The Art of Being
A Six-Day Immersion in Ease, Beauty, and Slow Living
1-6 June 2027 | Olhao, Portugal
Limited to 17 women
The Art of Being Retreat is an invitation to return to yourself in the most effortless way. Set in the sun-drenched fishing town of Olhão, Portugal—where life moves to the rhythm of the tides and time seems to soften, this retreat is a remembering. A remembering that your worth is not measured by how much you do, but by how fully you allow yourself to be. Cobblestone streets, salt-kissed air, golden light, and luxurious retreat center become the backdrop for six days of deep presence, embodied pleasure, and spaciousness you didn’t realize you were craving.
This retreat is so deeply needed because women have been taught to override their bodies, rush their intuition, and perform their lives rather than inhabit them. This retreat offers a different way—one rooted in nervous system regulation, feminine embodiment, and the sacred permission to slow down. Together, we will create magic through ritual, movement, rest, music, and meaningful connection. We will soften the edges, drop the masks, and allow what is true to rise gently to the surface. In these six days, you won’t be fixing or forcing anything, you’ll be listening, feeling, and allowing.
And from that place, clarity, creativity, and a quiet kind of power will naturally unfold.
I created The Art of Being because I see how tired women are, not just physically, but in their nervous systems, their hearts, and their souls. I see women who are deeply capable, intuitive, and powerful, yet have learned to live in a constant state of pushing, proving, and holding it all together.
Somewhere along the way, we were taught that rest must be earned, that slowing down is indulgent, and that our value is tied to how much we produce. This retreat was born from a different knowing, that ease is not a reward, it is a birthright.
I created this space for you to remember who you are when you are no longer performing your life. For five days in Olhão, you are held in rhythm with the land, the ocean, and a circle of women who are also choosing something softer and truer.
Here, you don’t have to arrive with answers or a plan, you simply have to arrive. Through presence, embodiment, rest, and connection, something subtle yet profound begins to shift. You leave not with a checklist, but with a regulated body, a clearer inner voice, and a deep trust in yourself. Because when a woman learns how to be, everything else flows from there.
Why I created this retreat for YOU!
this is for you if you…
want to unplug, get inspired, and have new experiences
are ready to experience real relaxation and inner peace
want to go on a vacation by yourself where every detail is planned for you so that you can fully surrender, be present and experience bliss
love to be in nature
are ready to learn crucial tools to accelerate your self-discovery journey, find clarity and exude peace
want to immerse yourself into the healing practices of meditation, yoga and mindfulness to up-level
want to experience growth-based practices with other like-minded women who are committed to create lasting, and transformative change.
want to work with a women’s empowerment coach, learn about your own unique human design and shift your unconscious patterns
are ready to detox your body and experience nourishing meals each day
love to travel and explore new countries
want to awaken your pure and shining essence and live your life unapologetically
are seeking an escape and need a place to be at peace and figure some things out
just want to disconnect from the world for a moment and focus only on YOU
want to learn more about Ayurvedic practices and how to take better care of your body
what I’ve Learned…
For years I have been going on retreats by myself for myself and each time I am so grateful I invested in my growth and made me a priority. I can truly say that I would not be where I am today if it had not been for all the retreats I attended. Each one opened me to another layer that needed to be peeled in order for me to become stronger, more resilient, courageous, loving and accepting.
If something within you desires this experience and you keep saying “someday I will make it”, nothing will change. You will just go another year wishing you had taken the leap of faith. Our someday is NOW and if your instincts are saying go, then take it as a sign that the universe is giving you a gentle nudge that this is exactly what you need in this moment in your life to accelerate you to the next level.
Mini Movie from Maria’s retreat in Vieques, Puerto Rico 20205
New to Maria’s Work?
This video gives you a glimpse at what it is like to retreat with Maria!
