With Nina Ferraro & Lozzy Garner
Embracing the dark descent of the feminine to alchemise our shadows and unleash our greatest gifts.
This December we invite you to join us for a 5 day somatic immersion as we descend into the darkness, both inner and outer.
We surrender to the unknown, the dark void within ourselves, and the deep cave of winter.
We are being called to walk the spirallic and transformative path of the feminine, and we must answer Her call, voyaging into the very depths of ourselves that we so often try to avoid.
“I long to let myself fall apart, to give myself permission to unravel, to let go of all the things I was told to hold in place. Only then can I know my true power.”
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This immersion will take place at the beautiful Monte da Orada in the Alentejo region of Portugal.
Monte da Orada Retreat Center, Alentejo, Portugal
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Monte da Orada is situated in between Faro and Lisbon airports, you can fly to either.
It is only through surrender to the ancient wisdom of the dark feminine, giving ourselves over to Her destructive and transformative powers, that we can summon back and tend to all parts of ourselves that have been exiled, forgotten and neglected.
These shadowed places are calling out for love, expression and honouring, so they can be alchemised into liquid gold.
This alchemical transformation unlocks our greatest gifts so that we can best serve humanity from an embodied, authentic and tender feminine power.
Through the arts and technologies of mythology and storytelling, somatic and embodiment practices, collective ritual, dance, music, and the power of the Circle, we will reconnect to the reciprocal and intuitive wisdom of our matriarchal ancestors that lies dormant within each one of us.
This will support us in peeling away the layers of the constructed self and unbinding the stories and identities that no longer serve us.
We will be held and supported by the winter energy of rest and renewal, the forces of the full super moon, and the sacred waters and land of Orada, an ancient spiritual sanctuary.
We are being called to listen deeply to our feminine intuition and to ground back into our body wisdom.
If you are ready to answer this call, join us…
“I call on the spirits of the ancestors, of the witches who came before me, and I ask them to guide me. I ask them to show me the truth of who I am, to strip away the illusions that have kept me small. I am ready to burn away the lies and the fears, to purge the wounds I’ve carried for so long. I know this is going to hurt. But I also know that in the pain, there is liberation.”
Amanda Yates Garcia.
Is this immersion for you?
This immersion is for you if you feel the hungry call within your bones for more. To descend into the very depths of your being, and to face off with yourself and what is no longer serving you.
Feeling the call to delve into this darkness takes great courage, and means you are already being worked at the somatic and energetic levels by the dark feminine. Her call is unstoppable, and only you will know when you are ready to fully answer her call.
This immersion has been designed as a sacred and intentional space of deep exploration for people born with a physical womb. Whilst we celebrate and respect all gender identities, this particular space is dedicated to those with the lived experiences of having a womb and their blood connection to the ancestral tapestry of womb lineage. We are offering a space of honouring for the unique physical, emotional, energetic and spiritual experiences and powers connected to the womb space. Those who have had their physical womb removed are very welcome to join this container.
There are no requirements to join us other than showing up with an open and tender heart and mind. Bear in mind this is not a ‘wellbeing’ retreat, although this work IS absolutely for your wellbeing and the wellbeing of all beings.
Liberating ourselves and embracing our wild, dark feminine breathes ripples of change into our families, friendship circles, work spaces and beyond. The space will be incredibly supportive and nurturing and is for bodies of all abilities and ages.
Even if you are new to somatic or movement practices you are very welcome. Somatic movement does not require any particular skill, it is about dropping into pure authenticity, trust and truth within your own body exploration.
What’s Included
5 nights accommodation at Monte da Orada
3 delicious locally-sourced, organic meals per day (on arrival day a snack & dinner will be served, and on departure day breakfast only will be served)
Tea, coffee & drinking water
Twice daily somatic, embodiment and movement practices
Daily sharing & integration circle
2 specialist workshops
Use of the sauna in the afternoons
Use of the outdoor biopool
Access to walks and exploration of the beautiful 71 hectare property
All bath towels and bed linen are included. Pool/sauna towels are charged at 3€ extra
Bookable upon Request
Massage & treatment sessions are charged extra and booked directly at Orada
What’s not included
Flight costs are not included
Airport transfers are not included
You will need to organise your own Health & Travel Insurance
The Modalities we will explore together…
SOMATIC MOVEMENT PRACTICES
Somatic movement is a sacred listening and an invitation to meet your body from the inside-out. A gateway into the soft unravelling of the stories, imprints, and memories held within your cells, some that may have formed during your pre-verbal experiences or carried to you across your ancestral lines.
Through these gentle, embodied practices, we open a portal into the body’s innate intelligence and allow what has been stored or silenced to rise, to speak, and to be witnessed with compassion.
