CIRCLE OF TRUST

Self-discovery blossoms at Formentera's women-only retreat.

- Suzanne Joinson

I’m standing under a canopy, swathed in dunes, linking arms with a circle of women who were strangers a week ago. We’re here to connect with our bodies and selves—and the tiny, most southern Balearic island of Formentera, its wooden walkways, lighthouses, and magnetic wildness. Joni Mitchell glimpsed Formentera’s energy when she breezed through in 1970, penning the “Carey” lyrics, “The wind is in from Africa... oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here.”

We’re at La Luna, a female intimacy and desire retreat run by ex-model and coach Miriam Adler at Can 7, a barefoot-nomad-styled “eco leisure utopia” on the Playa de Migjorn. Swaying and singing, the sound of waves connects us to our breathing. No one wants this moment to end, and I’m surprised that my aloof heart has been cracked open by feelings of togetherness and acceptance. Miriam, a luminous beauty, specialises in women, relationships, and sacred intimacy. She’s built retreats from the jungles of Costa Rica to Mexico’s Riviera Maya, focusing on women-only and mixed-gender embodiment and explorations of the self.

“During this week,” Miriam says at the opening sharing circle, “we allow one another to let go, to feel, peel, and return to our true essence: a state of deep and true self-love.” That might sound like a euphemism for going to the bedroom for some “alone time”—it’s partly that. But it’s so much more. Rest, relaxation, space for contemplation, and true connection feature strongly. Whatever is going on, the experience is somatic: filed by the body.