The Venue
Casa Fuzetta Retreat Center
Casa Fuzetta is an exceptional private home in the heart of the authentic fishing town of Olhão, in the unspoilt eastern Algarve. Casa Fuzetta is a breathtaking sanctuary where old-world charm meets effortless luxury. Named one of the Top 50 Places in the World You Must Practice Yoga Before You Die, this iconic retreat center has been celebrated by Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue, and Travel + Leisure, among many others, for its beauty, soul, and intentional design. Staying here feels like stepping into a scene from Emily in Paris (elegant, sun-drenched, and cinematic) while simultaneously being transported to a timeless seaside village in Greece. With its rooftop terraces, soft neutral textures, and views stretching over the town of Olhão, Casa Fuzetta doesn’t just hold the retreat, it becomes part of the magic, inviting you to slow down, soften, and fully inhabit the art of being.
THIS RETREAT INCLUDES
5 nights stay at Casa Fuzetta retreat center
Adventure, culture, quiet time, fun, relaxation, and play… all the things!
The retreat center is all ours! (if you know Maria, she picks spaces that are fabulous and that welcome relaxation so there is also access to massages which are not included in the price of the retreat but are there for you as options to add some extra precious ‘me’ time)
All farm-to-table meals
Single and Double sleeping options
(different price options apply)Daily FUN-ctional movement, yoga/ breath work, somatics and meditation
Daily powerful and transformational life-coaching workshops and feminine ceremonies that are always a highlight of retreat. Our days are filled with experiences and adventure!
A NEW ADDITION TO LONGER RETREATS: In-person time and private “hot-seat” life coaching sessions with Maria for all participants during retreat!
A complimentary 60-minute 1:1 integration call with Maria after retreat to be booked within 30 days post-retreat
24/7 chat space before and after retreat for support with all the other women attending the retreat
Pre-retreat Zoom call with Maria and all the other participants 2 weeks prior to coordinate meet-ups and meet each other!
Welcome swag bag
Discount on next retreat with Maria!
A free afternoon to go into town and explore or relax by the pool get some sun, and read a book.
And other AMAZING surprises!!
about maria
The Self-Love Coach, Maria Brito is a women’s empowerment coach and creatress of fabulous women’s wellness retreats all around the world. Lovingly called by her closest as Mama Maria, she is also known as a powerful guide and teacher who helps women transcend, transform and live their best lives. As a passionate ceremonialist of life, Maria’s focus is in assisting women in the journey to connect to what needs to be healed within to create space for what they want to manifest.
Maria reminds women that each phase/season of our lives is a rite of passage and should be honored and celebrated in the most sacred way. She believes that we all have the magnificence to provide healing to our own bodies. Through her programs and workshops, she provides different modalities that include Yoga, Breathwork, Meditation, Somatic movement as well as Ayurvedic practices. Through working with Maria, women take these tools to regain their inner power, transform their minds and bodies and literally become all they wanted to be.
Maria is also a certified RYT-500 yoga instructor, motivational speaker, and breathwork educator. She infuses her workshops with ancient practices and tools which assist her clients in dealing with anxiety, depression, and fear-based mentality. She is a certified trauma-release Breathwork practicioner. Her programs and retreats are infused with a high dose of self-love and have been described as life-changing, transformational, motivational, raw, and deep.
What an Art of Being Retreat Day May Look Like:
8am Yoga, Breathwork, and Meditation
9:30-11am Brunch and Break (get a massage, lounge by the pool, go on a walk in nature, have a treatment)
11-1:30pm Morning workshop
1:30-3pm Break and time for you!
3-5pm Afternoon workshop
5-6:30pm Break and time to get ready for dinner!
6:30-8pm Dinner
8:30-10pm Evening Circle
Memories of Maria’s retreats
The Rooms -
5 Night Stay
When a Friend
Signs Up
You Will Both
Get $200 Off!
DOUBLE ROOM OPTION with private bathroom
TWIN BEDS - $3755 per person
SINGLE ROOM OPTION with private bathroom
King Bed - $4455 (Only 3 Available)
You will receive a 60-minute BONUS COACHING CALL WITH MARIA before retreat
when you choose the pay-in-full option.
PAYMENT PLAN OPTIONS AVAILABLE and have a $300 fee that is added in the payments.
