WHAT REMAINS
A Retreat for Women Honouring Change and Transition
9 - 13 May 2026
Portugal
Welcome, and thank you for landing here
We invite you to explore each section at your own pace.
Within this page you will find both practical information and personal reflections, different layers of the same experience.
Choose the perspective that calls you, or simply take your time to wander through.
After seven editions of Yoga & Art Retreats, we are here honouring change and transition and what remains.
The Experience
This intimate 5-day retreat was created for women who feel a shift unfolding in their lives, a moment of transition asking for slowness, clarity, and care.
Rather than stepping away from life completely, these days are an invitation to move differently within life: to soften the rhythm, settle the nervous system, and spend time with yourself in ways that allow you to meet yourself more honestly, where nothing has to be held together or figured out.
The retreat is intentionally kept small, with a maximum of 11 women, allowing for a sense of closeness, ease, and genuine connection within the group.
Days unfold through yoga, meditation, art exploration, somatic breathwork and sound healing, woven together with spaciousness rather than structure for performance. There is time for slow mornings, movement without urgency, journaling, shared meals, and quiet walks in nature. Together, we cultivate an atmosphere where listening becomes easier, to the body, to emotion, and to what may be quietly asking for attention beneath daily life.
Practices are offered as invitations rather than expectations, allowing you to participate, rest, or simply be, following your own inner pace.
Most women come on their own, and no previous experience is needed.
Unsure if this retreat is right for you?
You’re welcome to book a short, pressure-free call or ask any question before deciding.
“I never imagined I could surrender so completely, open myself so fully, feel such an intimate connection with these extraordinary women, or sense such a deep and living relationship with nature itself..”
Helena k.The Essence
This retreat unfolds in a quiet, enchanted land, a place where the rhythm of the earth invites the body to exhale. Here, nature is something you are in relationship with, not something you observe. You will walk, breathe, rest, and open alongside it. From this place, the retreat becomes an invitation to honour transition. To acknowledge what has ended, what is changing, and what no longer fits, without needing immediate answers. When we step out of our usual environment, our routines, responsibilities, and conditioned responses, something softens. The nervous system begins to register new possibilities. Different parts of us have space to speak. Away from constant input and distraction, we hear ourselves more clearly. Our internal responses begin to change. Our sense of identity has room to expand.
Transformation doesn’t happen because we try harder.
It happens because the conditions support it.
When women come together with shared intention, something ancient and intelligent is remembered. Vulnerability becomes safer. We heal faster, integrate deeper, and move through transitions more steadily when held by structure, presence, and community.
In times like these, marked by uncertainty, fragmentation, and disconnection, gathering in grounded, meaningful ways is not a luxury. It is essential. This retreat is held as a relational space, where being seen, heard, and felt can gently shift old pathways and open new ones.
This is not a retreat about becoming someone new.
It is about meeting who you already are, with tenderness and truth.
Venue & Location
Serra Vida is located in a beautiful valley with the Sever River flowing through 8 hectares of untouched, raw nature in Portugal’s lush Serra de São Mamede National Park. Located a 2.5-hour drive inland from Lisbon, close to the Spanish border and the medieval castle town of Marvão, the land feels both remote and deeply held.
The venue sits in a quiet natural area, offering privacy, spaciousness, and minimal distraction. This environment supports the work of the retreat by reducing external stimulation and allowing the body and nervous system to reset.
Here, the land is not used as decoration, but as a steady presence. The close relationship with the elements supports grounding, reflection, and integration.
Being in this landscape invites a re-membering of our relationship with nature, not as something separate or idealised, but as something lived and relational. The land does not direct the process; it quietly supports it.
What remains when you strip away the layers,
the roles you’ve carried,
the identities you’ve outgrown,
the ways you’ve learned to adapt, survive, and hold yourself together?
Beneath the layers, there is You, waiting to be met.
Who this retreat is for
This retreat is for women who:
who feel ready to slow down, explore inwardly, and meet themselves with gentleness and curiosity
feel that something in their life has ended or is quietly dissolving
are sensitive, embodied, and reflective
feel loss, grief, numbness, longing, or disorientation, even if they can’t fully name it
are tired of fixing themselves or searching for the next breakthrough
are drawn to ritual and depth, but need grounding and simplicity
want to feel their body again, slowly and honestly
are open to being in process, rather than rushing toward answers
You don’t need to know exactly why you’re coming.
You don’t need to have clarity before you arrive.
Who this retreat is not for
This retreat is not for women who:
want to bypass discomfort or responsibility
are looking for performance-based spirituality
are expecting holiday with practices
want lightness without depth
are seeking peak experiences or intense catharsis
want fast healing or promised outcomes
Nothing will be forced.
Nothing will be promised.
What this retreat is
This is a grounded, embodied retreat that invites slowness, honesty, and presence.
We will work with:
nature as our teacher
gentle somatic practices
breath and sound as tools for listening and regulation
art as a way to express what cannot always be spoken, to give form to inner experience
journaling and reflection
silence and rest
simple ritual to mark what is changing
What this retreat is not
This retreat is not about resolving your life, releasing everything, opening everything, or becoming someone else.
It is about learning how to stay with yourself and with others in a way that supports real, lasting change.
