Earth and Fire

Retreats

Welcome

Modern life asks a great deal of us. Many of us spend years adapting to pressure, responsibility, loss or overwhelm without ever pausing long enough to notice how those experiences have shaped the way we relate to ourselves, our bodies and the people around us.Earth & Fire retreats offer a space to step out of that momentum. Set in nature and guided by experienced facilitators, our retreats combine body-led practices, group process and evidence-informed approaches to trauma, stress and integration to support greater awareness, capacity and connection.Whether someone joins us for a therapeutic retreat, a wellbeing retreat or one incorporating legal psychedelic experiences, our intention is always the same: to create the conditions in which people can reconnect with themselves and discover new possibilities for living.

What happens

Every retreat is thoughtfully paced, balancing structured practice with time to rest, reflect and simply be. Across several days, participants are invited into a rhythm of movement, breathwork, meditation, psychoeducation, group dialogue and time in nature. Depending on the retreat, this may also include legal, professionally facilitated psychedelic experiences with comprehensive preparation and integration support.Rather than searching for quick fixes or dramatic transformation, we focus on cultivating the conditions that support lasting change. Through repeated practice, gentle exploration and shared experience, participants begin developing greater awareness of their patterns, more capacity to stay present with difficult experiences, and a stronger sense of agency in how they respond to life beyond the retreat.

Our approach

We don't believe lasting change comes from someone else telling us who we are or what we need to do.While insight can be valuable, insight alone rarely changes how we meet ourselves or the world. More often, meaningful change emerges through lived experience. When we encounter ourselves differently—in our bodies, in relationship with others and in environments that feel safe enough to explore—new possibilities begin to open.This reflects something fundamental about being human. Our bodies and nervous systems are continually adapting to experience. Many of the patterns we carry today were not consciously chosen; they developed as intelligent responses to the circumstances we have lived through. In the same way, new experiences can gradually support new ways of relating to ourselves, to others and to life.Our role is not to direct that process or to promise transformation. It is to create the conditions in which it becomes more possible.
We don't change people.
We don't tell people what they should think or feel.
We don't interpret their experience for them.
We don't assume we know what is "best" for them.Instead, we endeavour to create the conditions in which people can safely encounter new experiences.Through trauma-informed, body-led practice, thoughtful facilitation and the shared experience of community, we invite people into experiences that cultivate greater awareness, capacity and choice. Rather than prescribing a path, we trust that each person's own experience remains their most important guide.Everything we offer is shaped by trauma-informed, body-led principles. We work collaboratively rather than prescriptively, recognising that each person's history, nervous system and way of making sense of the world is unique. Rather than telling people what they should feel or who they should become, we create environments where curiosity, choice and embodied experience can gradually open new possibilities.We guide people through four interconnected stages of practice:Contact.
Developing a clearer awareness of what is happening within us. Learning to notice our thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations and patterns with curiosity rather than judgement.Capacity.
Cultivating the internal resources to stay with our experience without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down. Building the foundation from which new experiences become possible.Embodiment.
Bringing awareness into lived experience. Practising new ways of relating, moving, breathing and responding until they begin to feel less like techniques and more like ways of being.Self-Leadership.
Carrying these experiences back into everyday life with greater agency, discernment and responsibility. Not because someone else has shown us the right way to live, but because we have developed a deeper capacity to recognise what is true for us and respond with greater choice.For us, a retreat is not an escape from everyday life. It is an opportunity to practise returning to it differently.

This may be for you if

Our retreats tend to draw people who feel ready to pause and explore their relationship with themselves in a supportive, carefully held environment.Some arrive carrying the effects of chronic stress, burnout or trauma. Others are navigating life transitions, seeking greater self-understanding, preparing for or integrating psychedelic experiences, or simply longing for a slower pace and a deeper connection with themselves and others.What they usually have in common:They seek depth without overwhelm.
They value integration over intensity.
They have an intention to build capacity, not chase experience or catharsis as an end in itself.
They are open to engaging relationally and exploring this work in community.If you are interested in joining us, you don't need prior experience of yoga, meditation or therapeutic work to join us. What matters most is a willingness to participate with openness, curiosity and respect—for yourself, for others and for the shared experience of the group.

