Into the body, the heart and the deeper states beyond the thinking mind.
Beyond Doing is an intimate five-day somatic therapy and breathwork retreat in Portugal: a passage from the ways we have learned to keep going, into being.
Through therapeutic breathwork, bodywork and deep states of consciousness, we meet the armour and the identities we have outgrown, and cross the threshold where something old is allowed to die. Beneath it all, we find the wisdom of the heart, and the one in us who has been witnessing all along.
With only twelve participants, there is room for every person’s process.
Who this retreat is for
Wherever you begin, the journey leads inward: into the body, the breath and the deeper layers of yourself. Here you recognise what you have been holding, and what is ready to be released: an old role, an old pace, an old way of being that no longer fits.
Life has become too much, the body is tense and tired, the nervous system no longer knows how to rest, and even stillness feels restless.
Life happens mostly in thoughts, plans and analysis, while the body and the heart have gone quiet. You long to feel again, and to trust something deeper than the mind.
You crave change, yet can’t seem to make it happen. You sense a change coming, but don’t know which direction it will take. Or a chapter of your life has already closed, and you are asking: now what?
You are curious about what lies deeper: other states of consciousness, the unconscious, and the parts of yourself not yet lived.
What remains is what was always there: your inner knowing, and the person you are when you are no longer defined by what you do.
Your journey
Beyond Doing follows the stages of an identity shift, guided by somatic therapy, therapeutic breathwork and deep states of consciousness. Each day widens what we can feel and hold, so each journey inward can go a little deeper.
Tap a day to see its programme.
The programme follows a clear structure, and the pace of each day adapts to the needs of the group.
The therapeutic experience
Beyond Doing is a therapeutic process. Each theme is introduced, explored through the body, and integrated through reflection and sharing, so change is felt in the body, not only understood.
Most retreats offer one or two ways of breathing. Here you will experience the whole spectrum: breath that calms and slows you down, breath that energises, breath that opens altered states of consciousness, and breath that teaches surrender and receiving.
Every state we live in has its own breath, and every breath is a doorway: between the conscious and the unconscious, between doing and being.
Bioenergetics and self de-armouring: exercises that release chronic muscular tension, the body’s armour, and teach you to release it yourself.
Hands-on bodywork: therapeutic touch that supports release and regulation, always offered with your consent.
Nervous system regulation: working with your window of tolerance, so you can stay present with more.
Toning and resonance: sound as the language of the body before we could speak. Moving through different parts of the body, it loosens blockages and armour, and releases what words cannot reach.
Parts work: meeting the selves that have been running our lives, so we are no longer run by them.
Contemplative practices: silence, meditation and the contemplation of death, to meet what lies beneath the busy mind.
Relational presence: drawing on Gestalt, interpersonal neurobiology and contemplative traditions, learning to stay open, present and regulated in the company of another.
Conscious conversation: a space to open each day’s theme, and to process, integrate and embody what has moved.
Why choose Beyond Doing
Somatic therapy, breathwork, contemplation and meditation from many traditions come together as one living process, experienced through the body. The programme has a clear structure, yet it breathes with the group: every circle shapes its own retreat.
An intimate circle, where every person is seen and the work can go as deep as you need. You receive personal attention and the quiet strength of a group moving through the same passage.
Led by Joanna Januszewicz, an integrative somatic trauma therapist with over a decade of experience in therapeutic breathwork, bioenergetics, deep bodywork, parts work and non-dual psychology. Every practice is grounded in psychology and neuroscience, and held with the care of a safe space.
Your journey begins with a pre-retreat consultation, where we explore whether this retreat is right for you. It continues after you fly home, with an online group session to breathe, meditate and integrate, access to the somatic library, and your retreat manual.
This work is unlike anything else I’ve encountered. The blend of neuroscience, depth psychology and therapeutic approaches to trauma, including preverbal trauma, made me feel I was experiencing the best of what’s available, brought together with real knowledge and care.
The retreat was one of the most professional and well-organised I’ve been to. We received plenty of resources and clear guidance. You could see that Joanna pays attention to every single detail, every person and every experience. It’s a space where you can relax and open your heart.
