Catarina Amaral
Imagine waking up to the first rays of summer sun on your face. You can hear the birds singing outside, and the Atlantic Ocean in the background.
You make a cup of coffee or tea, walk through the venue gardens, and step into the wooden shala for a morning yoga flow and somatic movement to arrive fully in your body.
Breakfast is served in the garden, unrushed. Everything is taken care of for you, and you can relax before the morning workshops.
Afternoons are for strolling along the beach, surfing, coasteering, or exploring the island.
Evenings bring relaxed dinners with fresh local food, laughter, and deep conversations with women who, like you, are standing at a turning point.
And somewhere in the middle of all this… you realise you finally have the space to think clearly, understand the changes you’ve been going through, and get honest about what you truly want for your life.
This is Breakthrough Retreat.
What to expect from this retreat?
A 6-day experience for women who feel they are changing and need distance from their routine to gain clarity, reconnect with themselves, and understand what this next chapter is asking from them.
You’re the kind of woman who goes all in — adventurous, curious about life, and committed to your personal growth. You care about your well-being, love nature, and you’re not afraid to step out of your comfort zone when you know it’s time for change.
But lately, even with a “good” life, something inside feels off…The things that used to feel right no longer feel the same.
You open your laptop on Monday morning and think: “I can’t keep doing this… ". You don’t hate your job, but it doesn’t light you up like it used to.
Maybe you’ve been lying awake at night, exhausted but unable to switch off, replaying the same decisions over and over — whether to stay in that job, leave a relationship you’ve outgrown, move to a new city, or finally say the thing you’ve been holding back for months.
Or you are starting to notice you’ve been saying ‘yes’ to dinners, work projects, favors… and then regret it the moment you get home, wondering why you agreed in the first place.
You know you need rest but you keep pushing through, and there's barely space in your agenda to just be with yourself.
You feel the pull for something more in your life - a slower pace, more time for yourself - but you keep postponing it. And you wonder…“Am I wasting time building the wrong life?”
You’re changing on the inside, and your outer world hasn’t caught up yet. And that gap, between who you’re becoming and how you’re living, is what feels uncomfortable and makes you question "Why isn't this enough anymore?"
There is nothing wrong with you. You’re simply outgrowing what once fit.
The Breakthrough Retreat is the space where you pause to hear yourself clearly again. A space where you step out of your routine, the constant noise, the expectations…and finally get honest with yourself about:
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What you actually want (not what looks good, makes sense, or keeps everyone else comfortable)
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The patterns that keep you overthinking, overcommitting, and disconnecting from yourself
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And what your body has been trying to tell you for months, but you’ve been too busy to listen
And instead of trying to “figure it out” in your head, you learn how to listen to the signals of your body, how to recognize your intuition, and make decisions from a place of self-trust, so you can fall in love with your life again.
You'll end this week more clear and honest about what you want, and more confident in the woman you are becoming.
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This is not just mindset work...
You’ve probably already tried to “figure things out” in your head. Journaling, meditation, long conversations with friends, maybe even therapy.
And while awareness is valuable, it doesn’t always create change. You’ve had moments where you knew exactly what to do, and still didn’t do it...
Change doesn’t happen when you’re thinking about your life.
It happens when you feel safe to pause and notice how you feel instead of automatically saying yes.
When choosing yourself doesn’t feel uncomfortable or selfish anymore.
That’s why this retreat is built around embodiment.
You move, breathe, get out of your head and listen to your body.
You step out of your comfort zone in a way that feels alive, not overwhelming.
You surf.
You explore.
You laugh.
You share stories.
You feel joyful again.
And in those moments, when you’re fully there, and not overthinking or analysing, clarity comes naturally.
The most aligned decisions aren’t made in stress or pressure. They come when you feel joyful, open, and fully connected to yourself. And from that place, the decisions that once felt confusing start to feel obvious.
This isn’t about forcing change. It’s about becoming the version of you who naturally chooses what’s right for her.
This retreat is for you if...
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You’ve had a tab open on your laptop for weeks with job listings...You scroll, save a few, imagine a different routine for a moment...then close it and tell yourself “I’ll look properly tomorrow.”
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You say yes to things out of obligation, and spend the rest of the day wishing you had said no.
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Your days are full, from morning to evening, with work, responsibilities, errands to take care of, and there’s barely a moment where you’re just with yourself, with nothing to do.
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It’s 9pm, your phone rings,a friend needs your help for the next day…you hesitate for a second, knowing you’re agenda is already stretched, and still hear yourself say: “yeah, let me see what I can do.”
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You go for a walk, a yoga class, or even sit down to journal, but it feels like another item on your endless to-do list of “things to be balanced.”
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Something in your life has shifted over the past months, and you haven’t really stopped to process what that means.
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You feel a pull for something different — a slower pace, more time for yourself — but every time you get close to it, you hesitate.
