The Art of Intimacy

 5 - 11 October, 2026

Facilitation: Barbara Schmid and Eran Freiwald

The Art of Intimacy invites you to a one-week journey where you can rediscover each other and bring more presence, aliveness, and connection into your relationship and sexuality. At the heart of this retreat is cultivating lived intimacy – emotional and physical – as a shared culture between you and your partner.

This intensive week offers a space to strengthen trust and closeness, to feel and connect rather than perform, and to uncover and start changing the relationship patterns and dynamics that may be standing in the way of intimacy.

In a held, safe space, you’ll explore new ways of being together, of communicating and sharing physical closeness that is deeply connecting and fulfilling. Through couple exercises, the art of tantric touch, mindful communication, and inputs on Slow Sex (making love without the pressure of having to get somewhere), you’ll open new spaces for connection — where you can relax, be truly seen, grow together, and meet each other from a deeper place — with more authenticity, vulnerability, and genuine closeness.

Why an Intensive Week?

What might normally unfold over several weekends is here condensed into a powerful shared journey: one full week just for the two of you – without distractions, without obligations, entirely dedicated to your relationship and your lived intimacy. This immersion allows deeper processes to unfold and lasting change to take root. As a group, we build a foundation of trust, while you as have plenty of space for integration, rest, and simply being — together or on your own.

Methods and Guidance

Eran and Barbara bring many years of experience in the art of tantric touch, Sexological Bodywork, trauma therapy, body-oriented psychotherapy (IBP), and the Developmental Model for Couples (E. Bader), as well as meditation, breathwork, body awareness, and conscious movement.

Short theoretical inputs from the latest research will help deepen your understanding of the underlying dynamics between partners in romantic relationships. These are combined with structured and often playful exercises, through which you can explore how these dynamics show up in your own relationship and how you can address them.

At times we come together as a group to share experiences, ask questions, and — for those who wish — to explore individual challenges with the support of Eran and Barbara.

Our focus is to create a safe, trusting space where honest, conscious, and loving encounters can unfold.

There will also be time for leisure and rest — to enjoy the mountains, good food, and the sauna and wellness center.

Themes we will learn and explore together in this week

• Connecting with yourself and your own body as the foundation for intimacy with your partner
• The art of giving and receiving present, non goal-oriented sensual touch
• Deepening emotional intimacy and recognizing past wounds and the resulting protective patterns that may get in the way
• Learning new ways to handle differences and build a constructive conflict culture
• Understanding how early experiences and attachment patterns shape adult relationships
• Simple yet powerful communication tools for encountering each other with authenticity, vulnerability, and empathy
• Bringing presence, aliveness and depth into your sexuality

As a Couple Among Couples

The group of couples offers support and inspiration – together, we create a space where you can grow as a couple while also being enriched by the experiences of others. The exercises are always done with your own partners, and all settings involving touch  take place exclusively within your relationship.

The guided touch sequences take place in the seminar room – clothed, in a Lunghi (sarong), or nude – each couple chooses the level of nudity that feels right for them. We also invite the opportunity to experiment with slow sex in the comfort and privacy of your own room.

English translation

The retreat will be offered in German with English translation and is therefore open to German- and English-speaking couples. Karin Gsöllpointer, an experienced translator, will accompany us throughout the week. Karin has many years of experience translating retreats with Diana Richardson and many other related seminars.