela, Garrett Evans, who nurtured us all exquisitely, and the verdant land and gardens of our new Center that caressed us with soft wistful breezes and bright flowers of every color.