Our next retreat

06 July - 09 July 2026, psilocybin-supported retreat, Netherlands

Contact, Capacity, Embodiment.
This encounter with psilocybin is not about transcendence or solely aiming for catharsis. It is about moving towards greater and greater presence — in your body, in relationship, and in your wider interactions with life. Alongside the medicine of the psilocybin, we will work with:Nervous system regulation.
Relational repair and boundaries.
Trauma-informed breath and embodiment.
Integration beyond the retreat space.
A consent-based, non-guru container.Our founders are both English and German, and speak both languages, But rather than setting up separate retreats, if all guests are German speakers, we'll host in German, and if we have non-German speaking friends, we will host in English.

Interest in participation necessarily includes a free screening call to ensure capacity and safety.Price: €3.250 all inclusive on site and therapeutic wrap-around care; excludes travel.

Book screening call

Our retreat space in Culemborg,
Netherlands

Click on images to enlarge.

Questions you may have

Our retreats are for people who recognise that meaningful change rarely comes from a single experience alone. While some of our retreats include legal psychedelic experiences, we see these as one part of a broader process of preparation, embodied practice and integration, rather than an end in themselves. Many people join us because they are looking for a more relational, body-led and trauma-informed approach than they have experienced elsewhere. We ask everyone to engage wholeheartedly with the process by participating in preparation and integration, exploring themselves alongside others, and taking an active role in their own experience. Our role is not to transform you, but to create the conditions in which meaningful change becomes more possible.

You don't need previous experience of yoga, meditation, group work or psychedelics to join us. Our retreats welcome both those who are completely new to this work and those who have attended retreats before. Whatever your previous experience, we aim to meet you where you are and invite you to participate in ways that feel manageable, meaningful and authentic.

Many people who attend our retreats have experienced trauma, chronic stress or significant life challenges. Everything we offer is grounded in trauma-informed principles, including choice, collaboration, predictability and respect for each person's unique experience. However, trauma-informed does not necessarily mean trauma-focused, and not every retreat will be appropriate for every individual. This is one of the reasons we speak with everyone beforehand, so together we can determine whether the retreat is the right fit for you.

Talking about your personal experiences is always an invitation, never an expectation. Some people find it meaningful to speak openly, while others prefer to reflect quietly or simply listen. We believe there are many different ways of participating, and that meaningful engagement doesn't always require words. Healing doesn't necessarily come from telling the story of what happened. It can also emerge through new experiences, developing greater awareness, building capacity, connecting with others and discovering new ways of relating to yourself and the world around you.

Yes. We see preparation as an essential part of the retreat, not simply something that happens beforehand. Depending on the retreat, this may include a screening conversation, health questionnaire, preparation guidance and reflective exercises to help you arrive feeling informed, grounded and ready to engage with the experience. If the retreat includes legal psychedelic experiences, preparation also includes dedicated support to explore your intentions, ask questions and understand what to expect. We don't see preparation as a hurdle before the retreat begins. It is the beginning of the retreat.

No. Although our work is informed by contemporary trauma research, psychotherapy and body-based approaches, our retreats are not a substitute for medical or psychiatric treatment. Rather than offering therapy or diagnosis, we create carefully facilitated experiences that support greater contact, capacity, embodiment and self-leadership. Many people choose to attend alongside ongoing therapeutic support, while others simply come as part of their own personal development journey.

Yes. We believe integration is just as important as the retreat itself. Powerful experiences can continue unfolding long after you return home. While insight can arise in a single moment, weaving those insights into everyday life often takes time, practice and support. This is why every retreat includes structured integration, with opportunities to reflect on your experience, ask questions and begin translating what you've discovered into meaningful, sustainable change. For those who would like ongoing connection, you'll also be invited to join Around The Fire — our year-round community of practice. Through regular live sessions, body-led practices, resources and a supportive community, Around The Fire offers a place to continue developing awareness, capacity, embodiment and self-leadership long after the retreat has ended. We don't see the retreat as the finish line. We see it as the beginning of an ongoing relationship with yourself, supported by practices and a community you can return to whenever you need.

Meet your facilitators

Caroline Flick.Co-Founder & Facilitator.
Trauma Informed Psychotherapist, NARM Practitioner and Breathwork Facilitator.

Charlotte NicholsonCo-Founder & Facilitator.
Trauma Informed Somatic Therapist, Trauma Center, Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator, Breathwork and Meditation teacher.

Raffael SkalnikFacilitator.
Certified Professional Leadership Coach (Core Energy Coaching™️), Psychotherapist in training.

Do you still have questions that are not answered here? Fell free to contact the founders directly at [email protected], or you can use the contact form below and we will be in touch with you shortly.

[email protected]