VIRKELIG - REALLY open

monday july 29 - saturday august 3

it's time to open!

if you want to conclude the summer with greater openness and a deeper contact to yourself and your inner life, this retreat is for you

the retreat will take place at a beautiful retreat center 'Inspiratoriet' on the eastern side of the quaint island Samsø - close to the beach in rural surroundings.

the team from VIRKELIG, comprised of yoga and Alexander technique teachers jeppe, anne, sarah and ida, will guide you through the week with a curious and investigative approach and will also provide delicious vegetarian and organic food

we will open up the physical body through both powerful and gentle yoga, we will open the inner body through meditation and contact work, and we will open ourselves up into dance and movement

so look forward to a week full of nourishment for body, mind and soul.

about the retreat

openness is one of the finest and most important qualities we know

bodily openness, emotional openness, mental openness

if we are not open, nothing new can come in

and if we are not open, the dynamics cannot flow to where they need to go

but to really, authentically open up requires a mixture of safety, calmness and courage

we try to give it all to you in the best way we can

every morning we slowly open

awaken the inner life and connection

and from there we move on to either something quiet, something deep or something wild

the day decides..

in the afternoon there is yoga

either dynamic ashtanga yoga, or more workshop-based yoga where we work with different ways of opening the body physically

in the evening there is dancing, meditation and contact-work - and a festive conclusion on Friday

in the middle of the week we break the schedule and everyone gets an individual alexander technique session and a trip out on an adventure!

we consciously make room for different people needing different approaches; we guide all participants individually towards the best and most authentic opening up that is available to them at the present time

we will experiment with a short fast (one day) one of the days

special food needs are accommodated to the extent possible

all the food is organic and vegetarian

practical information

The retreat is held at the retreat center Inspiratoriet on Samsø. It is a wonderful place with nature and the sea as neighbors and a permaculture garden that you can explore. You can get to Samsø by ferry from both Zealand and Jutland. We will help arrange carpooling/pick-up at the ferry to the extent possible. Ballen ferry port is approximately half an hour's cycling distance from Inspiratoriet, if you want to bring your bike with you or rent one a the harbor.

It is possible to rent bed linen on site, or bring your own.

We speak both Danish and English.

price

Bed in double room DKK 7400

Single room DKK 8400

PROGRAM 

(changes will occur!)

Monday

at 14.00-16.00: arrival and check-in

at 16.00-18.00: short welcome and astanga yoga

at 18.30-19.30: dinner

at 20.00-21.00: introduction to the week and inner awareness

Tuesday

at 7.00-9.00: light breakfast

at 9.00-10.00: opening and connecting / morning workshop

at 10.00-11.00: deep, wild, quiet / themed workshop

at 11.30-12.30: brunch/lunch

at 13:00-15.30: break / personal time - time for relaxation, walk, beach trip, etc.

at 15.30-17.30: yoga

at 18.00-19.00: dinner

at 19.30-20.30: dance/contact work/meditation

Wednesday

at 7.00-9.00: light breakfast

at 9.00-10.00: opening and connecting / morning workshop

at 10.00-11.00: deep, wild, quiet / themed workshop

at 11.30-12.30: brunch/lunch

at 13:00-18:00: individual alexander technique sessions / out on a samsø adventure

at 18.00-19.00: dinner

at 19.30-20.30: dance/contact work/meditation

Thursday (fasting day/one meal a day)

at 8.00-9.00: opening and connecting / morning workshop

at 9.00-10.00: deep, wild, quiet / themed workshop

at 11:00-12:00: guided walking meditation

at 13:00-15:00: sensory nourishment - alone, together or in nature

at 15.30-17.30: yoga

at 18.00-19.00: dinner

at 19.30-20.30: dance/contact work/meditation

Friday

at 7.00-9.00: light breakfast

at 9.00-10.00: opening and connecting / morning workshop

at 10.00-11.00: deep, wild, quiet / themed workshop

at 11.30-12.30: brunch/lunch

at 13:00-15.30: break / personal time - opportunity for relaxation, walk, beach trip, etc.

at 15.30-17.30: astanga yoga

at 18.00-19.00: dinner

at 19.00-: party! cacao, kefir, dance!

