Reviving the Self · A New Beginning
Four nights in Siwa Oasis at the turn of the year, to help you find your way back to yourself.
About the Gathering
You may have said it to yourself: "I'm not broken, but something in me has gone dormant." People who work hard, deliver and stay on their feet say it, then notice that their drive and their appetite for life have dimmed.
Reviving the Self is one of the Ihya retreats. Four nights in Siwa Oasis, among palms, water and desert. We walk, move, keep quiet and sit together, and we notice where we stand with ourselves. Our intention is to put you back in touch with yourself.
It happens as one year gives way to the next. We close the old one quietly, with all the loops we kept going round in, and step into the new one with a clearer picture of the self we want to be.
It is a chance to grow past what we thought we knew about ourselves. The group may bring together people from several countries and languages, so we hear how each person sees things, how much we have in common, and what each of us can give the others. Balance comes more easily in good company, and so does picturing a better tomorrow.
We speak Arabic and English as the group needs, and move to whichever is easier for whoever is speaking. Come as you are.
Who is in the room
- People who keep running and can't remember the last time they sat down with themselves.
- Anyone who wants to end the year with quiet and meaning, not noise that blows past.
- Coaches who have listened to people all year and would like someone to listen to them.
- Leaders who carry everyone else's decisions and long to hear their own.
I needed something and could not say what. When I heard the name and saw it, I felt this was it.
We set the direction
We begin with one question: why did you come, and what do you want to take home? The direction is clear before the first step.
We explore
Who are you now, in your own estimate? And what does your body say about you in fact? Somatic Thinking starts from sensation before thought, and takes the body's sensory signals as its guide. We practice it among the palms and by the lake, not in a conference room.
We shape
We do practices that reveal, to help us choose and shape the self we want to be. Then we listen to what we found and share it in a small circle, where everyone listens to everyone.
We make it stick
Practices help what we shaped settle, so it shows in how we act without effort. Then we go home, each carrying what we learned about ourselves and our lives.
What should I bring?
You don't need any special fitness or experience. Expect to walk an hour or two a day, mostly on flat ground. We drive to the dunes and walk on them for a short while. December nights in Siwa are cold and the days mild, so bring warm layers for the evening, comfortable walking shoes and something to cover your head from the sun. Bring a notebook. Leave the plan for the year at home. We live the days at a quiet pace: we wake with the light, walk slowly, take our time over meals and keep the evening for the circle.
The Journey
How do the days go?
Tuesday 29 December
Setting the direction
- Why did you come?We meet in Cairo at nine in the morning and set off together by coach, heading west. The long road through the desert is where the retreat begins. We reach the oasis just before sunset, drop our bags and sit by the water for what is left of the light. Then the circle meets for the first time, around one question: why did you come?
Wednesday 30 December
Exploring
- Who are you now, in your own estimate, and what does your body say about you in fact?The morning starts with slow movement and quiet breathing, then we walk among the palms and water channels before the sun climbs. After breakfast comes our first Somatic Thinking session, around one question: where are we with ourselves this year? The afternoon is for rest or writing. In the evening the circle gathers what the day opened.
Thursday 31 December
Shaping
- Shaping the self you wantFrom the moment we wake, we begin with slow movement and quiet breathing. Then come practices that reveal, to help us choose and shape the self we would like to be. We sit, listen to what we found, share it and have breakfast. It is the last night of the year, and we spend it in the circle. We look back over the year that is ending, including what we no longer want in ourselves. We let the new year arrive in its own time, and look ahead to renewing ourselves with everything we would like to be.
Friday 1 January
Making it stick
Saturday 2 January
What we learned
- The road backA slow last morning, with two questions. How do I carry this home? What did I learn about myself and my life? Then we have breakfast together and board the coach to Cairo, each of us carrying what we carry. The conversation goes on until we arrive, God willing.
Who will you meet?
Samer Hassan
MCCFounder of Somatic Thinking, and leader of every Ihya retreat
Samer leads every Ihya retreat himself. In Siwa, advanced Kun coaches are with him to support the group. He walks with you, sits with you and keeps silent with you, and he asks a question when it is time for one. Halima (translated), back from Fayoum: "With Coach Samer's help, I got to places I never thought I'd get to, and some corridors that were dark lit up." His full profile is on his page.
View full profile
When you feel you have lost yourself, that is where your reviving begins.
