Richard Brook

I’m an expert on identifying for you and helping you understand the thought patterns which move through your mind – how they change and relate to the physiology within your body. This makes meditation practice much more effective, as my unique meditation and body-mind connection workshops unable you to understand what you may be experiencing during periods of meditation.Too many times i’ve sat in yoga classes and the teacher has just said right now we’ll sit and meditate, and people have no idea what they are meant to be doing, or indeed under the impression that their mind should be magically ’empty’ – and because it’s not they are doing something ‘wrong’. I’ll educate you on what you are experiencing within yourself when you are meditating and understand the patterns of your mind.

Richard Brook

I make a point of educating people on my retreats, giving people a map or structure of how they interact with the natural world around them and what you need as a human being can help keep perspective! I introduce the 5 Element modelFor me, long gone are the days of thinking that a yoga class, occasional trip to the gym or changing someone’s diet is what constitutes or defines someone’s health. Everything you do effects your health; your body (and therefore mind) registers the impact of every moment that you are alive, so you need to make sure it’s getting what it needs!We get a lot of education when we are younger – but usually we don’t learn how to stay in tune with what the laws of nature dictate to us, and this runs over and above what our present cultural climate demands. Over-working might impress your boss, but the organs inside your body which natural attune to a balance of Yin and Yang (exertion and rest) might not be so happy. So in this workshop we look at natural principles which are inherent in all natural life, such as Yin and Yang and how they apply to our lives today.

Michael Arnold

Leading 5 Element Acupuncturist and Natural Fertility expert Michael Arnold teachers a great workshop in the area of meditation and mindfulness area called ‘You are the Stillness’ Michael says…”It is so easy to define your identity by the content of your mind – who you think you are. There is however a depth to you that goes far beyond words, far beyond mind. This is the realm of peace and oneness that we can only access when the mind becomes still.

This workshop will help you to connect with the ever present stillness that is your true nature. You will be guided on how to stay rooted in the aliveness and fullness of life. We will also look the ways you can be pulled out of connection by the compulsions of the mind.”

Julia Lay

Clinical Psychologist Julia Lay offers 2 excellent workshops on some of the wellness and meditation oriented retreats.

Mindfulness Workshop

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing our attention to whatever is in the present moment, in a non-judgemental way.  The benefits of this have been well-documented and include greater wellbeing, lower stress and greater life satisfaction.

“Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives.  It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment.  We feel more alive.  We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation and healing.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

This workshop will take you through an exercise of bringing heightened attention to your senses, followed by a guided mindfulness meditation.

Ecotherapy

Most of us have experienced the sense of wellbeing that can come from spending time in ‘nature’.  We know intuitively that time amongst plant/wildlife and in open spaces is good for us, and the research is also clear on this.  Ecotherapy is about spending time in natural environments in a particular way, that deepens our connection with nature and ourselves, maximising the benefits we derive from our time outdoors.

This workshop will take you out into the local countryside and through some simple exercises as a group and individually to deepen your appreciation of the natural world and increase your sense of connection and presence.

Camila Ganc, Mayan Patel

Movement Therapy is more commonly known as Dance Movement Therapy, but I’d like to emphasise straight away you don’t need to know how to dance – it’s about the spontaneous expression of your body.Your body can express way more through movement than it ever can through words, your body contains endless stories; moments of stress at work that have constricted in your shoulders; feelings of fear contracted in your lower back; irritation and annoyance under the back of your neck; the hurtful words and actions that stuck in your chest and contracted it; the unexpressed feelings caught in your throat….the possibilities for emotional energies caught up in the body are endless.Sessions allow your body a spontaneous space (i.e. non-choregraphed – you don’t need to know any steps) to let these physical and emotional energies move and unwind.Freeform movement can be MASSIVELY beneficial to our health. It allows your body to take over and do what it needs to do to express itself. And for those of you who don’t think you can do it – well remember how when you were a kid, before you cared what people thought, you would go and dance around the room? It’s still in you!

Camila Ganc is an absolutely wonderful Dance Movement Therapist. I used to attend her classes and would often find my body opening up and moving in ways that would amaze me, her presence just has an effect of letting you relax on some deep level.

Richard Brook

Authentic Movement is a powerful practice which involves a mover and a witness. It originates from the work of Janet Adler and enables you to begin to track the various channels of expression that are going on within you at any one time.By engaging in different rounds of movement, in silence with your eyes closed, you begin to become more aware of your physical, mental and emotional ‘channels’ of expression, by choosing to focus on one or more of those in advance.You then feedback to your witness what you recall of your inner experience. The witness then in turn feeds back what they experienced while observing you move, again keeping their feedback limited to their own experience, without judgement or interpretation of your actions.I often find it interesting to observe that what plays out in your mind doesn’t always correspond to your physical and emotional movement, since your mind can tend to play ‘old material’ even when we are experiencing something new, as movement can tend to re-awaken old ‘stories’ that are locked in our nervous system.

Once familiar with them, the teachings and dynamics of this practice are also something you can tune into any time, any day!

Michael Arnold

Trixie Denneborg who has worked at Moinhos Velhos for many years delivering exceptional massage treatments also teaches a movement practice called Biodanza. This is how Trixie explains the practice (from her website www.beatrixdenneborg.com)”Biodanza (neologism from the Greek bio (life) and the Spanish danza (dance), literally the dance of life) is a profound system of self-development that uses music, movement and our positive feelings to deepen self-awareness:that ability to make a holistic link to ourselves, our emotions and to express them. Biodanza also enables us to deepen the bonds with our fellow Human Beings and with Nature and to express those feelings congenially.It is defined as a “human integration system of organic renewal of affective re-education and of relearning of Life’s original functions. Its application consists in leading vivencias through music, singing, movements and group encounter situationsIt is a method which aims the development of human capacities, including the feeling of happiness, communication skills and improving of relationships.”  Trixie DenneborgOn a slightly different level, I personally find that Biodanza makes me smile…a lot. Sometime so much that my face hurts!