A 7-Day Immersion for male identifying bodies.
September 12-19 and October 2-9 2025
Join a transformative, spiritual and intimate journey for Queer resonating bodies in the lush green valleys of Alentejo, Portugal. Nestled within the emerging Queer sanctuary of Totenique, the House of Ravens opens its doors to welcome you home — to yourself, your tribe, and your body.
What is RespiRo?
RespiRo is a multidimensional retreat blending bodywork, ritual, and community into a deep and joyful exploration of self. An eclectic and explorational platform that taps into the wisdom, magic and healing qualities of various spiritual pathways like Umbanda, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shamanic and Indigenous traditions.
RespiRo invites you to shed old skin and awaken your playful, radiant spirit.
From dearmouring to ritual body painting, Totem animal meditations to flower baths and shamanic movement to belly dance, each day unfolds with intentional themes and archetypes to guide your inner and outer transformation.
Daily Themes
1. Arriving & Grounding
2. Exploring & Connecting
3. Feeling & Releasing
4. Transforming & Healing
5. Honouring & Dancing
6. Empowering & Playing
7. Celebrating & Thanking
Retreat Highlights
- Daily rituals inspired by spiritual traditions and nature-based healing
- Healing massages,Totem animal healings
- Dearmouring workshops & sexological bodywork
- Flower bath & herb packing with local medicinal plants
- Shamanic ceremonies & embodiment practices
- Sacred nudity, dance, movement, and catwalk extravaganzas
- Excursion to the Atlantic Ocean
- Open-air cinema & poetry
- Silent nature walks
- Living in vibrant Queer community
- Back to basic in a beautiful off-grid setting
- Optional massage sessions with expert therapist & team member Hugo Diaz
- Tarot readings and spoken word by team member Lydia Williams
- Delicious vegetarian meals by our host and chef Ronny Steur
2025 — Year of the Snake
A powerful symbol of rebirth and transformation, the Snake guides our journey this year. Through ritual, embodiment, and community, we collectively release what no longer serves us and step boldly into a more balanced, creative, and liberated self.
A chance to step into a more complete version of yourself, lighter, stronger, more centred and balanced.
To realise this vision we need to work together, as a group, as a brotherhood , as a tribe. Space holding, supporting, enabling one another to feel seen, be heard, understood, loved and cared for. This is what being a tribe of rainbow warriors truly means.
Accommodation & Pricing
All accommodations include 3 vegetarian meals/day (vegan option available), access to all workshops, rituals, and events.
- Single Room: €1.750
- Double Room: (shared double bed) €1.550
- Group Tent: (individual beds) €1.350
- Own Tent: (bring mat & sleeping bag) €1.150
There is a limit to the B&B rooms, full is full...
* Bed linen and towels provided for tents and rooms.
Location: Totenique Sanctuary
This off-grid Queer oasis is nestled in the wild beauty of Alentejo, offering basic comfort with compost toilets & warm in and outdoor showers, lots of privacy, and deep connection with nature. Important to know: Double rooms are with double beds, in the group tent we have individual beds. The rooms share bathroom, the tents have outdoor showers. Though remote, signal is available on the higher points of the valley.Transfer from/ to trainstation Funcheira to Totenique (less then 2 hour trainride from Faro & Lisbon)
This is your invitation
To play, heal, explore, express, and connect. To be seen, held, and celebrated. Come join us on this magical and healing adventure!
Much Love,
Robert van Ravens & team RespiRo.
Healing Eros
A workshop that focusses on our common journey, our challenges as gay/queer men and on our powers to heal, balance, enlighten, activate and stand out. Through a customized guided meditation we connect to the different chakras and corresponding colors and qualities, experiencing a holistic glow of the rainbow Spirit Oxumaré.
Through bodywork and movement we will connect to ourselves and explore what needs attention, care, love and healing. Giving space and expression to these sensations to then gently flow into the connection with other men.
Together we will do several exercises, like holding, listening, caressing, erotic touching etc. to help each other process, accept and embrace our (sensual) being. Healing shame, insecurity, pain, addiction through the qualities of forgiveness, abundance, harmony, gratitude, love and joy.
It is our birthright to be free, to fully express our sexuality, to feel alive and sensual, to play and to celebrate our sacred sexual spirit.
Rainbow-warriors
United we stand as a tribe of rainbow-warriors. In this workshop we invite the Afro-Brasilian Orixá Oxumaré. This serpent deity is known for his healing qualities on sexuality and the balancing of fe-male energy. We will meditate, paint, sing and dance. The day starts with shamanic movement series Tensegrity from ancient Mexico, to creaty body awareness and turning the body on. Meditating on the qualities and healing aspects of several Queer deities from different cultural backgrounds, inviting their spirit into our hearts and consciousness. A magical journey connecting Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Aztec mythology. Inviting the 4 directions to open a ritualistic space in which we invoke our Queer Spirits and give bodily expression through the use of organic bodypaint. Become your own Totem, be inspired and color your brother ☺ With spirit-up, energy strong and flowing we will dive into the healing touch of the Sensual Healing, a treatment that is a true gift to the reciever and can be a healing experience for the healer as well. With conscious touch you will guide your partner into a deep, warm and safe journey, offering a powerful and Tantric experience. Together we will dance and celebrate the diversity of our II Spirit tribe, of our rainbow family honoring Pacha Mama, Madre Tierra.
