“The body is the angel who expresses and minds the soul; we should always pay loving attention to our bodies. … The body is the angel of life.”

- John O’Donohue

As we are slowly working towards normalising our lives after nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we realise how our bodies and souls have been impacted on so on many levels. The suffering that was endured during this time, including illness, death, isolation and loss of income, held for many a disembodied experience: a sense of numbness, the lack of or overwhelming emotions, grief and depression associated with the lack of togetherness and physical touch. In addition to the times of grief when we were bereft of the necessary comforting human touch and embrace that affirm and support our embodied existence, mental and emotional problems, anxiety, chronic fatigue and continuous trauma added to this sense of disembodiment.

John O’Donohue captures the essence of embodiment when he writes: “Your body tells you, if you attend to it, how your life is and whether you are living from your soul or from the labyrinths of your negativity. The body also has a wonderful intelligence. All of our movements, indeed everything we do, demands a most refined and detailed co-operation of each of our senses. The human body is the most complex, refined and harmonious totality. The body is your only home in the universe. It is your house of belonging here in the world. It is a very sacred temple. To spend time in silence before the mystery of your body brings you towards wisdom and holiness.”

Now, more than ever, we need healing and reclaiming our sense of embodiment. It is time to restore and heal our bodies that were energetically depleted from illness, stress, trauma and grief. It is time to re-story our narratives about our life situations that keep us stuck in negativity and lethargy. It is time to rekindle the creative energies needed to move forward with a sense of hope, joy and connectedness.

During this retreat in the beautiful and nurturing environment of Temenos, we will explore the following themes:

• Neurobiology, stress and trauma: the impact on our bodies

• The Narratives of Life-scripts: how we story our lives to make meaning

• Embodiment: The energy body, embodied existence and the body in relation

The retreat will be structured as follows:

• Early morning walks and/or movement meditations

• Morning and early evening guided meditations

• Workshop-style sessions and practical sessions to honour the themes of the retreat:

• Embodiment practices to restore and rekindle energy, including movement, walking meditations, walking the labyrinth and free-style dancing.

• A practical session to evaluate life-scripts and to re-story problematic and self-limiting life-scripts.

• Painting and collage to rekindle creative energy.

• The evenings after dinner will be dedicated to reflections and sound journeys.

• The evenings after dinner will be dedicated to feedback discussions and sound journeys.

You are invited to join me for this weekend retreat at Temenos Retreat Centre on the 22nd April 2022, inclusive of brunch and dinner daily, retreat activities and materials used. Checking in-time will be from 14:00 on Friday 22nd April and we will gather 17:00 for the start of the retreat. The retreat will end at around 14:00 after a closing ritual on Sunday 24th April. The fee includes free accommodation for Sunday evening for those that can stay over. Dinner on Sunday evening will be at your own cost. The restaurant at Temenos, Tebaldi’s, is closed on Sunday evenings, but you can order a takeaway at the restaurant before 2pm or book for a dinner in town or choose to self-cater. The cottages at Temenos are fully equipped for self-catering.

The retreat fee is R 4 500.00 single accommodation and R 3 900.00 sharing. An immediate deposit of R1 000.00 secures your booking. The balance is payable on 14th April. Please book soon as space is limited. For bookings, contact Johann at johann@johannvangreunen.co.za or 021-914 1294 or 083 764 5978.

Please note my Cancellation Policy:

• Should you cancel your reservation up to 4 weeks prior a retreat, you will be refunded, but an admin fee of R 100 will be charged. An option would be to keep your deposit, but to transfer it to another retreat at no additional cost.

• For cancellations 2-4 weeks prior the retreat, refunds will only be offered if your place can be re-sold. You will still have the option to transfer your deposit to another retreat at no additional cost.

• Cancellations up to 2 weeks prior the retreat will not be refunded, and no deposits will be transferred.

About your facilitator:

Johann Van Greunen

Johann is a Specialist Wellness Counsellor in private practice with training and background in Pastoral Therapy. In his practice he focuses on counselling, Reiki healing and training, teach ing mindfulness meditation and he runs various workshops focused on mindfulness practices and inner wellbeing Johann has realised the value of Meditation and Mindfulness Practices early in his life and has co me to know Mindfulness Meditation as an invaluable aid in assisting us to develop integrated and coherent life stories.

With an interest in Integral and Complementary Medicine from early on, Johann qualified as Reiki Master to offer a hands on healing pra ctice that complements his counselling practice. Being a Master in Reiki, he teaches courses on Levels 1, 2 and Master Level.

Johann had been training in both ballroom and contemporary dance for years and developed a strong interest in the healing power of creative processes, especially in art, movement and music. He uses these processes working with groups and during his workshops and retreats teaching Mindfulness Practices. He encourages his clients coming for counselling to use creative processes in o rder to develop new narratives for their life stories.

Johann holds an Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Pretoria and a M.Th. (Clinical Pastoral Care) from the University of Stellenbosch. He is registered as Specialist Wellness Counsellor at the Association for Supportive Counsellors & Holistic Practitioners. He is involved with mentoring programmes for the City of Cape Town which involves psycho social support for health clinic staff and clinic managers. His work with these teams includes team building, trauma debriefing and teaching mindfulness practices. Past work in this field includes mentoring programmes for HIV/AIDS counsellors at Lifeline, Wola Nani, Sothemba AIDS Action Group, Positive Muslims and Desmond Tutu TB Centre linked to t he University of Stellenbosch. He was also supervisor for the M.Th. Clinical Pastoral Care (HIV Counselling) programme for 5 years.

Johann is passionate about life, the arts, music, dance, nature, good food, coffee, wine and soulful friendships. He lives with his partner in the leafy suburb of Kenridge in Durbanville and is the servant of a big fluffy ginger cat.

At Temenos we're always happy to host Retreats and Workshops, for more details contact Margaret