Unlocking the Body's Wisdom: A Holotropic Breathwork Retreat for releasing Trauma and embracing Transformation
Unlocking the Body's Wisdom: A Holotropic Breathwork Retreat for releasing Trauma and embracing Transformation
Join us for a transformative weekend retreat focused on trauma healing and personal growth through Holotropic Breathwork leaded by GTT teacher Sonja Busch. This immersive workshop will guide you through a deep dive into the wisdom of the body, showing how our lived experiences — from perinatal to biographical and transgenerational — are stored within us, waiting to be accessed and transformed.
We will start the weekend with a comprehensive lecture on Trauma and Transformation providing valuable insights into how trauma impacts the mind, body ,and spirit, and how expanded states of consciousness hold a true healing potential. We will look into the Holotropic perspective on the different types of trauma, how trauma manifests in the body, which survival mechanisms it brings up and shed some light on the transformative process of moving from fragmentation to wholeness through the work in expanded states of consciousness.
By understanding how trauma is stored somatically, we will discover why practiceslike Holotropic Breathwork can access these deep layers of the psyche, facilitating profound emotional release and integration. The lecture lays the foundation for our experiential work together, bridging scientific understanding with spiritual wisdom to empower you on your healing journey.
During the weekend you will be able to experience and unlock your own inner healing wisdom though experiential exercises and two Holotropic Breathwork sessions (one as a breather, one as a sitter), where you will access expanded states of consciousness. Our trauma-informed integration practices will provide you with the tools to ground and work with the material that arises, helping you to integrate the insights and experiences from your journey into your daily life. Whether you are new to Holotropic Breathwork or seeking to deepen your practice, this weekend retreat offers a safe and supportive environment for healing, connection, and transformation.
Retreat takes place in the Hub Feenix, in a former sanatorium close to beautiful nature in Raasepori (www.hubfeenix.fi, Högbenintie 30, 10350 Meltola). There is one hour drive from Helsinki and 1.5 hour drive from Turku, and you can reach the venue by coming to Karjaa by bus or train, where we can pick you up. Accommodation happens in two person rooms. With extra cost (40€) you can get a private room. Tasty vegetarian food is included in the price. We also have a sauna at our use.
No previous experience of Holotropic Breathwork is required. The retreat will be held in english, translation in finnish will be provided if needed.
Preliminary schedule
Friday
13:30-14:30 Registration
14:30-21:00 Opening the retreat, trauma-themed practices, dinner
21:00-23:00 Own time / sauna
Saturday
8:00 Breakfast
9:00-22:00 2 x Breathing sessions, meals, starting the integration, sauna
Sunday
8:00 Breakfast
9:30-14:00 Deepening the integration
14:00 Lunch
How to reserve your place in the Retreat:
1. Fill the Registration form and Medical form from the link below
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jtclZgdLTofCTTBjVYZ1hVHJsnNBc5zolxzYVoWKgm8
The purpose of the Medical form is to make sure it is safe for you to participate in the retreat and that we can support your process in best possible way. Please answer honestly. If any question is unclear to you, ask us for clarification.
2. Pay the Deposit fee (50€) or the whole payment of the retreat
(Payment details below)
Your place will be confirmed after you have filled the registration and medical forms and paid the deposit fee (50€) or the whole payment of the retreat. We will send you a confirmation email after you have filled the forms and we have got your payment.
If you participate for the first time in our events, we will send you a video “Introductory lecture to Holotropic Breathwork” which you need to watch before the retreat. We will also interview all the new participants before the retreat. If you have any doubts or questions, just contact us. If you have been breathing with us before, but you would like to talk with us before the retreat, or if in your life situation has happened some changes we should be aware of, just contact us.
Payment information:
Price of the retreat (including the deposit fee 50€):
Full price: 470€ / Earlybird 430€ until 17.11.
Student / unemployed / senior citizen price:
410€ / Earlybird 370€ until 17.11.
(10€ discount from all ticket groups for HB Finland ry members)
(Prices includes 10% VAT)
Bank information
Account owner: Holotropic Breathwork Finland ry
Address of the company: Parkinkatu 7 as 1, 20500 Turku, Finland
IBAN: FI20 7997 7990 1619 57
BIC: HOLVFIHH
Amount(€): retreat price / deposit fee (50€)
Message: Retreat 12/24 + Your full name
If you have problems with the payments or you would like to participate but your financial situation doesn’t allow it, just contact us so we can try to find a good solution. If you pay just the deposit fee, you need to pay the rest of the payment latest in registration, where you can pay with cash or mobilepay. If you need to cancel your participation in the retreat for any reason, we will refund your payment fully if the cancellation is done before 24.11. If the cancellation is done after that, we will keep the reservation fee.
Because the breathing-sessions can be emotionally or physically intense, it is not recommended for safety reasons for pregnant women, people with heart-problems and very high blood pressure, with strong psychiatric illnesses, with ongoing spiritual emergencies, with recent fractures or surgical operations, with acute infections or epileptics. If you are not sure if this method is safe for you, consult your physician/therapist or contact us so we can discuss your situation.
