3 Day Men's Retreat in Strausberg, Germany

Marshall Method Therapy Ltd is offering a men’s retreat over three days in the beautiful Brandenburg countryside - just outside Berlin, Germany. Surrounded by majestic woods and secluded lakes, enjoying the sights and sounds of untouched nature - the perfect environment for introspection and self-discovery. One of the reasons everyone feels lost and unsure is that they have become more isolated. In particular, you are cut off from the wisdom and support of other men - mostly because you find it difficult to open up and be truly vulnerable with each other. In this three-day workshop, within a group of like-minded men, you will look at balancing two contradictory poles of masculinity: The warrior and the lover.

How can you have the strength to stand up for yourself (and your family) yet at the same time be the empathetic and engaged lover (your partner longs for)? How can you both protect and nurture? Learn how to be both the barefoot warrior and the embodied lover. From boyhood, men are taught to be strong, to be winners, and to climb to the top. Unfortunately, it can come at the cost of shutting you from your feelings because showing them is seen as a sign of weakness which you fear others will pounce on. Yet at the same time, in the bedroom, you are told to be generous, sensitive, soft, and attuned to your partner's needs. No wonder many men feel pulled in two directions.

Get the balance wrong and striving for success and being a big man can lead to neglecting your family, friends, and communities and ultimately to divorce and aloneness. Every day will start with a choice of a movement class or a session discussing your dreams, followed by a delicious Ayurvedic breakfast and a morning and an afternoon workshop or ritual with a break for lunch. After some free time for personal reflection and supper, you will continue working around an open-air fire.

There will be exercises to open up your voice for communal singing, and you will unpack a myth together. Afterwards, there is the option of a late-night swim in the lake, a sauna, and a hot tub in which you can relax. Please note: you will be asked to help with a few small chores to make the retreat run smoothly: clearing tables, washing your plates, building fires, etc.

Benefits of the retreat

1. Personal growth and self-discovery

• A supportive space within nature and within a group to reconnect with yourself
• A chance to challenge society’s expectations and gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a man
• Express vulnerability without feeling judged
• Break free from limiting beliefs
• Develop better awareness of the present moment

2. Improve your mental and emotional support

• Experience a like-minded and encouraging community
• Develop better and deeper relationships with other men
• Discover strategies for managing stress
• By learning to open up to others in the group, you will find it easier to do the same with the significant people in your life
• Achieve emotional authenticity and deeper self-confidence

3. Benefit from a holistic approach

• Immersion in nature
• Vegetarian food and an alcohol-free space
• Digital detox
• Psychological work - the key male archetypes of king, warrior, lover, magician
• Spiritual work - Jungian tools like active imagination to guide you on a vision quest
• Connect with eternal truths at the evening firepit– since the beginning of time, men have gathered round fires to tell stories and share wisdom
• Access your creativity through a guided practice to access physical movement and unleash your singing voice within the group

4. Improve your relationships with women

• Balance your male (animus) and female (anima) energies within
• Not only will you find a more authentic, balanced male power but also draw on traditionally feminine qualities like compassion, empathy, and seeing the bigger picture
• Open up to your real needs and learn how to communicate them effectively
• Instead of rescuing or fixing, start to truly listen
• Heal emotional wounds by learning to spot unhealthy patterns and approach your relationship with greater emotional awareness