This is a seasonal journey in which we re-embrace grief as a part of life and not an isolated episode. For six months, we create a nurturing and restorative space around our processes of loss, transition, and metamorphosis, acknowledging all their layers:

• human loss through death or separation;

• the disruptions we experience during our personal transformations;

• communal grief for what crosses and hurts us collectively;

• ecological grief for the death of living nature that we witness daily.

We begin at Winter Solstice and continue until mature May, in monthly anchor encounters where we can breathe, be in sensitive presence, active listening and with an alive connection with what is falling apart.

What is this journey?

What is the proposal?

We re-embrace grief as profound cyclical and relational wisdom through meditative practice, somatic movement, eco-mythological belonging, and artistic creation.

In a practical and immersive invitation, we embrace life with open arms in its varied dimensions and facets, consciously addressing the processes of grief, understanding that they are already part of the journey and that we coexist with them.

We re-embrace the fertile darkness, returning the mysteries of decomposition, composting and fermentation to our personal and communal metamorphoses. We choose to remain here, too, in the fissures of what collapses. We sit with grief, relearning to walk with it as a porous connection to life and a force for renewal, insurgency, regeneration, and the possibility of creating new worlds, remembering that love and grief are always intertwined.

In a reflective group where we unite internal and external landscapes, we decided not to camouflage or hide parts of life and death just because they are difficult to deal with or overcome.

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Why a Grief Course?

We see this course as a river to which we want to restore flow and containment so that it can be a life force.

We lost the social rituals that guide our emotions and we want to find new ways. In each encounter, we are going to restore grief to its language, giving it a body, slow pace, space to be felt, conscious embrace, and creative expression, reliving this side of life together.

Because loss needs to be embraced with love, given a place in the landscape and in our communities. That's why we come back together, in the warm of a group, where any and all disruption will take place, because we are not meant to experience our grieving processes alone.

We return to ourselves a space-time of remembrance, sharing and creation so that we can explore the deep and sometimes stagnant waters of life, with support, guidance, and care at every step of the journey.

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6 in-person encounters, 1 Saturday per month, from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm

1 weekly online live encounter via Zoom, lasting 60 minutes

Meditation and Inquiry

Somatic Movement

Conscious breath

Ritual Art

Eco-Mythology

Ancestral Herbalism

Transformative Learning

Deep Education

Creative Improvisation

Active Hope

Multidisciplinary practices

Modules

I Life-death-life cyclicity

II Own mortality

III Grief-creativity intertwining

IV Meditation and loss

V Integration and artistic expression of grief

VI Mourning in movement

VII Philosophy of consolation

VIII Ancestral eco-mythological altar

IX Ritualization of grief

X Sacralization of life

What is the invitation?

~ Embracing death as an integral part of life

~ Returning to grief as a collective and communal journey

~ Embracing processes of loss and grief with awareness and creativity

~ Recovering silenced capacities and internal resources that support maturation and the journey through grief

~ Including grief support in your individual, therapeutic, educational, and community practices

~ Dreaming new worlds, sitting with what collapses

We have a place for you if you're looking for

To tend to the paths of death is to cultivate life force.

Workload

60 hours

42 hours in person + 20 hours online

6 Saturdays in person

from 10:00 am to 17:00 pm

1 meeting per week online

60 minutes live via Zoom

recording sent later

Dates

October 31

November 28

December 19

January 30

February 27

March 20

Location

Meditation House Porto

Practices and online support group

Certificate of completion

One 1:1 online mentoring session after the course

Travel

Overnight accommodation

Lunch (available kitchen with fridge, microwave, stove and oven)

Number of People

Minimum 6 Participants

Maximum 12 Participants

How will it work in practice?

Included

Not Included

Teachers

Together, they co-created Meditation House Porto and Ursa Parda, offering a way to inhabit the fissures where modernity is collapsing and to cultivate new, deeply ecological possibilities.

Inês de Araújo e SIlva

Eco-somatic educator, dance and voice teacher, and independent researcher in artistic communication and bioregional land-based practices.

A passionate creator of educational, therapeutic, and community projects focused on returning to ancient wisdom regarding deep, ritualistic, artistic, and medicinal relationships with the cosmology of the land—viewing this as a form of collective resilience and a way to imagine new modes of inhabiting the body and the earth amidst a modern culture of political, social, and cultural polycrises.

She guides this journey of embracing grief as deep ecology—a fertile space and a fruitful flow to be returned to the river of life.

