Workshop topics and facilitators
Six workshops are held as part of the retreat – one each day.
Each opens a different space: for movement, silence, contact, or inner insights, and together they create a rhythm that supports your personal process and deepens the experience.
Below, get to know the topics of the workshops and the people who lead them.
Enesa Mahić
GIFT OF THE HEART
Enesa Mahić
The body is a faithful resource from which we are never truly separated – as long as we exist, the body is there.
The difference between a living and a dead body is rhythm: heartbeats, eye blinks, hormonal cycles, the alternation of wakefulness and sleep, hunger and satiety, excitement and calmness, and, of course, the alternation of inhalation and exhalation. The secret of life is literally under our noses.
Just as our breath can cool too-hot tea or warm cold hands, our breath can both calm and awaken us, numb or revive us. Our breath can bring us into a clear presence here and now or take us beyond the boundaries of our usual self. Our breath can enhance our pleasure or diminish it.
By consciously using our breath, we can reduce physical pain or transform uncomfortable feelings (as Fritz Perls said: “Fear is excitement without breath.”)
At the Gift of the Heart workshop, we will become aware of the natural rhythms of our own breath and body and consciously change what prevents us from releasing them, we will feel our breath as soft, sharp, intense, light, wide... and let it merge with movement and pleasure. We bring the search for something greater back home - to the body.
Through dance, movement, mindfulness practice, and integrative body psychotherapy methods , we will rely on our own breath as a support and concrete tool that is always at our disposal, a precious gift that we too often take for granted.
Szalay Györgyi
& Laslo Pinter
BODY AND CULTURE
Szalay Györgyi & Laslo Pinter
The stories of our family, our people, and our culture live within us, whether we like it or not. People have always told the stories of their tribe because they carried knowledge about how to survive in their world. Stories are the guardians of family and national pride, but they can also convey destructive emotions.
Along with these stories, we also convey the frustrations and shame of past injustices that have long since lost their relevance, as well as fears of dangers that no longer exist. It is with these rooted emotions that we face the challenges of the future, which present us with situations that are different from those of the past.
In the Body and Culture workshop, we will explore the imprint of our cultural identity in our instinctive reactions and in our mask.
The workshop will encourage you to find your own answers to the following questions:
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What is culture?
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How does culture enter the body and build our mask?
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Who am I and what is the culture with which I have unconsciously identified?
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What do I want to keep and what do I want to throw away?
How can we transcend these limitations, while preserving the essence of our own culture and finding a safe place within our bodies where we can encounter ourselves and others, without being rigidly anchored in our cultural beliefs?
We will use methods of integrative body psychotherapy such as verbal and physical expression, and work with breathing and regulation of the autonomic nervous system to deepen the experience of contact with ourselves and others.
In the Body and Culture workshop, we will explore the imprint of our cultural identity in our instinctive reactions and in our mask.
The workshop will encourage you to find your own answers to the following questions:
-
What is culture?
-
How does culture enter the body and build our mask?
-
Who am I and what is the culture with which I have unconsciously identified?
-
What do I want to keep and what do I want to throw away?
How can we transcend these limitations, while preserving the essence of our own culture and finding a safe place within our bodies where we can encounter ourselves and others, without being rigidly anchored in our cultural beliefs?
We will use methods of integrative body psychotherapy such as verbal and physical expression, and work with breathing and regulation of the autonomic nervous system to deepen the experience of contact with ourselves and others.
Helena Hajdin
FREEDOM THAT DRIVES YOU
Helena Hajdin
What would happen if our bodies breathed deeply? When tensions melted away and movement became free and spontaneous?
Freedom is not just an idea – it lives in the body, in the way we breathe, move and feel the space within ourselves. It is not achieved through effort, but is discovered in the moments when we let go of illusions and allow ourselves to be who we are.
Freedom is driven by breath, that first conscious breath that clears the mind and opens up space in the body. It is driven by movement, when the body stops fighting and follows its natural rhythm. It is driven by courage – the moment when we decide to leave the burdens of the past and step forward, without fear. It is driven by presence – a deep encounter with ourselves, when we no longer look for answers outside, but listen to them within.
