THE LAND OF ICARUS

in-depth retreat on the island of long-livers
June 3-15, 2018

This unique journey opens a series of
retreat-expeditions to "Blue Zones" –
places around the globe with average lifespan of 90 to 100 years. In Icaria longevity is
a part of local lifestyle and culture.
Spend a few weeks on this incredible island and discover indigenous longevity secrets
and new ways of joyful living!

Our First Lessons of Longevity,
Happiness and Well-Being

Lesson #1
Travel with those
who share your values

This is probably the most important thing you can do to rediscover joy in your life. To Blue Zone dwellers this comes naturally: Icarians are among the most friendly and joyful people in the world. When they get together to celebrate, socialize or help each other, there is always a spirit of joy and happiness among them. During our trip we will study and share this approach to life. Participants of Living Myth expeditions value mutual attunement, which fosters seeing, hearing and appreciating one another. Living Myth is an international community of friends that stay in touch long after the trip is over. Learning and living joyfully is easy and natural when we are supported by friends. Good Tribe = Good Vibe!

Lesson #2
Be active without obsession

The longest-lived Icarians tend to be simple farmers living in the island's highlands. They stay active and exercise mindlessly by just gardening, walking to their neighbours and doing their own yard work. During the retreat we will be moving a lot around while exploring the island. Icaria offers mountain and canyon hiking, swimming in waterfalls and the sea, walking in pristine forests, soaking in hot springs, and simply Being with its ever-abound nature. We will practice yoga and qigong, meditate, and purify our bodies and hearts with elements of inner alchemy: earth, water, fire and air.

Lesson #3
Sense life's purpose

As a part of our daily schedule we'll have three laboratories: MySelf, LifeStream and Living Dreams. During our retreat we will focus on our bodies and through this work examining our basic beliefs and patterns, which shape our lives and often result in perpetual business, anxiety, fatigue, false identity, idealized self-image, self-denial, disenchantment and lack of inspiration. We will learn how to look beyond these patterns and make choices based upon our heartfelt values.

Lesson #4
Fast and be silent

Icarians have traditionally been strict Orthodox Christians. Their religion called for almost half year fasting. Caloric restriction that cuts 30 percent of calories out of the normal diet is the only proven way to slow down the aging process in humans. During the retreat we will practice conscious approach to cooking and eating. We will also have a day of fasting in silence.
Silence is another secret for deep relaxation and true happiness. It is a gateway to deep listening within oneself and the world. Conscious movement, meditation and concentration practices will help us to study silence, re-encounter our true nature, and rest in primordial awareness.

Lesson #5
Enrich your diet

Icarians eat a variation of the Mediterranean diet, with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, potatoes and their famous honey. In every meal they also use a lot of olive oil, which contains cholesterol-lowering mono-unsaturated fats. Traditionally Icarians eat what they grow in the garden, augmenting their diet with wild edible plants abundant on the island. In the course of the retreat we will try local delicacies in the best tavernas on the island and visit several old-established ecological farms to meet their owners and to experience the unhurried pace at which local people worked and lived for many generations.

Lesson #6
Savor the nectar of life

Local people proudly assert that wine was first invented on Icaria. It is thought that Greek god of wine, Dionysus, was born on Icaria, and in ancient times his worship flourished on the island. In his Iliad Homer mentions strong dark-red Icarian wine, which was highly prized in his times. It is believed that Iliad's warriors used magic powers of Icarian wine in preparation for battle, to cure ailments, and to strengthen military prowess.

Lesson #7
Build social ties

In the course of our expedition we will get to know a number of amazing people. Famous cheese-maker Argiro will teach us how to make the tastiest goat cheese on Icaria. We will visit weaving shop of 105-years-old Ioanna Proyu. She still enjoys sharing the intricacies of traditional weaving lore with everyone interested. Charming Xenia will lead us along mountain passes and through ravines of Icarian wilderness. For last several years she and her six-years-old son have been restoring ancient mountain foot-paths used by local people since time immemorial. We will spend a day in nature with wonderful Theodoros collecting wild herbs and making essential oils.
In our expedition we will also have a very special guest, a gerontologist Misha Kogan, a leader in the newly established field of Integrative Geriatrics, the author of several books in this field, and a specialist in Blue Zones science. Misha will lecture on Hypothermia practices and Blue Zones longevity lessons.

