WARRIOR WOMAN
Sovereign & Untamed
Retreat Moroccan Desert
September 21-26 2025
Imagine this…
Five days, with nothing but your backpack, a group of like-minded women and Berber nomads guiding you through the vast beauty of the Sahara.
You walk through the stillness of the Sahara Desert — in between golden sand dunes, held by nothing but the horizon. You move slowly, step by step, through a landscape that invites quiet, depth, and presence.
There is no rush here. No performance. No pressure.
This is not just a retreat. It’s a pilgrimage — into raw nature, and into the parts of you that got buried under the noise of everyday life.
So you can reignite your fire. Reawaken your passion. And reconnect to what’s real.
And when you return…
You move, talk, and walk like you again.
With grounded strength. Open-hearted softness. And a whole new way of seeing your life.
Life made you into a warrior.
And for a while, it served you. You knew how to survive, stay strong, keep going.
But now, you’re tired.
Not weak — just done carrying it all alone.
It’s time to soften.
To meet the version of you that longed for safety, but got chaos instead.
To stop living in survival mode — and start opening to a life led by the heart.
A life where strength and softness live together.
Where you no longer shut down, but finally let yourself feel — and be free.
Silence. Ritual. Ceremony. Yoga. Expression. Nourishing food. Community.
For five days, you live in motion, like the desert people.
Nomadic. Slow. Present. Free.
You let go of needing to be “on.” You let the armour drop.
You remember who you were before the world told you who to be.
You sleep beneath a sky full of stars, or nestled in a traditional Berber tent. You rise with the sun, eat nourishing food prepared with care, move, express, sit in silence, gather together. You remember how to feel again.
Stepping away from your daily environment helps you shed the identity you’ve been carrying — the one built out of survival, expectation, and habit.
Here, with a supportive community of women sharing a similar path — you have the space to explore, soften, and rise.
Retreat Schedule
DAY 1 | Sun 21/09
08:00 Departure from Marrakech
Lunch break in Ouarzazate
18:00 Arrival base camp
19:00 Opening Ceremony
DAY 2 | Mon 22/09
07:00 Morning Yoga & Meditation
08:00 Breakfast
09:30 Walking
12:30 Arrival camp spot & Tea
14:00 Lunch & Rest
16:00 Afternoon practice
20:30 Dinner around the fire
22:00 Evening circle
DAY 3 | Tues 23/09
07:00 Morning Yoga & Meditation
08:00 Breakfast
09:30 Walking
12:30 Arrival camp spot & Tea
14:00 Lunch & Rest
16:00 Afternoon practice
20:30 Dinner around the fire
22:00 Evening circle
DAY 4 | Wed 24/09
07:00 Morning Yoga & Meditation
08:00 Breakfast
09:30 Walking
12:30 Arrival camp spot & Tea
14:00 Lunch & Rest
16:00 Evening practice
20:30 Dinner
DAY 5 | Thurs 25/09
07:00 Morning Yoga & Meditation
08:00 Breakfast
09:30 Walking
14:00 Lunch & Rest
16:00 Return to our fixed base camp
18:00 Closing ceremony
20:30 Dinner
21u30: Dinner Under The Moonlight, Bonfire & Music Night
DAY 6 | Fri 26/09
Departure for Marrakech
Lunch along the way
19:00 Arrival in Marrakech
Your main guide
Dorien Jooken — The founder of Return to Āyā, a movement that guides people back to their essence, health, success and wellness in life.
Dorien calls herself an activist for a better world, by using her experience in teaching yoga, tantra, meditation and mindfulness to help people love and accept every part of themselves, also the parts we repress and hide away. Because self-love is at the base of developing healthy relationships, mental clarity and life purpose.
Since 16 years old, Dorien is on a quest to better understand her own challenging life situation, self-sabotaging patterns and what healthy relationships and communication looks like. This lead her to studying educational sciences, psychology and eventually to the path of yoga, tantra and meditation - which really filled the gaps she was looking for.
Her holistic knowledge background, allows Dorien to combine both the Western and Eastern point of views in her coaching, retreats, workshops and classes.
What to expect from this retreat?