Somatics remind us that the body is not an object, but a conscious living being, pulsing with wisdom, creativity, and possibility. As we reawaken this inner connection, we begin to move not from habit, but from truth. From our aliveness.
FREE MOVEMENT & DANCE
Free movement and dance are universal languages and technologies woven into the practices of every ancient earth-based culture across the globe. Dance is a sacred way to feel, heal, and remember, beyond the restrictions of choreography and technique.
On this immersion we reclaim dance as feminine, embodied prayer and a way to commune with the divine through your own body as a portal, exactly as she is and how she shows up.
Together, we will dissolve old stories around what dance should be and our conditioning around performance, and instead open to what it wants to be - a wild, tender, sensual, sacred prayer. This is your permission to move freely, to shed what no longer serves and open up for the animate spirit of the dance to move through.
SOMATIC EMOTIONAL RELEASE (SER) WORKSHOP
SER is a supportive, trauma-informed technique for when something in your life feels stuck. If you're yearning for clarity or aching to shift a repeating pattern, this practice offers a gentle and powerful doorway in.
Through movement, stillness, emotion and breath, you will explore what lies beneath, going to the roots of the presenting problem. Not to fix, but to feel, to unravel, and to rewrite the story held within your body.
Together, we’ll journey into the subconscious, touch the places that stir emotion, and alchemise old narratives into embodied wisdom. You’ll leave not only with insight, but with tools to hold and support you back at home.
HERSTORY WORKSHOP
This is a workshop that invites you to remember our pre-patriarchal selves, when Goddess-worshipping cultures flourished and the Mother was honoured as the centre of life. Together we will explore our ancient wisdom traditions, when we lived in harmony with the Earth and celebrated the feminine as sacred. This is a reclamation of where we truly come from and a return to what still exists in our bodies as that whisper of inner knowing that it hasn’t always been this way. Together we remember and reclaim our HERstory.
SOMATIC MYOFACIAL RELEASE (SMFR)
SMFR is an alternative to an individual massage and is a floor-based, guided form of self-massage using balls. Accompanied by music and somatic queuing, it is a deeply restorative practice where the mind and body can truly surrender.
When we do not engage in regular, three-dimensional, rotational movement or lead over-sedentary lifestyles, our fascia can become stuck together. This sticking together can cause discomfort and pain and can lead to poor, postural holding patterns as the body reorganises around these stuck adhesions. As the physical and energetic and emotional bodies are interwoven, traumatic or undigested emotional experiences also cause fascia to stick together, leading to emotional and physical pain.
SMFR opens up the possibility for exploration of ourselves at the deepest energetic levels as all layers of the emotional, energetic and physical self are mobilised. It is also a beautiful practice to learn to do at home and regular practice is encouraged to receive its full benefits.
SONG | SOUND | VOICES | MUSIC
This workshop is an invitation to come home to your voice. Through vocal toning and sound exploration we will open up to the healing frequencies of our own bodies. Science is now confirming what ancient traditions have long known, that the human voice can regulate the nervous system, shift emotional blocks, and restore inner harmony. As we move beyond the fears and insecurities of freeing our voices we discover our voices weren’t designed to impress or perform. They are medicine, vibration, and truth. When we sing together, something ancient awakens.
WOMB CONNECTION
Together we will enter into deep connection with our wombs and womb spaces, the energetic and physical source of our feminine wisdom. Through presencing and guided self-massage you will nourish and awaken this space within your body where our life force energy, intuition, and creativity reside. The womb holds memory within it’s cells, not just of our own lives, but of our ancestors. As we soften into touch and presence, tension releases, cycles harmonise, and a deeper knowing emerges. This is a ritual of remembrance, healing, and reclamation.
HONOURING THE SISTERHOOD
There is deep medicine in being held and seen in sisterhood where the red thread of connection is rewoven. For thousands of years we’ve been conditioned to mistrust, to compare, and to withhold one another. But this is not our true nature, as when women gather with open hearts, we remember. We are mirrors, reflections, and allies to one another in our healing. In this space of honesty and devotion, the old stories of separation unravel, and something ancient and powerful awakens.
SHARING CIRCLES (ALSO WITH FIRE)
There is ancient power in coming back to the circle, a technology present in most Indigenous cultures across the world. In circle, no voice is above another; all are equal, all are heard and all are needed. Weather permitting, we will gather around an outdoor fire, rekindling this timeless way of gathering.
Monte da Orada
This immersion will take place at the beautiful Monte da Orada in the Alentejo region of Portugal, where Lozzy and Nina both live.
