Why Retreats Transform Us: The Pause We All Need

One of our dear guests resting on the ground, gazing up at the sky in a moment of reflection and recharge.

The Pause that Transforms

When was the last time you truly allowed yourself to pause?

And I don’t mean going on holiday with loved ones — because that doesn’t really count. What I’m pointing to is creating space just for yourself.

You were taught that to be a good person, you must always put others first — family comes first, responsibilities come first. But over time, you find yourself drained, exhausted, and restless. Even sleep doesn’t restore you, because you go to bed carrying the weight of tension in your body and the clutter of thoughts in your mind.

The first time I discovered a weekend retreat, I finally understood what it means to truly recharge. I learned how to recover from exhaustion and take a wise pause — one that allowed me to return to daily life with new inspiration, clarity, and the energy not just to survive, but to thrive.

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What Is a Retreat?

A spiritual healing retreat is stepping away from daily life in order to reconnect with ourselves. By distancing from the noise and materialism around us, we begin to rise into a higher vibrational state — in other words, we zoom out. From this higher perspective, problems that once felt enormous begin to shrink. Clarity emerges. We discover new truths about who we are.

On the calendar, a retreat may look like a short vacation. But in reality, it is a timeless inner journey where space and hours no longer matter. Outwardly, it may seem full of activities, teachings, and practices. Inwardly, it unfolds like life itself — exciting and challenging, rewarding and confronting.

Most of all, a retreat is a sacred and unique space where we can set down the masks we wear in daily life — the roles of parent, partner, professional, caretaker. Free from judgment, we are invited to stand in our emotional truth. It is a place of complete acceptance, where you can feel safe enough to be emotionally naked — and perhaps even physically, if you wish. Imagine it as an emotional nudity beach, where nothing needs to be hidden.

Here, surrounded by nature, we remember our unity with it — that we are not separate, but part of the same living, breathing whole. Through breath, music, movement, or the resonance of instruments made of wood, vibrations run through our bodies, carrying our minds on a journey to the places we most need to visit.

Slowly, we begin to remember why we came here, who we were before life shaped us into something hard and unyielding. Beneath that outer shell, we rediscover the softness and warmth of our hearts, and our sensitivity — the essence of our true selves.

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The Gift of Silence and Space

When you stop the noise, you can finally hear yourself.

Every day, you are flooded with sound and information — from the morning news and radio to conversations with family, demands at work, and the endless scroll of social media. By the time you reach your bed at night, you collapse, still carrying the weight of overstimulation. Rarely do you allow yourself the gift of silence.

Maybe you’ve even tried meditating — something everyone seems to recommend. But instead of peace, you found yourself sitting still while your mind raced through a million tasks waiting for you. It felt like a waste of time, and you wondered, “What’s the point?”

Not to worry. Be grateful that you tried — because even that attempt means you are ready for something deeper. There is space to grow into. There are techniques that go beyond simply “sitting still”. At Breath of Life Retreats. we gently guide you into practices that quiet the mind, release the tension, and bring you back to your centre — step by step, breath by breath.

Yet it is in silence that our inner voice emerges — the true voice, the one that connects us to our higher self.

I was always a city girl, constantly running, chasing success, searching for what I thought I needed because the world told me so. But everything changed when I found myself in the Tuscan countryside. Surrounded by nature, watching the sunset, breathing deeply, and listening to the silence, a space opened within me. That space gave me clarity, and with it, the courage to walk my path.

Stillness is a gift anyone can receive. If you are struggling, silence can help you overcome. If you are thriving, it can spark new growth. And if you feel stuck, you should not despair. Stagnation is not failure — it is a sacred pause before the next step of evolution. From that space, growth always follows.

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Why Retreats Transform Us

A retreat is multidimensional work — it allows us to disconnect from routine and reconnect with our inner truth. Stepping away from daily life, we rise above the vibrations of stress, distraction, and constant doing, and move into higher awareness.

Retreats create healing and awakening through practices as old as humanity itself — practices that have been forgotten or pushed aside by the speed of modern civilisation. Breath as medicine. Movement as liberation. Nature as teacher. Silence as healer.

And just as important — community as medicine. By sharing your path, listening to others, and being witnessed on your own journey, you experience a profound sense of belonging. In the modern Western world, community has often been reduced to quick social gatherings. But in retreat, we remember how to truly be together — to hold space, to share stories, to walk side by side. And often, the most beautiful bonds are created with like-minded souls — a rare occurrence in daily life, yet something that seems to always blossom at Breath of Life Retreats.

Within this sacred container, we begin to return home — not only to the place we live, but to the deepest home within ourselves. We reconnect with our inner child, giving them space to be seen, held, and healed. From there, we return to life lighter, clearer, and more aligned with who we truly are.

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The Deeper Invitation

A retreat is not an escape — it is a return to self. It is not a shortcut, but a journey. The moment you feel the calling to change something in your life, your retreat has already begun. And long after you leave, the journey continues.

This is when integration begins — when your inner work starts to unfold in daily life. Sometimes the process takes months, sometimes years. But each step deepens the transformation.

In my own life, whenever I feel the call to retreat — to seek clarity, renewal, or reflection — I receive what I often call “big homework.” Insights arrive, and then I must allow myself time to process and integrate them before I am ready for the next step. Each retreat has been a rewarding experience, teaching me patience, surrender, and gratitude.

This is why I created the Breath of Life Retreat in Tuscany — to share this gift with others. Retreats have given me unlimited possibilities, energy, motivation, and the opening of doors I never imagined. My deepest wish is to hold a space where others can discover the same: a sacred journey of healing, clarity, and awakening that continues long after the retreat itself.

