Retreat in silence: Grateful heart & clear mind [3 days near Berlin]

Your retreat in the December pre-Christmas stress: spend a weekend in silence
Take a deep breath & gather yourself in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. In this retreat, we want to focus on the essentials, cultivate gratitude and loving kindness and get in the mood for the upcoming festive season. We will also use the opportunity of the retreat to look back on the past year & consciously shape the time of transition into the new year.

What awaits you
We start on Friday at around 4.30 pm. You can arrive earlier and take a walk in the beautiful forests of the Schorfheide around Klandorf. After dinner together, we will clarify everything important in the evening so that you can sink safely into the silence and completely into yourself for a full day.

Until Sunday morning, we will wrap ourselves in noble silence and focus entirely on introspection. Looking inwards. Listening. We will then have lunch on Sunday and, if you wish, some more sharing and fellowship before we end our time out together.

Basically, you can expect a medium-intensity meditation practice that is also suitable for people with little experience: we sit for a maximum of about 25 minutes at a time and about 4-5 times a day, together in silence, sometimes also as a guided meditation.

My own meditation practice, and therefore my guidance, is strongly influenced by Buddhist practice: I often like to lead a variant of Vipassana meditation, and we also practice Metta (the meditation of loving kindness) on almost every retreat, especially here on this December retreat, where Metta is a focus. Without meditation on the breath (samatha meditation), nothing works anyway: it usually helps us at the beginning of every retreat to focus the mind and find more peace.

In addition to meditation practice, not least for physical balance, but also to prepare for sitting, we practise yoga, especially yin yoga, but I also like to incorporate simple exercises from hatha yoga, which we do slowly and mindfully, almost therapeutically. If you expect fast flows or dynamic power yoga, you will be disappointed. (However, you can practice on your own at any time).

Finally, the program is rounded off with short impulse talks, stories or food for thought, contemplations, often journaling sessions, walks together and always an integration exercise at the end.

On this retreat we will also sing mantras together, because singing - actively, but also passively in listening - has a physical and emotional effect that can be described as 'heart opening', as it affects both the cardiovascular system and emotional processing. Studies show that singing together releases oxytocin, stabilizes the heart rhythm and promotes emotional openness. Singing therefore fits in very well with the theme of the retreat.

Your course leader:
Regina is a meditation teacher, psychological yoga & breath therapist and philosophical practitioner i.A. Since 2020 Regina has been supporting people as a trainer for conscious being to move from doing to being and thus lead a joyful and peaceful life.

This is what a former participant says about my retreats:

'The weekend in silence was a highlight for me this year and the after-effects will hopefully stay with me for a long time. Despite the usual Christmas stress, I am already approaching many things a little differently, meditating every day and writing something in my diary in the evening. It was such a great weekend that I would like to experience again in the future and how lucky we were with the group! Thank you again for your fantastic introduction to stillness, yin yoga and so much more. ---- Marisca M.

Please note: The costs for accommodation* & transfers depend on the room category and are paid directly to the hotel approx. 3 weeks before the retreat (invoice will be sent by e-mail, payment by bank transfer).

93 €/night/person in a 3-bed room with private bathroom or in a 2-bed room with shared bathroom
98 €/night/person in a double room or 2-bed room with private bathroom
98 €/night/person in a single room with shared bathroom
118 €/night/person in a single room with private bathroom

* Please bring your own bed linen or rent it for 8 €.

You can expect a delicious cuisine that will take care of your physical well-being during your stay. Catering is full board with three meals a day as well as tea, coffee and fruit. The meals are vegetarian + wholesome + organic, vegan is possible on request, please specify when booking.

Please note: see the section on "Accommodation" - The costs for meals are paid directly to the hotel and are included in the above prices.

Like everything else, my program is constantly changing: I learn new things, have new ideas, want to try things out, develop myself further. So nothing is more certain than that changes in the program are the only constant. Last but not least, it is also shaped by what I'm reading, what I'm dealing with and what keeps me busy. Feel free to write to me if you would like to see the program of past retreats.

Basically, you can expect a well-rounded and varied program consisting of various meditations and gentle yoga, as well as other supporting activities (e.g. short talks, journaling, integration exercises, a walk together, breathing exercises...).

Program (subject to change)

Friday
16.30-17.00 Welcome & organizational matters
17.00-18.30 Yin Yoga to arrive
18.30-19.30 Dinner
19.30-20.15 Walk & talk about silence
20.30-22.00 Meditation, introduction round, clarification of questions

~ Beginning of silence

Saturday
7.00-7.25 Silent meditation (continued practice without guidance)
7.30-8.30 Morning meditation
8.30-9.30 Breakfast
11-12.30 Yoga therapy class incl. meditation
12.30-13.30 Lunch
14-15 Optional: individual conversation possible
15-16 Meditation, impulse talk & contemplation
17-18.30 Yin yoga & meditation
18.30-19.30 Dinner
19.30-20.30 Optional: individual conversation possible
20.30-21.30 Meditation & storytime

Sunday
7.00-7.25 Silent meditation (continued practice without guidance)
7.30-8.30 a.m. Morning meditation
8.30-9.30 Breakfast
10-11 a.m. Joint walk & meditation

~ End of silence

11.30-12.30 Meditation, integration exercise & final round
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.00-14.30 Optional: Exchange & fellowship
13.00-14.30 Optional: one-to-one discussion possible

By car
In Götz follow the signs to Rosenwaldhof. Some navigation systems guide you along poor forest roads.
There are always free parking spaces available on the Rosenwaldhof grounds.

By train
The nearest train station is Götz station, Groß Kreutz (Havel).
Please do NOT get off at Groß Kreutz. Make sure you drive through to Götz.
From Götz station you can either walk (approx. 1 hour), cycle (approx. 20 minutes), take the bus or have the shuttle pick you up from the Hotel Rosenwaldhof

Shuttle from the train station to the hotel
The price of the shuttle varies depending on the number of passengers.
1 passenger: 12 Euro
2 or more passengers: 5 euros per person
In any case, the shuttle ride must be paid in cash at check-in