The sooner you sign up the smaller the payments
(if you need the payment plan option)
If paying in full, full payment is due by 1 October 2026 after deposit is placed to hold your spot. If choosing the payment plan you will have till 1 June 2027 to complete your payments.
the $500 deposit goes towards
the cost of retreat.
FREE COMPLIMENTARY DISCOVERY CALL WITH MARIA CAN BE BOOKED TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS SIMPLY EMAIL MARIA DIRECTLY AT AWAKENWITHMARIABRITO@GMAIL
Check in is at 4pm on Day One (1 June 2027)
and check out is at 11am
on Day Six (6 June 2027)
things to note:
- Passport is needed to enter Portugal and it must have an expiration date 6 months beyond last day of retreat
- Travel insurance highly recommended (Wanderwell is the company that Maria uses)
- Price of retreat does not include airfare + transportation to/from the site, spa services and tips for staff
- Faro airport (FAO) is only 15 minutes away and taxis are available
- Check out last day of retreat is 11am so you can book a flight in the afternoon. It is recommended that you arrive two hours before your flight departs to check in so plan your flights accordingly. Most women stay one extra night somewhere in town to integrate before returning home.
- If you choose to arrive a day before retreat or stay after there are some great hotels and airbnbs in this beautiful city so you can explore the magic there. Maria always arrives a couple of days before so she can suggest some hotels for you.
If you are still in doubt if this retreat is for you, check out the testimonials at the bottom of this page.
You can also book a complimentary clarity call with Maria by emailing her at AwakenWithMariaBrito@gmail.com
see her latest tv interview with scouted/Tennessee valley living on nbc/waff48
Interview with Dawn Pumpelli owner/founder of The Scout Guide Huntsville, June 2024
Testimonials
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While retreat with Maria is nothing short of transformative, that is simply the beginning. Imagine a space where you are held and seen, the giver and the receiver, the lion and the lamb, the warrior and the priestess, the student and the teacher. That is the divine alchemized sacred ground that Maria has created. Like a sacred holy garden, Maria plants seeds, both known and unknown that bear fruit that ultimately becomes the medicine for the soul. But here’s the real magic… Maria is the medicine. Without her divine energy, wisdom, grace, patience and playful spirit, this kind of healing wouldn’t be possible. People ask all the time, “so what do you do at retreat?” We grow We change We transform We step into our power We laugh We Love We cry We shed our skins We surrender We trust We do it scared We see each other We allow ourselves to be seen We get lost We find ourselves It's all in the medicine. Maria is the medicine. Maria is magic.
Jamie Lipshinski – The World
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I came into this experience skeptical and unsure if anything here would heal me. I always say I’m a tough nut to crack, but Maria truly has a gift. She brought the sparks back to these women’s eyes and back to my own. I have spent the last decade of my life in a haze, moving from one thing to the next thing to the next thing like my life is a checklist to be completed. I was so stuck and felt so dark because I never gave myself the time to process what happened to me. After this retreat I can confidently say the nut was cracked. I have never felt so alive, so much like myself, or so much love and support. If I can give one piece of advice it is this, embrace it. Take the step! Do this for you because I — through all the hesitancy — was able to do it for myself and it is the greatest gift I have ever received. I got the gift of meeting myself for the first time since I was a child. I am forever grateful for this opportunity.
Alli Kay Oman - Massachusetts, USA
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Goosebumps— I didn’t think I could break any further and I resisted. I fought. I argued. I tried to stay hidden inside my shell but Maria, you took a giant fucking mallet with each exercise until that shell exploded into cosmic bits and slowly, slowly, slowly I let the love in. Loving touch, kindness, empathy, hugs, besos— I receive it! I’m not going to fight anymore. I will take it all in and hold it precious. This is the hardest work I’ve ever done and it burned, it stung, it made me feel raw and exposed, and wildly uncomfortable and I’m going to do it all again and again because I am worth it. I am worthy of love and kindness, and you taught me how to let it in. Gracias, gracias, gracias Maria. Puerto Rico is the first place I’ve ever been and I want to go to more places now and be wild and free.
Shannon Cody - New Mexico, USA
