The Aliveness Retreat
Portugal • New Year's Edition • 29.12.-02.1.
When was the last time you felt completely alive?
Not productive or busy… but truly alive.
The kind of alive that makes you laugh until your stomach hurts. Dance without thinking.
Cry because your heart has finally softened. Jump into the ocean. Feel deeply connected to yourself and the people around you.
The Aliveness Retreat is a five-day New Year's journey in the Portuguese countryside that combines deep inner exploration with joy, creativity and play. Together, we'll slow down, reconnect with ourselves, share beautiful meals, move our bodies, explore what has been holding us back, laugh around the fire, dance barefoot, jump into the ocean, rest and welcome the new year with intention.
The Aliveness Retreat is a space to pause, not to escape your life, but to connect with it.
A glimpse into our days
This is an example schedule to give you a sense of the rhythm. While we have a structure, we will also adapt to the natural flow of the group.
Day 1 — Arrival & Opening | 29.12.
16:00 Arrival & Welcome
16:30 Opening Circle
17:30 Break
19:00 Welcome Dinner
21:00 Good Night Sound Bath
Day 2 — Exploration & Reconnection | 30.12.
08:30 Optional Morning Practice: Stretch, Breath & Journaling
09:00 Nourishing Breakfast
10:00 Inner Child Workshop I Breathwork & Somatics
12:30 Lunch Break
14:30 Creative Crafts Workshop: Discover your Protectors
17:00 Dance Workshop (1hr)
19:00 Nourishing Dinner
21:00 Good Night Sound bath & Evening Integration
Day 3 — Aliveness & New Beginnings | 31.12.
08:30 Optional Morning Practice: Stretch, Breath & Journaling
09:00 Nourishing Breakfast
10:00 Your Aliveness Blueprint I Somatics Workshop: Exploring your Gifts, Values, Passions and Desires
12:30 Lunch Break
15:00 Sauna, Cold Plunge & Integration Time
17:00 Free Time
20:00 New Year's Eve Dinner & Celebration
23:00 Past, Present & Future Meditation & Fire Ritual:
Releasing the Old & Inviting the New
Day 4 — Integration & Embodiment | 01.01.
10:00 Morning Beach Meditation & Nourishing Breakfast
12:00 Free Time for Rest, Nature, Creativity & Connection, Browse around Town / Book a Shiatsu Massage
17:00 Soft Landing I Cosy Sound Bath
19:00 Dinner, S’mores & Movie Night by the Fire
Day 5 — Closing & Carrying It Forward | 02.01.
08:30 Optional Morning Practice: Stretch, Breath & Journaling
09:00 Nourishing Breakfast
10:00 Empowerment Practice & Closing Circle
12:00 Farewell & Departure
The practices that guide our journey
The retreat brings together different practices to help us explore, reconnect and experience ourselves beyond the thinking mind. Each one offers a different doorway into greater awareness, connection and aliveness.
The workshops will include a mix of these modalities.
Rather than following a rigid formula, we’ll adapt the practices to what the group needs in the moment. Some moments may call for slowing down and feeling; others for movement, release, energy or play.
If you have any questions about the retreat or the practices, feel free to email me or book a clarity call.
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Hypnotic Meditation helps you access the deeper layers of your mind, where many of our beliefs, patterns and inner stories live. Through guided hypnotic journeys, we create space to explore what is ready to shift and reconnect with what already feels true within you.
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The breath is a simple but powerful way to shift our state and connect with what we’re feeling. We’ll use different breathwork practices throughout the retreat, from gentle regulation like in our morning practices to deeper emotional release in our workshops.
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We’ll explore the different parts of ourselves that developed to protect, cope and help us navigate life. This approach is also known as Internal Family Systems (IFS). Through parts work and inner child practices, we can better understand our patterns, reconnect with our needs and meet ourselves with more compassion and self-acceptance.
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Not everything can be understood through thinking. Connecting with the body allows us to notice, feel and process emotions, sensations and patterns that may be difficult to access through the mind alone.
