Welcome to Ystävyyden Majatalo this December! This unique retreat is an invitation to gently explore your whole being in a safe, compassionate, and peaceful environment.

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Each of us has parts of ourselves that we easily show to the world—and parts we have learned to hide. Often, it is these hidden aspects that carry both our deepest wounds and our greatest vitality. The intention of the retreat is to deepen your connection with your inner wisdom while bringing awareness to your shadow aspects, allowing them to be met with compassion and integrated into a more whole and authentic sense of self.

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At the heart of the retreat are four Holotropic Breathwork sessions. Each participant will breathe in two sessions and serve as a sitter in two sessions. In addition to Holotropic Breathwork, we will draw upon a variety of approaches that support inner exploration and healing, including compassion-based practices, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and Family Constellations. These methods are offered in service of the spontaneous, inner-wisdom-guided process that unfolds throughout the retreat (more detailed descriptions of the methods can be found at the end of this text).

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This retreat is also a shared journey. While the retreat is designed to support your individual growth and healing, the group process and the experience of our shared humanity are an essential part of the work. Many of our wounds were formed in relationship with others, and healing often happens most naturally in relationship as well. Throughout the retreat, we will offer experiential exercises that help bring awareness to our relational patterns, conditioned responses, and ways of connecting with ourselves and others. Together, we seek a balanced way of deep inner exploration, authentic self-expression, and meaningful connection with other human beings.

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The supportive container of the retreat and the methods used may bring forth profound and deeply personal aspects of your inner world. For this reason, we consider a trauma-informed approach essential. We strive to create the conditions necessary for genuine processing and integration from a place of safety and regulation. Proper time is reserved throughout the retreat for integration, allowing new insights, perspectives, and resources to become part of everyday life.

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We welcome you exactly as you are. Wherever you find yourself in relationship to yourself and the world is the starting point. We view the human being as a holistic whole, encompassing emotional, physical, mental, relational, and spiritual dimensions, and our work embraces all of these aspects. The retreat facilitators are professionals in the fields of therapy, personal growth, and transformational work, with extensive experience supporting both individuals and groups. If at any point you need more individualized support or reflection for your process, we are available to help.

 

We believe that our diverse personalities, skills, and backgrounds create a safe, profound, and multidimensional retreat experience, and we warmly welcome you if you hear the call!

 

The timeless atmosphere of Ystävyyden Majatalo, together with its lakeside setting and traditional sauna, provides an ideal environment for slowing down and arriving fully into the present moment. The venue is located in Kruusila, between Helsinki and Turku (Kalkkilantie 74, 25110 Kruusila), and can be reached by bus from both cities.

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Meals and accommodation are paid separately upon arrival at Ystävyyden Majatalo. In addition to vegetarian meals, light snacks, tea, and coffee will be available throughout the retreat. Accommodation is provided in private rooms.

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No previous experience with breathwork is required. The retreat will be held in Finnish and/or English, depending on the language backgrounds of the participants.

 

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Preliminary Schedule

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Tuesday

14:00-15:00  Introductory lecture to Holotropic Breathwork (mandatory for first time breathers)

15:00–21:00 Opening the retreat, dinner and beginning of the inner work
21:00–23:00 Free time / Sauna

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Wednesday & Thursday

08:00–09:00 Breakfast
09:00–12:00 Inner work
12:00–14:00 Lunch break
14:00–18:00 Holotropic Breathwork session
18:00–19:00 Dinner
19:00–21:00 Evening sharing circle
21:00–23:00 Free time / Sauna

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Friday

08:00–09:00 Breakfast
09:00–12:00 Holotropic Breathwork session
12:00–14:00 Lunch break
14:00–18:00 Holotropic Breathwork session
18:00–19:00 Dinner
19:00–21:00 Evening sharing circle
21:00–23:00 Free time / Sauna

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Saturday

08:00–10:00 Breakfast
10:00–13:00 Integration-focused inner work
13:00–15:00 Lunch break
15:00–18:00 Integration-focused inner work
18:00–19:00 Dinner
19:00–21:00 Evening sharing circle
21:00–23:00 Free time / Sauna

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Sunday

08:00–10:00 Breakfast
10:00–13:00 Harvesting the retreat & Closing circle
13:00 Lunch and departure

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How to reserve your place in the Retreat:

 

1. Fill the Registration form and Medical form from the link below

https://forms.gle/rJFEMUqT7CUb6GGM6

 

The purpose of the Medical form is to make sure it is safe for you to participate in the retreat and that we can support your process in the best possible way. Please answer honestly. If any question is unclear to you, ask us for clarification.

 

We arrange a short video call with new participants before the retreat. First time breathers needs to come also for the introductory lecture on Tuesday at 14:00 (voluntary for other participants)

 

Because the breathing-sessions can be emotionally or physically intense, it is not recommended for safety reasons for pregnant women, people with heart-problems and very high blood pressure, with severe psychiatric illnesses, with ongoing spiritual emergencies, with recent fractures or surgical operations, with acute infections or epileptics. If you are not sure if this method is safe for you, consult your physician/therapist or contact us so we can discuss your situation.