“Many of us spend our whole lives
running from feelings
with the mistaken belief
that you cannot bear the pain.
But you have already born the pain.
What you have not done
is feel all you are,
beyond that pain.”
- Khalil Gibran
Facilitators of the retreat:
Sonja Busch
Sonja is GTT Europe Coordinator and Founder of the European Association for Holotropic Breathwork. She works in private practice as Bowen Body Therapist and Clinical Supervisor. Specialised in trauma healing she has a broad background in working in the areas of gender based violence, trafficking in persons, sexual abuse, unaccompanied minor refugees, street children etc. in Austria and abroad, especially in (post-) conflict countries.
Her educational background is in Bowen Body Therapy, master studies in clinical supervision, coaching and organisational development as well as a master degree in political science and sociology. She lectures at universities and universities of applied science in Austria and abroad and also facilitates conferences and workshops.
Sonja regularly organises HB workshops in Austria and has been facilitating in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Currently, she is exploring as certified SoulCollage® Facilitator the potentials of this beautiful technique to support people in integrating experiences in extraordinary states of consciousness.
Thomas Liska
Thomas Liska is GTT Europe Direktor and together with Sonja Busch founder of the Holotropic Association of Europe with extensive experience working in Ukraine, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain, USA, UK, Turkey, Israel, Czech Republic, Poland and organising workshops in Austria.
Born in Vienna in 1965 he went through a technical education before shifting his interest towards (transpersonal) psychology and psychotherapy.
He is trained in several psycho-therapeutical schools and approaches such as systemic family therapy, psychosynthesis and sex therapy and Psychodynamic Imaginative Trauma Therapy (PITT). He also holds an academic degrees in Counseling, Coaching and Supervision. Certified SoulCollage® Facilitator.
Valde Orrenmaa
Certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator (GTT)
Transpersonal consult, cognitive brief-therapist, science of religion (M.A.)
Chairman of HB Finland ry
valde.orrenmaa@protonmail.com
valdeorrenmaa.fi
Valde is a communal mystic living in Kaarina, who is drawn to depth and the practice of compassion. He has worked with individuals and groups in the areas of healing, inner growth, meditation, and therapeutic states of consciousness. As a facilitator he has calm, gentle and strong presence. He graduated from the Grof Transpersonal Training in 2019 as a facilitator of Holotropic Breathwork and a transpersonal consultant. The holotropic perspective has given him a deep understanding of the inner wisdom present in everyone, as well as the importance of creating an accepting, supportive, and safe space for personal growth. Valde is a cognitive brief-therapist and has a masters degree in science of religion, and has specialized in unusual states of consciousness and experiences. He has also worked as a trainer and event coordinator at the Finnish psycare organization Kotilo, volunteered in terminal care, and is currently studying to become a mindfulness instructor. Valde finds joy in nature, meditation, music, dance, karate, and in authentic connections with other beings.
Jussi Alihanka
Certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator (GTT)
Psychiatrist, Specialist in addiction medicine, integrative psychotherapist,
Vice President of HB Finland ry
j.alihanka@proton.me
https://minduu.fi/fi/profiili/jussi_alihanka
Jussi is originally from Rymättylä in the Turku archipelago and now lives in Kemiönsaari. He graduated from Grof Transpersonal Training as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator in spring 2023 and co-founded Holotropic Breathwork Finland together with Valde in 2018. Jussi's interest towards altered states of consciousness and working with them has born out from personal integrative experiences. These experiences have also guided Jussi to explore different ways of perceiving and understanding the human experience. Key elements in Jussi's work are safety and the concept of 'Inner Wisdom', which seeks to describe the spontaneous tendency of the human body, mind and soul to heal and grow.
He believes that Holotropic Breathwork and its principles have a lot to offer for psychotherapy, healing, growth and increasing self-awareness and therefore aims to make the method better known and to increase its accessibility in Finland.
Iida Hokkanen
Holotropic Breathwork facilitator (GTT) trainee
Somatic Experiencing - Embodied trauma therapy trainee, breath coach, nature connection guide, HR professional
Board Member and Social Media of HB Finland ry
ihmenergia@gmail.com
Iida discovered Holotropic breathwork in 2019 and since then the method has been a significant part of her own healing journey. The safe, loving and empowering breathwork community has felt so much like home that she was inspired to start the holotropic breathwork facilitator training in 2022.
Enabling holistic well being and body-mind-soul coherence for individuals, groups and communities is Iida’s calling. She is a nature connection guide, a certified breath coach and started training to become a Somatic Experiencing embodied trauma therapist. Her ways for connecting with authentic self include exploring voice, movement, conscious breathing and experiencing the nature.
In her daily life Iida is a Human Resource professional, mother and a dog person.
Location
Valde Orrenmaa
Featured speakers
Event Contacts
