palermo
Woven with the Gold of Sicily
Palermo. Late August. Eight days. I have launched a new retreat, Woven with the Gold of Sicily, and registration is now open.
It is for you if you feel that you need more than just a weekend. If you want to go deeper: into the body, into silence, into yourself. In an intimate space, with a small group, in a city that will not let you stay on the surface.
a journey through the body, roots and presence in the heart of the Mediterranean
29th August - 5th September 2026 · Palermo, Sicily · max. 14 participants
Sicily is not just a place. It is a layering of worlds: Arab, Norman, Greek, and Spanish. The golden mosaics of the Cappella Palatina, the scent of jasmine at night, the warmth of stone, the noise of the Vucciria market, a quiet courtyard and the sea just around the corner. Palermo will not let you remain on the surface. It asks for presence.
Maybe you are at a point where you know that something inside you needs to change. Where tiredness is no longer an exception. Where you can feel that another weekend workshop is not enough, and that you need something that lasts longer, goes deeper and stays in the body.
Woven with the Gold of Sicily is an eight-day experiential retreat that gives you exactly that. Not a course. Not a holiday. An inner journey, with Sicily as a witness.
You come here when...
… you feel that your body is carrying more than you can put into words. When you are looking for a space where you do not have to be strong, competent or ready. When you want to understand what keeps repeating inside you. When you want more than simply to cope with it.
When you sense that change does not begin in the mind, but in the body. When you are tired of superficiality and long for real contact, with yourself and with others.
When you are ready to invest in yourself as seriously as you invest in others.
8 days that stay in the body
Imagine this: Saturday evening, arriving in Palermo. The warmth of the air is so different from the rush of everyday life. The first circle, where you do not have to explain anything. You only need to arrive.
Morning begins with breakfast at Guelio, just a few steps from Teatro Massimo. The late morning is dedicated to guided work: the body, the nervous system, and deep contact with yourself. In the afternoon, there is time in the city, by the sea, or in the botanical garden. Space to integrate what has emerged.
Evenings unfold in a circle, where words begin to find what has long remained unspoken. And one shared evening in a Sicilian restaurant: food, wine, laughter, and the kind of silence that feels comfortable.
When you leave on the final morning, after the closing ritual, you may notice something. Not dramatic. Subtle. A feeling that you have returned to something that has always been there, but needed space in order to reveal itself.
What is the retreat built on?
The body as the first language
Do you sense that something is missing in your relationships, but you cannot quite name what it is?
When you begin to recognise your relational defences, something starts to soften. Not dramatically, but gently. The space for closeness, which has always been there, begins to open. I draw on Una McCluskey's model of relational needs, not as a theory, but as a living experience in the body and in contact with others.
Golden roots
What if your body knows the answers before you even manage to ask the questions?
Sicily is an island of layers, just like you. Arab, Norman, Greek: each civilisation has left its trace in stone. Your body works in a similar way. Through somatic work and Motion Bond Technique®, we will explore what you are carrying, and what you may finally be able to put down.
From survival to presence
What if change does not have to hurt in order to be real?
As you begin to listen to your body, you will start noticing the moments when you shift from a defensive state into presence. Through polyvagal theory in practice and Motion Bond Technique®, you will learn to recognise this movement and return to yourself sooner. Not through force. Through rhythm.
What does a day look like?
The retreat begins on Saturday evening with an opening circle and ends on Saturday morning with a closing ritual after breakfast. Each day has its own structure, not rigid, but rhythmic. The body needs predictability in order to feel safe.
Morning: grounding, gentle movement and breakfast. Late morning: guided group work focused on psychology, the body and the nervous system. Afternoon: free time and an organised transfer to an open-air workshop by the sea, in a garden or in the city. Evening: integration circle, sharing and ritual.
In total, the programme includes approximately 6–7 hours of guided work each day. We respect the sensitivity of the nervous system. Not everyone can move at the same pace, and that is completely okay.
Palermo is not a coincidence
Accommodation: Guelio al Massimo, located directly by Teatro Massimo, in the heart of historic Palermo. Daily breakfast, a private room, and the city within easy reach.
We change our working spaces intentionally, because context changes experience:
The interior of Guelio: group work in a protected space | Orto Botanico di Palermo: work in nature, root contact | Mondello / Cefalù: the sea, the body, regulation through water and space | the historic centre: walking as relaxation, the city as a mirror | one shared dinner in an authentic Sicilian restaurant.
Choose when and how you arrive
Included in the price
Guided 8-day programme · 7 nights of accommodation in the historic centre of Palermo · daily breakfast and refreshments · working materials · a local Sicilian gift · one group dinner · entrance fees during the programme, such as garden and museum visits.
Not included in the price
Flights · lunch and dinner, except for the group dinner · individual expenses on site.
I recommend buying your flights as early as possible. August is peak season, and prices tend to rise. At the moment, you can find return flights from Vienna or direct flights from Bratislava to Palermo for approximately 90 EUR.
The alumni price is intended for those who have worked with me long-term, whether in therapy, coaching or the year-long programme. It is my way of saying: I know who you are, and your work has value.
Capacity is limited to 14 participants. The retreat requires a minimum of 6 registered participants.
Binding registration is confirmed by paying a 300 EUR deposit within 7 days of registration. The deposit is non-refundable, but your place can be transferred to another person. The remaining balance is due no later than 30 July 2026.
Safety does not begin with the programme.
It begins with the person who holds the space.
That is why I want to tell you something about myself, not as a lecturer, but as someone who deeply cares about what happens in that room of your mind, between us.
Who will guide you?
I am Ivana Čergeťová, a psychologist, relationship therapist and facilitator. I work at the intersection of the psychology of safety, body-based work and systemic approaches.
I do not lead retreats as a lecturer. I lead them as a guide: someone who walks with you, not ahead of you.
I know Palermo. And I know what its beauty can do to the human nervous system. Palermo regulates. It slows you down. And in a city where every stone carries a thousand years of history, something inside you naturally begins to soften.
Only a few places left
Retreats with a group this small do not fill through algorithms. They filter through people who know what they are looking for.
If you are reading this and something in you is saying "yes", that is not a coincidence.
Register or write to me. I will be happy to answer all your questions, both before and after registration.