“The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.”
HOLY WORK
An immersive retreat designed to support your work and your well being.
For healing and healthcare practitioners of all types.
Oikia Karapanou, House of Angels, Aegina, Greece.
October 20-25th, 2026
Co-facilitated by Breeda McKibbin, Sage Hayes and Elissavet Koutouxidou
Six days, five nights to come together in circle with the intention of co-creating generative community building, restorative space, play, liberatory exploration and connection to land and myth. Perhaps you’ll redefine your work, see from some new angles, expand into future possibilities- we’ll move together into what is emergent, both individually and as a group.
We’ll gather daily- start the morning with optional movement, stretching etc or stay in bed cozy and meet us at breakfast! We’ll gather twice daily for facilitated time, we’ll have a spacious 3+ hour midday break and at the end of the day we’ll gather round the dinner table to share a beautiful Greek meal. You’ll be guided by an experienced and supportive team of facilitators in one of the most beautiful places on earth. With spirit and intention, our hope is that you’ll leave restored, invigorated and with hands at your back as you travel home to your place with clarity, vision and possibility.
We invite you to listen into your body to feel into if this retreat feels like a ’yes’ to you - we are co-creating from the ground up, moving collaboratively and opening space for connection and mystery.
“Holy work - tending well.
An opportunity to convene, commune and witness what it is we do and why we do it. ”
this retreat is for:
Healing practitioners who are practicing in your community
Somatics practitioners of all types
Healthcare professionals
Mental health professionals and psychotherapists
Bodyworkers / body-based practitioners
Movement teachers of all types (yoga, dance, etc)
If you’re wondering if you fit you probably are! Please contact us!
HOLY WORK - an exploration
Our time is a reclamation and animation of the sacred, mystery and non-knowing that exists in between the lines in the work we do in the world. We will set up spaces during the week to explore this and more.
Our days will be spacious- morning and late afternoon sessions with ample time off to explore, rest, swim dream and connect around the edges. We will gather together to break bread twice a day- breakfast and dinner at a long outdoor table.
Oikia Krapanou (House of Angels) and its garden is a wonderful setting for journaling, writing, reflection, nourishment and connection with nature, ourselves and with each other.
Aphaia’s temple
THE UNSEEN ONE
Aegina + Aphaia
Our co-facilitator Elissavet Koutouxidou will lead us in the exploration of local Goddess Aphaia (the unseen one) who was worshipped exclusively on the island of Aegina. She is best known for the exceptionally preserved Temple of Aphaia—a Doric masterpiece built around 500 BCE. Her mythology centers on transformation, nature, and the sea, bridging early fertility cults with later classical deities. As a group we will visit The Temple of Aphaia- the temple is perched on a pine-covered hilltop on Aegina, offering sweeping views of the Saronic Gulf. It is part of the famous "Sacred Triangle" of ancient Greece, forming a mathematically near-perfect equilateral triangle with the Parthenon in Athens and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion.
What’s included?
6 days / 5 nights of lodging with with exclusive use of Oikia Krapanou facilities and grounds
Intentionally curated space by an international team of three seasoned facllitators.
A impactful program of 9 professional and personal development sessions.
Delicious, nourishing meals and plenty of snacks - two meals a day [breakfast+dinner]
A group trip to Aphaia’s temple
Daily movement and mindfulness practices
Time for personal inquiry, reflection, restoration
Transportation to/from Aegina Port to Oikia Karouponou
One beforehand zoom meeting to support orientation, connectivity and preparation
One after retreat zoom meeting with facilitators and group for integration and sharing
Co-Facilitators
Sage, Breeda and Elissavet are the co-facilitators of this retreat, along with local island host Anita Pataga
sage hayes (she/he/they)
Elissavet Koutouxidou (she/her)
Breeda McKibbin (she/her)
LOGISTICS
SCHEDULE:
Day 1 - October 20th
Check-in is from 15:00 / 3pm onwards, October 20th
HOLY WORK opening practitioner circle 17:30 / 530pm
Day 2-5: morning & afternoon sessions, 2 meals per day - breakfast and dinner, 3 hour+ break middle of the day
Day 6 - October 25th
Closing circle
Check-out 12:00pm, after breakfast
RETREAT CENTER: Oikia Karapanou
Oikia Karapanou is a beautiful mansion from the 19th century, surrounded by a huge garden close to the sea. It has been restored to provide an atmosphere of peace and inspiration, an oasis on the soul's journeys.
Oikia hosts and organizes workshops, retreats, trainings, art residencies and all kinds of events aiming at a happier, more conscious life on Earth.
An hour by ferry from Athens (Piraeus port)
There are 10 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, numerous terrasses and balconies and of course the spacious and magical garden.