The name Orada means "prayed for", and this sacred land has been revered as a sanctuary of healing and of possessing great cosmic forces for centuries.
Two creeks of sacred waters converge here, and pilgrims still journey to be blessed by their waters.
The Lady of Orada is felt to watch over and bless the land and its visitors, and our practices will take place in Her beautiful temple where Her statue rests.
Monte da Orada is a family run, eco-sustainable, permaculture based, soul retreat centre, nestled in 71 hectares of wild nature.
We will be nourished by 3 beautifully-prepared organic, locally-sourced vegetarian meals per day and will have the luxury use of a sauna and biopool to help shed and transform the material and energetic.
“The only way to become whole is to first dive into the shadow, the unconscious, the abandoned, and the rejected parts of yourself. These are the places where the soul hides its treasures.”
Accommodation Options & Rates
Single occupancy suite with private WC & hot shower - 1569€ / £1340
Single occupancy bungalow room with private outdoor eco WC & hot shower - 1489€ / £1260
Shared twin suite with private WC & hot shower - 1299€ / £1120
Shared twin bungalow room with private outdoor eco WC & hot shower - 1269€ / £1100
Shared group bungalow (up to 4 beds) shared with WC & outdoor hot shower - 1065€ / £915
Shared loft dorm (5 beds) with shared WC & hot shower - 989€ / £845
Shared bunk dorm (8 beds) with shared WC & hot shower - 899€ / £770
A non-refundable deposit of 350€ is needed to secure your place.
Remaining payment is required within 4 weeks after paying deposit.
Scholarships & Payment Plans
We offer scholarship places at reduced rates to enable accessibility for people to join our offerings.
Please apply by emailing us and we will send you a Scholarship Application Form: hello@theiwco.com
If you would like to pay via payment plan, please also email us and we can discuss how to stagger payments.
How to get to Orada
Monte da Orada is situated in between Faro and Lisbon airports, you can fly to either.
You can take a train from either Faro or Lisbon to Santa Clara train station. A taxi can be arranged to collect you from Santa Clara for an extra charge of 35- 40 euros each way for 4 people.
Trains only run several times per day and are listed here: https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/pt
We can also arrange a shared mini bus to transfer you to and from Lisbon or Faro on the 4th and the 9th. Prices will vary depending on the number of people and will be between 22 - 40 euros per person.
You can also hire a private car and drive to the venue.
Once you have confirmed your booking we can support you with transport logistics and connect you with other guests for travel arrangements.
Check-in on the 4th December is from 15:00, and room check-out on the 9th is at 10:00. We will finish at 12:00 midday on the last day.
Monta da Orada: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UKv3bxXcTrBEAz8i7
Schedule
The schedule may change to reflect the needs of the group. All sessions are optional.
08:00 Tea, coffee & snacks
08:30 - 10:00 Morning practice
10:00 - 11:00 Breakfast
11:30 - 12:30 Workshop (2 days out of 5)
On none workshop days - Reflection & journaling time, self practice, massage/treatments
13:00 - 14:00 Light Lunch
14:00 - 15:30 Sauna, reflection & journaling time, self practice, massage/treatments
15:30 - 17:00 Sharing circle
17:15 - 18:45 Evening practice
19:00 - Dinner
On the 4th and 8th we will have an outdoor fire together, although this is weather dependent.
About your Facilitators
Lozzy is a Holistic Health Practitioner, with a Masters Degree in Health Psychology, an experienced embodiment & somatic movement facilitator, and an upholder of the Sacred Feminine.
With over 14 years of experience as an intuitive bodywork therapist, Lozzy has developed a deep understanding of how the body holds the myriad experiences of our lives, suppressed emotions, unresolved traumas, and ancestral imprints from our lineage. These unprocessed energies can manifest as physical tension, pain, illness and disease in our physical bodies.
Through her own lived experiences, studies, and work, Lozzy has cultivated an awareness of how the body can safely process, release, and integrate these suppressed energies. She believes that true healing (which is a continual journey) must go beyond intellectual understanding, and what is present must be felt and processed through the body. Through somatic practices and embodied movement, she guides others toward deep healing by reconnecting them with their own innate body wisdom - a process of remembering.
Lozzy holds deep reverence for the healing power of nature, honoring the cyclical rhythms of the natural world inner and outer. This is reflected in the retreats she facilitates, the spaces she holds, and the practices she shares. Through her own continual healing journey - navigating both light and shadow - she has come to learn that the parts of ourselves we hide or perceive as ‘negative’ often hold our greatest gifts. Just as flowers bloom from the darkness of the earth, profound transformation can arise from embracing our shadows.
