Megan MacCarthy and Michael Mattioli, recently relocated from the US to Ballydehob in West Cork, are creating custom immersive yoga and meditation retreats on their seven-acre beauty spot to nourish the soul. Aside from the stunning location and range of therapeutic practices on offer at ‘Embody with MM’, what makes these retreats really interesting is that participants have the opportunity to design each day of the retreat to suit their own individual needs and preferences. On the menu is a range of yoga practices, from somatic to yin, as well as sound healing, meditation, marma therapy, Ayurveda, energy healing, pranayama breathing and even hiking.
This is a physical and spiritual retreat that will bring you back to self. “We get stuck in the play of life and stuck in our daily roles and forget who we are at our deep core,” says Megan. There will be still and quiet, as well as doing and socialising; building a relationship between nature, environment, the body and senses. Picture a meditative morning walk along the coast, followed by somatic movement, vinyasa yoga, embodied writing, and perhaps a sound healing to lull you to sleep.
A certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapy, Megan’s focus is on somatic yoga and accessible movement for muscular imbalance, persistent pain, and trauma. She initially specialised in cancer and cardiac rehabilitation through yoga therapy. Her breath-centred teaching incorporates traditional facets of yoga, subtle body awareness, and Ayurvedic principles with a lighthearted approach. She is also a Healing Touch certified energy practitioner and in addition to energy therapy, she offers Ayurvedic marma therapy and is a certified through the California College of Ayurveda.
“I’m good at meeting people where they are,” shares Megan. “If I have somebody who has lower back pain, I can work with them, or if a person is very fit and wants to sweat during their yoga practice, I can accommodate that too in a vinyasa flow class.
A musician, filmmaker and composer, Michael is also an energy worker and sound healer. His formal training spans Reiki, Access Energy Transformation and Ho’oponopono healing.
Michael’s intuition and sensitive awareness guide his innate healing and musical instincts toward what is appropriate in the moment.
Their skillsets complementing each other, the couple co-facilitate these retreats, with Michael playing live music for in studio meditations. He also records CDs and other projects, including Megan’s online teacher training and weekly YouTube videos.
The full immersion retreat (up to seven nights) also includes accommodation and two delicious home-cooked meals and snacks each day.
There is also the option of a shorter mini retreat (2-3 nights) which includes bed and breakfast.
For more information and prices go to embodywithmm.com