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You process things in your head, journal about it, talk it through…but still feel like you’re going in circles.
You don’t need more information.
You need space, away from your routine, your environment, and everyone else’s expectations, so you can have the clarity on how you want to live your life, and how you want to show up for yourself in this next chapter of your life.
Schedule
Day 1
4:30pm: Arrival
5:30pm: Opening Cerimony & Intention setting
7:30pm: Dinner
Day 2
8am: Grounding Yoga Flow
9:30am: Breakfast
11am: Workshop "Rooted in your Why"
1pm: Free time
6pm: Somatic movement + Embodiment meditation
7:30pm: Dinner
Day 3
8am: Vinyasa Yoga
9:30am: Breakfast
11am: Visit to natural landscape
12 pm: Surf lesson
(the surf schedule can change due to ocean tides)
2pm: Free Time
6pm: Restorative Yoga
7:30pm: Dinner
Day 4
8am: Vinyasa Yoga
9:30am: Breakfast
11am: Workshop "Patterns in motion"
1pm: Free time to visit the Island, rest or do a massage
7:30pm: Dinner
Day 5
7:30am: Somatic Yoga
8:30am: Breakfast
10 am: Coasteering experience
1 pm: Free time to go to the beach, rest or do a massage
6pm: Meditation + Somatic movement
7:30pm Dinner & gathering around the fire pit
Day 6
8:00 am: Ending Cerimony
9:30 am: Breakfast
11:30 am: Check out
Nothing in this schedule is mandatory, everything is an invitation. This is your week, your time, your body. Come with an open heart and open mind, but also know that this is a space that you can step in fully only if it's feels good for you.
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Where?
I didn’t choose the Azores by chance.
I was born and raised here, in the heart of the Atlantic, where nature and a slower pace of life invite you to just be.
This retreat takes place in a peaceful venue surrounded by green valleys, volcanos and ocean view. It’s the perfect setting to slow down, turn inward, and create space for your own breakthroughs.
We will surf in the Atlantic, hike along the cliffs, and visit some of the most breathtaking spots on the island. Every activity becomes a living expression of your inner work.
You’ll also taste delicious local food, feel the Azorean hospitality, and experience this island as a welcomed guest.
So come with me. Let the beauty of the Azores shake things up, and remind you who you are becoming.
After all, this isn’t just a vacation, it's a breakthrough.
Your home for 6 days and 5 nights is Quinta Morazes, an antique vineyard property, located in Rabo de Peixe, on São Miguel Island.
Surrounded by several hectares of lush green space, the property invites you to slow down and reconnect. You can walk through the gardens, pick fresh fruit straight from the trees, or visit the greenhouse. Around the property, you’ll also find plenty of quiet corners to soak up the sun, read, or journal in peace.
The stunning wooden yoga shala provides an inspiring space for our daily practices.
Quinta Morazes offer us three spacious apartments, each fully equipped with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and private terrace for your comfort. Rooms can be shared between two people (single beds) or reserved as a private room (double bed).
Facilities include:
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Free Wi-Fi
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Towels
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Hair dryer
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Safe
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Shampoo & Soap
Where will you stay?
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Meet your host
Hi!
My name is Catarina, I’m 36 years old, and I’m from the Azores, Portugal.
For about 10 years, I worked in Nutrition and build a successful career as a Team Manager. I had a stable job, a good salary, and a life that, from the outside, looked “right.” But inside, I felt like I was living someone else’s idea of what my life should be.
When I discovered surf at the age of 26, it changed everything for me. It reconnected me with a sense of freedom, presence, and joy that I hadn’t felt in a long time. That’s also what led me to yoga. And at first, yoga was something I did for flexibility and to support my surfing, but over time, it became the practice that helped me reconnect with myself on a deeper level.
Through yoga, I started asking myself harder questions:
"What do I actually want for my life? What am I afraid of? What am I holding onto that’s keeping me stuck?" - I started to go through a process of inner change, and my outer world wasn't yet reflecting that.
And so, through that process I found the clarity and courage to leave a long-term relationship, quit my corporate job in 2021, and fully commit to building a life that felt true to me, working as a yoga teacher and surf instructor.
This past year, my personal journey went even deeper. I became aware of patterns and limiting beliefs I didn’t even realize were holding me back. I learned how much the way we think influences the way we show up in life. Doing this inner work gave me some of the biggest breakthroughs I’ve ever experienced.
And that’s why I created this retreat. Because I know what it’s like to feel stuck in routines that don’t inspire you anymore, to stay in situations out of fear or comfort, and to question whether you’re meant for something more. And I also know how powerful it is to get clear on what you want, face what’s been holding you back, and take action from a place of self-trust.
This retreat brings together the tools that changed my life — yoga, somatics, mindset work, and adventure — so you can reconnect with yourself, find clarity, and create the kind of shifts that actually last.