Virginie

Virginie is the founder of Casa Oraya and facilitates intimate retreats centred on plant medicine, presence, body awareness and human connection.

Her role begins before the retreat through an individual conversation with each participant, allowing her to understand their intentions, previous experiences, health situation and any particular needs.

During the retreat, Virginie remains present throughout the experience, offering individual guidance, grounding practices, sharing circles and reflective workshops. For some participants — particularly women and those approaching plant medicine for the first time — having a continuous feminine presence within the facilitation team brings an additional sense of trust and ease.

Her approach is not to interpret the experience for another person or to push participants toward a particular understanding. During the retreat, the emphasis remains on presence: experiencing the body, the senses, emotions, memories, images, resistance, silence and whatever may arise as fully as possible.

At the same time, Virginie helps participants prepare for the integration that will continue after the retreat. Through carefully guided questions and workshops, she invites them to explore different dimensions of what has been experienced — somatic, psychological, physiological, philosophical, spiritual and symbolic — without reducing the experience to a single explanation.

The intention is not to understand everything immediately, but to begin creating reference points that can later help each person integrate the experience into everyday life.

After the retreat, Virginie offers practical integration tools and encourages participants to continue listening to what unfolds over time. When additional therapeutic or psychoanalytic support may be beneficial, she encourages them to work with an appropriately qualified professional.

Her intention is to create a warm, honest and carefully held space where people can slow down, remain fully present to their experience and leave with meaningful tools to continue the work in their own lives.