ABODE OF JOY
Mallorca, Spain | 17–21 May 2027
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A 5-day retreat for women who are tired of chasing happiness and are ready to find more joy in the life they're already living.
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned to treat happiness as a destination.
We'll be happy when we get the job.
When we find the right person.
When we get married, have children, earn more money, buy the house, move closer to the beach, or finally feel comfortable in our own skin.
So we work towards those things. We make plans, set goals, improve ourselves, and try to build a life that will make us happy.
And there's nothing wrong with wanting those things. There's nothing wrong with ambition, growth, or dreaming of a different future.
The problem begins when we make our happiness conditional on getting there.
Because the job arrives, and we find something else to worry about.
We meet the person, and suddenly we're worrying about the next stage of the relationship.
We buy the clothes, reach the goal, book the holiday, or finally get the body we've been working towards — and the feeling of satisfaction fades far sooner than we expected.
Before long, we're chasing the next thing.
And without even realising it, we spend our lives living in the gap between what we have and what we think we need. We've become so accustomed to chasing more that we've forgotten how to enjoy what is.
 Abode of Joy is an invitation to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and rediscover the joy that's been there all along — hidden beneath the noise, the endless doing, and the belief that your life needs to look different before you can truly enjoy it.
Why you're feeling discontent with life...
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You wake up and reach for your phone before you've even properly opened your eyes. You scroll through other people's lives, absorb a hundred different opinions, and start your day feeling behind before you've even got out of bed.
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You move from one task to another. You squeeze in a workout, answer emails, take care of responsibilities, and try to stay on top of everything. When you finally have a moment to yourself, you fill it with a podcast, a video, a bit of online shopping, or another task that makes you feel like you're doing something useful.
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You're constantly thinking about what needs fixing, improving, or changing — your body, your career, your home, your relationship — and rarely feel like anything is quite enough.
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You look forward to the weekend all week, only to spend it thinking about Monday, your to-do list, or everything you didn't get done.
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You catch yourself complaining about the little things, focusing on what's wrong, or comparing your life to someone else's, even when you know there's plenty to appreciate.
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You buy the clothes, book the holiday, reach the goal, or tick another thing off your list, enjoy it for a moment, and then move straight on to wanting something else.
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You struggle to be fully present with the people you love because part of your mind is always somewhere else.You're thinking about the conversation you had yesterday, the work you haven't finished, the thing you need to organise, or the person you wish would behave differently.
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You know you have a lot to be grateful for, yet sometimes feel restless, bored, or unfulfilled — and then feel guilty for feeling that way.
We've become so used to stimulation that silence can feel uncomfortable. So used to productivity that rest can feel undeserved. So used to looking for what's missing that we overlook what's right in front of us.Â
This isn't because you're ungrateful.
And it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you.
It's what happens when your attention is constantly pulled away from the present moment, and your mind learns to believe that fulfilment is always somewhere else.
You've spent so much time trying to build a life that will make you happy that you haven't realised how much of your happiness you've been postponing.
What if you don't need more things to be happy? What if you need to rediscover how to experience what you already have?
From Chasing Joy, To Living It...
Imagine returning home from these five days with a different relationship to your everyday life.
Not because all your problems have disappeared, or because you've suddenly become a woman who is happy every minute of every day.
But because you have begun to realise that joy doesn't have to wait until everything is perfect.
Imagine being able to…
✨ Enjoy a quiet moment without feeling the need to fill it.
You finish your morning coffee and sit for a little longer, watching the light move across the room. You go for a walk without needing to listen to anything. You spend an afternoon doing absolutely nothing productive, and instead of feeling restless or guilty, you begin to enjoy the freedom of having nowhere to be.
✨ Put your phone down because you're enjoying your life, not because you've forced yourself to follow a digital detox.
You stop reaching for your phone every time there's a spare minute, an uncomfortable feeling, or a moment of boredom. You're more interested in the conversation you're having, the food you're eating, or the world around you than in what might be happening somewhere else.
✨ Notice what's good without needing to convince yourself that everything is good.
You still have difficult days. Work can still be frustrating. People can still disappoint you. But those things no longer have to overshadow everything else. You become more able to notice the beautiful moments alongside the difficult ones, rather than letting what's wrong become the whole story.
✨ Enjoy the people you love without being somewhere else in your head.