Nuno Miguel Teixeira

An integrative meditation teacher specializing in breathwork and the holding of psycho-emotional landscapes.

For 15 years, he has explored the intersections of meditation, nervous system co-regulation, and ways of inhabiting the body, places, and relationships within modern societies. He facilitates practice groups, meditation teacher training, and circles dedicated to a sensitive, creative masculine presence. He created this journey—which holds space for individual, communal, and ecological grief—as an urgent collective endeavor, aiming to reclaim small rituals and foster compassionate witnessing during our life transitions.

Márcia Pereira

The "Grief" course was much more than just training: it was comfort, love, and connection. With Nuno, Inês, and such special friends, I felt truly welcomed. In a safe and profoundly human environment, I learned, cried, grew, and rediscovered parts of myself that had been forgotten. I carry each one of you in my heart. ♥️

Marisa da Silva Mestre

Until I was 28, I had no idea what grieving for myself might entail. Up to age 34, there hadn't been many impactful deaths in my life, nor funerals I had to attend. What kind of grieving have I been doing? What kind of grief do I want to prepare for? These were the questions that arose when I came across O Curso do Luto (The Grief Course). I knew I had to go; I knew I needed to explore various facets of myself—who I am and who I used to be—as well as aspects relating to others, such as knowing how to listen and simply be present. I can share that this course gave me a new perspective on myself, on the potential that emerges when we let go of what no longer serves us, and on the patience required for the process itself. The connection with the community and with nature develops organically, without force, and we are naturally supported by Nuno and Inês through exercises that prove to be both liberating and integrative. I am grateful for this process and for this cycle of learning.

Memoirs

Fátima Caridade

The affection, the support, the anchors that the group, Inês and Nuno, provided, are immeasurable to me. They were support and encouragement during difficult times I went through, and all the human warmth helped lessen the pain of a loss I suffered, a loss I thought I was strong enough to face until then. I fell and rose again with all the love and strength of this group that I will never forget 🙏💟

Susana Silva

The Grief Course was a liberating experience for me. It needed to step out of my cocoon and gave me a unique opportunity to undergo profound experiences that awakened latent feelings tucked away in the recesses of my being. I felt free to lay my soul bare, thanks to the presence, welcoming spirit, and loving-kindness of our dear mentors, Nuno and Inês; with great grace, they fostered a harmonious and authentic atmosphere within the group.

I want to join: The Grief Course

Application

Fill out the form.

Send us a brief text outlining your motivations for participating, as well as your experience with meditation and body-based practices.

We will get in touch as soon as possible to let you know if your application has been approved.

Once approved, you must finalize your participation by making the payment and sending proof of payment.

Payment in installments is available.

We look forward to learning about your intentions and background!

Frequently Asked Questions

What language will the course be taught in?

The course will be taught in Portuguese, English, or bilingually, depending on the participants.

What is the teaching methodology?

It's a practical, experiential course in which we share our sensitive, intimate, subjective, and collective experiences to re-create a welcoming space for what we've lost, what we've gone through, and what transforms within us and around us. We will work together on resources to embrace our transformational life processes and nervous system regulation during them through the practice of meditation, somatic movement, art as a form of ritualization and connection to places, living nature, and world stories as ancient keys that restore our deep understanding of life.

Are you considering taking this course online?

No. It's a face-to-face course in a safe and intimate group setting. There are weekly online meetings via Zoom so we can practice supporting our grieving processes together, from our homes.

Is this training certified by DGERT or another entity?

No. At the end, a certificate of participation will be provided as a personal symbol of course completion.

How much time do I need to dedicate to homework?

There is no homework.
All creative proposals are included in the course schedule.

What if I can't complete the entire program?

Ideally, you should consider the required level of commitment. Participating in all modules and completing the course is essential. The in-person portion of the course is experiential, and the practical exercises are unique.

Are we better prepared to support people through grief processes?

Yes. These practices are exceptionally supportive for people already working in therapy, education, and others-supportive professions, as well as for anyone who wants to develop a sustained relationship with loss, the transitions, and transformations we experience throughout life, individually and collectively.

How can I benefit from the Student or the Recycle price?

The Student price is for people who have already participated in a paid event or activity at Meditation House Porto. The Recycle price is for all participants from previous editions of this same course or journey who wish to continue working with a new group.

What if I want to drop out of the course?

We do not refund the money invested. Each case is evaluated individually.

(Un)learning, imagination, listening, presence.

WhatsApp +351 927 090 747
meditationhouseporto@gmail.com