menorca 28 april - 2 may 2027
This spring, I'm welcoming my teacher, colleague and friend Jamie McHugh to Poblado Corazón.
EcoSomatic Expression is an experiential practice for cultivating an embodied relationship with the natural world.
Created by Jamie and shared with groups across the landscapes of North America and Europe for over 35 years, it moves between two directions: somatic actions, turned inward toward the body, and relational actions, turned outward toward the living world.
The practice begins with getting to know the body from the inside out. From there, attention opens outward – into relationship with tree, sky, rock and water.
There is no predetermined outcome. What is discovered arises through the doing, not through deciding in advance what should be found.
the practice
Jamie's method moves through two directions: somatic actions, turned inward toward the body, and relational actions, turned outward toward the living world.
Somatic actions draw on five technologies to settle and deepen inward perception:
Breath
Vocalization
Contact
Movement
Stillness
Relational actions then offer five ways of meeting the natural world – witnessing, contacting, mirroring, responding and resting – bringing that same quality of attention outward.
the retreat
In this four-day retreat, we gift ourselves with time. Time to immerse in the living experience of our bodies, to meet the natural world with all our senses, and to remember, explore and reveal more of who we are and what we can be. Tree, sky, rock and water become partners in what can be sensed, embodied and expressed.
Each day begins by turning inward, settling and exploring the inner landscape through the five somatic technologies. From there, the process moves outward, into relationship with the outer landscape through the five relational actions.
This blending can open into a creative flow – spontaneous movement, intuitive sound, silent contemplation – as ways of connecting more deeply with one's interior and the larger body of the Earth. Reflection through writing and speaking completes each day's process.
It is an open-ended experience: the present moment provides the next step, moment by moment, like the free-form play of children, or the improvisational synergy of musicians creating together. It is all in the play.
The invitation is simple: to slow down enough to feel yourself, become receptive enough to meet the living world afresh, and playful enough to discover what arises.
about Jamie
MSMT · Creator of Somatic Expression®
Jamie McHugh is an interdisciplinary artist and Master Somatic Movement Therapist. His work has been shaped by studies with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Emilie Conrad, Anna Halprin, Thich Nhat Hanh, Pomo Elder Lorin Smith, and the wild places of the planet.
He has taught internationally for over 40 years – as faculty at the Tamalpa Institute for 30 years, adjunct faculty at John F. Kennedy University for 25 years, and a longtime presenter for the Swiss AIDS Federation and Germany's Healing Arts Group.
practical details
dates
28 April – 2 May 2027.
Wednesday afternoon arrival · Sunday noon departure
location
Robin's home and retreat centre, Poblado Corazón, on Menorca.
investment
1100€ – shared bedroom, shared bathroom
1380€ – private bedroom, private bathroom
Number of places is limited to hold the quality of the experience.
included
Accommodation, guided practices and excursions, daily meals (hearty breakfast, light lunch, dinner).
not Included
Flights and transport.
ecosomatic expression retreat
Nature is not somewhere we go.
Nature is what we are.
– Jamie McHugh