Freedom is a process – an inner liberation that does not end with the rejection of the past, but grows through creativity, expression and authenticity. But sometimes it is trapped in tensions, unconscious patterns and the armor we wear. But the body remembers. The body knows the way home.
The Freedom That Moves You workshop is an invitation to return to ourselves – to the body that feels, to the movement that liberates, to the breath that shows us the way.
Through the methods of integrative body and transpersonal psychotherapy, we will explore where freedom stops in the body and how we can awaken it. Because freedom is not just a goal – it is the force that drives us.
through the body towards inner guidance
Marija Rudic
INTERNAL COMPASS:
through the body towards inner guidance
Marija Rudic
Life itself is – alive, which means it is unpredictable and dynamic, full of change and challenge, but also a source of creativity and growth. In order to take advantage of the potential of life's movement, we must have a place to which we can return for clarity, rest, direction and truth.
The internal compass is a place where we are centered, which helps us not to get lost in the chaos and noise of external circumstances, and from which we can explore, take risks, and adapt without losing our sense of self and our path.
To truly use our inner compass, it is crucial to learn to distinguish its voice from the inner noise – automatic reactions shaped by past experiences, fears and unconscious patterns. The inner compass operates from a deeper, quiet knowing – it is stable and consistent, authentically powerful, connected not only to the present moment but also to long-term well-being. Connecting with the inner compass gives us the stability and courage to stand behind ourselves, act from our core and make decisions in line with our own truth.
In the workshop Inner Compass through Bodywork, we will learn to make a clear distinction between inner noise and true inner guidance. The body is a living instrument that guides us through life. When we learn to listen to it, it becomes a reliable ally in making decisions, recognizing truth, and navigating challenges.
Through dance, centering, and the practice of presence , we will listen to subtle body signals, exploring what keeps us in a state of uncertainty and distance from our center, and what brings us back to inner stability. We will recognize when we are guided by the past, which distances us from ourselves, and when by true inner wisdom that knows what we really need and which path is our path.
Matea Blažević
PLAYSOURCE
Matea Blažević
The indomitability of spirit is found in our natural joy of life. The kind of joy of life that we see in the free play of children who are not yet grown up.
You don't have to ask children if they know how to play, for them it's a redundant and meaningless question. Adults, on the other hand, will often respond that it's a painful topic for them because it brings up all the hurt we've experienced in kindergarten, school, with friends through bullying or rejection.
And yet, play remains a part of our lives, permeating every aspect of human existence. We find it in love and seduction, in business situations through the famous "power games", politics, games with our own children and even in immersing ourselves in characters from movies, plays or books. Imagination and play thus go hand in hand, allowing us to play out our inner dynamics whether we are aware of it or not.
We can observe play on a concrete level as games in which we know the rules, and we can also observe it as a principle of life. If we approach life, at least occasionally, through the principle of play, problems take on a new dimension, the weight of life becomes lighter, and the indomitability of our spirit peeks to the surface.
At this summer workshop, through a series of games, we will invoke our childlike spirit that knows how to play, that still knows the joy of life (even if our adult part has forgotten), that knows how to flow through life, and that is in its essence unbreakable, always and forever.
Mihaela Richter
SUPPORT NETWORK IN LIFE
Mihaela Richeter
In this workshop we will deal with the base we need to create well-being around ourselves – an inner sense of security and self-reliance. Life is unpredictable and in our perception often unstable and frightening. Therefore, fear is a feeling that accompanies us in all decisions that we cannot implement, but would like to.
To overcome fear, we always need some form of help or support. Whether you're changing jobs, resolving a conflict with loved ones, or finding yourself in a crisis or indecisive situation, it's easier to navigate through the storm if your ship is solid.
Through the workshop Network of Support in Life, we will embark on a search for our own supports - resources within ourselves and those outside of us.
We will address the questions:
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How to have a different perspective on the situation, free from negative thoughts and attitudes?
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How do I seek support and what is real support for me in relationships?
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Which factors in my life can I influence, and which ones must I let unfold without my control?
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How do we manage tension and stress in our system, so that we can communicate constructively and achieve a state of relaxation?
Understanding and accepting our support network brings us security and clear, small steps that teach us how to move through fear, rely on people who truly accept and encourage us, and how to build a quality self-care plan that keeps us alive and resilient.
