Tao of elements

Ocean Wave

retreat by the sea

The mindful game

A 5-day self-discovery retreat by the sea in Koh Samui

We invite you to a gentle, 5-day experiment in self-recognition. It is a playful and profound game where you come to meet the real you—beyond your job title, your roles, and your everyday masks. Together, we explore how Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water shape the five fundamental areas of your life:

Relationships – how you connect, who you attract, and how you give and receive love.

Resources – what supports you: your inner strengths, your family, your foundation, education and health.

Self-expression – your voice, your creativity, how you show up and are seen.

Wealth – your abundance, your values, your capacity to generate and receive.

Power – Your influence, your career path, your ability to manifest your will.

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Retreat by the sea on Koh Samui

The beauty of the Koh Samui sunsets and seashores

How we do it - the Game

For the first four days, your personal elemental blueprint remains a secret, even from yourself. You interact with others, share meals, and practice together without labels or preconceptions. This "blind" interaction creates a space for authentic connection and raw self-observation. Each day opens a new vision about yourself and you start guessing about your personality element.
Evening circle. Qi Gong & The Archetype Game. Unwind with restorative sessions and engaging talks about the Five Elements
Personal Deep-dive session. TCM Health Consultation. A private, one-on-one session with Michele to understand more about your unique constitution.
5 Elements blueprint. A personal reading of the elemental patterns you were born with—your natural strengths and challenges across Relationships, Resources, Self-Expression, Wealth, and Power.
Healing treatments. Acupuncture and diet guidance tailored to your needs.
Shared discovery. Food as medicine. Meals are not just fuel—they are part of the practice. Together, we will explore the 5 Tastes theory (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty) through delicious, healthy vegetarian cuisine. You'll learn simple principles to bring home, turning your own kitchen into a source of balance
Evening circles. The 5 Elements & Your 5 Life Aspects. Each evening, we gather to playfully explore how the Elements live within us. Through storytelling, reflection, and gentle discussion, we look at one life aspect each day:
Day 1: The Element of your Relationships
Day 2: The Element of your Resources
Day 3: The Element of your Self-Expression
Day 4: The Elements of your Wealth and Power
Day 5. The Grand Finale. The unveiling
On the final day, we hold a celebratory gathering. This is not a test or a judgment, but a beautiful "aha!" moment where the elemental patterns we've observed are revealed, helping you see yourself—and your life's five pillars—with new clarity and compassion.

Archetype game

The game has a secret language — the language of Ba Zi. It's a 2000-year-old "code" for understanding human nature through the elements. Discover the story behind it →
Ba Zi as the language of the soul. Here, we go beyond the elements. We will study the connections between archetypes, organs, emotions, and behavioral patterns. For example, a person of Yang Metal is akin to the large intestine; their power lies in the ability to "cut away the unnecessary," and the duality of their emotions resides between crystalline clarity, cold sorrow, and sacred resolve.

A group of strangers as a living field. On the trail, in shared daily life, in moments of overcoming, these archetypes will come alive. We will observe them in their pure form, without labels, in real interactions. Who purifies the group's space from chaos (Metal)? Whose flexibility flows around any obstacle (Water)?

The finale — a revelation. At the journey's end, we will gather to weave all the threads together and reveal our personal charts. We will see how the participants' archetypes explain the lived group dynamic, and how the energy of the mountains, channeled through Qi Gong practice, resonated within each of us in its own unique way.

Ready to play? Arrange free session to know more about the trip and yourself.

Arrange

What's included & not included

Your investment covers everything for a seamless, focused experience on the trail:
✅Accommodation First-line beachfront hotel, 6 days / 5 nights

✅ Our unique value - daily guided Qi Gong sessions and facilitation of the "Archetype Game".
✅ Ground transfers Round-trip transfer to/from Koh Samui airport.
✅ Personal practice One-on-one TCM health consultation + personal 5 Elements (Ba Zi) blueprint reading
✅ Meals Vegetarian breakfast and lunch daily, exploring the 5 Tastes theory

To keep things transparent, here's what is not part of the package:
❌ International/domestic flights to/from Koh Samui.
❌ Thiland entry visa and travel insurance .
❌ Dinner — Evening meals (free to explore local restaurants or dine at the hotel)
❌ Excursions — Optional island tours or activities outside the retreat program
❌ Personal Expenses — Spa treatments, transport, or extras not mentioned above

Who is your guides?

Konstantin Medragon
Cultural anthropologist, PhD, 20 years bridging Western science with China's metaphysical wisdom. Guide to the 5 Elements blueprint.

Michele Horn Tomic
Swiss TCM doctor specializing in acupuncture, sound therapy, and nutritional healing. Bringing the pulse of Chinese medicine to the sea.

We are two guides, two paths, one meeting point.

One of us is a cultural anthropologist and PhD who spent decades moving from the precision of laboratory diagnostics into the living traditions of China—translating forgotten texts, mapping the dance between destiny and wellness, and learning to read the whispers of Qi.

The other is a Swiss TCM doctor who carries the pulse of acupuncture, the alchemy of herbal remedies, and the resonance of sound therapy. Together, we bridge the empirical rigor of Western science with the poetic logic of Eastern metaphisic.

Chinese astrology, to us, is not about predicting fate. It is a way of seeing humans as cosmic landscapes—where Qi rivers nourish the Blood's valleys, and Spirit rises like mist through the mountains of our DNA. This is science as poetry, mathematics as divination.

We invite you to play this game with us.

Your stories

Stars inspire

"The blend of TCM and archetypes is genius. One day I was getting acupuncture by the sea, the next I was discovering why I struggle with self-expression. This wasn't a retreat—it was a gentle revolution."

David

Retreat guest, Australia
"I came for the beach, but I left with a map of myself. The game element felt playful, not forced, and the final 'unveiling' gave me chills. I finally understand why my relationships and career have felt a certain way—it's in my elements."

Sarah

Retreat guest, UK
My gratitude for unveiling horizons free from didacticism, for boundaries both supple and even translucent.
To read a map with generous latitude is a privilege reserved for those whom fate has endowed with depth.

Catherine, Russia

Course student
I regret only one thing: that this was not done before. Perhaps many things would have unfolded differently. Yet, on the other hand, everything happens in its time; it seems the moment of truth has arrived.
In truth, you spoke with clarity and specificity, but I am glad it was not framed as a formula for "eternal bliss" or advice of the "wear green and drink kumis" variety—I feared such platitudes, which leave one feeling confined. Here, instead, there is a sense that the ball is in your hands: you choose how to play, when, or whether to play at all.
Some revelations were jarring, yet now I grasp the roots of my own obsessions and hope to navigate life with greater ease, armed with this understanding.

Anastasia, Russia

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