Initiation Ground: 11 day Transformational Embodied Medicine Journey for Women
Initiation Ground: 11 day Transformational Embodied Medicine Journey for Women
Cara Creek Eco Lodge, Coimbra, Portugal
Up to 25 in group
October 3 - 13, 2025
Retreat Highlights
- > An understanding of the transformational power of this body of work & the practices that we journey with, personally helping you to continue opening the gateway back to the deep longing of your heart & purpose.
- > A profound healing from being immersed in the wild lands & waters with a strong & beautiful circle of sisters alongside you in this transformative initiatory immersion.
- > A deepening in your relationship with yourself, coming home in a profound way to your sense of belonging & beginning to uncover your deep gift & purpose in this life.
- > You will begin to transform the past into Medicine through the power of dance ritual.
- > Experiences of how to make offerings to spirit, to pray in gratitude & remember the power & gift in reciprocity following the wisdom keepers & Indigenous elders of the Q’ero Inca Paqo (Shaman) in the high Andes of Peru.
- > A deeper understanding of the heart & transformational power of Ceremony & Ritual.
- > Experiencing & working with the healing power of a TEMAZCAL (SWEAT LODGE) ceremony, we will have two beautiful lodges.
- > A powerful healing technique to work with (on yourself only), gifted from Indigenous Q’ero Inca Paqo (Shaman) in the high Andes of Peru.
- > Alchemical Womb Wisdom.
- > Work with the powers of the menstrual cycle for personal healing, creativity and spiritual awakening.
- > Be initiated into the way of the deep feminine.
- > An introduction into SUFI Whirling & the power & beauty of this devotional practice (with Serafina).
- > Connect with the Elements with a real sense of recognition that you are an elemental being, widening your sense of ground, belonging & power.
- > An enhanced relationship with the beautiful heart opening medicine of Cacao.
- > A fuller understanding of Medicine Woman Movement as embodied prayer & the transformational power & alchemy it holds.
- > A deeper understanding into Shamanism & how the extraordinary can be seen and felt in the ordinary. How we can bring the medicine of this work into our day to day relationships with loved ones, family, friends & to the wider community and web of life that we are connected to.
About this Retreat
Your Guides
Bonnie is a Medicine Woman & wild spirit who has traveled across continents & vast inner worlds for over 2 decades to bring this medicine home. She weaves in deep teachings from intensive Initiations she received in the Amazon rainforest, bridging a pathway from the dreaming world to this world.
Her roots are deeply nourished by a 13 year shamanic apprenticeship with the founders of Movement Medicine, in which Bonnie Graduated & trained to the most advanced level, after 10 years of teaching locally & internationally she was called by spirit in the form of a double lightning strike just after the birth of her second child to initiate her own body of work.
She weaves within this work the prayer & prophecy of our time. Bonnie is initiated into an ancient lineage of Inca Paqo of the Qero people in the high Andes, journeying in an ongoing apprenticeship training as a Nusta Paqo.
Also trained as a menstruality mentor with the Red School she shares her deep passion for reclaiming the wisdom of our womb & cyclical nature. With decades of work within ceremony & ritual she holds a powerful space for deep transformation & homecoming.
“Bonnie is a radical human being, and she brings this edge into the space she holds. Her offering is about our deep connection with spirit and the other-world”.
Details of this retreat
The heartbeat of Initiation Ground is returning to your indigenous soul through working with the highly curated shamanic journey work of Medicine Woman Movement.
An initiation into the wild, you will be skilfully guided through practices, rituals and ceremonies to a place where alchemy unfolds, deepening your understanding of shamanism and transforming the past into medicine.
Awaken your wild nature through movement & dance, communing in relationship with the Sacred Elements, Animal Spirit allies, our Ancestors & the unseen. Harness the power of the 4 directions, journey with the practices of embodied soul retrieval, mystic whirling, sweat lodge and cacao learning how we can live more in alignment with our inner seasons & cyclical nature through womb & menstrual cycle wisdom.
During our time in this sacred land we will travel deep into our inner worlds through embodied ceremony & ritual. Returning to ways in which Medicine Women & Earth keepers work, harnessing & communing in relationship with the Sacred Elements, Animal Spirit allies, our Ancestors & the unseen. Working with & harnessing the power of the 4 directions, we journey with a powerful practice of embodied soul retrieval.
As we awaken our wild nature through movement & dance, we begin to drop into the deep mystery & river of our life & longing. Many days we will work with the beautiful heart opening plant medicine of Cacao.
Woven into our journey will be womb & menstrual cycle wisdom, learning how we can live more in alignment with our inner seasons & cyclical nature, how we can reconnect within to the ancient wisdom of our womb.
We will have time within our days to rest, to be bathed & nourished in the cleansing sweet waters & waterfall, to rest in the Sun on a secluded beach along the river, to cover our bodies in clay & detoxify our skin, star gazing & singing medicine songs around the fire…
So we can experience the most profound medicine of the land, earth, waters, sky & receive the most healing & transformation from our time together within ceremony - Initiation Ground will be a digital free space, so all devices get switched off (of course, anyone who needs to phone home or check in with family etc can) just on the whole we are creating a time offline, off social media, offline to the outer world so we can deeply be here.
An initiation into the wild, you will be skilfully guided through practices, rituals and ceremonies to a place where alchemy unfolds, deepening your understanding of shamanism and transforming the past into medicine.