Saturday

at 7.00-8.30: light breakfast

at 8.30-10.00: opening and connecting / contact work

at 10.00-11.00: reflections and concluding session

at 11.30-13.00: brunch and farewell/departure

the teachers

For this year's summer retreat, we are a team of 4 teachers who together are responsible for all teaching, workshops, individual Alexander Technique sessions and cooking. We all work together on a daily basis at VIRKELIG in Nørrebro in Copenhagen.

We are a team with very varied personal experiences of what creates the best possibility for opening up for each of us. Therefore we can provide a broad spectrum of methods and approaches during this year's 'REALLY open' retreat. We are deep, wild and quiet - all to different degrees and each in our own way - and have great respect and understanding for the fact that needs can vary from person to person and from day to day. We look forward to meeting you where you are, and together discovering exactly how your path to greater openness reveals itself.

Jeppe

Jeppe has more than 25 years of experience working with yoga, Alexander technique, nutrition and therapy. Yoga teacher since 2001 and alexander technique teacher since 2009. In addition, Jeppe is a certified imago relationship therapist and is a senior candidate at the Jung Institute. His different approaches are all joined by a desire to help people become better and more real versions of themselves. And from an understanding that it is only possible by working deeply and patiently. Jeppe gives individual sessions, teaches teams and trains Alexander Technique teachers.

Anne

Has practiced yoga for 20 years - and taught since 2017. She discovered Alexander Technique in 2015 and hasn't looked back since. Graduated as an Alexander technique teacher in 2021. Anne teaches yoga and Alexander technique and enjoys both the direct bodily and muscular approach, and the more gentle, slow and inner aspects.

Anne works from the hypothesis that deep change often originates in pain, but that lasting change must be rooted in pleasure.

Sarah

Yoga teacher since 2017, alexander technique teacher since 2021. Sarah teaches both yoga and gives individual sessions and workshops based on an alexander technique approach to the world - and is currently taking a master's degree in philosophy at UCPH specialializing in body phenomenology. Sarah works based on the idea that people's inner body can be found and developed through the Alexander Technique, so that it can grow and become a natural experiential starting point in daily life. That the world can become a little bit more magical, in all its simplicity, by digging deeper and rediscovering the tragically neglected aspects of our bodily presence in the world.

Ida

Graduated as alexander technique teacher in 2024. In addition, Ida is an engineer with almost 15 years in the private business world under her belt. Ida teaches both Alexander Technique in a 1:1 format, but also explores the Alexander Technique approach in other formats - such as workshops and group lessons in dance, contact work, walking meditation, cacao ceremony, etc.. For Ida, Alexander Technique is a way to practice feeling the world in a more unfiltered way. This allows us to touch layers of ourselves, others and the world around us that are not normally accessible. It is a tool that continues to bring new perspectives to life. And opens up a gentle, powerful and wonderful way of being in the world!

about alexander technique and contact work

A key foundational element for all our work at VIRKELIG is contact. The work with contact is rooted in an Alexander technique approach to people; as whole beings composed of physical body, nervous system, emotions, thoughts and energies.

Alexander technique is an approach to bodily and therapeutic work, by which we gently and without forcing anything explore the possibilities of experiencing and using ourselves better and more appropriately - both in a concrete bodily sense and in a more psychological and emotional perspective. When we work from an alexander-approach, we apply a special listening quality in the contact, which allows the nervous systems to communicate through touch - and from here we collaborate in discovering the next necessary step forward. We guide you towards a more natural and deeper contact to yourself, other people and the outside world.

sign up

You can reserve your spot by emailing us and transferring a deposit of 1000 dkk to the following account:

reg.nr. 3409

kontonr. 13188998

The rest of the fee will be requested at the beginning of July

The deposit is non-refundable, unless the spot is filled by someone else - and of course if the retreat cannot be carried out.