BEING ME THERAPY
RETREAT
The Hill / Italy
29 June – 6 July 2022
Imagine if the solution to most of your problems
was to SIMPLY BE MORE YOURSELF?
How BRILLIANT would that be if it were true?
Getting the permission to be more you, all the time,
and that resolving things in your life.
Well, it is true, it is possible,
And it’s based on an evidence-based therapeutic approach that simply WORKS.
And you can learn it (and how to be yourself) with the renowned
therapist-coach-bestselling-authors-team of Gaia & John.
Welcome, to Being Me Therapy.
“DID WE ALL LEAVE FEELING FABULOUS? YES, ABSOLUTELY.” LONDON EVENING STANDARD
All here, at The Hill, Urbino, Italy –
LIBERATING TEACHING from GAIA & JOHN
You’ll feel better.
And you’ll learn how to feel well and free every day –
Long after the holiday effect has faded.
SUPER-RELAXING HOLIDAY
Nestled in the rolling hills near Urbino (birthplace of Raphael),
The Hill That Breathes is a 100 acre wooded hill with two converted farmhouses and panoramic pool. Yum.
GOOD COMPANY
People don’t expect this,
but you’ll feel safe and supported amongst new friends,
who are likely to one day be old friends.
MORE ON THIS ‘BEING ME’ IDEA…
BEING ME, NOT THE ADAPTED ME
In brief, when we’re young, and we don’t get what we need in terms of nurturing, love and attention (which most of us don’t), we learn to ‘adapt’, either to try to get what we need, or to compensate for not getting it.
And these ‘adaptive behaviours’ stick with us throughout our lives, until…
We realise and understand what has happened and begin to be ourselves again.
So it’s about learning about:
Being Me, not the Adapted Me
Being Me, not the People Pleaser, the one who says ‘yes’ when I mean ‘no’.
Being Me, not hiding my light and life-force, the one who says ‘no’ when I mean ‘yes’.
Being Me, me as I am, not who you think I should be.
Being Me, and doing what feels right, not what I think I should do.
Being Me, not always putting myself last, and not giving help when I need it myself.
Being Me, listening to myself and my feelings, not others and their opinions.
Being Me, including the vulnerable, tender and fragile me.
Being Me, and not making any excuses for it.
Simply, Being Me.
“I was… astounded at how strong I could be, just being me.”
“I was, and continue to be, astounded at how strong I could be,
just being me. Thank you.”
M.T., Zurich
MORE ABOUT THIS RETREAT…
THE THERAPY OF BEING ME
IT IS A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA:
THAT WE CAN RESOLVE OUR PROBLEMS SIMPLY BY BEING MORE OURSELVES.
BUT THIS IS EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPY,
BROUGHT TO YOU WITH A MIXTURE OF SCIENCE, MAGIC AND FUN by GAIA & JOHN.
Gaia & John have been teaching retreats since 2004.
Thousands of people have attended these renowned retreats ( and originally primarily here at ‘The Hill That Breathes’).
Their trick is to gather people together in stunning locations, in groups that feel safe and are likely to become best friends, and share therapeutic ideas that dramatically improve your life whilst you’re having a fantastic holiday.
What more could anyone want? 
The theme of this retreat is Gaia’s ‘Being Me Therapy’.
It really is the case that the very best therapy is to be more yourself.
Gaia arrived at this conclusion (and created her ‘Being Me Therapy’) after more than two decades of therapeutic training –
Gaia is a somatic experiencer, an advanced ‘NARM’ practitioner, a breathworker, an energy master –
and working with thousands of people in groups and 1-to-1.
This simple idea (ie. the answer being to be more yourself) has a deep and more complex background.
And Gaia will share the principles of ‘Adaptive Behaviour Mechanisms’ with you as part of the week.
Gaia & John will be leading you in 4 hours of sessions a day that are a mixture of relaxation, exercises, sharing and games.
And on this same week last year, partly because of covid, all the sessions took place outside, often in the forest or on the huge forest platform or in the orchard.
This is what you’ll learn & experience:
-
The full principles of the Adaptive Behaviour Mechanisms
-
What your primary Adaptive Mechanism is: People Pleaser, Helper, Outsider, Superperson or Perfectionist.
-
How to approach current issues and difficulties in your life by seeing their common roots.
-
Understanding the fear and pain beneath most of our issues.
-
Revealing what Gaia calls the ‘Divine Part’ beneath such fears that takes you back to yourself.
-
Experimenting with Being Yourself in this safe environment.
-
Packaging up your learnings so you can go back out into the world Being More Me.
This is astonishingly powerful work.
Brought to you skilfully and lovingly by therapist Gaia and author and wise guy John.
You’ll laugh a lot. You may well cry, at least a bit.
You’ll learn about phenomenal and powerful ideas, and, most importantly, yourself.
And you’ll make a bunch of great new friends.
What a great reward for going on the journey of ‘Being Me’ with Gaia & John.
“a perfect week with perfect people and perfect Gaia.”
“This was a perfect week with perfect people and perfect Gaia.
It was a life-changing experience.”
Eva M., Berlin
All here, at The Hill, Urbino, Italy –
being me, and free.
“The way you work together, and what you both bring is truly amazing. “
“Gaia & John… The way you work together, and what you both bring is truly amazing. Yin and Yang. Both of you playing different roles at different times.”
James T., Manchester
ABOUT THE HILL THAT BREATHES
“The Hill is a magical place.” The Observer
“Heartbreakingly lovely” The Guardian
The Hill was voted ‘Europe’s Best Retreat’ for good reason: it is the perfect place to retreat from your daily life, pause and refresh and become inspired again.
