Embracing the Shadow: A Journey Through a Shadow Work Retreat in Southern Bohemia

I’ve just returned from a deep, raw, and beautiful week in southern Bohemia, just outside Prague, a place surrounded by ancient forests, open fields, and stillness that holds you. The trees silently witnessed our process, the earth holding and grounding us.

It feels as though I’ve been tossed and turned, taken apart, and gently put back together again.

A week of peeling back layers, meeting the shadow, touching old wounds, and remembering the light that lives beneath them. Each circle, each breath, each touch invited something to rise... shame, grief, desire, boundaries.

This week made me look straight at my shadow through big lenses. To stare at it. To feel it fully. I met rage and anger like never before and through expressing them, I found healing. There was transformation in every tear, every scream, every shake of the body. Layers of protection fell away. Layers I didn’t even realise I was still carrying.

At times it felt like too much. The collective energy, the openness, the tenderness of it all.

Nature was a constant part of this journey.The earth beneath my feet, the still lake nearby, and the tall forest surrounding us invited presence. Breathing in the crisp air, I felt the energy of the sacred stone circle. The ground reminded me how to root again, how to return to my body when emotions felt too much. Being held by this landscape gave me the strength to unravel, to feel, to remember the protection of Mother Earth.

The journey moved between tension and expansion, over and over again. Like being in a tumble dryer, everything spinning, reshuffling, cleansing. My body feels lighter now, as if a great weight has been lifted. Old layers released, and more space for openness created. The shadow, the light, all of it, embraced.

Friendship - the care and love I received when I couldn’t hold myself. The warmth of community, the laughter after tears, the stillness after the storm. My heart opened again, slowly, gently. So much gratitude for this journey, the people, and the place that held it all.

There’s still much to process, but something within me has changed. A quiet trust has returned. A reminder that every emotion holds wisdom. That the dark side, the shadow, all of it deserves to be seen and welcomed.

As I integrate and return home to London, I carry this learning with me, that healing doesn’t only happen in intensity, but also in gentleness, stillness, and breath.That’s the energy I’ll be bringing into our Release & Restore retreat on 16th November, a day to soften, to breathe, and to come home to what’s true.

The circle is now full, and my heart feels full too. Grateful to walk this path of transformation, within myself, and alongside others who are ready to journey home.

If you’d like to read more reflections and upcoming offerings, visit thehealingjourneys.net.