OCTOBER 9 — 11 · QUINTA DO OUTEIRO 1598 · PONTE DA BARCA, PORTUGAL
in the house that Souto de Moura didn't build — he revealed. You won't build a better version of yourself. You'll release what piled up on top of who you always were.
Slow down. Rebalance. Find yourself again.
Over three days, you'll find a space carefully designed to slow down, listen to your body, quiet your mind, and return to what's essential.
An experience that brings together psychology and bodywork, because we believe no one returns to themselves through the mind alone.
Ponte da Barca, Portugal
The intention
The stone breathes again
There's a house in Ponte da Barca with five centuries of history. When architect Eduardo Souto de Moura restored it, he didn't build anything new on top of it. He stripped back layers until the granite stone — the one that had always held up the building — could breathe again.
He didn't build. He revealed what was already there. That's the exact gesture of this weekend.
Life has a subtle way of pulling us away from ourselves. We keep responding, adapting, giving — and at some point a hard-to-explain feeling shows up: you're present, but you're not whole.
That distance is real. But it isn't permanent. What you are — your strength, your clarity, your power — never disappeared. It's underneath. It always was.
This retreat is built inside a work of architectural authorship — and the architecture isn't decoration: it's part of the method.
day by day
The experience, day by day
Three days, one path
Release, sustain, inhabit.
Before you arrive
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Intention questionnaire
The Starting Point
What you're looking for never disappeared. It's still in you. It just got covered by everything you've accumulated over the years: expectations, demands, fears, roles, responsibilities, and ways of being that once made sense.
Before the retreat, you'll receive a short reflection questionnaire. Not to tell you who you are. But to help you recognize what's ready to be left behind.
That will be the starting point of your return.
Fridaydiscover
The first layer comes off: the journey, the noise, the role you arrived wearing. Arrival ritual and live sound healing — more than twenty instruments preparing the body for the days ahead.
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Arrival ritual
Threshold Ritual
Before entering the house, you pause alone at the door, in silence, with a simple question: what layer have I come to release? There you receive a smoky quartz — the stone that accompanies you as you let go.
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Live sound healing
"The first stone shifts"
More than twenty instruments — bowls, gong, shamanic drum — in the weekend's first sound bath. The body starts to release before the mind understands why.
Some of the sound bath instruments
Saturdaysustain
The body finds what truly sustains it. Walking meditation, guided breathwork, open dialogue, solo journaling, floating sound bath, communal dinner, fire ritual, stargazing — a full day of practices built to regulate the nervous system and help you clearly recognize what you've been carrying.
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Grounding · gentle movement
First Breath
Before breakfast, guided stretching and breathwork, to ground the body and bring it into the present before the day begins. Optional, outdoors if the weather allows.
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Walking meditation + sound
Listening to the Stone
Nature, sound and writing on a silent walk — you touch the stone that has held up the house for five centuries. It helps quiet the mind and gain clear distance from what you've been carrying.
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Movement and breathwork
The Bellows
Guided bodywork and breathing — the body opens and airs out before the real work of release begins. It regulates the nervous system and lowers accumulated tension in a tangible way, not just a symbolic one.
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Dialogue · psychology and high performance
From Reaction to Choice
An open conversation between the two facilitators, Sandra and Rodrigo: psychology and the experience of high-level competition arrive at the same point by different paths — body and mind respond the same way to pressure, whether in a boardroom or on a playing field. They talk about what real high-performance rest looks like in practice, and about the difference between reacting to circumstances and deciding from within them. It closes with a simple question, one each person carries in silence into the next moment.
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Solitude + journaling
The Blueberries — solitude block
Sixty minutes alone, at a fixed spot on the estate, with a blank page as your only company — the space to answer, just for yourself, the question you carried from the earlier conversation. No one comes looking for you — you can devote yourself entirely to you.
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Free time
Nothing Planned
Pool, shade, a nap if you feel like it. A break with nothing planned — until the sound calls you back to the water.
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Floating sound bath
Releasing the Weight
You float on the pool on a mattress, wrapped in a blanket, while the instruments play from the water's edge. Before it begins, something most people carry without realizing gets named — the pressure of always being available, always responding, always needed. The body releases what the mind hasn't yet decided to let go of.
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Culinary experience
The Table That Nourishes
A fully plant-based, organic, seasonal kitchen team accompanies us throughout the retreat, cooking right on the estate. Tonight, they present the table in person: sharing the origin of each dish before serving it, and the group takes part in a closing gesture — breaking bread together before sitting down. Nourishing in community, even before letting go.
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Closing ritual
The Step
You write, on a piece of paper, what you've decided to release — and hand it to the fire, in silence, one at a time. It's the threshold you cross to reach what comes next: a symbolic surrender of what no longer belongs to you, but with a real physical gesture, not just an idea.
