A retreat of mindfulness, connecting with the nature cycles and rhythms, getting cozy and cuddling all over the place.

Hibernation was a youth exchange that explored how we can take better care for ourselves, each other and the Earth through community based methods, practicing awareness and plugging into the natural wisdom inside and outside.

HIBERNATION - A retreat of mindfulness

Winter is a time of slowing down, getting cozy, taking time for contemplation, incubating ideas and charging up for new creation, connecting with the ancestors, mending relationships and watching dreams.
Yet often in this time we are busier than ever, running like crazy to fit into deadlines, looking for ways to tie financial ends, going shopping for Christmas presents, over-scheduling our planners, burning out and finding ourselves depleted, exhausted and trying to befriend our immune systems with artificial vitamins.

But deep down we all know that this is not the way. The heart knows the truth, which resides inside, waiting to be heard, always knowing when it is time to escape and recharge. Hibernate.

What if your fears could all be gone, taken away by the caring hands of wind, brought up in the sky by the honey-dipped fingers of sun, melted by the dripping icicles and covered in stardust by the night sky?

You will hear the trees craning, waving goodbyes to the sun as it disappears behind the horizon and leaves the stage for the miraculous appearance of the moon and stars. You will see the majestic forests getting ready for winter’s sleep and you will realize that people can never build something as beautiful as nature does.

You will know immediately that there is a story behind each pair of eyes you meet, there is a heart beating behind their rib cages, and you will also feel that each of us are the victims of the same thing – we are trapped by our own minds.
​There are questions to be answered, reasons to be discovered, things and people to let go of. We live in times where it is not a rarity to take your clothes off, what really is rare, is to be naked in your soul, to open up.

Throughout the program of Hibernation we go in and out of the stages of opening up to the world, to our community, to nature, and to ourselves. We do this through such activities and methods as body movement and dance, learning to accept what is and exploring what could be by practicing awareness and meditation,  connecting with the self and the environment while spending time in nature, expressing our innermost thoughts, feelings and dreams, learning to love all of it. You will be guided in this process by gentle facilitation, but taking your own time and pace throughout the journey.

One of our focus activities will be creation of a light object that serves as a tool for exploring different perceptions and sensations, getting back to our body, grounding ourselves through crafting, learning to bring our visions to fruition and lighting up the darkest time of the year.

All of your presence and creativity is welcome. Bring whatever wants to come with you on this journey – be it musical instruments, awareness practices and methods you want to share with others, questions you want to deal with from the past, desires you want to nurture, or just your pure heart.

With the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi­ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.