You are Unique.
You are Joy.
You Deserve to Thrive.
The Relationship between Nature, environment, the body and senses
The spiritual mysticism of Ireland is palpable.
Retreats positively influence the heart and are most nourishing in a place where you feel held by the natural beauty. The amazement of a landscape can connect us to an energy greater than ourselves. At the same time, a retreat is not a vacation. It is more genuine and transmutable when you can reconnect to your environment and recreate some part of it at home.
re-invigorate your inner realm
Find daily rituals you are passionate about.
The goal of an immersion is to find the tools to bring the true version of you to the planet every day. Embodiment is not something we do, it is a way we live our lives. A retreat is a physical and spiritual place to remember and return – “remember your authentic self” and “return to joy”. Don’t think of it as a path to anything or anyone. It is one of many ways we awaken to what is with acceptance and kindness. As our world changes, we are asked to continually redefine, respond and adapt our inner landscape to external sourroundings. A retreat can serve as the anchor for when the storm hits. And you are gratefully tethered to the support of community and ritual!
leave behind your human “doing-ness” and explore your human “being-ness”
Together, we will build your ideal space, inside and out.
When your basic needs are being cared for, the fluid response is to follow your heart; without external expectations, pride, or fear of failure or change. We unconsciously live in the results of other people’s thinking, particularly now with social media and the constant barrage of information and overstimulation. Retreats are pattern disruptors. You are afforded still and quiet to find your unique voice, beliefs and purpose. The focus is not on “doing” or “having”; it is on “being” and “feeling”, and the subsequent expression of such.
Design Your Day
Retreat Menu Options
Therapeutic Sound
Sound Therapy is an ancient form of vibrational medicine that uses music and/or sound to tune organs, tissues and systems of your physical body. Listening to or producing specific tones benefits conditions such as insomnia, headaches, chronic pain, disease, and trauma. As you passively listen to the soothing sounds of gongs, bowls, voice and keyboards etc, the nervous system is soothed and healed in a way that benefits all stress related conditions. Like any celestial sound from a well tuned instrument, you function much better on all levels when your body is "in tune."
Somatic Yoga
This accessible practice teaches a therapeutic form of movement. Somatic yoga is recommended if you experience persistent pain, illness, fatigue or if you want to increase sensory-motor awareness for enhanced body-brain connection. There is also emphasis placed on mindfulness and the energetic effects of the practice while working with prana (life-force in the subtle body). Read more about Megan's specialized Somatic Yoga offerings under the Somatic Yoga tab.
Restorative Yoga
Affectionately thought of as the desert poses of yoga, restorative postures provide an unhurried, safe atmosphere to relax completely. Each pose is customized to your body with blankets and bolsters to encourage a deep opening. Props allow the body to remain comfortable for 10-15 minutes while focusing on calming breathing techniques while you are in a state of relaxed awareness.
Meditation
Meditation offers opportunities to look at expectations and the cacophony of other noise in your head. When we stay present in this mindful practice, noticing what comes up then letting it go facilitates the process of embodiment. You will be given the opportunity to explore multiple techniques to see what is most beneficial in befriending your brain. Meditation also becomes a powerful way to ground ourselves in our own spirituality.
Yin Yoga
This quiet practice releases tension and fatigue. Yin yoga targets the spine, hips, pelvis, legs and arms in a way that relaxes your muscles, stretching the deep tissue and releasing energy to the joints. A limited number of poses are held for 2-6 minutes. Each pose is designed to apply strategic stretch or compression to the energy channels of your body. Props may be used to encourage more comfort and nourish the body and mind.
Marma Therapy
Ayurvedic Marma Point Therapy is an ancient practice that bridges the gap between the physical and energetic bodies by carrying energetic information between your mind and the body’s organs and tissues. By combining the use of gentle massage to stimulate the tissues, with medicinal essential oils dropped on the marma points, and pranic healingwith intention, your whole body health can be restored. *Add-On Service Request
Hiking
Whether you chose to take a self guided morning saunter from the house through the hills while listening to the sheep, or hike the variety of terrain from flowering sea cliffs to mossy forests, you will be perfectly planted to hike until your heart is content. Our mountain valley is surrounded by the sea and warmed by the Gulf Stream. West Cork is blessed with the loveliest weather in Ireland where native oak and hawthorn trees grow along side palms and pines. After your hike, take a rejuvenating night to stargaze from our wood burning hot tub.
