Enter the Quiet, Awaken the Fire Within
There are times in life when we need to step away from the noise and the familiar rhythms of everyday life.
To become quiet.
To listen.
To reconnect with nature, with ourselves, and with what is asking to be seen.
The Phoenix Rises is a seven-day Vision Quest retreat in the mountains of southern Portugal, held in a secluded, off-grid valley surrounded by nature.
Taking place as autumn begins to deepen and the year moves towards Samhain, this is a time of transition — a natural invitation to pause, reflect, release and listen for what wants to emerge.
The Vision Quest
At the pulse of the retreat is the Vision Quest.
A Vision Quest is a threshold experience, an opportunity to step outside the familiar and spend intentional time in nature, away from the distractions and demands of everyday life.
There is space for silence, solitude, reflection and deep listening.
You may arrive with a question.
You may be moving through a transition or ending.
You may feel that something in your life is ready to change.
Or perhaps you simply feel called to step away from your usual routine and spend time reconnecting with yourself and the natural world.
There is nothing you need to achieve.The invitation is simply to become still enough to listen.
Autumn & Samhain
Autumn reminds us that everything moves in cycles.
The trees let go of what they no longer need. The land begins to turn inward. The days become shorter as nature prepares for the stillness of winter.
Samhain marks a threshold between what has been and what is coming.
It is traditionally a time of honouring endings, acknowledging what has completed its cycle and making space for what lies ahead.
We will work consciously with this seasonal energy throughout the retreat.
You might ask:
What has come to completion? What am I ready to release? What have I learned? What do I want to carry forward? What is waiting to emerge?
Rather than forcing answers, we create the conditions to listen.
The Journey
For seven days, life becomes simpler.
The rising and setting of the sun begin to shape the days.
There is time to walk, rest, be silent, move, breathe, eat nourishing food, sit around the fire and simply be.
The land becomes part of the journey.
The elements become part of the journey.
Silence becomes part of the journey.
And our circle becomes part of the journey.
The retreat is held within a supportive container, while also allowing space for your own individual experience.
Supporting Practices
Alongside the vision quest, there will be practices to support your journey and help you connect more deeply with your body, your breath and the natural world.
These include:
Kundalini and Yin Yoga
Sharing Circles
Meditation
Yoga Nidra
Conscious Connected Breathwork
Sound Baths
Guided Journaling
Seasonal and healing rituals
Time in nature
A day immersed in the healing ocean
A guided Temazcal ceremony (sweat lodge)
The practices are not about adding more things to do, they are invitations to slow down, come into the body and create space for whatever is ready to be seen, felt, understood and released.
The Immersion
This retreat is a deep immersion into your own process of renewal and reconnection.
Each day is structured yet spacious — allowing insight to emerge naturally, rather than being pushed or analysed
Through Kundalini Yoga, meditation, ritual, nature immersion, silence, and creative practices, you are supported to:
- Reset and strengthen your nervous system
- Release outdated patterns and identities
- Reconnect with your intuition and inner guidance
- Deepen your relationship with nature
- Gain clarity for the next chapter of your life
Temazcal - a Journey into the Womb
At the heart of the retreat is a guided Temazcal – a ceremony of heat, darkness, sweat and prayer.
Entering the lodge is an encounter with the elements. The heat builds. The body speaks. The outside world disappears. There is darkness. There is breath. There is fire. There is the sound of your own heartbeat.
The Temazcal can be experienced as a return to the womb, a place where we can soften our grip on the outside world and allow something within us to be felt, witnessed and released.
The ceremony will be guided by Lottie Bruijn an experienced sweat lodge keeper holding ceremonies and facilitating Sweatlodges in Portugal, Belgium and her native Holland, she will tend the fire and the ceremonial container throughout the Temazcal.
The Phoenix Rises
The Phoenix is an image of transformation.
It reminds us that endings are not necessarily failures or losses. Sometimes something needs to complete before there is space for something new.
The Phoenix does not force its rebirth.
It moves through the fire.
And so this retreat is not about becoming a different version of yourself.
It is about listening deeply enough to recognise what is already changing within you.
The Daily Rhythm
Each day follows a gentle and supportive rhythm, designed to balance activation and rest.
- Morning practices focus on vitality, resilience, and inner clarity
- Evening practices support grounding, integration, and nervous system repair
- Time is woven throughout for solo reflection, rest, and nature immersion
No prior yoga experience is needed – just a willingness to be open to the process.
This Retreat is for You if ...
You are at a threshold in your life.
You are moving through a transition, ending or new beginning.
You feel called to reconnect with nature.
