Are you ready to take your happiness into your own hands? Find out what’s holding you back and let it go?
Then this retreat is for you.
Healing with Horses, Photography, Yoga & the Sea
A combination that will leave you feeling nurtured, empowered, rejuvenated and feeling alive!
In collaboration with Hippolysis Equine Therapy Farm,
Marathonas, Athens, Greece
Hippolysis is a center that rescues horses, offers them love and a good quality of life and in return, the horses help humans through sessions of learning, therapy and personal growth, together with highly trained and experienced professionals.
“Mindfulness helps you go home to the present.
And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.”
Thich NahtHan
Horses, Photography and Yoga bring us back to the present moment each time.
When you are out to find that picture, you are fully focused on what surrounds us right here right now, not thinking of anything else, you are absorbed in the beauty of the moment, right? When you practice yoga you focus and listen to your breath and body, and you feel good. Yes? When you are with horses, you are fully present to their magnificence and grace – have you experienced that?
These are all moments of mindfulness. These are moments of happiness.
On this retreat you will collect such moments of perfect happiness and learn how to embody them, so you will be able to generate your happiness anywhere, anytime.
This retreat will leave you nurtured, empowered, rejuvenated and feeling alive!
We will do this through:
- Healing with Horses (Equine Assisted Therapy/Learning)
- Exploring Photography as a Healing Art
- Gentle and Restorative Yoga
- And of course, the heart-opening power of the Greek sun, sea, beautiful surroundings, good food and company!
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
Winston Churchill
Healing with Horses
Equine Assisted Therapy/Learning
Being (and learning) with horses can be a deeply healing and transformational experience.
Horses touch something deep inside us and bring us back to the essence of our Being.
They teach us to be authentic, to be true to ourselves.
They help us to come out of our head and into our heart and to reconnect with our potential and inner joy of knowledge, our innate wisdom.
Equine Assisted Therapy/Learning helps with
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Processing personal goals
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Emotional intelligence and self-confidence development
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Processing and re-evaluating personal value system
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Processing and re-evaluating personal, familial and social restrictions
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Release from internal traumatic recordings
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Balancing inner needs and desires, capabilities and expectations with life’s reality
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Managing and transforming life’s disappointments into a pain-free experience
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Connecting with gratitude towards life
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Developing and reinforcing self-esteem, self-respect and confidence
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Dealing with and transforming success/failure
The work with the horses is done entirely on the ground, with highly trained and experienced professionals. No previous experience with horses required. There is no mounting or riding involved.
The sessions will be personalised according to your needs, (i.e. anxiety, fear, mindfulness, setting boundaries, achieving goals etc.), help you identify the inner causes of your issues and assist you in developing skills to effectively deal with the challenges of daily life.
Dr Niki Markogianni,
Founder of Hippolysis Equine Therapy Farm, International EAGALA mentor, Νeurologist-Psychiatrist with 35 years experience in the field of psychotherapy and 45 years actively occupied with horses.
“The experience with the horses was amazing and I am very glad I experienced it. I felt very relaxed and much more in control.”
More about Healing with Horses and Hippolysis
“Horses are highly sensitive intuitive beings and extremely receptive and responsive to the body language, emotion, energy and intention of everyone around them.
Horses seem to have the ability to sense at a deeper, or sub-conscious level, what a person needs and what their vulnerabilities are in each moment. When that person is then open to a suggestion from the horse, a change of perception, behaviour and emotion can take place in the person.
It is because of this immediate, direct access to people’s subconsciousness that horses an get to the crux of issues much more quickly than talk based therapies, or other coaching and educational models.”
(Angela Dunning in “The Horse leads the Way”)
Horses communicate with the emotional part of the person; they help us understand our emotions, needs and desires, beyond the resistance of thought.
The work with the horses is done entirely on the ground, with highly trained and experienced professionals. No previous experience with horses required. There is no mounting or riding involved.
The sessions will be personalised according to your needs, (i.e. anxiety, fear, mindfulness, setting boundaries, achieving goals etc.)
and help you identify the inner causes of your issues and assist you in developing skills to effectively deal with the challenges of daily life.
Equine Assisted Therapy is considered a brief kind of therapy since it provides substantial and positive change to a person’s health and quality of life, in a short amount of time.
Hippolysis is a center that rescues horses, offers them love and a good quality of life and in return, the horses help humans through sessions of learning, therapy and personal growth, together with highly trained and experienced mental health professionals.
Facilitating your work with the horses will be a highly professional team:
Dr. Niki Markogianni – Psychiatrist/neurologist/equine specialist/ EAGALA* mentor
Hrissa Baxevanidi – Psychologist/EAGALA practitioner
Nefeli Kourkoulou – Psychologist
*EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) sets the global standard in equine-assisted psychotherapy and personal development.
