Are you a woman who has lost touch with her purpose? Are you burnt-out, exhausted and want to get away from it all? Do you need to connect to your authentic self? Are you looking for a transformative experience where you can relax, rejuvenate, and practice self-care? Do you want to experience Greece, a bucket-list destination, not as a tourist, but as a member of a family? Do you want to find and connect to your tribe? You’ve come to the right place. Welcome to—-
Expressive Arts Retreats Cyclades: an Art & Nature Wellness Retreat in Ios, Cyclades, Greece
Our RETREAT is intimate and personal. It is more than a spa or seaside vacation. It is a SOUL SANCTUARY where we engage the body, mind, and heart to bring holistic wellness.
ExaRetreats Cyclades exists to bring balance, well-being, and connection in a disconnected, frantic world. By unleashing each individual’s creativity through the healing power of nature and the expressive arts, ExaRetreats Cyclades works to recover each person’s authentic self and reconnect to his or her life’s purpose. We work to bring healing, deepen intra- and inter-personal understanding, and the joy of creation and play to promote healthy living.
Combine a beach vacation to a bucket list destination with the power of expressive arts to connect, create, and rejuvenate mind, body and soul. Get in touch with your authentic self, heal, and return to the land. Join our exclusive wellness retreat on the island of Ios Cyclades, Greece, where you enjoy accommodations in a traditional stone house in walking distance of the beach, organic, farm-to-table meals and the services of a native islander with 30 years’ experience as a professor and EXA facilitator and educator.
ExaRetreats Cyclades finds sanctuary in the healing restorative energy of the Cyclades and Greece. Our retreat takes place in the ancient circle of islands dating from neolithic times, the birthplace of the god of the sun, the arts, and civilization, Apollo, and his sister the huntress and lover of wild places and animals, Artemis. We integrate nature and eco-therapy practices in the healing process of our retreat. We use the healing powers of the cerulean waters of the Aegean where we dance with the waves using the 5Rhythms; we hike the hills wafting with wild thyme and oregano foraging for natural materials we then use in our art practice and then to make our own natural cosmetics, herbal tinctures, bath bombs, and goat milk soap. By waking up to the sun rise and observing the moon cycles, we realign ourselves to the cycles of the earth and sky. We story tell under the dazzling light of the Milky Way, clear to the eye here on the island.
Accessing one’s power of creativity has been proven medically and scientifically to promote well-being, accelerate healing, and serve overall as a positive psychological mechanism.
RELAX. REJUVENATE. IMMERSE in the NATURE & CULTURE of an ANCIENT CIVILIZATION.
AT EXA Retreats Cyclades you unleash your creativity through ART and Expressive Arts activities that increase mindfulness, insight, authenticity, and connection. You will create using ENCAUSTIC, CYANOTYPE, PHOTOGRAPHY, NATURE-ART SCULPTURE with the guidance of a professional artist.
REJUVENATE through the beauty of the sea, sky, and earth. Our retreat uses ECO-THERAPY to ground you in the rhythms of nature to bring out a more beautiful, more healthy you. From swimming in the pristine, mineral-rich waters of Agia Theodoti, dancing the 5 Rhythms in the waves, foraging for herbs to make natural body products, learning and cooking organic Mediterranean dishes, story telling under the Milky Way, saluting the rising sun, meditative nature walks. reconnecting with nature in a secluded village restores mind, body, and soul.
EXA Retreats is run by a native that invites you into her ancestral home on the land that goes back in her family roots for centuries. A professor of myth and literature, journalist, poet, artist, expressive arts facilitator who has written about Hellenic culture for decades, she will be your host on this mythic journey. Learn about the traditions, culture, mythology, and spirituality of Hellas through lectures, embodied drama performances, poetry and literature explication, folk herbal remedies, cheese and yogurt making, and visits to the ancient sites across the Cyclades.
Meet Your Host
Eirene is trained in expressive arts facilitation by the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. She has taught literature and mythology across five countries for over 30 years at such institutes as the University of Maryland, Ramstein; American College of Greece; Institute of NorthAmerican Studies, Barcelona, the City and State University of New York. She is an exhibiting encaustic painter, photographer, and illustrator. Awash with the cerulean blues and whites of the Cyclades, her encaustic practice synthesizes natural elements, communicates emotional timber through varying textures, and moves in the rhythms of the four elements. Her art has appeared across galleries in New York City, Rome, Paris, Moscow, South Africa. She is a member of International Encaustic Artists.
Most importantly, she is from Greece and from Ios, allowing you an insider’s look into its culture and history with access into its secret sites. When you participate in her retreats, you are invited into her ancestral home. She will guide you through trauma-informed, ethically-based, person-centered activities that will increase well-being, health, self-awareness, mindfulness, and connection to others.
Her work can be viewed at: www.ateliereirene.com.
Learn more
Our upcoming retreat is scheduled for August 2025. Get more info on how you can use the power of your creativity to connect with other women, tap into your authentic self, and learn about the culture and history of the Greek islands.