Transformation does not always look dramatic.
Often, it looks like coming back to yourself, slowly, together, and with care.
Meet your facilitators
We are Joana and Tina.
Tina started first Yoga & Art Retreats in 2023, and Joana joined the last four editions. It has been a meaningful journey for which we feel deeply grateful, each gathering adding another layer to our friendship and offering us continuous learning, both personally and as women.
Above all, we have witnessed the potential that emerges when women come together in a circle: supporting, learning, inspiring, nourishing, and building alongside one another. Sharing words or silence, sharing presence.
Each retreat feels like a force of its own, yet over time we began sensing a common field connecting them all. We came to understand our role as women committed to proposing, organizing, and holding this evolving space, guided by the intention to create conditions where each person can recognize herself as an essential part of her own story and of the collective. Not because there is a role to perform, but because we simply are.
We created the last edition knowing that Yoga & Art Retreat was coming to a close, without yet realizing that something new was already beginning to take shape.
Thank you to the women who wrote to return.
So here we are.
What we have lived and learned through these gatherings now shapes the way we hold this retreat and the kind of space you step into when you arrive.
This retreat grows from years of experience in yoga, breathwork, sound therapy, art-based exploration, and retreat facilitation, with a trauma-aware, body-led approach.
We are not here to lead you toward a specific outcome.
Instead, we offer a structure that supports deeper listening, to yourself and in connection with others.
What Is Included
5 days / 4 nights of shared or private accommodation at Serra Vida
Nourishing vegetarian and vegan meals each day including breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner
(dietary requirements can be accommodated)Art exploration guided by a local artist
(all materials provided)Daily yoga and meditation practices
(all equipment provided)Embodied dance and somatic movement sessions
Somatic trauma-release breathwork
Sound healing
Sauna ritual
A small journal to accompany your journey
Space for self-exploration, reflection, and connection
Unstructured time to walk the land, swim in the river, rest or simply be
Shared Room Triple €1111 pp
Shared Room Twin €1222 pp
Private Cottage €1333 pp
Private Studio €1444 pp
If the retreat investment feels challenging at this time, I warmly invite you to reach out. We offer a limited number of discounted places rated at €777 pp to make this experience accessible to those in need.
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*Price includes everything except arrival/departure cost.
Have Questions?
Many women join this retreat alone and take time before deciding.
If you would like to feel whether this space is right for you, you are warmly welcome to book a short, pressure-free call or simply ask a question.
(If you don’t see a reply, please check your spam folder.)
Please note, collaboration opportunities are not available at this time.
Investment
Testimonials
FAQs
Is this retreat right for me if I’m in a life transition?
Yes. This retreat is designed for women who are moving through change, endings, grief, identity shifts, or moments where the old no longer fits and the new is not yet clear. You don’t need to have answers. You only need a willingness to meet what is present.
Do I need prior experience with yoga, ritual, or art?
No. All practices are guided and accessible. This retreat is not about performance, skill, or “doing it right,” but about listening and presence. You’re welcome exactly as you are.
How deep is the work? Will it be emotionally intense?
The work is deep, but not forced. We move slowly, with care, structure, and choice. There is space for emotion, reflection, and vulnerability, as well as rest, nature, and silence. Nothing is compulsory, you are always invited to listen to your own limits.
Will there be support if something difficult arises for me?
Yes. The retreat is held with clear facilitation, boundaries, and support. Practices are designed to help regulate the nervous system, and you are never required to share or participate beyond what feels appropriate for you. You are responsible for your own wellbeing, and support is available within the container.
What is the group dynamic like?
This retreat will be a small group of women. There is no pressure to be social as both connection and solitude are equally honoured.
What will our days look like?
Each day includes a balance of guided practices (movement, breath, sound, ritual, art), time in nature, shared meals, and spacious rest. There is a gentle rhythm rather than a tight schedule, allowing the work to unfold organically.
What role does nature play in the retreat?
We’ll spend time outdoors, walk the land, rest by the river, and allow the elements to support grounding and reflection. The land itself becomes part of the holding.
What happens after the retreat?
Time and space for integration are built into the retreat itself. You’ll leave with simple practices and reflections to support the transition back into daily life. Ongoing support options may be shared after the retreat.
What is included in the price?
The retreat fee covers 4 nights/5 days accommodation, all the meals (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks & dinner), all the daily classes, activities, art workshops and a welcome gift.
What is not included in the price?
The retreat fee does not cover arrival/departure cost and optional activities of your choice outside our schedule.
Is financial support available?
Yes. If the retreat investment feels challenging, I invite you to reach out. A limited number of discounted places are available to support accessibility.
How to arrive at the venue?
There are several different ways of arriving at the venue. The most economical one is to use public transport or to take an Uber with other participants arriving at similar times. We create a Whatsapp Group to help you with that.
How do I reserve my spot?
Please follow these steps to secure your spot in the retreat:
1) Send your inquiry Here
2) Confirm your attendance completing the Registration Form
3) Make the deposit payment of 500EUR (You will receive details through email)
What if I feel unsure but drawn?
That’s very welcome. You don’t need certainty to join, only resonance. If you’re unsure, you’re invited to reach out and connect with me directly before deciding.