Lozzy is in service to helping people connect to their bodies and in supporting them with their healing process. She empowers individuals with the knowledge, tools, and techniques to access their own innate wisdom.
Nina is an embodiment & somatic movement facilitator, feminine mystery keeper, and tender of threshold spaces and Rites of Passage. She is a student of the land, and has studied permaculture, syntropic agroforestry and organic food production, all of which ground her somatic facilitation in service to the earth, the Mother.
Nina teaches from her animate lived experience of living in deep relationality with the land. Nina’s personal exploration has cultivated her deep inner knowing that our bodies are just a part of the great body of mother earth. And it is through our deep exploration of our bodies in their individual finite forms, that we are able to traverse out and experience ourselves as the infinite and timeless beings of creation that we really are. She artfully weaves her understandings of these intricacies into her space holding and facilitation.
Nina’s calling is to craft spaces and offer practices that have supported and nourished her on her own continual descent to the underworld. Her unlearning, de-conditioning and remembering journey (which is spirallic and never ending!) has led her here to this offering.
In the current climate of so much widespread suffering and violence, she is committed to co-creating spaces that are conducive to us remembering our own body wisdom, our unity as one body, our ultimate creativity, and the truth that we are liberated, integrated beings of the dark and the light. Nina reminds us that we already have the inner knowing, the intuition and the wisdom we need to alchemise our own pain and suffering, we have just forgotten the way.
Nina has begun walking the path of the Birth Keeper. She is in service to reviving and re-animating the pre-colonial Birth Arts, and to walking alongside birthing people and their families on their unique journeys through conception, pregnancy, birth and post-partum.
Go to her website to find out more about her journey: https://ninaferraro1008.wixsite.com/embodied-being
Our individual liberation is liberation for us all.
Nina & Lozzy’s Journey…
Nina and Lozzy met in the Alentejo region of Portugal in 2022, although were destined to meet through different mutual threads of connection. Their sisterhood was instant, and they entered into a realm of deep relating and support through their own (and continued!) descents to the underworld.
Having both undertaken somatic trainings with their teacher Satu Tuomela and being deeply intertwined in their own processes of womb re-connection, there was an immediate calling to create together in service.
Nina and Lozzy hold tender spaces of commitment to witnessing and being present with all that is. They intuitively balance and harmonise group dynamics, and offer containers of full-bodied, unashamed, authentic feminine expression.
“We must let the darkness of the night return us to ourselves, as we learn to dance with both the light and the dark.”
TESTIMONIALS…
“I couldn’t recommend working with Lozzy enough! Before we started working together I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed and overall lacking in drive and purpose. I has some “big feelings” that I was avoiding, which was impacting my physical, emotional and spiritual health.
Lozzy is a natural empath and works in a way that is very loving but also encourages growth and change.
Through her sessions and retreats, I have managed to recognise patterns of behaviour and relationships that were very draining and I have felt empowered to make lasting changes.
Lozzy’s somatic classes have been deeply transformative, and allowed me to embody these changes. Rather than having an intellectual understanding of concepts like self love, worth, letting go, grief, safety, etc - Lozzy creates a safe space to explore what these concepts feel like in the body. This means that emotions can be fully processed and released - resulting in real and lasting changes.
I’m very grateful to have found Lozzy’s work and retreats and would highly recommend them to others!”
“Nina crafts her somatic sessions with a lot of knowledge, love and magic!
Her cues bought me effortlessly into a different dimension in my body - I was in a blissful trance, even hours after the session. Incredibly marvellous and highly recommended!”
“During my sessions with Lozzy, we focused a lot of attention on strengthening my intuition through mindfulness and meditation techniques.
We also worked on my physical self as I was struggling with pains in my womb.
Lozzy has the vast experience and knowledge to be able to talk through, and balance my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual parts of myself, whilst creating a calm and safe environment to work in.
The experience was extremely benefical for what I needed, and I now have the tools to assist me as I move forward with my journey. ”
“Thank you Nina for your session yesterday. I feel I accessed parts of myself that I hadn’t visited, and it feels exciting as something new wants to come through me.
I am no longer scared to ‘be’ in my body.”
“I have been working with Lozzy for over two years and am impressed with her abilities and compassion. She is very skilled, professional, intuitive and loving which is a fantastic combination in a therapeutic practitioner. I do not recommend people lightly but I have no hesitation in recommending Lozzy. She is amazing. I find her to be an excellent source of calm and sustenance in an ever demanding world.”
Important Information
Check-in on the 4th will be at 15:00
Check-out on the 9th will be at 12:00
BOOK YOUR PLACE Use the button below or email Lozzy: hello@theiwco.com