Lodging options: 6 shared double rooms, 2 singles.
We have space for 14-16 participants to stay at Oikia
There is no air conditioning at Oikia Karapanou. During our dates the average temperature is 68 F / 20 C .
Roommates can be figured out with care. We will have at least 1 group gatherings via zoom for folks to get a sense of each other. We will also collect specific roommate preferences (ie. snoring, up early, up late etc. / sleep needs on the google doc we will ask you to fill out after paying the deposit.
Oikia Karapanou is less than a 5 minute walk from the local beach Paralia Agios Vasilios
LODGING SPACE at Oikia Krapanou
Number of rooms & Sleeping capacity
6 Twin bedrooms - 2 people
1 Bedroom with double bed - 1–2 people
1 Three-bed room - 3 people
1 Single room - 1 person
We also have room for 4 non-residential participants.
Number of participants we can host: 22
MEALS:
We’ll eat together! Meals at Oikia are heartwarming experiences – tasty, festive and nutritionally balanced. Our cooks only use fresh products, on season and as much as possible organic. They will be at your disposal to adapt the menus to your needs. The food is based on vegetables, pulses, grain and dairy products – basically semi-vegetarian, with poultry and fish on offer every two to three meals if you like.
When you fill out your retreat info sheet we will ask you about food allergies, sensitivities and needs.
RETREAT COST
** EARLY BIRD PRICING UNTIL JULY 31! **
Our pricing reflects a shared value of accessibility and our offering. In the spirit of local participation, we are offering a special rate for 2 Greek practitioners.
If choosing a shared residential room, you will be able to specify a roommate request or particular needs on your initial registration form which we will send you after you send in your deposit. Please contact Sage (sage@embodiedliberation.com) if you’d like to set up a payment plan.
REGISTRATION DATES
July 31, 2026 early bird deadline
Oct 1 - final payment due
Residential shared room:
regular rate: €1,750
EARLY BIRD: €1,650 (before 7/31) - PAYMENT LINK
Private room (one available):
Regular rate: €2050
EARLY BIRD: €1950 (before 7/31) - PAYMENT LINK
Non-residential (four spots available):
Regular rate: €1,450
EARLY BIRD: €1350 (before 7/31) - PAYMENT LINK
Greek practitioner rates, shared residential, 2 spots available: €1350 - PAYMENT LINK
to secure your spot, Make €500 deposit HERE.
For currency translation, go here.
Can I cancel my registration and receive a refund?
Registration fees are non-refundable. However, we do understand circumstances change and we allow ticket transfers. Registration fee transfers must take place 14 days prior to the event start date. If the event is sold out we may have a waiting list we can offer tickets to. In the case that your ticket is matched with someone on our waiting list, we will refund your purchase less 10% of the original purchase price. In extenuating circumstances we will consider a refund, please reach out and talk to us.
Your place is confirmed by payment AND acceptance of an application form. In the 48 hours following your payment, you will be sent an application form to complete (please check your spam folder for it if you don’t see it). Once this application has been received you will receive an email confirming that we have reviewed it and will confirm or may follow up with more questions.
More questions?
Please email us: breedamckibbin@gmail.com
TRAVEL OVERVIEW
We’re more than happy to offer some travel planning support. We will set up a WhatsApp thread so that our group can coordinate travel together if that is your preference.
Arrival in Athens:
There is no airport in Aegina. The closest one is Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos", which receives both domestic and international flights all year round. Upon your arrival at the airport of Athens, you need to reach Piraeus port and embark on the ferry that transfers you to Aegina. The ferry trip is between 45 minutes - 1 hr and 15 minutes.
Participants coming from other countries will fly into Athens International airport. If helpful, we can help you coordinate your travel from the airport to Piraeus port. You can travel quite reasonably by train or shuttle bus from the airport to the port where you’ll catch the ferry. Taxi from airport to the ferry is another option but more expensive. Check out here for more Athens travel info.
Flights to Athens:
We recommend using a fare watcher with your dates and cities. Google flights and hopper are great options.
Ferry to Aegina from Piraeus.
Check out ferry schedules here: https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/.
We will pick you up at the port in Aegina and provide transportation to Oikia which is a short 7 minute drive. We will also provide transportation back to Aegina port on departure day.
FACILITATORS
Elissavet Koutouxidou (she/her)
PgDip, M.Sc., SEP, Greece
Elissavet is a Person-Centred mental health counselor and Somatic Experiencing® practitioner based in Crete-Greece. She offers counselling and therapeutic sessions, restorative retreats and experiential learning for individuals, groups, and helping professionals. For more than twenty years, Elissavet has been accompanying people through trauma, life transitions, grief, birth, and personal transformation.
