Pathways Through Grief - 6daags rouw retreat Algarve Portugal

About this event

Pathways through Grief
A Safe Space to Pause, Breathe, and Tend to Your Grief

You are walking with grief.
When someone you love dies, life often asks you to keep going, back to work, caring for others, keeping pace with everyday life. Everything seems to move on, while a part of you stays behind, not ready, not knowing how to give space to what was lost.

Grief asks us to pause. To breathe. To tend gently to what we carry in our hearts.

Pathways through Grief is a 6-day immersion for those who have lost someone dear, created as a pause - a time to honour loss, to express what lives within, and to open gently to renewal.
Held in the wild, nourishing nature of southwest Portugal, this retreat offers a safe, caring space where body, mind, and soul can rest, be tended to, and begin to heal.
This is not a holiday, but a deeply meaningful time for yourself. A moment you’ll look back on knowing you gave yourself, and your grief, the gift of attention, presence, and care.

Why You Belong Here
Maybe it’s been years, maybe only months since you lost someone dear - a partner, child, parent, or close friend.
You’ve managed to keep going, showing up for life while quietly carrying the ache of what was lost. There’s a longing to stop for a moment, to breathe, to meet what still waits inside, but you may not know how, or where to begin.
This retreat offers a gentle space to slow down and turn toward your grief, supported by nature, ritual, and others who understand.

You belong here if you feel that longing, if you sense your grief hasn’t found its place, or that your heart needs gentler company to open again.

Over these days, you’ll find space to rest, reflect, move, create, and reconnect with what gives meaning. You’ll discover that healing isn’t about letting go, but about learning to carry your grief differently with more softness, strength, and presence.

The Setting
The retreat takes place in the wild, nourishing landscape of southwest Portugal, near Aljezur a place of ocean cliffs, beautiful beaches, and soft hills under endless sky.
Our home, Palmas Lodge, is a peaceful retreat house surrounded by gardens, oak trees, and open land. You’ll wake to birdsong and the sound of the ocean, enjoy fresh, nourishing meals, and rest deeply in simple comfort. There’s a pool for quiet swims, paths for walks, and plenty of space for solitude and reflection.

We gather in an intimate group of up to ten participants, allowing for genuine connection and personal attention.

Accommodation is offered in shared or single ensuite rooms, each warm and close to nature. A limited number of single rooms is available.

Dates 2026
🌿 Summer Retreat: June 28 – July 3
🍂 Autumn Retreat: November 15 – 20

What’s Included
Your stay includes everything to help you feel supported, held, and nourished:
-6 nights of accommodation at Palmas Lodge
-Three healthy, home-cooked vegetarian meals per day (vegan/gluten-free on request)
-Daily morning mindful-grief sessions with Elisabeth — weaving mindfulness, reflection, and guided practice
-Afternoon sessions with guest facilitators — movement, sound, creativity, ritual, and ceremony
-Opening and closing circles to begin and complete our shared journey
-One 60-minute individual massage for deep relaxation and integration
-Pre-retreat intake & connection call with Elisabeth — questionnaire and personal conversation to prepare
-After-retreat connection call for reflection and gentle integration once you’re home
-Access to optional online sessions for continued grief support

Everything is created with care, so you can slow down, reconnect, and give yourself this meaningful time of attention and renewal.

Pricing
Shared ensuite room: €1 750
Single ensuite room: €1 950 (limited availability)
Early-bird offer: Book before 15 February 2026 and receive a €100 discount (€1 650 shared / €1 850 single).

Booking
To reserve your place, simply reach out.
You’ll receive full booking details and payment information personally from Elisabeth.
Travel to the venue is not included.
Nearest airports: Faro (1.5 h) and Lisbon (3 h).
A rental car is recommended, and shared transport can be arranged closer to the date.
If you feel called to join, or would like more details, please get in touch to reserve your space. You are warmly welcome to rest, to breathe, and to give yourself this rare and meaningful gift of renewal.

A Week of Nourishment and Renewal
Each day follows a gentle rhythm:
-Mornings begin in mindful presence — guided meditation, reflection, and griefwork with Elisabeth.
-Afternoons offer time for rest, massage, walks, or quiet exploration of the coastline.
-We gather again for practices of movement, yin yoga, sound, creativity, and ritual — touching the elements of water, earth, fire, and air.
Through ceremony and shared presence, sorrow and lightness meet — moments of silence and laughter, connection and discovery.
You’ll go home not because grief has disappeared, but because you’ve learned to hold it differently: with more ease, compassion, and connection to life itself.

The Team
Elisabeth Tiesinga — main host and facilitator, guiding spaces where grief, tenderness, and renewal meet.
Catarina Silva — co-facilitator & offering grounded presence through Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, sound and voice.
Ana & Xana — culinary team who bring love, creativity, and local, seasonal food to the table, nourishing both body and spirit.
Ivana — holistic masseuse whose deeply restorative touch supports relaxation and integration.

Guest Facilitators
Amazing practitioners join us with offerings such as meditative harp concerts, Qi Gong, sweat-lodge ceremonies, and nature rituals.
Each experience supports integration, renewal, and a sense of belonging.
(Guest sessions may vary with season and availability.)

An Invitation
If something in these words touches you, trust that gentle pull.
Pathways through Grief offers a space where you don’t have to do anything or be anyone other than who you are right now.
If you feel ready to give yourself this time, to pause, to listen, to honour what matters - you are warmly invited to join us in southwest Portugal.

More info, photos and reviews elisabethtiesinga.com