Hippolysis is a not-for-profit organisation founded by Dr. Niki Markogianni, a psychiatrist with 30 years of experience in psychotherapy, EAGALA training (EAGALA advanced certified) and 40 years of experience with horses. Hippolysis has a 5-member strong core scientific team and 7 horse therapists. It was founded in 2009 and in the first 4 years alone it has successfully conducted over 2,300 sessions at the Hippolysis Centre in Marathon, Greece, and continues to do so.
Testimonials: read what people have experienced with the horses at Hippolyisis.
How can photography be a healer?
In the words of Jan Phillip in her book God is at eye level, Photography as a Healing Art: Photography heals 3 times:
- Being in the now, I am released from the often painful grip of past and future.
- Being the subject of ‘an artist’s loving gaze’ can be a healing experience.
- Viewing the world through another’s lens, to be transported to another reality can heal and transform our own.
Exploring Photography as a Healing Art
We will use photography to connect to our deepest longings, the whispers in our hearts, and to practise mindfulness, being totally in the present moment and opening up to our own wisdom inside.
“Images can be mirrors for our deepest truths, even in our simple snapshots.
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“The people, objects, and landscapes we are drawn to photograph have the power to center us in the present, soothe the injured spirit, and lead us to our deepest truths.”
(Jan Phillips, God is at eye level, Photography as a Healing Art)
How can photography be a healer?
Jan Phillips says it brilliantly in her book “God is at eye level, Photography as a Healing Art”:
“Photography heals 3 times. The first time is when I am in search of the image, present only to that which is, focused on the moment. By virtue of this absorption in the now, I am released from the often painful grip of past and future.
The second healing belongs to the person being photographed, the honored recipient of pure attention, healed by an artist’s loving gaze.
The third healing occurs when we view a photograph as an outside observer and are moved by its power or beauty. The chance to see the world through another’s lens, to be transported to another time, another place, another reality, can heal and transform our own.”
Available on this retreat: Your own personal photoshoot with professional Portrait and Lifestyle photographer, Carmen Klammer.
A fun experience which may be a healing one too! and it will be a beautiful memory that lasts forever, maybe in a frame in your home, to re-inspire you each time you look at it!
Restorative Hatha Yoga
Ah, the sweet joys of Yoga practice!
Give your body the love it deserves! Gently tell your mind to quieten down, relax, nothing to do right here right now, nowhere to go!
Yoga helps you being more aware, about yourself, your body and emotions; it boosts the flow of healing energy throughout the body and nourishes on all levels, makes you stronger, more subtle, flexible and toned. You will gain endless benefits from yoga and you probably already know about this – if not, feel free to ask!
On this retreat we will practise and develop simple sequences for you to take home. You will learn to trust in your own voice, your own teacher inside, and hence take your practice anywhere with you.
The Programme
Arrival Thursday, Programme starts on Friday Morning and ends on Tuesday Evening, so you have all Wednesday to relax or go on an excursion. Departure Thursday.
The heart of this programme is the transformational work with the horses.
Yoga and Photography will help you to further integrate and embody your self-discovery and healing.
Part of the programme:
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6 sessions with the horses (1 per day, except on one day, when you will have 1 morning and one afternoon session)
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Daily yoga practice
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Daily explorations of Photography as a Healing Art
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And of course daily swimming in the sea
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And lots of time for you to relax and enjoy the divine beauty of Greece!
A sample day:*
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8 am Gentle wake up yoga and meditation to the sound of the ocean
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9 am Delicious breakfast in the lush hotel garden
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10 am to 12 m Programme with the horses **
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Free afternoon to relax on the beach or by the pool, go explore Greek ancient sites, do what your heart desires, just Be…
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5 pm Exploring photography as a healing art – why not use the golden hour to capture the magic
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8 pm Dinner together with the group
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Free evening
*flexible, we may change times and move slots to your preferences. The programme with the horses stays the same.
** on one of the days you will have a morning and an afternoon session with the horses
Also available:
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Chi Kung (find out more)
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Excursion to an ancient sacred site with guided meditation
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Boat trips
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Excursion to Athens
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Various other excursions to discover the rich history and beauty of Greece
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Watersports
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Horse riding lessons and horseback riding on the beach (with a neighbouring riding centre)
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Massage therapies
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Tailor-made programmes for companies, athletic groups (email us if you would like more information on this)
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Accommodation, Prices and Dates
Price: The price depends on your choice of accommodation, number of participants and offers/activities you want to include in the retreat. This is tailor-made for you.
Dates: Once we have a minimum number of participants we can fix dates. This retreat can happen with a minimum of 5 participants. Please register your interest below.