Developing or deepening embodied awareness is an essential part of the work throughout the retreat. It is woven into breathwork, parts work, hypnotic meditations and movement practices.
Because understanding something intellectually is one thing; allowing yourself to actually feel it, move through it and experience something differently in your body is where deeper change and aliveness can happen.
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The Dance practice we will experience in this retreat is an invitation to move without needing to perform, look good or get the steps right. It’s about curiosity, pleasure, connection to yourself and rediscovering the freedom to simply enjoy being in your body. No prior experience is needed.
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Sound creates a space to slow down, soften and let the nervous system settle. We’ll use sound baths as moments of rest, integration and simply being.
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Ritual gives us a chance to mark transitions and give meaning to what we’re experiencing. Through shared rituals, reflection, creativity and connection, we’ll honour our experiences, our uniqueness, what we’re ready to release and what we want to carry forward.
Nourishment & food
Food will be an important part of our time together. Not just to nourish our bodies, but to create moments of pleasure, connection and togetherness around the table.
We’ll enjoy fresh, seasonal vegetarian and vegan meals, made with high-quality, wholesome ingredients to nourish and energize you throughout the retreat. Expect beautiful, abundant food, plenty of variety and little moments of indulgence too.
Water, tea, coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks will be available throughout the retreat.
We’ll of course take dietary requirements, allergies and restrictions into account, so everyone can enjoy each meal feeling well cared for and at ease.
If you have any favourite snacks or drinks you’d like to enjoy alongside what we provide, you’re very welcome to bring them with you.
A space for clarity
The retreat will be alcohol- and drug-free, creating space for presence, clarity and a deeper connection with yourself and the group.
What’s Included
Your retreat experience is designed to give you space to slow down, reconnect, and nourish yourself, while everything essential is taken care of.
Your retreat includes:
5 days and 4 nights of accommodation at the beautiful Casa do Sol, surrounded by the peaceful Portuguese countryside
Nourishing meals throughout the retreat, including 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 4 dinners
Daily morning practices, including movement, stretching, breath and journaling
All workshops and group sessions, designed to support reflection, release, reconnection & aliveness
Breathwork and embodiment practices
Sound bath experiences
Dance workshop
Creative Crafts Workshop
Sauna and Cold Plunge Experience
Evenings of connection, including shared dinners and special gatherings
New Year’s Eve celebration and dinner
Space for rest, reflection and integration
A carefully held and intimate retreat experience from beginning to end
What’s Not Included
Travel to and from Azueira, Portugal
Transfers between the airport (or another arrival/departure location) and Casa do Sol
Shiatsu massages and other individual treatments (available at an additional cost)
Optional activities during free time
Any additional personal expenses or activities not included in the retreat program
Please note: Free time is intentionally built into the retreat, giving you the opportunity to rest, explore, enjoy the beautiful surroundings, or choose any additional activities that feel right for you.
is this for you?
This retreat might be for you if you feel ready to slow down, turn inward and connect with what makes you feel most alive.
Maybe you’ve been overthinking, working hard and feeling a little disconnected from yourself. Maybe you’re navigating a transition, feeling stuck in old patterns, or simply sensing that there is more life, joy and possibility waiting for you. No matter if you’re building a business, creating art or needing a break from your 9 to 5 - we all deserve a guilt-free pause to replenish, have fun and come back juicier than before.
You don’t need to arrive with a specific problem to solve. You don’t need to be “good at” inner work. You just need to come with the desire for aliveness, we’ll unravel the rest from there.
This Retreat is for you, if you want to:
Reconnect with your body, emotions, needs and intuition
Create more space for joy, creativity, play and pleasure
Explore what you truly want, not just what you think you should do or want
Understand yourself better and release patterns or beliefs that hold you back
Connect and exchange with others
Enter the new year feeling more yourself, free and alive
With only 8 participants, we keep the group intentionally small to create space for genuine connection, individual attention and a feeling of being seen and supported.
Excited? Come join us!
