RESTORE, RESTORY, REKINDLE
An Embodiment Retreat
with Johann van Greunen, Specialist Wellness Counsellor and Reiki Master
“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
Currently it feels like we are living in a world turned upside down and navigating a reality marked by relentless demands on our time and energy, unrealistic expectations, crazy pace of work and changes happening so fast that we can hardly keep up. It feels like we have little control over what happens around us, in addition navigating loadshedding as well as an ever-increasing cost of living, all contribute to a sense of feeling frazzled, overwhelmed and disembodied. It is no wonder that we notice an increase in mental health issues as our capacity to manage stress is depleted and anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue sets in.
We need time to restore and heal our bodies that are energetically depleted from anxiety, 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 to others
The retreat will be structured as follows:
Conscious movement, including walks and movement meditations.
Guided meditations.
Workshop-style and practical sessions on the themes of the retreat:
The evenings will be dedicated to reflections and sound journeys.
What participants say about this retreat:
“Made me realise that my story is just that – a story. I can find now the gifts and teachings from that story, but can now choose what narrative I want to take forward.”
“I found the ‘Tai Chi’, dancing and art-making very effective and pleasurable. It was important to feel the effects of embodiment and what it meant to you.”
“For the first retreat of this type it was wonderful, very powerful!”
“Just the right balance of teaching, movement, creativity, quiet time, structure and unstructure. Lovely calm and gentle manner about you Johann, well prepared and loved your flexible approach, very fluid.”
“Jy het my gehelp om weer op my pad te kom.”
“Not everyone is born to be a teacher but there are people in whose blood the ability to naturally and effortlessly teach, runs. It is refreshing to learn without feeling you are being taught. Thinking back now, I realize how much I have learnt without realizing it. You are such a teacher, Johann. Thank you!”
“I felt the retreat was really empowering – both reflective and powerfully practical.”
You are invited to join me for this weekend retreat at Temenos Retreat Centre on 12 April 2024. Checking in-time will be from 14:00 on Friday 12th 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 14th April. The fee includes brunch and dinner daily, retreat activities, materials used and 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 book for a dinner in town or order a take-away from Tebaldi’s, or choose to self-cater. The cottages at Temenos are fully equipped for self-catering.
The retreat fee is R 4 400.00 for shared accommodation and R 4 900.00 for single accommodation. An immediate deposit of R1 000.00 secures your booking. The balance is payable on 5th April. A payment plan can be discussed. Discount will be offered to those that repeat this retreat. I offer special non-residential rates to residents of McGregor. Please book soon as space is limited. For bookings, contact Johann at johann@johannvangreunen.co.za 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, teaching mindfulness meditation, MARI® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) readings and he runs various workshops and retreats focused on mindfulness practices, inner wellbeing and creativity. Johann has realised the value of Meditation and Mindfulness Practices early in his life and has come 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 practice 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 contemporary and ballroom 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 order to develop new narratives for their life stories. Entering the domain of art therapy, Johann has qualified as a MARI® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) Practitioner and offers the group version of MARI® on some of his retreats.
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 the 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 and two cats in the leafy suburb of Kenridge in Durbanville.