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Optional closing
Under the Sky
Silence, looking at the stars — a gentle close after the intensity of the fire, with nothing more to do or say. Mattresses scattered across the estate invite you to lie down and watch the sky in comfort.
Sundayinhabit
You recognize yourself in who you always were — and this time, you stay. Stretching, guided meditation, personal recognition, group sharing, integration journaling — gentle movement and the commitment you say out loud before returning to your life.
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Conscious movement + breathwork
First Light
At dawn, optional: gentle stretching and guided breathing, outdoors. The body settles before the mind starts to say goodbye to the place.
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Guided stretching
The Flow
Standing, outdoors, a simple stretching sequence paced by the breath — neck, shoulders, spine. No choreography, no music inviting you to dance: just the body opening before settling into meditation.
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Guided meditation
Bridge Meditation
A brief meditation that bridges the movement of The Flow and the recognition that follows — the body quiets, the mind prepares for what's coming.
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Recognition
"I Am"
Facing the view the architecture framed to be seen, you recognize yourself completely, in your essence. You hand back the smoky quartz — what you released — and receive a rose quartz: what you take with you.
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Group sharing
Circle of Voice
In a circle, each person names out loud, in front of the group, the commitment born from what they recognized in "I Am." Saying it out loud, in front of others, is what turns a private intention into a real decision.
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Integration journaling
The Anchor Sentence
You write, without correcting, the sentence that sums up what you discovered. That's the one you take with you to come back to yourself whenever you need to.
After the retreat
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Follow-up
The Point of Arrival
VOLTAR doesn't end when you get home. A month later, we meet again in an individual online session. A space to integrate what you lived, recognize what changed, and see what deserves to keep being cared for.
Because returning to yourself isn't a moment. It's a practice.
Sound healing, meditation, breathwork, journaling, movement, solitude — these aren't separate activities. They're one single path that changes shape each day.
is this for you?
Is this for you?
For those who feel it's time to come back to themselves.
For those who want more than to recover — who want to return to themselves whole.
For those ready to remember how powerful they are.
For those who know it's time to reclaim their place.
If something in you recognizes these words — you already know.
who walks with you
Who walks with you on this return
Two paths. One shared vision.
We believe the return to yourself doesn't happen by adding more. It happens by recognizing what was always there — only forgotten, never lost.
Sandra Reis
Sound healing · meditation · mindfulness
Born in Portugal. A psychologist with a 26-year career in people development — she spent time at Sonae, nearly a decade at Parfois as an HR Business Partner, and more recently at Sogrape, as People Development Manager — before dedicating herself to work with the body, sound, and consciousness. She learned, supporting people and organizations under pressure, that no strategy replaces the still time it takes to listen to the body. She found that same pause in sound and meditation, and today creates meditative sound healing concerts and leads mindfulness practices that bring together clinical rigor and a spiritual outlook.
Rodrigo Valencia
Bodywork · breathwork · presence
Born in Colombia. He was a professional football player and lived for years under the demands of high performance, where he learned there is no sustainable performance without space to stop. He later found, in silence and spiritual work, a distinct discipline — the body as temple, tended today with the same rigor he once brought to competition: daily meditation, conscious breathing, movement, and mindful eating. He leads bodywork, conscious breathing, and meditation.
the practical
The practical
The process begins the moment you book your place — long before you walk through the door on Friday.
Before you arrive
Intention questionnaire — the first piece of the journey.
A welcome note from your facilitators — a human touch before you cross the threshold.
Practical travel information and a packing list, sent the week before.
Format
Intimate group.
Quinta do Outeiro 1598, Ponte da Barca · about 1h15 from Porto (85 km).
Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
your investment
This isn't a room you're booking. It's the space you open to return to yourself.
Your investment
Shared room · 2 people
€375 / person · single payment
Full board, all practices and materials, and support before and after the retreat.
Your spot is always transferable to someone else, at no cost, at any point before the retreat.
Cancel by September 25: you get back 50% of what you paid.
Cancel from September 26 onward: no refund, but your spot remains transferable.
If the retreat is cancelled on our end, you get 100% back or a full transfer to the next edition — whichever you prefer.
questions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need prior experience with meditation or sound healing?
No. The retreat is designed to support both those who've never meditated and those with an established practice — every exercise is explained before you experience it.
Can I come alone?
Yes — in fact, most people who book a retreat like this come alone. The small group and shared circles mean no one feels left out.
What language is the retreat facilitated in?
In Portuguese, with support in Spanish. All the written material you receive is in your preferred language.
Is there any dietary requirement you can't accommodate?
All meals are 100% plant-based; we just need you to let us know about specific allergies when booking.
How do I get to the estate?
We'll send you full travel directions and a packing list one week before the retreat.
What happens if I can't attend?
See the cancellation policy above — in any case, your spot is always transferable to someone else.
Reserve your place
You already know.
Intimate group, limited spots. Confirm your place and begin the process before you arrive.
