WiseMotion Urban Retreat Barcelona

About the retreat

Welcome to the four-day intensive course of movement, meditation and neuroscience in Barcelona! Every morning, we’ll immerse into the bodily experience and neuroscientific knowledge with the WiseMotion method. In the afternoons, we’ll have interesting activities around the city. We invite you to enjoy the unique combination of a blissful retreat spirit and a vibrant city holiday.

The WiseMotion method improves brain health, holistic well-being and physical abilities with movement, meditation and neuroscience.

The WiseMotion workshops consist of movement practice, neuroscientific presentation and conversations. The workshops are designed to promote processes in concentration, stress-reduction, creativity and embodied communication. In addition, physical abilities such as the joint and muscle dynamics, relaxation and balance are improved. During the neuroscientific presentation, Dr. Hanna Poikonen clarifies the content using practical examples and connects the latest scientific discoveries to everyday life. During the conversations, the group deepens their knowledge about the topic of the workshop, based on the personal experiences of the participants and the neuroscientific approach.

The program

• The full program of the WiseMotion course at the Urban Retreat is:
• Thursday July 18th
  • 10-11.30 Preparing the body and the mind for the retreat: Breath, mind and movement
  • 11.30-13 Workshop: The Brain Intertwined - Movement, Emotion and Cognition
• Fri July 19th
  • 10-11.30 Movement class: Strengthening the body to support cognition
  • 11.30-13 Movement & Neuroscience Workshop: Concentration, Memory and the Brain
• Sat July 20th
  • 10-11.30 Movement class: Balancing the body to support the emotional understanding
  • 11.30-13 Movement & Neuroscience workshop: Emotions in the Body and Mind
• Sun July 21st
  • 10-11.30 Movement class: Breath, Cognition and Emotion
  • 11.30-13 Movement & Neuroscience Workshop: Sleep, Calming Down and the Brain

Movement class

• We prepare the breath, body and mind for the day by meditation in movement and by physical movement exercises activating the muscles and the joints. The exercises are designed to support the brain processes which will be discussed on the workshops of the day.

Movement & Neuroscience Workshop

• Each workshop starts with a short neuroscientific introduction to the topic of the day. It is followed by a movement exercise after which we get more profound neuroscientific information about the topic. During each workshop we have opportunities for a fruitful group conversation.

Useful info

• Dates: July 18th - July 21st, 2019
• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Cost: 270 euros (VAT 0%)
  • Students, unemployed and retired -15%.
• Includes: WiseMotion intensive course of movement, meditation and neuroscience: 4 days, at 10.00-13.00 each day.

• Afternoon activities
  • Thu July 18th 20.00-23.00 Welcome dinner: Flax & Kale Passage
  • Fri July 19th 15.00-20.00 Sonar Day Music Festival
  • Sat July 20th 15.00-19.00 Beach trip to the Ocata beach
  • Sun July 21st 13.00-17.00 Farewell picnic at Montjuic

About the teacher

The WiseMotion method is developed by Dr. Hanna Poikonen. She is a neuroscientist, dancer and movement specialist, and holds a PhD in the neuroscience of movement, dance and music (Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland). She has worked for five years at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) in brain research and education focusing on the fields of prolonged pain, intelligence and creativity.

She has studied movement and meditation in cities such as New York (Gibney Dance, Movement Research), Barcelona (La Caldera, Institut del Teatre), Montreal. Tokyo and Berlin. Explorations in kung fu, tai chi, butoh and somatic methods have taught her a holistic approach to the body and mind.

She has toured with WiseMotion worldwide in institutions, festivals and wellness centers such as Harvard Medical School (USA), Swissotel Berlin (Germany), Kuopio Dance Festival (Finland), Joint Dynamics (Hong Kong), and Institut del Teatre (Barcelona).