Shamanic Eros
A workshop-ritual connecting body and spirit, exploring shamanic pathways in combination with spirited and sensual healing. Explore your inner shaman through the use of medicinal herbs, flowers, healing waters and smoke. Connect to spirit guides and energize the chakra-system through shamanic movement and bodywork. Experience a playful and magical jungle full of surprises, incorporate different Totem animals and work with their healing qualities. In this workshop I share my experience as a healer in spiritual, shamanic ceremonies. Together we focus on the shamanic touch of healing. You will receive herb-baths and explore and experiment how to work with different herbs to help clean and relax the energetic body. Especially for this workshop I created the Totem animal mediation, an active-guided meditation in which we connect to our Spirit guides, an inspiration for the rest of this day or for any project or challenge in life. A playful workshop in which we enter an enchanting forest where magic, intimacy, pleasure and healing takes place. A safe and playful space to invoke you inner healer. Key ingredient in RespiRo ritual is the Sensual healing, you will exchange this warm and healing touch with another brother while I guide you through it, creating a space to deeply enjoy loving care and attention and to dive deep into delicious sensations. Stand strong in Queer brotherhood with your rainbow tribe singing, praying, playing and dancing!
Tantric Touch
A one day workshop for men that are interested in exploring spiritual awareness in sexual contact, pleasure and intimacy.
This workshop emphasizes on channeling the Tantric energies throughout the whole body during an erotic massage. Through bodywork and meditation we will connect to our own sacred space after which we will encounter other men and share touch, healing and intimacy experiencing and enjoying our sensual capacities. We will practice simple breathing techniques that will help channel the intensity of a Tantric massage and spread this energy throughout the whole system to be able to experience a higher vibration of sacred sexuality.
The Tantric-touch massage will be demonstrated
and once you are partnered up you will be guided the whole session through.
In this workshop we will enter a conscious state of mind and create a connected sense of physical and spiritual awareness towards ourselves and to the rest of the group. A workshop to share interests, to experience the power of a group of sexual explorers and most importantly a day of celebrating life, warm intimacy, magic and fun!
RespiRo Ritual
A weekend workshops starting each day with a specific cleansing ritual in which you receive pure healing touch in a playful, powerful form. Experience a herbal car-wash and a beautiful bathing of the crown chakra, clearing, cleansing, bringing loving attention to the corona chakra.
Deepening our shamanic movement series, Tensegrity, rebalancing our physical and energetic bodies. These potent "magical passes" from ancient Mexico will bring you into the here and now, stimulating body awareness. To empower ourselves we invite and meditate with Totem animals, introducing a new line of Spirit guides that will inspire and touch hearts. Incorporating their healing powers to benefit the process of this weekend. Through exercise and demonstration you will find ways of connecting to your healing qualities, intuition and the healer within you. In the vibe of joy and enchantment we open the shamanic and sensual playground of Shamanic Eros, offering you the opportunity to explore, enjoy and put into practise what you have studied and embodied. As ritual requires we will pray, dance and sing, honouring our ancestors, creating space for inspiration, bliss and a harmonious connection. Calling the 4 directions we will explore our creative souls with the help of organic bodypaint, putting back our most stylish creations and adourning our fellow companions, inspired by Indiginous tribes worldwide. Creating our own Rainbow tribe, invoke II Spirit and dance, honouring PachaMama, Madre Tierra.
A touch of Sacred Intimacy
This weekend workshop reflects and recaptures all of the previous workshops. During the first day we will repeat different material of healing touch, including the Sensual Healing. On the second day participants are invited to create a customized session for the partner they couple up with.
Participants receive information, tools and skills to create a try out version of a Sacred Intimacy session. Experience what it is like to create a safe space in which Intimacy is the tool to helping the other open up, share, express and indulge in a semi-professional session.
Practise holding space and experience what is it like to serve and offer your qualities to anoher man. An important aspect of this work is how to protect yourself, how to keep ground and stay true to your own bounderies.
Besides sessions this weekend will be full of playful bodywork, meditations, demonstrations of healing and massage and lots of magic, colors and surprises.
RespiRo Touch on tour
A two day workshop in which elements of the previous workshops will be repeated and put into practice. Combining elements from the workshops Sensual healing, Shamanic Eros and healing Eros. A weekend with ritualistic work, home-made meditations, shamanic practices, exploring bodywork and of course connecting and healing touch exchange. Exploring your own healing capacities, the connection to yourself and others and developing skills for deepening intimacy in your life, or men .
We will come together in a healing circle of men in all its colors of all ages and backgrounds, sharing one mission : the celebration of diversity, of spirited intimacy and sacred sexuality, a tribe getting together to share, support, love and enjoy. Honoring our different cultures, pathways and spiritual backgrounds, all in a safe, warm, loving and respectful environment.
Respiro touch-workshops are based on conscious sexuality, touch with awareness, sacred ritual and the joyful expression of our physical existence.
Give yourself this special treat and surround yourself with like-minded men, reconnecting to your tribe, to your sacred spirit and experience standing strong together.