During the course of 5 days I will share tools that helped me crack open the armour that I built for survival - so I could start to feel more alive again. We go on a deep journey within to meet the parts of you that long to be heard and loved.
In addition to our daily morning Yoga practice, Pranayama (breathing) and Meditation we walk in stillness so your inner voice has the chance to speak without any distractions. In workshops we work on topics like shadow work, inner child healing, feminine remembrance and also ancestral healing since this pattern might be passed on in your family for decades.
Together we honour the power of womanhood in ceremony, learn to activate our voice through self-expression and work through deep patterns to release for good. Every practice and workshop is carefully thought of with the purpose of helping you work on yourself.
But don't worry! It's not just about hard work, we will also have plenty of time to enjoy the dunes, the stars and bonfire, to rest & take massages.
The food is served by the Berber nomads accompanying us on our journey. They provide us with traditional, vegetarian Berber food to cater a mind blowing gastronomical experience for you!
Becoming SOVEREIGN and UNTAMED requires us to become the person we needed in our earlier lives. You are the one who can meet your needs that were neglected back then. And to become HER we need to nurture her every single day.
This retreat is for you if…
You’ve spent years being the strong one — holding it all together — and now you’re exhausted from always needing to be “on.” Showing your emotions was perceived as “weak” and you grew up having to process your emotions alone.
You feel deeply disconnected from your body and emotions, often unsure of what you feel or how to express it. This results in sudden outbursts of emotions or directing your emotions onto the persons you love the most — pushing them away — while all you crave is being seen and loved in your pain.
You’ve learned to process everything through your mind — but your body is tired, tight, and begging to be felt and listened to. You have skin problems, chronic stress, sleeping problems, jaw clenching, … You research every disorder you have to define what’s “wrong” with you or go to talk therapy but this does not change a single thing… What you need is integration and focus on releasing it emotionally & energetically as well.
Rest feels uncomfortable or even “lazy” — you constantly need to be productive, useful, or available. You constantly distract yourself with scrolling, work, socialising, cleaning… You never spend time with yourself and therefore prevent yourself from letting your inner voice speak.
You crave intimacy and softness in your relationships, but it feels scary to let your guard down. Instead, you try to be “the tough one” “the one who is hyper-independent”, “the love-avoidant”, “the boss babe”.
You’re used to walking on eggshells, over-giving, and trying to keep the peace — even if it costs you your own well-being. You tend to put everyone else’s needs before your own and often end up in relationships where you live someone else’s life and completely abandon yourself. In the meantime, you are constantly reading the room to step in if regulation of some sort is needed.
You often feel guilt for taking up space, asking for your needs, or feeling “too much.” You hate to be a burden, therefore you try to fix everything yourself or you have a hard time receiving help.
You’re used to be “one of the guys”, because connecting to women always felt harder, more complicated and more “dramatic”. Because you don’t know how to tap into emotions, feelings and therefore you disconnect from your feminine essence. Also, you learned that women’s talk is about drama and you haven’t found a tribe where you can have more raw, honest and deep conversations that are more about open sharing and vulnerability, instead of gossip and judgement.
You’ve outgrown your coping mechanisms — wine, work, overthinking, staying busy — and you’re ready for something meaningful and real. Not just chitchat about the same superficial things, not living for the parties in the weekends, living life on auto-pilot, feeling lonely in your group of friends.
You know how to survive. Now you want to learn how to live, in a way that feels feminine, free, and fully you.
It’s time to say goodbye to the version of you who dimmed her light to keep others comfortable. The one who stayed small, silent, or strong — just to be safe. Because beneath the armour is a woman who is ready to rise.
A woman who wants to be seen, to feel expressive, open, and alive. She wants to wake up excited, even when life is full and busy. She desires a life that feels deeply hers — not one built on obligation or performance.
This woman knows how to give to herself first. She creates space for what nourishes her, listens to her body, and honours her truth.
Her strength is no longer built on survival — it comes from inner peace. She opens her heart, but holds firm boundaries. She feels her emotions, but isn’t ruled by them. She communicates clearly, connects deeply, and lives with passion.
And every day — not just on the big days — she feels alive in the life she’s chosen for herself.
