RETREATS
GOLDEN SHADOW RETREATS
Ancient Wisdom • Beauty • Creativity • Purity
GREECE 2025
GREECE June / July 2025
Exact dates TBA
4 days Athens
7 days Mount Pelion
Max of 10 travelers
Come on a journey to Ancient Greece and reconnect with the healing power of nature
and Spirit. Greece is full of mythology, philosophy, poetry and beauty. It is where we find ancient wisdom and the origins of holistic health, medicine and psychotherapy.
Melanie Ryan leads retreats that are off the beaten path and take you into the heart and
soul of ancient Greek healing traditions. We will heal through the myths, legends, nature
and sacred sites. The archetypes teach us about the hidden energies within us. From
Apollo to Chiron, Chiron to Asklepius, and Asklepius to Hippocrates, ancient Greece is
the home of holistic health and these energies awaken the wisdom hidden within our
souls.
This retreat takes you into the purity and beauty of the wilderness of Mount Pelion,
Greece where we stay on an organic farm overlooking the Aegean Sea. Mt. Pelion is
the sacred mountain of Chiron, the wounded healer, a warrior and master herbalist.
Chiron was a gentle centaur who taught herbalism to Asklepius, Hercules and Achilles.
Here we reconnect with the Earth healing energies, rest and rejuvenate our mind, body,
heart and soul.
Melanie’s Greece retreats are based on the Golden Shadow Method, a path of
awakening your full human potential. It is a nature-based immersion helping you to
return to purity. You will have time alone and with our group. You will cleanse your mind,
body, heart and soul in the sacred waters and beautiful landscapes of the mountain. You
will eat pure food harvested just an hour before it lands on your plate, drink mountain
spring water, and walk barefoot on uncontaminated soil. Prepare to let go of distractions and cleanse your body of toxins. We suggest that you begin clean eating and drinking three months prior to the retreat, lessen your use of any drugs, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and processed foods. (There will be some caffeine available in Greece and natural unprocessed sugars).
Melanie provides a safe and nurturing container for deep rest, healing, creativity, play
and transformation. Her retreats are geared toward professionals; educators, healers,
therapists, doctors, nurses, caretakers, and anyone who has a sincere interest in using
ancient wisdom to heal themselves and others.
Melanie has lead groups for over 20 years. The 2025 retreat will be her 5th time to
Greece.
ITINERARY
4 days in Athens, staying in the beautiful and picturesque Plaka old district. Walk the
temples of the Agora where the Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato taught. Climb
the acropolis to the Parthenon and see the sacred olive tree of Athena. Swim in the
medicine waters of Poseidon and visit his temple.
7 days on Mount Pelion, the sacred homeland of the mythical centaur, Chiron, the
warrior, master herbalist and known as the “wounded healer.” We will have an organic
farm to ourselves. We rest and play, immersed in beauty, purity, mountain villages, and
the healing waters of the Aegean Sea.
On this golden shadow retreat, we will have sacred time for healing and rituals as well
as time for play, laughter and creativity.
Package Includes:
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Single room hotel accommodation in Athens, breakfast included
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All talks and ceremonies at sacred sites in Athens
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Group excursion to Poseidon temple and lake with healing waters
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Group transfer to and from Mt Pelion & Athens
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Single room on organic farm of Mt Pelion
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Group transfer for one beach day on Mt Pelion
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Group transfer to mountain village for day visit
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Ceremony at Ancient Grandmother Tree
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Intuitive Potter Workshop
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A One Day Vision Quest
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Yoga | morning stretch
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Meditation class
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Stone art class
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Healing fire ceremony
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Farm to table breakfast daily
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Two farm to table dinners
Activities not Included:
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Private Healing Sessions with Melanie
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Massage at the Lake
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Organic cooking classes on the farm
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Weaving Workshop
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Herbal Workshop
RETREAT REVIEWS
"I am Greek and to say this retreat was amazing is an understatement. The retreat started off in Athens with visits to the Acropolis, Hill of Aries, the ancient Agora, and Socrates’ jail. It was very meaningful. Melanie connected us with Ancient Greece through history and storytelling. I climbed hills I did not think I could climb due to some physical limitations but with the love and supported of the group, I hurdled through these challenges. We visited remote villages on Mt. Pelion and stayed on a beautiful organic farm overlooking the Aegean Sea. This remote village is the home of an ancient Grandmother tree said to be thousands of years old. We bonded as a group, took time to play and have fun, nurturing our souls. For the first time in my life, I experienced unconditional love. It has made me softer, and gentler. There were many offerings: intuitive massage, reiki, yoga, meditation and soul retrieval. I did all of them and felt like never before. The group, the food, the ocean, and the garden all healed me deeply. The accommodations and foods were superb. I will definitely be going back next year! I am so grateful to Melanie for bringing this group together for this most beautiful life-changing experience. 5 Stars" ️️️️️
Mary-Kay Kallergis, LCSW, Psychotherapist, Healer, Health Coach
"I am beyond grateful to have had the gift of being a part of the amazing 2024 Greece retreat. I am a caregiver for my Dad who has dementia. I lost my husband 3 years ago and life has been incredibly challenging. My soul needed to heal. My body needed to rest. So there I was, in a land that gave me all of that and so much more. The group of people were all so special. Greek people are unlike any I have met. Their kindness, hospitality and love were amazing. I felt so much happiness and joy from them all. Where we stayed is like another universe. I felt like family there. They welcomed all of us into their home, feed and nurtured our bodies and the land nurtured our souls. As my feet felt the ground , I became ONE with the land. I was rooted in love. The love that these beautiful people had put into growing and harvesting such healing foods. The dishes we ate were beyond delicious. They shared their love of cooking and introduced us to foods most of us had never experienced. I’ll never be able to look at food the same way again. There was so much healing and nourishment in every bite. The leadership was wonderful. Melanie led us in various activities from meditations to reiki circles, yoga and massages were also offered and deepened my experience of letting go and healing. She allowed us to be ourselves while giving us the space to heal in our own way. The reintroduction of meditation reiki and yoga gave me the inspiration to start using those practices in my everyday life. Overall the retreat helped me connect with the part of me that I had hidden away. I have emerged calmer and ready to face everything with optimism peace and love. I will be forever grateful for this gift of pure love. Thank you, Melanie."
Laura Wolfe, Artist & Caregiver
GREECE 2024 Photo Album
GREECE 2019 Photo Album