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Closing Reflection

The meaning of silence is not the absence of sound. In silence, you begin to hear everything more clearly — the melody of the trees, the song of birds, the whisper of wind and rain. Even the tears and laughter of fellow travellers become part of a sacred music that touches your soul.

In this presence, you are fully here and now. You learn to treasure it deeply, and you carry that gift with you wherever you go. Silence strengthens the spirit, and within it, you begin to see your soul’s path more clearly.

When the time is right, a retreat calls to you. It is not a logical decision — it is an intuitive knowing. When it appears before you, something inside simply recognises: this is for me.

If you feel the Breath of Life Retreat is calling you, we welcome you with an open heart.

A Mystical Journey in Tuscany: The Birth of the Breath of Life Retreat

The sacred fire circle and sound healing at the spiritual awakening journey Breath of Life Retreat

My Healing Journey: From Divorce to Self-Discovery

Tuscany holds a sacred place in my heart. This land doesn’t just welcome you — it heals you. It embraced me at one of the most fragile moments of my life, when I was going through a divorce in London. I felt an undeniable calling to leave everything behind and move to Florence, where I lived by myself.

Florence gave me the space to nurture myself, to listen deeply, and to begin rediscovering who I truly was. The Tuscan land and the healing practices I immersed myself in planted a seed within me. Slowly, that seed grew into a deep love for myself and for all around me.

And then, life surprised me. I met the love of my life.

When the pandemic began, together we moved from the city to the countryside, where the silence and beauty of the land deepened my healing. It was here, in this stillness, that an unexpected mystical journey unfolded — one that changed everything, and gave birth to what is now the Breath of Life Retreat.

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Breathwork, Silence, and a Mystical Awakening

The mystery began in January, in deep isolation. I was alone in the countryside with my dog, in a state of total desperation — completely lost. I had just realized that the life I once knew — as an actress and dancer — had ended. The pandemic had closed the stage, and with it, a chapter of who I believed I was. I stood on the edge of the unknown, aching for clarity.

Then, a call came from a dear friend, Aurore, who offered the simplest and wisest advice:

“Use this time to reconnect with yourself. Remember what you felt drawn to as a child.”

And so I did.

I entered ten days of silence, meditation, and breathwork. Slowly, the clouds inside me began to lift. And then — I saw it clearly: my path was to guide others through healing and awakening. My mission was being born.

What I remembered in that stillness was that this world of healing had always been with me. As a child, I was deeply immersed in the esoteric — my parents would take me to energy healers, shamans, and mediums to help clear my aura and support my creativity. I had been performing since a very young age, and being so exposed on stage made me energetically vulnerable — so healing became a natural companion. It was always there, quietly shaping me. I had just forgotten. Until that moment.

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A Blessing and a Goodbye

At that same moment of clarity, across the ocean, my beloved father fell ill with the same virus.

I shared my vision with him — the idea of creating a spiritual healing retreat, and he replied with joy:

“I want to come to your retreat!”

That was such a blessing. He saw me, supported me, and believed in the path I was stepping onto. Then he asked me, almost teasingly:

“When are you going to have a baby?”

He really wanted to be a grandfather. I had been trying to conceive for years… and he had been waiting.

He passed away just a few weeks later, in February, and I hadn’t seen him for two years before that. My heart was broken — but something in me stayed open. On the day my father passed, I booked a flight to attend his funeral — but that same day, war broke out and the airspace was shut down. I wasn’t able to go. I never got to say goodbye.

At the time, I was devastated. But with time, I came to understand that even this painful moment was part of a greater unfolding.

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From Grief to Soul Connection

In my grief, I kept meditating. And slowly, something extraordinary happened:

I began to connect with my father’s soul.

An astral portal opened, and I began to receive messages. My third eye has begun to open, and I became more extrasensory — able to feel, hear, and know beyond the physical world. With the help of ancient shamanic practices I had been studying, I realized I wasn’t grieving in the usual way — I was communing.

My father began to guide us from across the veil. He passed messages to my mother, brought reassurance, and gave me the strength to continue on this sacred path.

This experience gave me a deep and unshakable confidence:

If this healing and connection could happen for me, I knew it could happen for others too.

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A New Life and a New Path

I held my first retreat on April 1st, and I felt my father’s spirit there with us. Holding space from beyond.

Forty days after his passing, I discovered I was pregnant. I was carrying a new life — in every sense. I was to become the mother of a baby boy, a soul who chose to arrive just as my own rebirth was unfolding.

That moment sealed my mission: to walk alongside others as they remember who they are, heal what is ready to be released, and step into the life their soul is longing to live.

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Why I Created the Breath of Life Retreat

The Breath of Life Retreat is my soul’s response to all I’ve lived, lost, and learned.

It is a container for transformation, where people come to reconnect with themselves, heal from pain, open their hearts, and breathe back into life — fully.

Ever since, I’ve been holding space for this work with deep reverence, guiding others through breathwork, movement, nature connection, and sacred healing.

This is not just a retreat.

It’s a rebirth portal. A return to essence.

And you are welcome here.

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Experience Transformation in Tuscany

Testimonial

“My husband and I have already been to three Breath of Life Retreat’s and this is definitely the experience that divides life into ‘before’ and ‘after’. It is healing internal traumas and connecting you with your higher planes, and helping in finding your path and revealing the potential of your current incarnation. The whole range of practices, a unique place, wonderful people and even incredible vegan cuisine — everything has a huge transformative charge. Many thanks to Oksana for another miracle! We will definitely come back!”

— Ioganna Aleksanyan

Tuscany, Italy

Next retreat: [17–19 October]

If this story resonates with something inside you… perhaps it’s your soul speaking.

You are warmly invited to join us.