Body-based work that reaches where talking alone cannot. Retreats in Portugal. One to one online. A practice you can keep up anywhere.
For teams and organisations →Monkey Mind Retreats is a somatic wellness practice founded in Lisbon, Portugal by Isabel Maria Jeworski, 850h+ Certified Yoga Teacher and Social Anthropologist. It offers small-group retreats on the Portuguese coast, 1:1 somatic mentorship online and a monthly membership. All work is body-first: grounded in trauma research, nervous system science and the practices that work when talking alone does not.
Small groups. Two retreats a year on the Portuguese coast. Priceless Peace in Sesimbra in March: somatic yoga, breathwork and deep rest. Art of Connection in Ericeira in September: surf, sunrise yoga and somatic evening sessions. Both designed for people who are ready to feel genuinely different when they come home.
See the 2026 dates →Twelve weeks of private somatic coaching. One 75-minute session per week, WhatsApp support Monday to Friday, and a personalised practice plan built for your nervous system specifically. The most direct way to work with Isabel. Limited spaces.
Book a discovery call →All six phases of the Priceless Peace programme. Videos, guided audios, somatic practices and the complete workbook. At your own pace. Start with seven days free and feel the difference before you commit.
Start your free 7 days →The common thread: most had already tried other approaches. What shifted was starting with the body, not just the mind.
In Buddhist tradition, the monkey mind is the restless, unsettled part of you that swings from thought to thought. Never still. Never quiet. Most of us spend years trying to silence it.
I tried too. Then I realised: it is not the problem. It is the signal. This work is not about making it stop. It is about learning, through the body, what it is trying to tell you.
I know what it feels like to be constantly stressed, disconnected, and unable to switch off. I lived it for years. Good at holding it all together on the outside. Not actually stopping.
I'm not the coach living in Bali with zero responsibilities, an ice bath, and two matchas in before 10am. That's not real life for most people. It wasn't for me either.
I'm not just a yoga teacher. I founded Monkey Mind Retreats in 2020 and went full-time in 2023. In between, I stacked 850+ hours of yoga teacher training, a Master's in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship, a Somatic Facilitator Training, and an Eastern Psychology programme in India, all while still working a full-time corporate job.
My approach is body-first: inspired by trauma research from Bessel van der Kolk, it works differently than CBT. Real change happens when the nervous system feels safe enough to let go, not just when the mind understands why. I am not above any of this. I still have hard weeks and lean on my own mentors. That's exactly why the tools work. Over the last 6 years, I've guided more than 500 people through this, across 13 retreats and 2 yoga teacher trainings.
More about Isabel →The numbers are not subtle. Gallup finds that 76% of employees experience burnout, and those who do are 2.6 times more likely to leave. The WHO puts the return on employer investment in mental health at four to one. Your best people are not immune to this. I work with teams on exactly this. Offsites in Portugal, in-house workshops and ongoing programmes. Body-based, evidence-informed and built around what your team actually needs.
Get in touch about your team →Fidelidade · Lisbon
Monkey Mind Retreats is a somatic wellness practice founded in Portugal by Isabel Maria Jeworski, 850h+ Certified Yoga Teacher and Social Anthropologist. It offers small-group retreats on the Portuguese coast, 1:1 somatic mentorship online and a monthly membership programme. All work is body-first: grounded in trauma research, nervous system science and somatic practices that work when talking alone does not.
Somatic means 'of the body.' Somatic coaching works directly with the nervous system: the breath, the tension, the patterns stored in the body long before the mind had words for them. Trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk showed that stress and trauma are held physiologically, not just psychologically. This is why people who have spent years in talk therapy still feel stuck. Not because it did not work. Because it only reached half the picture. The body holds the other half.
Priceless Peace (March, Sesimbra) starts from €999 per person. Art of Connection (September, Ericeira) starts from €1,099 per person. Both are all-inclusive of accommodation, meals and all sessions. The 1:1 Somatic Mentorship programme is by application. The monthly membership starts with a free 7-day trial.
No. The retreats are designed for all levels. You do not need to be flexible, experienced or have any prior practice. Yoga is one tool in the process, not the point of it. What matters is that you come willing to work with your body, not just observe it.
Burnout is one of the most common reasons people come. The combination of nervous system work, somatic release, breathwork, rest and real community is specifically effective for people who have been running on empty for too long. Many guests describe it as the first genuine relief they have felt in years. Not because it was a holiday, but because something actually shifted.
Priceless Peace is held in Sesimbra, a quiet coastal village about 40 minutes south of Lisbon, known for its clear water and slower pace. Art of Connection takes place in Ericeira, on Portugal's Atlantic surf coast, a UNESCO World Surfing Reserve. Both venues are chosen carefully. The environment is part of the work.
Isabel Maria Jeworski is the founder of Monkey Mind Retreats. She holds 850+ hours of yoga teacher training, a Master's in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, a Somatic Facilitator certification and completed an Eastern Psychology programme in India. She built Monkey Mind while working a full-time corporate job and went full-time in 2023. Over 6 years she has guided more than 500 people across 13 retreats and 2 yoga teacher trainings.
Worth taking seriously. Think about what staying in the same pattern actually costs: your energy, your relationships, how you feel getting out of bed each morning. This work can move things that years of managing symptoms could not reach. Not because other approaches did not work. Because they only reached half the picture. The body holds the other half. Everyone I have worked with says it was one of the best decisions they made.
Every few weeks I write about what I am learning: the nervous system, the practice, life in Portugal. Not a newsletter designed to make you feel like you should be doing more.
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