You have a question you want to sit with.
You are longing for stillness, simplicity and time away from everyday life.
Or you simply feel that it is time to pause and listen deeply.
You don’t need to arrive with a clear intention or know exactly what you are looking for.
Come with an open heart.
Bring your questions.
Let the answers emerge.
Accommodation
The accommodation is simple, comfortable, and immersed in nature — designed to help you slow down, rest, and feel at home.
Guests stay in a mix of thoughtfully prepared spaces, including bell tents with solid beds and mattresses, two cabins (Om Shanti – a studio, and Sunrise Lodge with two rooms and a kitchen), and The Shepherd’s Hut. The cabins and Shepherd’s Hut each have their own showers, while the bell tents share two outdoor showers. Across the land, we use eco-friendly compost toilets.
Accommodation is available on a shared or single basis, and spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Please let us know your preference when booking, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
There is also a natural swimming pool, offering a refreshing place to cool off, relax, and enjoy the surroundings.
Food
Meals are vegetarian, nourishing, and prepared with care, using ingredients sourced mainly from local farmers’ markets, along with seasonal produce from our own garden wherever possible. We aim to use organic ingredients, and always offer vegan and gluten-free options.
We understand that everyone’s needs are different, and we’ll do our best to be as flexible and accommodating as possible.
Living Off the Grid
At Rural Escapes Portugal, we live in harmony with nature — and that’s part of the magic. Our centre is completely off-grid, using the sun for power and sustainable systems for water and waste.
You’ll find compost toilets and outdoor private showers, all clean, thoughtfully designed, and easy to use. Many guests arrive a little unsure — and leave saying it’s one of their favourite parts of the experience.
There’s something surprisingly grounding and even uplifting about showering in a private showers with a view of the mountains and knowing your stay treads lightly on the earth.
This simple, natural way of living helps set the tone for the retreat: slower, more mindful, and gently connected to what really matters.
Investment & What’s Included
Shared accommodation: £920
Early Bird (before May 1st): £845
Single accommodation: £1225
Early Bird (before May 1st): £1150
Payment plans are available.
Please contact us directly to book or enquire.
What’s Included
- Shared or single accommodation
- Airport transfer (please enquire before booking flights)
- Brunch, dinner, and snacks
- Daily Kundalini Yoga & meditation
- Guided breathwork session
- Sound bath
- Cacao ceremony
- Guided Journaling and reflective practices
- Structured solo time in nature
- Guided silent walk
- Visit to connect with horses
Flight Transfer
The flight transfer from Faro Airport is included as part of your package.
13th October (arrival day) Pick up is at 17:00 from Faro Airport
19th October (departure day) drop off is at 10.30am arriving at Faro Airport at 12:00
Please ensure you contact us before booking any flights, so we can confirm timings and make sure everything aligns smoothly1
About the Facilitators
Ashley Jones (facilitator)
With over two decades of experience guiding retreats and group work, Ashley brings a grounded, intuitive presence to the spaces she holds. Her work weaves together Integrated Kundalini Yoga, meditation, ritual, and spiritual inquiry to support deep and lasting inner change.
She creates environments where people can meet themselves honestly and reconnect with their own inner wisdom — not as something to strive for, but something to remember. Ashley has facilitated retreats internationally, including in Egypt, Morocco, the UK, Italy, and Portugal, and is known for holding spaces that are both transformative and warmly human.
Camilla Bergman (co facilitator)
With over two decades of committed inner work, Camilla’s path has been shaped through 26 years in 12-Step fellowships alongside ongoing practice in yoga, breathwork, ritual, and sound.
She has been teaching yoga since 2012 and has guided retreats in Tenerife, Brighton, and Portugal. Recently certified as a Conscious Connected Breathwork facilitator and trained in Sound Healing with Don Conreux, Camilla brings a grounded, intuitive presence to the spaces she holds.
She holds a montly Wombens Circle at Rural Escapes Portugal. Her work is devoted to supporting honest self-inquiry, embodied awareness, and the gentle unfolding of insight through breath, practice, and connection.
Lottie de Bruijn (Sweatlodge keeper)
Lottie is a fire keeper, Yin yoga teacher and bodyworker based in Portugal. She facilitates ceremonies and retreats in Portugal, Italy, Morocco, Costa Rica and Europe including Cacao and Temazcal ceremonies. Her approach is warm, intuitive and deeply grounded, creating spaces where people feel safe to soften, reconnect and return to themselves.
This retreat is for those who feel the call to pause, reset, and listen more deeply.
For those standing at a threshold.
For those ready to let something old fall away and allow something truer to rise.