Medicine Men – 5 night tantra retreat for men

Gay Men’s Retreats, Retreats, Tantra, Yoga, Yoga For Men

Algarve, Portugal, 23rd to 28th October 2023

Join 10-14 gay, bi and queer men for embodied movement, connection, sensuality and healing in SouthernPortugal at Casa Cales; a beautiful yoga retreat centre with sweeping views of the sea and lush rugged countryside. 

This retreat is an opportunity for you to pause, rest, recharge and reset. Together we’ll create a space for you to show up for yourself and others, maybe like never before.

You’ll get to know tools and practices that are joyful, resourcing, healing and transformative and your body, heart, mind and spirit will feel better.  

We’ll explore yoga, meditation, reiki, TRE (tension trauma release), QEC (trauma-informed belief system coaching), shiatsu, energy medicine and tantra. Some classes will be naked and it is also possible to be naked around the retreat centre.

Community is a massive part of these retreat events and it’s there where much of our medicine lies. Come and be with like minds and hearts and lean into meaningful connection and intimacy, the rich kind that can deeply sustain us. Leave with a stronger knowing that you belong to life and love and that life and love belong to you. 

The program will be relaxed and spacious and also rich and healing: 
– Tension/Trauma Release Exercises which help us to release long held tension patterns, stress and
trauma from the body 
– a variety of energising yoga practices such as dynamic hatha vinyasa, yin and partner yoga
– various meditation tools and practices
– shiatsu massage techniques
– reiki level 1 attunement for self-regulation, self-care and self-healing

This retreat is for you if:

  • You are looking to integrate your sexuality and spirituality and open up to a deepening awareness of who you are
  • You love the idea of being close to wild nature, living amid old olive trees and looking out over green hills and valleys  
  • You want more intimacy with like-minded, warm-hearted gay and bi men and to experience the joy, connection and healing that arises in community 
  • You want to enjoy and celebrate your body through movement and energy work 
  • You are looking to expand your awareness of what your body, mind and spirit are capable of
  • You are working on healing from negative experiences regarding your sexuality and/or you are interested in more intimacy and authenticity, with yourself and with others
  • You are ready for an adventure, to take risks, grow beyond your comfort zone and discover new ways of delighting in who you are

A typical day:

8.30am* movement and yoga
9.30am breakfast
11.30am reiki attunements on second full day 
1.30pm lunch
5pm evening session
7.30pm dinner

INCLUDED
– 2 to 3 classes per day 
– Reiki level I
– Three delicious and nutritious vegetarian meals a day, fruit, herbal teas and water

REIKI

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing, self-regulation and self-care. 

Through reiki, we receive the lifeforce energy around us, the energy that flows through all living things, the energy from the sun and the cosmos, the oceans and the earth. This balances and strengthens our own lifeforce. 

Our lifeforce is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted by negative thoughts or feelings we hold about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body. 

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way. Reiki is extremely helpful in working with Tantric Energy and supports the expansion and growth that comes with it.

THE ATTUNEMENT

The ability to channel Reiki energy is transferred to the student by a Reiki Master during an attunement process. 

By receiving an attunement you will gain a valuable tool for self-healing and self-regulation and also become part of a group of people who are using Reiki to share peace, love and expand universal consciousness with others and the Planet. It is a beautiful, relaxing and deeply nurturing experience and I am delighted to be able to share it with you.  

(With thanks to Miguel Chavez at www.reikimaya.com and his manual for Reiki 1 and 2, the Usui System of Healing). 

Prices start at £1100

To apply, please contact Andy at andybutterfield@icloud.com or +447968846610

Naked Yoga, Tantra and Energy Healing Retreat for Men

Gay Men’s Retreats, Retreats, Self-Development, Shiatsu, Tantra, Yoga, Yoga For Men

Algarve, Portugal, 10th to 17th June, 2023

Join 10 gay, bi and queer men for embodied movement, connection, sensuality and healing in Southern
Portugal at Casa Cales; a beautiful yoga retreat centre with sweeping views of the sea and lush countryside. 