Lesson #8
Celebrate!

Icaria is famous throughout Greece for its centuries-old festivals – panigiri – when traditional orchestra plays day and night, tables groan with food, and people dance while hugging each other. On the first day of our expedition the island will welcome us with All Saints' Day panigiri at two small villages. There is no better way to begin celebrating life on Dionysus island than with dancing, music, wine and new friends. Icarian panigiri is a very special and truly unforgettable experience!

Expedition Route

Expedition Team

Facilitator: Michael Yoshpa

Michael holds a PhD. in Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Chemistry, and Masters Degrees in Biology and Education. He is a photographer and facilitator of inner development retreats.

Michael is an author and facilitator of several self-learning laboratories: LifeStream, MySelf, Living Science, and Living Dreams. He teaches meditation, qigong and martial arts.

Organiser, guide, interpreter: Yana K.M

Yana is a photographer and holds a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the State University of New York. She taught photography at the university, organized art workshops for children and adults, and took part in numerous exhibitions and festivals worldwide.

Over the last 15 years, Yana has visited more than 35 countries. She speaks fluent Russian, English, French and Indonesian.

Testimonials

Words are so limited to truly and accurately share feelings and emotions that I experienced on the Land of Icarus trip, and describe how much this journey touched me, moved me, impacted me…

The trip was entirely magical, from the beginning to the end, and it exceeded all my expectations. The combination of deep physical and spiritual practices, the explorations of the island life and nature, the discovery of secrets to longevity and happiness, love, care and camaraderie within the group, Misha's profound wisdom and knowledge and Yana's excellent management and care…- this all and more allowed me to renew my energy, connect with myself, tune in Life's simple truths, and deepen understanding of the world around me.

Traveling with Living Myth was a true blessing. I see things more clearly, I can find the silence inside, I can allow myself to become what I am, moment by moment.

Weeks have passed but I still regularly eat Greek salad and yogurt, apricots and goat's milk and drink herbal Ikarian tea with their native heather honey... I reminisce of the temple of Artemis and the soft sound of the Aegean Sea, I sleep on a simple plant fiber mat and do sun salutations every morning, I massage my body with olive oil infused with Ikarian wild herbs to temporarily experience that magical space again… I miss my friends and I can't wait for the day when I can join them on another Living Myth journey!

Nina

dance teacher
Maine, USA

My path in medicine led me to becoming an expert in longevity and healthy aging. I have been aiming to go to a Blue Zone for many years. In fact, I planned going to Ikara first!!! As they say – we always get what we really wish for. And I thank you for being the conduit that allowed me to fulfil my wish!

What can I say, this was one of the best trips of my entire life. Most of the time when I get home after vacation or retreat I have deep sense of inner rest and joy of travel. This was first time that I came home with deep knowledge that I found my 2^nd home. I must say that I'm still in shock. I never expected to find 2^nd home in the middle of Aegean Sea on a small rocky island. The large part of why I feel this way is due to the way you organized the trip and people you attracted to join together. The magic of it all coming together was beyond anything I expected. What two of you have been creating over the years does not have much of precedent. Spiritual Travel to sacred places on earth of course is practiced by all kinds of groups, but Living Myth is unique and special. It does not have New Age shit attached to it, it is not a religious pilgrimage, or just another "healthy social justice tour". It is hard exactly to pinpoint what it is, but the result is gentle inner and outer journey that combines body and spiritual practices with seeing local life for what it is. Visiting local family for a long dinner with rivers of local wine and moonshine, singing and dancing; talking to 85 year old beekeeper for long time about how he raises his bees; taking 10k long hike through rocky terrain of an island to gather herbs and meditate. These are the memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I also experienced dramatic deepening of my inner peace that is still undisturbed, months later. This last part is what I specially want to thank you for. As result of this trip I have decided to shift several of my writing projects and begin working on series of AgeWise Living novels.