 

2. Pay the retreat reservation fee (€100)

Please pay the €100 reservation fee using the link below: 

https://holvi.com/shop/holotropic/

 

The remaining balance of the retreat fee will be invoiced approximately one month before the retreat. 

 

Price of the retreat:

The total cost of the retreat consists of two parts:

1. Retreat fee

2. Accommodation and food (paid separately to the venue)

 

Retreat fee:

(The €100 reservation fee is included in the prices below.)

Early Bird: €790 (until 31 October)

Regular Price: €870 (from 1 November)

 

Optional Community Support (€50–200)

If your current life situation allows, you are warmly invited to add an optional community support contribution to your registration. These contributions help us make the retreat more accessible and support participation for people in different financial circumstances.

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If you feel called to join the retreat but it does not currently feel financially possible, or if you would like to pay the retreat fee in installments, please get in touch with us. We will do our best to find a solution that fits your situation.

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Accommodation and Meals

Accommodation and meals for the entire retreat: €430 (incl. VAT) (Paid separately to Ystävyyden Majatalo.)

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Your place at the retreat is confirmed once you have completed the registration and medical forms and paid the retreat reservation fee. We will send you a confirmation email after processing your registration.

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If the retreat is fully booked, you will be placed on a waiting list, and we will notify you if a place becomes available.

 

Cancellation policy:
– The €100 reservation fee is non-refundable if you cancel your participation in the retreat.
– 14–2 days before the event: 75% of the participation fee will be refunded.
– Less than 48 hours before the event: 25% of the participation fee will be refunded.

 

Participation may be transferred to another person or to another event at no additional cost at any time.

In case of illness, participation will primarily be transferred to a similar future event. Partial or full refunds will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

 

Accommodation and meal costs included in the retreat price are subject to the cancellation policy of the service provider.

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Methods used in the retreat

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Compassion and self-compassion skills. Compassion is the ability to meet our own suffering and the suffering of others with openness, presence, warmth, and a sincere wish to respond wisely and constructively. Many of us have learned to relate to ourselves through self-criticism, high demands, or constant striving. Compassion helps us recognize these automatic patterns and cultivate a kinder, more supportive relationship with ourselves and others. Practicing compassion is not about becoming perfect or constantly trying to feel good. Rather, it is a journey toward a deeper connection with ourselves, an embodied sense of inner safety, other people, and life as it is.

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Holotropic Breathwork is a profound method of self-exploration and healing that creates space for experiencing the full spectrum of our humanity. At the heart of the method is a safe, accepting, and supportive environment in which the spontaneous inner process is trusted to bring forth exactly what is needed in that moment. You can find more info about the method from here: https://www.holotropic.fi/holotropicbreathwork

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Family Constellation is an experiential and systemic method for exploring emotional and relationship patterns that influence a person’s life. The work uses embodied awareness and interaction to help bring these patterns into view. During the process, people or objects may be placed in the space to represent family members, emotions, or life situations, allowing inner experiences and relationship dynamics to be seen from a new perspective. The method can help reveal how personal experiences, and sometimes also unresolved experiences within the family system, may influence present-day emotions, reactions, and life choices. The aim of the work is to increase understanding, support the release of stuck emotional processes, and strengthen a person’s capacity to feel more connected to themselves, other people, and their own life.

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Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-oriented, trauma-informed therapeutic approach that supports people in finding a more natural, balanced, and free way of living and being. Through restoring nervous system regulation, strengthening the mind-body connection, and helping life experiences become integrated, SE facilitates healing and resilience. This approach is based on the understanding that our bodies carry not only wounds, but also innate resources, wisdom, and pathways toward healing. SE helps cultivate a greater sense of inner safety, strengthens personal resources, and supports the release of life energy that may have become bound by stress, pain, or traumatic experiences. By gently working with bodily sensations and nervous system responses, it allows the organism to move toward greater regulation, vitality, and wholeness.

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an integrative trauma psychotherapy approach that simultaneously takes into account nervous system regulation, emotional experience, bodily responses, imagery, and beliefs. The approach is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) framework, which is based on the understanding that human beings carry an innate tendency toward psychological integration and balance. 

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A trauma-informed approach is grounded in the understanding that all of us carry life experiences that may have been overwhelming or painful—such as traumatic events, prolonged stress, or emotional neglect—which can continue to shape how our bodies, nervous systems, minds, and emotions function in the present. These experiences may manifest as patterns of autonomic nervous system activation, difficulties with emotional regulation, beliefs about ourselves and others, or habitual ways of behaving and relating.

At the heart of trauma-informed work is the creation of a safe, respectful, and compassionate environment. The intention is never to push anyone into confronting difficult experiences, but rather to provide sufficient safety, choice, and support so that each person can move at their own pace. From this foundation, even the deeper layers of our experience can gradually be witnessed, felt, and integrated into our life story in ways that support healing, well-being, and a movement toward greater wholeness.