Our Setting

Nestled in the heart of a nature sanctuary in the woods of Odemira, Alentejo, South West Portugal, lies Orada, an old sanctuary for contemplation and connection with nature and water. It is a place to get inspired to redesign life's attitudes on Earth and manifest that awakening. 

Monte da Orada dates back to at least the XII century, it was known as the "Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Orada" (Our Lady of Orada Sanctuary). The name Orada can mean both "prayed for" and "prayer" and in some old municipal records spelled as "Ourada" (Golden one).

Its water fountain was considered sacred for its baths and it was a mandatory stop on the route to Monchique and Algarve; it was a known stop of the general and canonized mystic Saint Nuno of Santa Maria (aka Santo Condestável, D. Nuno Alvares Pereira).

Orada, as it stands today, was started with the vision that nature, health, and sustainability are fundamental elements that support our individual and collective wholebeing.

Transpersonal Breathwork

Transpersonal Breathwork is a modality most often experienced in safe and supportive group settings led by trained facilitators. This process often evokes supportive feelings of connection and community-building that can facilitate and amplify self-discovery and personal development. With this support, Transpersonal Breathwork can occasion transformative catharses even in response to seemingly intractable pain.

The core components of Transpersonal Breathwork are based on Stanislav Grof MD's holotropic theory and his work with his late wife, Christina. The experience includes group process, intensified breathing, evocative music, bodywork (when desired), expressive drawing, and group process. The felt sense of this practice can parallel reports emerging from mystical and shamanic traditions, as well as experiential philosophy. 

Doing so is known to intensify one’s experiential field by which the content and intensity of one’s experience may be beyond those typically accessible during ordinary, normative states of consciousness. Through this intensification, individuals can experience shifts in how they understand and tend to their inner life, allowing for increased opportunities to effect direct change in one’s respective world. These shifts can range from deepening personal insight to posttraumatic catharsis and are most readily occasioned by a self-directed process of affirming all qualities of experience as expressions of an Inner Healing Intelligence unique to each person.

Here are some additional frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Transpersonal Breathwork.

Spaces to Play and Sleep

Orada is an authentic Portuguese countryside home. A rustic country­side home is not a city home. It has all the essential commodities for you to be comfortable, but it’s still a home surrounded by nature, by the elements, lots of sunlight, lots of green vibrant life, overwhelming silence, an amazing night sky...

Orada offers different accommodation types, from private suites and bungalows to tepees and cozy dorm rooms. The buildings and retreat facilities were reconstructed using traditional and organic materials (adobe), giving this beautiful property not only an authentic Portuguese feel but also providing a healthy and comfortable environment in all weather.

There are so many places to explore and relax into the beauty of this Land while on retreat. Swim in the Biopool, a natural and live system, chemical free, where all clarifying and purifying of the water is achieved through biological filters and plants rooted hydroponically in the system.

Take a float on the irrigation canal that carries water from St. Clara Dam to the SW coast of the country and guarantees an abundance of water to Orada. It is refreshingly clean and good fun to float downstream.

Our group will have exclusive use of Orada to support the experience of finding peace and creating connections with your fellow sojourners.

Nourishing, Fresh Meals

Conscious nourishment is an integral part of the philosophy embedded in Orada, and the food prepared in Orada's kitchen aims to connect people to their environment.

With thought to the natural cycles of the systems that support us, the vegan menus from our kitchen are designed to incorporate seasonal variation, with a preference for locally grown produce. We aim to provide a nutritionally balanced menu with plenty of variety that caters to those with food sensitivities. 

As part of this VITAL Journey, you’ll rediscover the joy of eating and nourishment for body and soul in every meal.

Your VITAL Journey Includes:

• 7 days/6 nights' accommodation at Monte da Orada 
• 4 Transpersonal Breathwork sessions (two as a breather, two as a sitter)
• 3 fresh, vegan, farm-to-table meals/day
• access to walking trails, the biopool, floating on the irrigation canal, and the sauna
• daily yoga, intuitive movement, and CrossFit practices
• free wifi
• group airport transfer from LIS
• taxes and gratuities

What’s Not Included:

• all flights (R/T flight to LIS)
• any transportation outside of the scheduled group transport option
• optional massage treatments available on request
• travel insurance

A note about schedule + flights:

This Journey will commence on Saturday, October 21, from 3-5 pm when check-in opens at Orada. The ride from LIS to Orada is around 2.5 hours, and transport will depart LIS around 1p, so look for flights that arrive at LIS before 11 am that day if you choose the group shuttle option.

Departure from Orada will be at 10 am on Friday, October 27th, so look for flights that depart LIS after 3 pm that day.

Here is a detailed Journey Info Packet with more information to support your planning.

To complete your registration, please complete the Breathwork Health Form; our team will review it, and if there are any concerns, you will be contacted. 

Our Wholebeing Framework

Every day you’ll spend time practicing and solidifying your knowledge of how to use wholebeing practices to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit. You’ll explore our Wholebeing Framework through CrossFit, yoga, intuitive movement, creativity, time in nature, and breathwork. 

Our Wholebeing Guides are highly trained, seasoned professionals in their disciplines and weave all aspects of these practices into their lives. We’ve found that there’s no one way, but many access points, to building a lifetime of healthy habits. The team will meet you right where you are to support and guide you toward where you’d like to be.