Awaken your wild nature through movement & dance, communing in relationship with the Sacred Elements, Animal Spirit allies, our Ancestors & the unseen. Harness the power of the 4 directions, journey with the practices of embodied soul retrieval, mystic whirling, sweat lodge and cacao learning how we can live more in alignment with our inner seasons & cyclical nature through womb & menstrual cycle wisdom.
During our time in this sacred land we will travel deep into our inner worlds through embodied ceremony & ritual. Returning to ways in which Medicine Women & Earth keepers work, harnessing & communing in relationship with the Sacred Elements, Animal Spirit allies, our Ancestors & the unseen. Working with & harnessing the power of the 4 directions, we journey with a powerful practice of embodied soul retrieval.
As we awaken our wild nature through movement & dance, we begin to drop into the deep mystery & river of our life & longing. Many days we will work with the beautiful heart opening plant medicine of Cacao.
Woven into our journey will be womb & menstrual cycle wisdom, learning how we can live more in alignment with our inner seasons & cyclical nature, how we can reconnect within to the ancient wisdom of our womb.
We will have time within our days to rest, to be bathed & nourished in the cleansing sweet waters & waterfall, to rest in the Sun on a secluded beach along the river, to cover our bodies in clay & detoxify our skin, star gazing & singing medicine songs around the fire…
So we can experience the most profound medicine of the land, earth, waters, sky & receive the most healing & transformation from our time together within ceremony - Initiation Ground will be a digital free space, so all devices get switched off (of course, anyone who needs to phone home or check in with family etc can) just on the whole we are creating a time offline, off social media, offline to the outer world so we can deeply be here.
Schedule
Wake up
Morning Dance Journey
Nourishing brunch
Shamanic practices
Swim in the river, bathe on the river beach
Afternoon snack
Cacao Ceremony
Movement Ritual
Dinner Time
Songs around the fire & Stargazing
Bed
Morning Dance Journey
Nourishing brunch
Shamanic practices
Swim in the river, bathe on the river beach
Afternoon snack
Cacao Ceremony
Movement Ritual
Dinner Time
Songs around the fire & Stargazing
Bed
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Medicine Woman Movement, Cara Creek Eco Lodge, Coimbra, Portugal
Directions
Book your flight to Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) or Francisco de Sa Carneiro Airport.
By car, Cara Creek is 3 hours drive from Lisbon, 2 hours drive from Porto, 1 hour drive from Coimbra train station to Carregal do Sal. www.cp.pt.
By bus from Lisbon to Carregal do Sal, approx 3.5/4.5hrs www.rede-expressos.pt
We can arrange free shuttle pick up from Carregal do Sal or assist with shared travel arrangements from any of the main cities.
By car, Cara Creek is 3 hours drive from Lisbon, 2 hours drive from Porto, 1 hour drive from Coimbra train station to Carregal do Sal. www.cp.pt.
By bus from Lisbon to Carregal do Sal, approx 3.5/4.5hrs www.rede-expressos.pt
We can arrange free shuttle pick up from Carregal do Sal or assist with shared travel arrangements from any of the main cities.
Accommodation
Cabana - Private or Shared Double Bed Constructed from half wood, half canvas with cabin-feel and stunning views of the valley and down to the swimming pool. Tri-Pod - Private or Shared Double Bed Named for their triangular shape, each has a small deck out front to admire the views of the pool and sweeping tree tops. Tetra-Pod - Private or Shared Double Bed Inspired by the Tetrahedron the walls reach 6m high to a skylight at the top. They also have a large round window. The Granite Room Shared room for double occupancy with 2 single beds in the the lower room of the main house, it is very cosy and warm in the cool weather and refreshingly cool in the warm weather due to its granite walls. The Cedar Room Shared room for double occupancy with 2 single beds in the Cedar Room, an extension of the main house with a red stable door, gorgeous handmade furniture and large window with a lovely view.
Program Price includes Shared Accommodation
Program Price includes Private Accommodation
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Cara Creek Eco Lodge, an off-grid retreat centre in a majestic valley in central Portugal where 2 rivers meet. The centre is run solely on solar power and the water is supplied by the land.
Cara Creek invites you to embrace a natural way of life through enjoying leisurely swims in the creek, bathing in the river, detoxifying your skin with the locally sourced clay, lounging in the natural infinity pool, star gazing from the private beach, singing songs around the fire-pit or hiking to a nearby
Cara Creek invites you to embrace a natural way of life through enjoying leisurely swims in the creek, bathing in the river, detoxifying your skin with the locally sourced clay, lounging in the natural infinity pool, star gazing from the private beach, singing songs around the fire-pit or hiking to a nearby
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Nourishing garden-to-table meals & light healthy snacks will be served at specific times throughout the day. During the Initiation Ground there will be some light fasting to enhance the transformation
What's Included
- 10 nights Eco Accommodation
- All garden-to-table meals
- Tea, coffee, cacao & water
- 2 x Sweatlodge Ceremonies
- 1 x Sufi Whirling Ceremony
- Specialized workshops & Rituals
- Dance Journeys
- Shamanic Journeys
- Daily meditation
- Use of natural pool, river, hot tub & sauna
- Parking
- Optional free shuttle from nearest train/bus station
What's Not Included
- Airport transfers
- Flight costs
- Travel insurance
- Visa fee
- Travel to and from the retreat