What previous retreat guests say…
Sharon - Authentic Path Retreat 2024
Iris - Authentic Path Retreat 2024
Laura - Authentic Path Retreat 2024
Where?
Once known as Taragalte — “the plain of gazelles” — M’Hamid El Ghizlane is a small town at the edge of the Draa Valley in southern Morocco. Though the gazelles are gone, their memory lives on in the land’s name and spirit.
M’Hamid was once a key stop on the trans-Saharan trade route, with roots dating back to the copper and iron ages. Once lush with palm oases, the region slowly gave way to the sands of the Sahara.
Tucked near the Algerian border, M’Hamid was long restricted to visitors — and even now, it remains untouched by mass tourism. It’s known today as the gateway to Erg Chigaga, a vast, peaceful stretch of golden dunes — perfect for those seeking a deeper, quieter connection with the desert.
Accommodation
We will travel through the desert like the authentic Berber nomads did for hundreds of years.
With little luxury, little distractions, completely remote and disconnected from the world. Get ready to go on an adventure back to basics through the desert nomansland.
Riad Marrakech
The first and last night we stay in a Riad in Marrakech. You can decide for yourself if you like a private room or a shared room. Discuss this with Dorien.
Basecamp
Right before and after the trek we stay a night in the basecamp. You stay in a 3/4 shared room. This is the last stop before we enter the desert and where we come back to after. Once we enter the desert there will be no bathroom facilities and we will enter raw nature.
Berber tent
When we head out in the desert we walk with the camel caravan and the nomads who will guide us on our way, build the tents and cook delicious foods. The camels carry our bags and we have one spare camel for the group to share when tired. You sleep in a shared tent or you can take your mattress out to the dunes and sleep under the unfiltered starry sky.
What to expect?
Excluded
Flights
Transportation from/to Marrakech airport
Other drinks than mineral water, tea and coffee
Towels during trek
Sleeping bags (can be rented)
Personal travel insurance
Meals and drinks in Marrakech
Visa fees
Tips for the Nomads (it is common in Morocco to leave a tip)
Any souvenirs you want to buy
Included
5 night accommodation
5 breakfasts, 6 lunches & 5 dinners
Unlimited tea, fresh fruit and drinking water during trek
All the daily classes, activities and workshops
Round trip from Marrakech to M’Hamid El Ghizlane
FAQs
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Marrakech is the nearest airport. We will also depart from there and return there after.
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There’s a full vegetarian/vegan menu made with locally grown fresh and seasonal ingredients. The nomadic Berbers will cook their traditional dishes with fresh ingredients. Please let us know if you have any food allergies or restrictions at the time of booking (gluten or lactose free, allergies, etc)
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Send me a message trough the form and I will get back to you for a short discovery call to connect and see what you intentions are for the retreat. After paying the full deposit of €500 your booking is complete. The remaining amount needs to be paid 30 days before start of the retreat.
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When you paid your deposit, the booking is final. This can not be refunded unless we need to cancel the retreat from our end.
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September 21-26 2025. Minimum arrival the day before and earliest flight to book day after. We leave very early on the 21st to the desert and will arrive late back in Marrakech. You can book the extra night on the 20th and 26th through Dorien as well.
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Once we leave the basecamp, there are no bathrooms or toilets in the desert. We wash ourselves with a bit of water or with wet wipes and go to the toilet in plain nature.
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This is an open level retreat. This means that we accommodate all levels by offering flows that everyone can follow, with different variations for beginner to intermediate. We expect you to be familiar with basic postures to be able follow the class.
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A bottle of water
Decent walking shoes
Maybe a foot aid kit in case of blisters
A sleeping bag (can be rented)
Wet wipes or anything to wash yourself during trek
The camels carry your larger backpack, bring a small backpack to keep to yourself with your bottle of water and camera.
Toiletries
Towel for during trek
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We walk 2h30 to 3h30 hours per day, during 4 days. We walk in between the dunes on a hard surface so it’s easy to walk on and no change in altitude.
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We work together with an organisation that supports ecotourism and responsible travel. We go into the desert and only leave our footsteps, respect nature and the local community.