The Venue
Siwa Oasis
A small eco lodge on a lakeshore in Siwa Oasis. Rooms of clay and wood, a garden and courtyard, a low, floor-level sitting room, a pool that faces the water, and palms that run to the edge of the desert. We travel there together from Cairo and arrive together.
- Breakfast, an early dinner and light snacks
- Rooms for two
- Courtyard and sitting room for the circle
- Pool and garden
- A place to pray
- Internet over the mobile network
The oasis from a sand dune: the lake, the palms and two brick domes at the water's edge.
The lake at dusk, the swing on its shore.
The courtyard and low sitting area where the circle sits.
A room of mud and wood whose three windows look onto the lake.
A canvas chalet on the sand at the water's edge in low, warm light.
The small pool faces the water, with reeds along the shore.
A house of mud and wood, the pergola's shadow across its wall.
A simple sleeping corner: a woven tree on the wall, an embroidered border on the duvet.
A tea corner in a room of mud and wood, light coming in through the green door.
Room details: a raw-wood mirror and open shelves.
A dome house at dusk, a sand path leading to its steps.
A carved chest by the window, a bed with an embroidered duvet, and sand outside.
The lake from the room's window, low light across the rug.
A reed and pine headboard under a lit wall lamp.
Two beds with reed headboards under a wooden ceiling.
A reed and wood wardrobe, with a macrame curtain at the doorway.
Warm light from the reed lamp on a mud wall, a macrame tree beside it.
A dome house by day, bougainvillea at its steps.
Soft light from two lamps, shadows stretching across the wall.
A room with a stair to an upper level, the lake showing in the window.
Breakfast at a round table, the palms outside the window.
A breakfast laid at one round table, the dishes in the middle.
A round mud building among the trees, the lake beyond them.
The lake
A few steps from the rooms, where the silence starts and the day ends.
The palms and water channels
Our walking paths in the morning.
The dunes
The late afternoon outing on day four, with the sunset.
Secure Your Place
Up to 15 participants
Investment
What's included
- Four nights, two to a room. A single room is available for an extra charge, subject to availability.
- Breakfast and an early dinner every day, with snacks and drinks throughout the stay.
- Private coach from Cairo to Siwa and back.
- Every session, practice and circle in the program.
- The dune outing at sunset.
- Samer and his team with you from the Cairo meeting to the return.
Not included
- Your travel to Cairo.
- Anything not named in the program.
Pay by Visa, Mastercard or Apple Pay; you receive an invoice after payment, and you can reserve with a 15% deposit and pay the balance by 29 November 2026.
Before you book
- What language is it in?
- Arabic and English together, as the group needs. Samer moves between them.
- Is there a prayer space and halal food?
- All food is halal. Breakfast and an early dinner are served at the lodge, with snacks in between. There is a place to pray, and the nights are quiet.
- What if my plans change?
- A 15% deposit holds your place, and the balance is due no later than one month before the start, by 29 November 2026. If we cancel the retreat, everything you paid comes back to you.
- Is it recorded?
- We do not record the sessions, and what is said in the circle stays in the circle. Nobody has to speak. Listening is taking part.
- Who should wait, or talk to us first
- Anyone going through an acute psychological crisis or in treatment: this is an educational awareness experience, with no diagnosis and no treatment. Halima, after Fayoum (translated): "There has to be some emotion in it, some feeling, and some pain, in a way. But after that, the light comes." Experiences differ from one person to the next.
- How do I get there?
- We meet at a single point in Cairo, shared with registered guests, at nine in the morning on Tuesday 29 December. The road to Siwa takes about eight hours with breaks. We are back in Cairo on the evening of Saturday 2 January, so please don't book onward travel from Cairo that day. If you are flying in from abroad, arrive in Cairo on 28 December and stay the night at your own cost, and don't book your departure before 3 January. Internet at the lodge runs over the mobile network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Neither. It is an educational experience built on Somatic Thinking, somewhere quiet enough to hear what is going on inside you: walking, silence, and an evening circle where we say what we noticed. Yasmin (translated), after Fayoum: "Ihya isn't about knowing things or applying some science. It's about being present with what's inside."
No. You can start here.
Many people do. The circle has room for you.
No. We spend the night in the circle, quietly, looking back over the year that is ending.
No, and the lodge has internet over the mobile network. The retreat invites you to put your phone down for most of the time.
No. Listening is taking part. Speak when you want to.
Both, as the group needs. Samer moves between them.
Four nights in Siwa Oasis at the turn of the year, to help you find your way back to yourself.
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