I’ve been working with Joanna for a few years, so I may be biased, but at this point in my life, I can’t imagine a year without joining one of her retreats. Even alongside our regular sessions, I can always go deeper through the therapeutic power of being in relationship with others in the group.
Meet your teacher
Integrative Somatic and Psychosomatic Trauma Therapist
Knowledge. Experience. Mastery.
Joanna works where breath, body and psyche meet. She combines therapeutic breathwork and body-based trauma processing with depth psychology, drawing on Hakomi, Gestalt, IFS and parts work, attachment and developmental psychology, interpersonal neurobiology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, shadow work and non-dual psychology.
Inspired by the pioneers of body-oriented psychology, she brings together bioenergetics, somatic bodywork and self-de-armouring, and through the breath guides people into deep states of consciousness. Trained across Europe and Asia, with over a decade of experience, she leads retreats, trainings and individual sessions worldwide, creating spaces that are safe, grounded and deeply transformative, where survival patterns soften and aliveness returns.
Retreat facilitator
Yoga · Somatic Movement · Bodywork
Kasia guides people back to the body’s innate intelligence through a trauma-informed approach to movement, bodywork and breath. Her work combines energetic bodywork, somatic practices for nervous system regulation and breathwork, helping people release held emotion and build self-trust and resilience.
Her yoga is fluid and creative: rhythmic, spiralling movements that awaken life force, soften rigidity and open the way to freedom and self-expression.
At Beyond Doing, Kasia leads the morning practice and supports the work throughout the retreat: holding the space, caring for each participant and assisting Joanna in the breathwork sessions with hands-on support.
Location
Silence, nature and spaciousness.
Beyond Doing takes place at Estrela Serenity, an eco-resort in the Serra da Estrela, Portugal’s highest mountain range and a UNESCO Global Geopark. Far from the noise of daily life, it is a place of stillness: clear mountain air, open skies, and a silence that lets the body remember how to rest.
We gather in the Contemplative Hall, a space of glass looking out over the Mondego Valley. Every practice, from the first breath of the morning to the last meditation at night, happens with the mountains and the moving light as our walls.
Between sessions, the land invites you to simply be: a natural lake with a wooden deck and loungers, hammocks and terraces, paths for slow walks. At night, with no artificial light for miles, the stars come close.
Spa
The retreat includes full access to Serenity Spa & Wellness: an outdoor pool, traditional and infrared saunas, a hammam, an outdoor jacuzzi and a fitness centre. Warmth, water and air become part of the practice, helping the body let go.
Accommodation
Each room is spacious and quiet, with panoramic views, a private ensuite bathroom and a kitchenette with a fridge and coffee machine. Cork details and wool blankets give it warmth. Choose a single room for your own space, or share a twin room.
Food
Meals are fresh, seasonal and regional, made with ingredients from local farmers and producers. For our group, the menu is shaped to nourish the body through deep inner work.
Stay longer
Come a day early or stay a little longer: walk the mountain’s hundreds of kilometres of marked trails, add extra nights, or book a massage.
Included: accommodation, all meals, spa access, the complete retreat programme, a pre-retreat consultation, a post-retreat integration session, access to the somatic library and a retreat manual.
Only twelve places, by application. Previous retreats filled months in advance, so early application is highly recommended.
Questions? Read the FAQ or write to us
About the retreat
A wellness retreat helps you rest and recharge. Beyond Doing is a therapeutic process: we work with the body, the breath and the nervous system to meet the patterns, identities and armour that keep us going, and to experience what opens when they soften. Rest is part of it, but the aim is a deeper shift in how you live, feel and relate.
Beyond Doing is a breathwork retreat for men and women who feel exhausted, live mostly in their heads, stand between two chapters of life, or are ready to explore deeper states of consciousness. You don’t need to be in crisis, and you don’t need experience. The pre-retreat consultation helps us explore whether this is the right space for you.
Yes. Burnout lives in the body as much as in the mind: a nervous system that no longer knows how to rest. Many people come looking for a nervous system reset; here you also learn to recognise your body’s signals of too much, how to return to balance on your own, and what has been driving the doing in the first place. The retreat is not a medical treatment. If you are in acute burnout or on sick leave, we will talk in the consultation about whether this is the right time for you.
