About
The work of finding out who you actually are
Anima — Latin for soul, breath, life force. The energy beneath the person you’ve constructed.
What ANIMA is
Most of us spend our lives becoming someone. ANIMA is the work of finding out who that actually is.
These are retreats for people at a turning point. Held in extraordinary places around the world, in small groups built for depth, this is not networking. Through breathwork, ancient practice, physical discipline, and integration, we go somewhere most people never reach. You won’t do it alone — and that’s the point.
Joe Butler
Facilitator & Guide
The guide
This work is only possible
because I did it first.
I am not a therapist. I am not a life coach. I am someone who reached the point you may be at now — outwardly successful, inwardly unmoored — and found a way through. What I offer is not a framework I studied. It is a process I have lived.
At ANIMA, we work with ancient healing practices, breathwork, and the rigorous integration of transformational experience. Our retreats span Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America — led by a small circle of facilitators I trust completely, each bringing their own depth to the work.
Every person who enters the ANIMA world receives full attention. Which is why we work with very few people at any one time.
Explore the retreats