Mikhail

MD
Boston, USA

Dear Misha and Yana, and all co-participants of our trip to Ikaria. Thank you for the soft light in the eyes upon return that makes just Living so fine!

- so fine just to gaze at a flower and feel the emptiness of the mind, which we trained in the Myself practices. You know how unusual a question of my friend sounded (a friend from a community well familiar with midnfullness and similar practices): "what is you mind busy with lately"? i felt joylful about my modest and unstable yet achievements, testing the possible common answers: work? health? relations? coming changes? and didn't feel any strong response from any of those.. related worries calmed down and didn't get stuck in my system for long. so i jsut replied: i live by the day, just observing myself in it. and this is wonderful! the more of the tasks i trust to the Universe, the easier they get solved.

- so fine just to observe my attention, if it is inside of me or outside at the moment i am cutting tomatoe (Misha's favourite example) or just sit in the part surrounded by bursting nature or active presence of people.

- so fine just to communicate with my own body, going deeper into its fears and anxieties, to offer help from my "adult" part of Inner Self, who "grew up" again during this reptreat to Ikaria. the part of such insight moments is probably the most valuable part of the trip for me. And Ikarian landsclapes wouldn't be appreciated in full if i wouldn't happen to open up to myself. thanks for the morning and afternoon practices to Misha.

- so fine just to enjoy the routine of the household, especially when squat moves involved :) being aware now what kind of physical activity helps keeping the body fit long life. thanks for the informative lectures to Misha Kogan.

- so fine just to remember the pleasure of interaction with all of you, verbal and non-verbal, in dance and in embrace, in looks and in performances, by giving and by taking, in short, throughout our energy exchange. it has been powerful and the effect is apparently lasting. it has been also evident from my first trip with the Living Myth, the result has been noticable not only for the close cicrle of people. even the colleagues exclamated joyfully when they heard me saying that i am going to Greece again: "oh, that's the same inspiring vacation from which you've returned last year as a new cheerful person?" That's one of the ways to evaluate my experience! so i wish to all new travellers joining the Living Myth trips to live through something similar :)

Galina

young mother
Amsterdam, Holland

Wings were ordered from Icarus
Made of fluff and wax
But they still took us to Icaria
Disregard: the gas stations were closed.

The island announced to us at once:
Stomp your feet on me
Then demanded to breathe
Its herb scented air until we feel dizzy

Showed us a piece of the Aegean Sea
In a frameof rocks, apricots and a temple
Of Artemis, who immediately
Indulged in a mess in our dreams

Sunsets were given free of charge
As if they do not cost anything
And everything else pretty much too
As gifts for the fact that we step

On the rocks with smiles and see
Miracles in trees and people,
We drink wine as honest water,
And we dance at the first sound

We fall into the sea with a squeal
In the temple we sit in silence
Blind walk in the forest
Sincerely talk to each other

Island's laziness has no shame
There is no time to count time
Only to walk far, to where you need to go,
And to do what is clear

And makes sense like a delicious meal
Love, bees, paths,
songs and dances, clay vessels,
And to take care of these these guest

Who Arrived Living from the Myth

Angela

acupuncturist
Boston, USA

My Ikaria is a deep breath of life that makes me want to inhale the universe and the sea, embrace myself with all inner fears and release them to the bluest sky, freeing the space for new fresh air. It's never ending desire to explore, feel, open up and experience views, smells, touches, tastes and sounds - whether it's heartache or dry herbs aroma in the heat of June, see-through magic Aegean waters caressing the skin or Greek salad and tsatsiki in a small cozy tavern.

My Ikaria is body exploding with living energy, reaching in all directions dancing, jumping, running and celebrating it's strength and power.

My Ikaria is a journey about people - people that I want to open up to, whom I want to observe and admire, and who I am willing to share with - both my sadness and happiness.

My Ikarian story, just like the island with its people, - will live the longest life in my heart, cherished and beloved.

With so much gratitude!

Mirra

Tel Aviv, Israel

Photo Album