Yes. Many people come at a turning point: after a separation or divorce, a loss, the end of a career or a role, a move, or a change they chose themselves. The retreat offers space to let the old chapter close consciously and to sense what wants to come next. If you are in acute crisis, we will talk in the consultation about whether one-to-one support first might serve you better.
Somatic breathwork uses conscious breathing to bring awareness into the body and work with what is held there. Different techniques can calm and regulate the nervous system, release tension and emotional charge, or open deeper states of consciousness. Within a therapeutic process, there is space to understand and integrate what comes up.
Yes. You don’t need any experience. Every session is guided step by step, and in the pre-retreat consultation we talk about where you are, so you arrive prepared and feel safe from the start.
Breathwork is powerful, and for most people it is safe. Some conditions need a conversation first, such as pregnancy, heart conditions, high blood pressure, epilepsy, glaucoma, recent surgery or serious mental health conditions. Please mention any health concerns in the registration form. We’ll discuss them in the pre-retreat consultation and adapt the practice where needed. If you’re unsure, please also check with your doctor.
Yes. Most participants come on their own, and the small group quickly becomes a supportive circle.
The retreat is held in English.
Yes. Embodied Self, our women’s somatic therapy and breathwork retreat, takes place from 19 to 23 April 2027 at the same venue. See Embodied Self
Booking
Fill in the registration form. We’ll then invite you to a pre-retreat consultation, a personal conversation where we explore whether this retreat is right for you. Once your place is confirmed, you receive the payment details. Registration closes on 28 February 2027, or earlier if all places are filled.
A non-refundable deposit of €500 (shared room) or €600 (single room) secures your place once it is confirmed. The remaining balance is due by 28 February 2027. If the balance isn’t received by then, the booking is cancelled and the deposit forfeited.
More than two months before the retreat (before 28 February 2027): balance payments are refundable; the deposit is non-refundable. One to two months before (28 February – 30 March 2027): 50% of balance payments are refundable. Less than one month before (after 30 March 2027): all payments are non-refundable. No refunds or credits are given for late arrival, early departure or inability to attend. We strongly recommend travel insurance that covers cancellation, missed flights and medical care.
Included: accommodation, all meals from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day, fruit, nuts, coffee and tea throughout, access to the spa (outdoor pool, saunas, hammam, jacuzzi and gym), the complete retreat programme, a pre-retreat consultation, a post-retreat integration session, access to the somatic library and a retreat manual.
Not included: flights and travel, transfers, travel insurance, massages and extra nights.
Practical
At Estrela Serenity, an eco-resort in the Serra da Estrela mountains in central Portugal, a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Porto is the most convenient airport; Lisbon is also possible. Transfers are available from both at an extra cost; details follow once your place is confirmed.
Check-in is at 15:30 on Friday, 30 April, followed by our welcome. You’re welcome to arrive earlier and enjoy the grounds. The retreat ends after lunch on Tuesday, 4 May, at 14:30.
Shared rooms have twin beds. If you’d like to share with someone you know, tell us in the registration form. Otherwise we pair participants of the same gender.
Three healthy, regional meals a day, made with ingredients from local farmers and producers, with fruit, nuts, coffee and tea always available. The menu is created around the group: in the registration form, you share how you eat and any allergies or dietary needs, and the meals are prepared from that, to support the body through deep inner work.
Late April and early May in the Serra da Estrela usually bring mild, sunny days and cool evenings, sometimes cold at night. Bring layers for both.
Comfortable clothes for movement, warm socks for the practice room (we practise without shoes), walking shoes, sliders for the spa and around the resort, swimwear and a journal. The weather in the Portuguese mountains can surprise you in spring: the sun can be strong during the day and the evenings cool, so bring warm layers and a jacket, as well as sunglasses and sunscreen. Please also bring a water bottle and any personal medication.
Towels and toiletries are provided in your room, and yoga mats, meditation cushions and blankets are provided for the sessions.
Yes. Extra nights, massages and wellness treatments are booked directly with Estrela Serenity.
Questions? Read the FAQ or write to us
