Retreats

As an important part of the Manuvision training, we go on retreats: we travel to Germany, we camp in the Swedish forests, and we cleanse the body through fasting courses. It is during these residential trips that things truly begin to move. Here, we have the time to immerse ourselves deeply in the work of treatment and to develop the attunement needed to become a Manuvision body therapist.

We have chosen to make the residential retreats an important part of the Manuvision training. We do this because this is where we truly have the opportunity to immerse ourselves. We can be together without the distractions of everyday obligations, and we have the space and calm needed to stay in the process required to develop as therapists.

It is also during the retreats that we truly build a sense of community within the group. It is through this community that we can deepen our therapeutic work, because it is in meeting others that we become aware of our own patterns and blind spots. Within the community, we share our stories and impressions, expanding the self-awareness and understanding of others that we need in order to stand strong as therapists.

We work deeply with our understanding of treatment and therapy — with the calm of nature as our backdrop.

Germany

On Module 2 of the Manuvision training, we travel to Germany. In the forests of the “Land of 1,000 Lakes,” we find the time and tranquility to explore what we understand as treatment and therapy — and what distinguishes it from massage and technique. We meditate, train, and immerse ourselves in treatments at the tables, all with the calm of nature as our backdrop.

It is also here that we truly begin to build a strong sense of community within the group. We begin the challenging work of creating a genuine therapeutic relationship with another person. And we start to develop a felt sense of what attunement is — and what it requires to both separate yourself from, and truly see, the person lying on the table.

The Swedish forest

On the final, fourth module of the Manuvision training, we travel to the Swedish forests. Here, we focus on your own process of becoming a therapist: What has brought me here — and what will drive me forward? You explore your strengths and weaknesses, as well as what may be standing in the way of fully realizing your potential as a practitioner. This is where you are truly confronted with your blind spots and given the opportunity to see yourself — your choices, your omissions, and your dreams — from the outside.

The Sweden retreat also highlights the importance of nature for presence and awareness of your own development. Nature becomes an integrated and essential part of the therapeutic work — both with yourself and with the group as a whole. It is in meeting nature that we begin to sense how we are connected to other people. And it is precisely this connection that we seek to create in the relationship with the person we are treating.

The Sweden retreat also emphasizes the importance of nature for presence and awareness of your own development. Nature serves as an integrated and essential element in the therapeutic work — both with yourself and with the group as a whole.

Fasting Retreats

The annual fasting retreat is part of the Manuvision training’s work to sharpen our senses and awareness. When we fast, we become more aware of the body and its limits. We grow more sensitive and begin to notice how our surroundings and daily stimuli affect us. This awareness gives us the opportunity to step back from the fixed habits we carry — both in relation to diet and to the things that create noise and dull our senses in everyday life.

We are given the chance to take a closer look at our eating patterns. This can involve understanding how different food groups affect us physically and psychologically. It can also involve discovering how food may be used to control or suppress emotions.

During the fasting retreats, we also work with meridian theory. You are introduced to the meridian system through massage exercises and gain an understanding of the emotional connections associated with the meridian pathways.

When we fast, we become aware of our bodies and their limits. We become more sensitive and discover how our surroundings and daily stimuli affect us.