The Hill is a truly magical place. (Full disclosure here: we are somewhat biased as we created The Hill back in 2004, though we no longer live there or run it.) When we first saw the long-abandoned property and woods on this vast hill we could feel the magic and sense of peace. It always relaxed us there.
And over the time that we lived there and ran retreats, many miracles happened. Including our realisation that the profanity ‘F**k It’ could be therapeutic. Now, The Hill is run (and inhabited by) the Dutch Marsi family (and they call it ‘Villa Marsi’). They will look after you during your retreat – and Sandor (a great chef) will have you looking forward to meals.
The Hill That Breathes, then, is a 100 acre wooded hill. There are two converted farmhouses, a variety of outhouses, a stunning panoramic pool that pops out from the deep woods and a platform for your sessions (or a covered space when needed). The Hill has a few unique elements: you, as a group, will have exclusive use of the space (and this space is vast and isolated, so that means complete freedom), and it is a wild place (you will most likely see deer in the woods and hear owls at night).
The rooms are simple and comfortable. Established for exclusive groups, sharing with space with one another, there is a mix of room accommodation: from single ensuite rooms to mezzanine rooms that have separate space for two sharing individuals (one downstairs and one upstairs) and then use shared bathrooms with other such rooms.
Even though The Hill is in a very isolated valley with very few neighbours, it’s still only 20 minutes from the awe-inspiring beauty and cultural significance of Urbino (and they have nice bars and geleterias too!).
“THE HILL IS A MAGICAL PLACE”
THE OBSERVER
PRICES & BOOKING
(with our current EARLY BIRD £100 discount)
The prices are below.
We’ve applied our Early Bird discount of £100.
When you’re ready to book,
this is how it works:
Hit ‘book now’, fill out the form,
pay your 1st intalment of £490 and you’re booked.
Yep, that easy.
You pay in 3 instalments:
That 1st one of £490 now, the 2nd in a month,
and the 3rd six weeks before the retreat
(and the breakdowns change dependent of room options).
ALL-INCLUSIVE RETREAT at THE HILL
Retreat teaching (£990 value)
Preferential rates on single and twin / doubles
(£600/£400 value)
Delicious meals (£150 value)
Use of group facilities, including special group session space (£53 value)
Access to John & Gaia’s ‘Living the F**k It Life’ (£197 value)
TOTAL VALUE:
£1790 (twin/double) / £1990 (single)
BUT:
THESE ARE YOUR PRICES
(with the extra £100 discount Early Bird applied)…
Twin / Double / Semi-single space
- Special £100 discount applied
- Pay in 3 instalments
- 1st instalment of £490 reserves retreat
Single Room
- Limited availability
- Special £100 discount applied
- Pay in 3 instalments
- 1st instalment of £490 reserves retreat
All here, at The Hill, Urbino, Italy –
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT BE ASKING:
How do I get to the venue?
Most of our guests fly to Bologna, as it has the most flight options (though Ancona and Rimini are closer). You would then take the train to Pesaro (1 to 2 hours depending on train). And take (and usually, share) a taxi up to The Hill That Breathes (about 50 mins).
In other words, it’s all pretty straightforward (and rather exciting).
Could you tell me more about Gaia & John
Gaia & John developed the whole ‘F**k It’ thing in 2004.
First it took the form of the wildly successful and talked-about ‘F**k It Retreats’.
Then the first book ‘F**k It, the Ultimate Spiritual Way’ made a splash (and led to the whole F**k It series of books).
Since then, Gaia & John have shared F**k It in a variety of ways –
retreats, workshops, online courses, more books and even chocolate –
with millions of people around the world.
Gaia is a therapist with huge experience –
having deep training in developmental trauma work (NARM), Somatic Experiencing, energy work, breathwork, voice dialogue and hypnotherapy.
John is the writer and a coach, and makes you think, feel and, usually, laugh.
Do others come to retreats on their own?
Yes, most people do actually.
And it’s the perfect way to have a holiday with like-minded people, in a very safe space.
And because of the therapeutic nature of the work, you’ll really get to know the others on the retreat, so much so that you’re very likely to make friends for life (we know this from 17 years of running retreats).
Will I get a holiday, or is it all session session?
You will. The sessions tend to be in the mornings on our retreats.
And you’ll adore them – fun, relaxing, insightful and ultimately (usually) life-transforming.
But we all need holiday holiday too, so there’s plenty of time to do just what you fancy… eat, sleep, swim, wander, hang-out, eat again, sleep again.
Does the effect of the retreat fade away with the tan (if I get one)?
That’s the fabulous thing about a retreat with us.
Long after the tan has faded, long after the beneficial effect of your holiday: the resting and eating delicious food, and hanging out with lovely people…
You’ll continue to feel the benefits of the therapeutic work you do:
Some of that will be about practices and habits you pick up and keep (people still do the Qigong exercises they learnt with us more than 10 years ago every day),
Some of that will be about the deep changes that happen and then have their effects… for example, when you learn to be fully yourself, and to speak your truth in the world, or to say f**k it and let go more and do what you fancy… these create waves in your lives, with many changes, small and big.
What about if there are covid related issues that mean I can’t come to the retreat?
Have a look on our main retreats page for what we’re doing to give you peace of mind this year, given the lingering effects of covid, lockdowns and travel restrictions.
being me, the Italian way.
“I HAVE COME AWAY… KNOWING… THAT IT’S ALL OKAY. “
“I have come away from this experience a lot more in touch with how I feel and knowing that I just have to let go when I need to, and that it’s all okay.”
L.C., AMSTERDAM