Her practice is rooted in the Person-Centred values of empathy, unconditional positive regard and the creation of relationships where safety, trust, and authentic presence allow people to reconnect with their inner resources and authenticity, rediscover meaning and move toward healing with greater freedom and wholeness.
As a doula and parent educator, she also supports individuals and families throughout the journey of conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and the transition into parenthood. Her approach is pluralistic and integrative, bringing together Person-Centred Counselling, Trauma Therapy, Systemic and Family Constellations, and a broad spectrum of body-oriented and psycho-somatic approaches. Her work is informed by complementary healing traditions such as Craniosacral and Bowen therapy, Flower Essences, East-Asian Medicine, and Indigenous wisdom traditions. The language of Archetypes and Myths offers another way of exploring meaning, human experience and the sacred, while honoring each person's unique process with openness and respect.
Alongside her practice, Elissavet continues to explore the meeting place of mental health, embodiment, mythology, nature, and the sacred. Deeply nourished by journeys and pilgrimages to sacred places, the natural world, and the study of ancestral and cross-cultural wisdom traditions, she is devoted to cultivating and supporting relational spaces that nurture safe connection, meaning, belonging, and pathways for individual and collective healing.
Breeda Mckibbin (she/her)
Breeda McKibbin (she/her), SEP, BSc. Ireland
Breeda is a somatic practitioner and teacher based in County Down, Ireland. She came into this work after a serious surf accident and living with chronic pain, which led her into the field of somatics. For the past 15 years, she has been facilitating group somatic practice, supporting people to slow down together and find steadiness and connection in the body. Her work is informed by training in Somatic Experiencing®️, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, the Safe and Sound Protocol, the Resilience Toolkit, and NeuroAffective Touch®️, alongside a background in neuroscience and biology. She created The Rhythm Keepers, exploring how the body moves through cycles, and how these rhythms shape wellbeing, work, and relationships. She has lived and worked in Western Australia, on the lands of the Nyungar people, and is now back home in County Down, where she lives and works. She continues to learn through her work with people.
Sage Hayes (she/he/they)
Sage Hayes, SEP, LMT [she/he/they], Maine, USA
Sage is the founder and practitioner of Embodied Liberation, a healing arts practice exploring liberation, healing, and justice in the body. For over 30 years, Sage has been a devoted, politicized healing arts practitioner who believes deeply in both individual and collective liberation. Their work weaves together the exploration of lineage, embodied presence, and emergent relational care—threads braided into a practice that supports people in reconnecting with themselves, their histories, and the living systems around them.
They bring a grounded and spacious invitation into the body, guided by care and capacity. Their work extends beyond the therapy room into movement and community spaces, including their work as a DJ and facilitator of numerous workshops such as Death Songs, Restorative Care and Somatics, and Healing Ancestral Trauma for Queer and Non-Binary Bodies.
Based in Maine, USA on Peaks Island, and on the traditional, unceded territories of the Wabanaki Confederacy—People of the Dawnland—Sage continues to deepen their relationship with the elements, the natural world, and the surrounding sea.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I get to Aegina?
Traveling from Athens Airport (ATH) to the Port of Piraeus is straightforward. You can take a direct 1-hour ride on the Athens Metro Blue Line, an express public bus, or a 40–70 minute taxi ride. Purchase a round trip ferry ticket from Piraeus to Aegina
To get from Piraeus Port to Aegina, head to Gate E8 at the Port of Piraeus, which is easily accessible via the Piraeus Metro Station. From there, you can choose between a conventional car ferry (about 1 hour 15 minutes) or a high-speed Flying Dolphin/Catamaran (about 40 minutes).
Step 1: Arrive at Gate E8
All ferries and high-speed vessels to Aegina depart from Gate E8.
It is located on the eastern side of the port, a very short 5-minute walk from the Pireas Metro Station(Green Line / M1 or Blue Line / M3 depending on your starting point).
You can easily buy your tickets at the port ticket kiosks scattered around the gate
What about transportation on Aegina?
We will provide a ride for your arrival and departure from the retreat. If you’d like to travel otherwise around the island. Getting around Aegina is easiest using local buses (KTEL) for budget-friendly travel or taxis for convenience. For ultimate freedom, you can rent a car, scooter, or ATV to explore the island's interior and beautiful beaches at your own pace.
What’s the weather like in October on Aegina?
October on Aegina brings mild, pleasant autumn weather perfect for exploring. Average daytime highs range from 23°C to 24°C (73--75°F), dipping to crisp overnight lows of 14°C to 18°C (58--63°F). While the sea remains warm enough for swimming early in the month, rain showers can occur.