You're listening rather than waiting for your turn to speak. You're laughing, connecting, and sharing moments without constantly thinking about what you need to do afterwards. You're able to be with the people you love without feeling that you should be doing something else.
✨ Stop treating yourself like a project that is never finished.
You can still want to grow, move your body, learn new things, and pursue meaningful goals. But you begin to recognise the difference between doing those things because they bring you joy and doing them because you believe you're not enough without them.
You can enjoy who you are today while still becoming who you want to be.
✨ Find more pleasure in the ordinary moments that make up your life.
The first sip of coffee in the morning. Fresh sheets at the end of a long day. The taste of a meal made with care. A spontaneous conversation. Music playing while you cook. The feeling of your body moving freely. The warmth of the sun on your face.
Not because these moments are extraordinary, but because you are actually there to experience them.
 This is why I created Abode of Joy.
The word abode means a home, a place to live.
And while we spend so much of our lives searching for the places, people, achievements, and circumstances we believe will finally make us happy, the invitation of this retreat is to discover a different kind of home.
One you can return to wherever you are.
Your body. Your senses. Your capacity to be present with what's here, rather than constantly reaching for what's next.
Through movement, breath, mindfulness, time in nature, creative exploration, and the space to simply be, we'll explore how to quiet the noise long enough to reconnect with that part of you.
The part that can feel joy without needing a reason.
That can experience pleasure without having to earn it.
That can appreciate what's here without pretending you don't want anything to change.
Because the goal isn't to leave Mallorca and never have any ambition or try to suppress uncomfortable emotions.
It's to stop making your happiness dependent on a life that hasn't happened yet — and start experiencing more of the life that's happening now.
A place that reminds you what it feels like to simply be.
From Palma de Mallorca Airport you'll drive for an hour and a half through the Tramuntana Mountains (UNESCO heritage) before arriving in a quiet valley by the sea.
A beautiful 1700s stone house nestled in 38 hectares of land stretching from the shoreline into the mountains. Centuries-old olive groves, citrus gardens, organic produce growing on the land, and a private path leading to the beach just five minutes away.
No neighbours nearby. No busy streets. Just mountains, sea, ancient trees, and a kind of quiet that makes you exhale without even realising you were holding your breath.
Every cell in my body gave me a big, fat YES.
After three years of dreaming about this, I'd finally found the place I'd been looking for.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realised how perfectly it captured the essence of this retreat.
A place where you don't need to be entertained every minute. Where you can walk through the olive groves, swim in the sea, linger over a meal, make something with your hands, or sit in the sunshine with absolutely nothing on your agenda.
A place that gives you the space to notice what you've been rushing past.
Because sometimes, you don't need to add more to your life.
You need to experience what's already there.
Welcome to Abode of Joy.
THE EXPERIENCE
Over five days, we'll explore what happens when you step away from the noise, slow down, and rediscover the pleasure of simply being alive.
Through movement, time in nature, meaningful connection and creative expression, each experience is designed to bring you back to yourself — and to the joy that can be found in the simplest moments.
Yoga -Â Move from your head back into your body.
Through mindful movement, breath and moments of stillness, we'll create space to slow down and reconnect with the sensations of being alive. Rather than treating movement as another thing to perfect, we'll use it as an opportunity to listen to your body, release tension and experience the pleasure of moving simply because it feels good.
Pilates -Â Build strength while learning to listen to yourself.
Our Pilates practices invite you to connect with your body through intentional, mindful movement. Instead of approaching exercise as another way to fix or improve yourself, we'll honour your body by moving with care and awareness and build a deep connection with yourself.
Restorative Yoga -Â Discover the freedom of doing nothing.
When you're used to filling every moment with something productive, slowing down can feel surprisingly uncomfortable. Through supported postures, gentle breathing and deep rest, we'll give your body and mind permission to soften, without needing to achieve anything in return. An opportunity to experience rest as something to enjoy, not something you have to earn.
Hiking in the Tramuntana Mountains -Â Let nature bring you back to the present.
We'll leave the noise behind and explore the surrounding landscape on foot. With the mountains, the fresh air and the beauty of the natural world around us, we'll have space to move at a different pace, notice what's right in front of us, and remember that not every experience needs to be productive to be meaningful.
The Art of Being -Â Move, express and create without needing to get it right.
