The transformation you can’t get from books or podcasts
Retreats create the safety and intensity your body needs to release decades of stuckness - and build a vision rooted in truth.
Let me ask you this: when was the last time you really felt your body—not just thought about it, not just pushed it to perform, but actually listened to what it was trying to say?
For most of the leaders and entrepreneurs I work with, the truth is confronting.
They’ve built careers, families, reputations.
They’re disciplined.
They’re successful on paper.
But inside their chest feels tight, their jaw locked, their breath shallow.
They’re stuck in cycles of overwork, exhaustion, and quiet despair.
Their bodies are screaming, and they’ve forgotten how to hear it.
The illusion of control
For years, I lived with the belief that if I could just get the formula right (the perfect health routine, the perfect career, the perfect bank balance) then maybe I’d finally feel safe.
Maybe I’d feel in control.
I know this because I did it to myself.
I treated my body like a machine, something to optimise and control.
I clung to routines that felt safe, career paths that felt safe, structures that felt safe.
Even when those habits were draining the life out of me, I held on - because letting go felt terrifying.
My nervous system couldn’t handle the uncertainty.
So I pushed harder, gripped tighter, and wondered why I still felt so empty inside.
Here’s what I’ve come to learn, and what I see in almost everyone I work with:
Control is an illusion.
We are not machines.
Our bodies, our emotions, our energy are cyclical, alive, and always adapting.
And when we ignore that, when we cling to rigidity,
We burn out.
One participant at our last retreat, an entrepreneur, in his 30’s, sat across from me on day one and said, “I feel like I’ve been destined to fail my whole life.”
He had built savings, businesses, even relationships, but inside he was numb.
His body was locked in tension, and no amount of strategy could shift him.
He thought he needed a plan.
What he actually needed was to feel again.
The body armour we carry
The body always tells the truth. Before we could do anything around vision or strategy, we had to peel back the emotional armour he’d been holding for decades.
First came the anger…. the rage at himself, his family, God. Underneath that was the grief, the sadness he never allowed himself to feel.
And beneath it all was fear.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of failure.
Fear of being too much and not enough at the same time.
When he finally let himself tremble, shout, cry, and even dance that fear out of his body, something broke open.
His breath deepened.
His shoulders dropped.
For the first time in years, he wasn’t in his head—he was in his body.
And from that place, the truth of what he wanted began to surface.
From stories to facts
This is the pivot point: when you stop living from the story your mind has been spinning and return to the simple facts of what’s true, right now, in your body.
The story: “I’m destined to fail.”
The fact: “I have failed before, and I am still here. I can respond differently.”
This is what I call moving from victimhood to response-ability. Not “responsibility” in the heavy sense of carrying more weight, but the ability to respond differently in this moment.
That shift (made somatically, not just intellectually) is where transformation begins.
Why retreats accelerate this work
You can’t get there by reading more books.
You can’t force it by grinding through another 12-hour day at your desk.
Healing requires space, containment, and a nervous system reset.
That’s why the retreat container is so powerful.
Four days away from the noise. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Fully nourished, fully supported, fully witnessed.
The body finally feels safe enough to release what it’s been holding onto for years.
One of the men from our last retreat said, “This was tenfold the speed of any transformation I’ve ever had before.” And it’s true—because for once, he wasn’t trying to think his way to change.
He was feeling it, living it, embodying it.
Vision born in the body
Only after the armour is released can vision take shape.
On day three, after a fire ceremony where they burned the stories holding them back, both men entered a deep meditation where we activated the energy centres of the body.
This wasn’t abstract—it was deeply visceral.
Their breath changed.
Their posture shifted.
Ideas that had been buried under fear rose to the surface with clarity and energy.
We then ran those ideas through a decision matrix—not just logically weighing return on investment, but checking:
Does this feel alive in my body?
Does this idea expand me or contract me?
That’s when you know the difference between another clever plan and a vision that will actually sustain you.
Your next step
If you recognise yourself in these words (if you’ve been grinding harder but feeling emptier) then it’s time to step into a different kind of space.
A retreat isn’t a luxury.
It’s the catalyst your body, mind, and spirit have been waiting for.
Four days. A contained journey.
Two coaches holding the fire with you.
The space, the structure, and the intensity to finally let go of the armour you’ve been carrying for years…..
and to walk out with a vision that feels alive in your bones.
If this speaks to you, don’t wait. Reply to this email
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What participants are saying
“It has been very intense, but the result was far more than I dared to hope for. I went all in, embraced the uncomfortable, and with the skilled and wise guidance of the coaches there were several major breakthroughs that helped me find the direction I was looking for and move forward.” — Retreat participant feedback
“You spot very quickly where things are stuck. I’m grateful for your support and care. You’ve helped me work through deep patterns and find the hope and confidence to move forward. You help me like myself again.” — Retreat participant feedback
With you,
Dan & Ines