The Nature of Love Retreat: What I Learned When I Took (Almost) All My Clothes Off in the Forest
I’ve just come back from a 4-night retreat called The Nature of Love - and wow. I’m still processing. This wasn’t your typical yoga-and-green-smoothie kind of week. It was about sensuality, embodiment, nature, connection, shame, playfulness, nudity (yep!), and so much more that’s hard to even put into words.
When I arrived, I was a little caught off guard. I walked down to the salt water pool that was hidden behind the trees and as I walked into the space I realised everyone was already naked.
As in, fully naked. As in, I checked to see if I had accidentally walked into the wrong retreat and should be at a pottery class down the road.
I froze. I smiled politely. I nodded like, “Of course, yes, I too enjoy nudity,” while internally spiraling:
“IS THIS THE WHOLE RETREAT?! WHERE IS THE TRANSITION PHASE?!”
Truth is I was hoping for a gentle, step-by-step journey… not a full frontal plunge into vulnerability. And at first, I wasn’t sure if I was in the right place because everyone seemed far more comfortable than I was - but in the end, it didn’t matter. Because even though I didn’t go full nudie, I still walked away feeling deeply transformed.
Because spoiler alert: being naked wasn’t the point. It was just one optional layer. (Pun intended.)
The real point was to return to your body. To shake off shame. To remember that pleasure is your birthright - yes, yours. Even if you wear Spanx. Even if you don’t know where your G-spot is. Even if you’re more into spreadsheets than spontaneous tree hugging. (Which, by the way, I highly recommend.)
🌿 Pleasure is your birthright.
That idea hit me in the gut. In the best way.
We spent five days moving, dancing, breathing, stretching, exploring touch, and tuning into our bodies. One exercise that stuck with me was when Jana, one of the facilitators, asked us to describe only the physical sensations in our bodies, without adding any stories.
No “I feel this way because my ex did xyz…”
No “I’ve always had issues with this part of me…”
Just: “My palms are sweaty. I feel a flutter in my belly. My left toe is twitching.”
And it was so hard. My brain is basically a tabloid journalist - dramatic, loud, full of backstory. But learning to drop into pure sensation? Game-changing.
And get this: my chronic headaches? Vanished. I’m not saying this retreat cured me, but after four days of moving, feeling, breathing, and not overthinking, something shifted. Maybe it was the dance. Maybe it was the nature. Maybe it was all the laughing and awkward giggling in exercises like spanking each other with a wooden spoon (IYKYK). Or maybe it was because, for once, I stopped trying to “figure myself out” and just was.
Some of the exercises were funny, strange, beautiful, weird - in the best way. I loved playing with bondage and plan to look into that more ;-) We danced like animals and made sounds and funny faces. We explored pleasure (with clothes or without - your choice). We swung from trees. I even walked through the forest in just my bra and knickers (didn’t want to risk my boobs swinging from side to side and slapping someone), talking to a pine cone like some kind of sensual forest witch. Honestly, it was fabulous.
The women’s circle was one of the most powerful moments for me. At one point I was literally held like a baby… and I cried. Like, properly cried. For the first time in years. And it felt like the kind of release my body had been craving but my mind kept postponing. It was soft. It was real. It was beautiful.
The retreat wasn’t a five-star luxury getaway. The accommodation was… let’s call it “minimalist chic.” By which I mean I’d have sold a kidney for some air con. BUT the food? Vegan and out-of-this-world. The land? Breathtaking. No cars, just trees, birds, and the occasional naked human. It felt like stepping into another reality where your body and soul finally get to exhale.
And the people? Oh my god. The other participants were brave, funny, open, weird, and so human. The kind of people who remind you how much we all just want to be seen, held, and accepted - even in our messiest, sweatiest, most awkward states. I’m so grateful to every single one of them.
So who is this retreat for?
Maybe it’s for you if:
👉 You’ve been living more in your head than in your body
👉 You’re curious about embodiment, sensuality, or just want to feel alive again
👉 You’re carrying old stories about shame or not being “enough”
👉 You want to play, stretch, feel, connect - and maybe even cry in a good way
👉 You want to talk to a tree and not have anyone judge you for it
This retreat invites you to:
🌿 Reconnect to your body and your senses
🌿 Release shame and embrace your full, wild self
🌿 Explore pleasure - not just sexually, but in every sense of the word
🌿 Be a part of a truly supportive and playful community
And a special shoutout to Jana and Marc, the facilitators, who are actual angels disguised as grounded, wise, hilarious humans. They created the kind of safe, inclusive, heart-opening container that allows real transformation to happen. I can’t rave about them enough.
I’ll end with this:
Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is just be in your body.
Not performing. Not fixing. Not pleasing.
Just being.
And from that place? So much joy, healing, and wildness can emerge.