Slow Flow Vinyasa
This class gives you the time to explore the best alignment for your body with a simplified vinyasa style (movement with the breath), but still plenty of instruction. Modifications and props are offered for more comfort and stillness, or at your request, options are given for more flow and challenge.
Pranayama Breathing
Your breath is the powerful, free tool of vitality and healing that is always with you. Learning to focus on the breath can teach you to check in with it and shift into the present any time throughout the day. Improving respiration also brings freedom to the muscles of respiration in the torso. Learn some simple ways to observe and engage with your breath. To make friends with the breath is to befriend the mind. Additionally, depending on the ancient tradition, the breath is considered prana, qi or life force - the door to the subtle body.
Energy Healing
Energy therapy can perceive energetic blocks and imbalances (dis-ease) and treat them.. Pain, stress, fibromyalgia, insomnia, migraine headaches, and other issues can be treated with energy healing. Healing Touch Energy Therapy, Reiki, Access Energy Transformation, and Pranic Healing are among the modalities Megan and Michael can use to help you. *Add-On Service Request
Restorative Yoga
The Desert Poses of Yoga! This class provides an unhurried, safe atmosphere to relax completely. The antidote to stress is relaxation; restorative yoga is a state of active relaxation. Each pose is customized to your body with blankets and bolsters to encourage a deep opening. Props allow the body to remain comfortable for 10-15 minutes while focusing on calming breathing techniques.
Embodied Writing
Embodied writing is the free flow process of writing from the awareness of your internal space. The focus is on the body’s sensations and how language, from thought to written form, make you feel. Even you can write in this way! Explore what it is like to engage your senses without getting caught in the self-narrative stories. There is no hurry or end goal. There are no points given or taken for grammar, spelling, sentence structure or your ideas! Writing from a place of feeling instead of thinking is self-indulgent and therapeutic.
Local Color
Stroll through the farmers markets smelling deliciousness, viewing local art and hand made treasures to bring home. Open your ears for some live music. Taste the fresh seafood, pick some greens from our polytunnel, indulge in decadent Irish dairy and visit one of our vibrant coastal towns. Hike parts of the unspoiled coastline of the "Wild Atlantic Way," or check out one of our beaches for a refreshing swim. Appreciate the ancient Celtic culture: sit in the presence of stone circles, count how many types of native flowers you can find, or explore the enchanted forest. If you are on a mini-retreat, we can also recommend kayaking through the bioluminescence, golf, bicycling, whale watching, a sauna by the beach and other adventuresome outings.
Yoga Therapy
If you are looking for customized practices that are specific to your health needs or goals, an individual yoga therapy session may be for you. By working one on one, you can co-create a daily ritual that meets you where you are . Yoga therapy starts with an assessment in order to address your unique needs, and includes hand outs or videos so you can continue your practice once you've returned home. *Add-On Service Request
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is one of the oldest holistic medicinal systems and the sister science to yoga. Its basic premise is that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body and spirit. This ancient method promotes contentment and prevention over fighting discomfort and disease. Ayurveda teaches that conscious cooking and eating local, seasonal foods balance gut health, which is a key to overall well being. Food is not the only thing our body takes in - we also "digest" our thoughts and experiences. Learn to bring the five elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth) into balance, both internally and externally.
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Welcome Opportunity in Ballydehob, West Cork
Our private 7 acre property offers a custom built timber studio, 3 bedrooms & 3 baths, settings for friendly conversation and solitary spaces in the countryside. Emerge each morning to an invitation to know yourself in the landscape. Find protection in the rural valley as you wake to the view of Mount Gabriel and the surrounding mountains. Engage in the soothing sound of the Bawnaknockane River, or stroll around our lively pond. Meet yourself at the doorway where ancient tradition meets natural beauty.
Teacher trainings are available in both residential and non-residential options.
Ballydehob is a colorful West Cork village on the Roaringwater Bay along the “Wild Atlantic Way”, uniquely situated to explore the vibrant coastal towns of Bantry, Skibbereen, Baltimore and Schull.
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