ESSENCIA
THE NATURE OF OUR SELVES
SON RULLAN, MALLORCA
May 26-30, 2026
Five Days in One of Mallorca's Rarest Settings
Son Rullan represents one of Mallorca's few remaining privately-held medieval properties. This 14th-century estate sits between mountain and sea in Deia, where olive terraces have been cultivated for centuries and traditional ways of living continue to inform contemporary life.
Over five days, we explore connection with self through three integrated pathways: compassion-focused practice, creative expression guided by local artists, and mindful engagement with this distinctive landscape. The program applies evidence-based approaches within a setting that naturally supports renewal.
Our daily rhythm combines structured contemplative practice and dialogue, creative workshops, and space for rest, play and connection with the place and each other. Generous time for individual reflection allows personal integration of insights, all supported by a rare setting and local cuisine prepared with nourishing ingredients.
This program addresses the particular stressors facing those with busy lives and seeking renewed energy and purpose —offering practical frameworks for compassionate self-expression alongside creative practices alongside creative practices, such as ceramics, floral artistry and writing.
Your Daily Experience
Contemplation
Daily sessions applying compassion-focused therapy principles to cultivate sustainable self-relationship.
Shared Nourishment
Mediterranean meals of local produce, including breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and other refreshments.
Creative Exploration
Workshops with local ceramicists, florists, and sound healers to deepen your felt sense of Mallorca and its landscapes.
Connection and Integration
Precious time to connect with our retreat group, plus spacious periods for personal reflection, journaling, and processing insights.
Morning Movement
Gentle yoga and somatic practices, nature walks, and visits to Cala Deià to regulate the nervous system and invigorate the soul.
Exclusive Accommodation
Son Rullan's 14th-century architecture, heritage gardens, and uninterrupted views across traditional terraces to the Mediterranean.
Your Expert Facilitators and Hosts
Dr Amy Finlay-Jones
Amy is a psychologist, researcher, and meditation teacher specialising in compassion-focused practice. Her work bridges science and contemplative tradition, drawing on two decades of experience in mental health, mindfulness, and human connection research.
She is the founder of Kindful and DEYÀ Retreats, through which she develops programs that integrate evidence-based approaches with contemplative and creative practice. Amy’s teaching is informed by her own experience of illness and healing, her creative and contemplative practice, and her deep interest in how compassion can sustain both personal wellbeing and collective flourishing.
In facilitation, Amy brings a grounded presence and a capacity to hold spaces of both tenderness and transformation. Her approach emphasises accessibility, authenticity, and embodied practice—supporting participants to reconnect with themselves and with what gives life meaning.
Amy will work alongside local and regional artists, chefs, and practitioners to deliver the ESSENCIA retreat.
About DEYÀ Retreats
We find locations where landscape, culture, and community create optimal conditions for restoration and personal recalibration. Our work brings together people who recognise that certain environments support transformation through their inherent qualities rather than manufactured experiences.
Through decades of applied work in global compassion education and cross-cultural humanitarian contexts, we have developed sensitivity to places that invite authentic encounter. Our approach prioritises respectful collaboration with local people who possess generational knowledge of their landscapes.
We understand that meaningful professional success often comes at the cost of sustainable self-relationship. Our retreats address this specifically - creating space for the kind of deep recalibration that busy, accomplished lives rarely accommodate. In doing so, we help you to connect with what matters most.
Son Rullan’s unique heritage
Once a 14th-century Templar monastery, Son Rullan occupies a rugged mountaintop position near Deià within Mallorca's UNESCO-listed Serra de Tramuntana. The estate preserves its original stone architecture—whitewashed lime walls, timber beams, and vaulted chambers connected across multiple levels through ancient staircases.
Once a 14th-century Templar monastery, Son Rullan occupies a rugged mountaintop position near Deià within Mallorca's UNESCO-listed Serra de Tramuntana. The estate preserves its original stone architecture—whitewashed lime walls, timber beams, and vaulted chambers connected across multiple levels through ancient staircases.
Having served as an artists' and intellectuals' retreat through the mid-20th century, Son Rullan continues this legacy—where medieval architecture, Mediterranean landscape, and contemplative seclusion create an environment uniquely suited to restoration and creative practice.
Deia and its character
Deià occupies a distinctive position in Mallorca's Serra de Tramuntana mountains, where traditional stone houses sit among olive groves and ancient terraced hillsides that descend toward the Mediterranean coastline. The name itself derives from the Arabic "Ad-Daya," meaning "village," directly reflecting the spirit of the place.
The village’s terraced hillsides trace back to the Moorish period (10th–13th centuries), when intricate irrigation channels and stone walls transformed steep mountains into fertile ground. These centuries-old systems still shape the landscape today, carrying water through olive groves and anchoring the continuity of life between mountain and sea.
From the 1920s onward, Deià attracted notable artists and writers, particularly poet Robert Graves, who lived here until 1985. Today's community balances this creative heritage with proud Mallorquín identity—local families maintaining traditional practices alongside creative enterprises who respect the village's authentic character.
May's Natural Rhythm
Late May brings Mallorca's most generous daylight—nearly fifteen hours stretching from sunrise around 6:20am to sunset past 8:00pm. Morning light illuminates the Tramuntana peaks in golden tones while evenings offer extended Mediterranean views. Temperatures reach comfortable 21°C days with mild evenings perfect for terraced dining.