The program will be relaxed and spacious and also rich and healing. We will explore: 
– Tension/Trauma Release Exercises which help us to release long held tension patterns, stress and
trauma from the body 
– a variety of energising yoga practices such as dynamic hatha vinyasa, yin and partner yoga. 
– tantric practices to strengthen connection, intimacy and the link between sexuality and spirituality 
– reiki level 1 attunement for self-regulation, self-care and self-healing

This retreat is for you if:

  • You are looking to integrate your sexuality and spirituality and open up to a deepening awareness of who you are
  • You love the idea of getting back to nature, feeling the sun on your naked skin, roaming through woodland and mountains, stargazing and sharing around the fire  
  • You want more intimacy with like-minded, warm-hearted gay and bi men and to experience the joy, connection and healing that arises in community 
  • You want to enjoy and celebrate your body through movement and energy work 
  • You are looking to expand your awareness of what your body, mind and spirit are capable of
  • You are working on healing from negative experiences regarding your sexuality and/or you are interested in better sex, with yourself and with others
  • You are ready for an adventure, to take risks, grow beyond your comfort zone and discover new ways of delighting in who you are

A typical day:

8.30am* movement and yoga
9.30am breakfast
11.30am reiki attunements on second full day 
1.30pm lunch
5pm tantra 
7pm dinner

INCLUDED
– 2-3 yoga and tantra classes per day 
– Reiki level I
– Three delicious and nutritious vegetarian meals a day, herbal teas and water

REIKI

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing, self-regulation and self-care. 

Through reiki, we receive the lifeforce energy around us, the energy that flows through all living things, the energy from the sun and the cosmos, the oceans and the earth. This balances and strengthens our own lifeforce. 

Our lifeforce is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted by negative thoughts or feelings we hold about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body. 

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way. Reiki is extremely helpful in working with Tantric Energy and supports the expansion and growth that comes with it.

THE ATTUNEMENT

The ability to channel Reiki energy is transferred to the student by a Reiki Master during an attunement process. 

By receiving an attunement you will gain a valuable tool for self-healing and self-regulation and also become part of a group of people who are using Reiki to share peace, love and expand universal consciousness with others and the Planet. It is a beautiful, relaxing and deeply nurturing experience and I am delighted to be able to share it with you.  

(With thanks to Miguel Chavez at www.reikimaya.com and his manual for Reiki 1 and 2, the Usui System of Healing). 

Prices start at £1200

Please contact Andy for more information at andybutterfield@icloud.com or +447968846610

The power of retreating

Gay Men’s Retreats, Retreat, Retreats, Shiatsu, Tantra, Urban Retreats, Workshops, Yoga, Yoga For Men

I feel honoured that so many people trust me to guide them in practices that help them to feel. Yoga, shiatsu, tantra, movement, touch enables people to enter into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with their bodies, their lifeforce, their poise, their power, their compassion, their resilience, their creativity, their wisdom. 

I’ve just finished leading my eleventh retreat and am always struck by how much I love doing them. When I bring together a group of people and co-create a space with them, something happens to my own lifeforce. It gets bigger and stronger and brighter. I’m usually many miles away from my normal life but I feel more at home in myself and more connected to my capabilities. I watch in delight at the wonders that flow through me and the group and I realise that I am in my element.

I’ve gone on retreat many times, journeying deeply into mindfulness, yoga and bodywork, receiving more of the light that these practices shine. To be able to open and hold the space for others to receive that light too is an opportunity to pay the privilege forward. 

Beautiful things happen for people on retreat: connection, inspiration, letting go, empowerment, healing. It’s such a gift to watch the magic unfold, time and time again. Each group constellation being what it needs to be but always shimmering with a kindness and a joy.

Even something as short as a weekend can be a powerful reset. And 5-7 days or longer can be truly life-changing.  Coming away from everyday life and connecting in warm-hearted community, having some space to unplug, to process, to breathe, getting out of your head and into your body, finding who you are again. We return stronger and more resilient than we were before. Sometimes with a fresh new perspective or free from some of our pain.

So what did we get up to on this last retreat adventure? We sang, danced and played games until we doubled over in laughter. We stretched and sweated and eased away tension. We hugged and we sat around the fire and had long, lazy, delicious meals. We remembered the joy of having a body. 

My next retreats are Portugal in June, Greece in July and East Sussex in October. Details here.