Testimonials from
Previous Experiences
“Thank you so much for your guidance and helping me move forward on my healing journey. The knowledge and skills you imparted on me are invaluable. I have felt and continue to experience a huge shift in myself, the ways in which I communicate and most importantly allowing myself to feel my emotions as they arise and question why they are coming up.”
— JOHANNA LORDAN, UK
ARTIST & ENTREPRENEUR
“Enrolling was a complete act of faith, that was richly rewarded. It exceeded my expectations, greatly. Her program was concise, easy to understand and integrate. It was one of the most effective programs I have ever done. It is easy to return to, and dive deeper into ourselves, time and time again. I have revisited different parts of her program since our time together came to a close. I feel so much gratitude. It feels so rich and beyond the words that i have to express. Merci beaucoup, muito obrigada, THANK YOU, Vanessa!”
— MICHELLE POZON, LISBON
FASHION DESIGNER & STYLIST
“I wanted to say thank you for a wonderful workshop on Sunday. It was by far the most intense and liberating experience I’ve ever had. The breathwork caused an intense, long-lasting vibration throughout my entire body (including my lips) and seemed have really shaken something loose within me. The sound bath after was exquisite and very soothing. I feel very grateful to have gone through that process with a kind, strong and supportive person like you. Thank you for encouraging us to go deep and let go and thank you for being able to hold us. You are amazing! I live in LA, but the next time I’m in Berlin I will find you and bring my friends.”
— ANJA PAUL, LOS ANGELES
Meet your Retreat Team
Vanessa Naumann
Retreat Facilitator
Vanessa will be holding the space throughout the retreat and guiding you through most workshops, practices and rituals. Her approach combines deep inner work with embodiment, curiosity and play, creating space to explore yourself honestly while remembering that the ultimate goal is fully living.
Giulia Carletto
Retreat Chef
Giulia loves seasonal food, experimenting with different cuisines and putting vegetables at the centre of the plate. Her meals are wholesome, balanced and generous, designed to nourish your body and leave your belly happy and full.
Guest Teachers
We are excited to have a couple of guest teachers join us during the week for either a movement class or an artistic workshop. Rest assured, they are excellent at their work and we will share their names soon.
THE LOCATION
Book your spot for New Years 2026
Maximum 8 guests. Spots fill quickly. Bookings close 1. November 2026
29.12.2026 - 02.01.2027 · Casa do Sol · Azueira, Mafra, Portugal
NORTH ROOM
Shared Room
King size double or twin bed option
With valley view
Shared bathroom
Early Bird Rate until 15th October
per person · all inclusive
1449 €
1649 €
WEST ROOM
Shared Room
King size double, or twin bed option
With valley view
Shared bathroom
Early Bird Rate until 15th October
per person · all inclusive
1449 €
1649 €
SOUTH ROOM
Shared Studio
4 Single beds in our studio space with valley view
Each with their own private partitioned area
Shared on suite bathroom
Early Bird Rate until 15th October
per person · all inclusive
1299 €
1499 €
In case you’d like to have a chat before signing up to see if this retreat is a good fit for you, book a 20 min discovery call with me to connect personally, where I can answer any questions you may have.
FAQs
Got a different question?
Reach out and ask me.
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Absolutely, most guests travel solo. This is a great place to meet people.
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If you are a local, it is easily accessible via car or uber.
If traveling from abroad, the nearest airport is Lisbon. From there it’s a fifty minute drive. We can help coordinate ride-shares or you can book an uber, which are relatively affordable in Portugal. Once you signed up, we will send you all the arrival details for a smooth journey. -
Rooms will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. You can book them directly through the website.
If you bring s friend or a partner, we make sure to have you both in the same room, of course.
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All purchases are final and non-refundable.
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During the retreat, there won’t be enough time but you can book 1:1 sessions to integrate or go deeper after the retreat.
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Bookings close on 1. November 2026.
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We will serve high quality, seasonal vegetarian and vegan meals. Once you signed up, we will ask you to share your food allergies and restrictions with us to make sure you’ll have a comfortable and relaxing food experience.