Through intuitive movement, somatic practices, voice exploration, partner dancing, eye gazing and intuitive water-colour painting inspired by elements we gather in nature, we'll explore different ways of connecting with ourselves and others.
Rather than following choreography, finding the right words or creating something beautiful, this is an invitation to follow your curiosity, express yourself freely and rediscover the pleasure of creating simply for the experience itself.
No dance experience or artistic skills needed. Just a willingness to explore.
 Time to Simply Be - Because joy doesn't need to be scheduled.
Between our guided practices and shared experiences, there will be space to swim, read, wander through the olive groves, rest in the sunshine or do absolutely nothing at all. You don't need to fill every gap. You don't need to make every moment count.
Sometimes, the most meaningful thing you can do is give yourself the space to notice that this moment is already worth being in.
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Daily Schedule
DAY 1
 4pm/Group Pick Up At Palma Airport (if you don't join this timetable you'll have to organise your own transport)
 6pm/Welcome Circle
 7pm/DinnerÂ
DAY 2
8am/Yoga Flow
10am/Brunch
12pm/Coastal Hike (bring good walking shoes)
4pm/Restorative Yoga
6pm/Dinner
DAY 3
8am/Pilates Flow
10am/Brunch
12pm/Beach Hang Out, Swim & Picnic
4pm/The Art of Being - Body Expression & Creative Painting Workshop
6pm/Dinner at a Local Restaurant with Sea View
DAY 4
8am/Yoga Flow
10am/Brunch
11am/Pick up by boat to Port SollerÂ
4pm/Restorative Yoga + Closing Circle
6pm/Dinner
DAY 5
8.30am/Pilates Flow
9am/Brunch
10.30am/Check Out - Group Drop off At Palma Airport (if you don't join in this timetable you'll have to organise your own transport)
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Meet Your Host
Hi, I'm Karol De Souza, a movement and mindfulness teacher, retreat host, and a woman who has spent much of her life learning how to move from the need to control everything to learning how to trust myself and trust life a little more everyday.
My relationship with movement began long before I became a yoga teacher. I spent eight years of my childhood and teen years as a professional dancer, and in 2004, when I was 16, I discovered yoga. It became a practice I would return to throughout my life, eventually leading me to India in 2017 to complete my first teacher training.
But it was my late twenties, when I experienced the chaos of an anxiety disorder, that changed the way I understood the mind, the body, and what it means to feel well. It led me deeper into yoga, breathwork, mindfulness, and personal development — searching for ways to understand myself and find a different relationship with my thoughts, emotions, and life.
Over the years, one lesson kept returning: the more we try to control everything around us, the harder it can become to trust ourselves and enjoy the life we're living.
And then I became a mother.
When my son Leon was born in March 2025, my world changed in ways I couldn't have prepared for. Alongside the beautiful moments came the demands of caring for a little human, navigating a changing body, running my own business, and trying to hold all the different pieces of my life together.
I know what it's like to have a full day, a full mind, and a long list of things that need your attention. To get caught up in everything that needs to be done and realise you've barely stopped to experience the day itself.
And it reminded me of something I believe we all need to practise: learning to let go of the need to control every outcome, trusting ourselves a little more, and allowing life to be experienced rather than constantly managed.
This is also the foundation of my work with women through movement and my retreats. I create spaces where we can step away from the expectations, the noise, and the endless pressure to improve ourselves — and reconnect with the part of us that already knows how to feel, move, play, rest, and enjoy being alive.
Abode of Joy was born from this intention.
Not to teach you how to be happy all the time, or to convince you that your life is perfect as it is. But to help you rediscover the joy that can exist alongside the messiness of being human.
Because I don't believe we need to have everything figured out before we can enjoy our lives.
Sometimes, we need to stop trying so hard, come back to ourselves, and remember that we're already here.
Price & Booking Information
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How do I confirm my booking?
Your spot will be confirmed upon €550 deposit (click Book This Room below) and the remaining is to be settled 45 days before arrival.Â
Please note your deposit is non refundable.​
*please read our terms and conditions here
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Prices
Twin Shared Room + Shared Bathroom, Mountain View: €1595
Twin Shared Room + Private Bathroom, Mountain View: €1695
Twin Shared Room + Private Bathroom, Ocean View: €1795
Private Room + Shared Bathroom, Mountain View: €2195
Book a Clarity Call
Still unsure if this retreat is the right fit for you? Book a free clarity call!​
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