Where connections to self, each other and the environment all feed (into) one another.
Shape the Future
CALM, the Center for the Art of Life in Movement,
is an immersive wellbeing retreat with a focus on Pilates, located in the historic village of Palmela, just 30 minutes south of Lisbon. Nestled between the Arrábida Nature Park and some of Portugal’s most beautiful beaches, CALM will feature 13 guest rooms, including 9 eco-bungalows, two Pilates studios, a cafe, and spa overlooking a natural spring water pool.At CALM, we offer exclusive wellness experiences designed to rekindle connections with ourselves, with each other, and the environment through movement, nature, and regenerative tourism. We are committed to supporting local communities and protecting the environment. Join our CALMunity to find out more!
Pictures speak a 1000 words
Click below for some visuals and stories around CALM.
Want it now?
While CALM itself is not yet built, you can already get a glimpse of what a Private Pilates Holiday might look and feel like. Visit CALMinho - the 'little CALM' and book your private Reformer Pilates Retreat in Palmela, just a stone throw away from the project site of CALM.
The Story of CALM
Mareile Paley has been running Pilates & Wellbeing Retreats since 2010.
When she bought a piece of land in Portugal's Arrabida Nature Park, she did it with an ambitious vision.
Our Team
Founder & CEO
Mareile Paley
Mareile has been in the Pilates and Wellness Retreat industry since 2009 cultivating an extensive network of connections and global resources. She also has a multidisciplinary background as a digital media expert, knowledge management consultant for the UN and is founder of Life in Movement, a boutique wellness retreat company.
Architect
Thilo Obersteiner
Thilo is an architect in Munich with 20+ years practical experience and an applied knowledge of biophilic design. His architectural sensibility was a leading factor in having the design proposal accepted by the local authorities, including the Portuguese Directorate of Cultural Heritage (DGPC).
Architect
Ana Timoteo
Ana is the owner and founder of PROJECTOARTE an architecture and design studio in Portugal established in 2009. Her team brings a wealth of expertise in navigating legal frameworks and overseeing project execution. This extensive experience has been honed through the successful completion of hundreds of projects over the years, making her our ideal local partner.
Project Manager
Luis Antonio
Luis is a senior project manager at Alphalink, a Lisbon based civil construction Project Management company and CALM's partner since 2022. Projects include Time Out Market Lisbon, Ritz Hotel Lisbon, PHC Offices Tagus Park Oeiras, Vilalara Thalassa Resort and more.
Regenerative Designer
Matthieu Paley
Mattthieu started clearing and regenerating the land of CALM in 2020. Since then he has planted thousands of trees, established
irrigation systems and helped to naturally re-introduce a rich biodiversity into a formerly depleted system. Matthieu is also a well-known photographer with National Geographic and a social media influencer with over 500K followers.
Our partners & Advisors
Update — Winter 2023/24
What's happening at the moment?
Just before the winter rains, Mareile insisted on making 'Pilates by Nature' a reality and moved her Reformer outside and onto our wooden deck. Partnerships with other awesome entrepreneurial women were formed and we inaugurated CALM's Social and Cultural Integration Project. Then, in December, while trying to clean out an old garbage dumping site, Matthieu literally turned 'shit' into treasure...
Our community is always growing.
Join our whatsapp group, reach out or visit us in person!
Thank you to our sponsors
In 2020, we planted 80 fruit trees on our land thanks to your generosity and help. In July 2022 we lost about 1/4 of them to a terrible forest fire, Find out more here. In 2023 the land has come back stronger and greener than ever!
Are you the one?
We are actively looking for co-creators to join our team. If you are investor looking for a profit-making impact project in the regenerative tourism sector or a passionate individual with a strong background in the hospitality business, we would love to hear from you.
Other ways to become a calm supporter
Fill in this quick survey and let us know how you would like to support us. VIP memberships, pre-book retreats, investing partner... we are looking forward to hearing what excites you!
Patience & persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any endeavor.
Joseph Pilates
Testimonials
"Mareile is the rare combination of an artist and a business person; she has an aesthetic eye for the body and architectural design, and has masterfully combined this vision into an interesting and important space — CALM."
Heather Thomas Shalabi
owner of Flex Studio,
Premium Fitness Gym,
Hong Kong
“If you have an opportunity to work with Mareile,
it is — honestly — a privilege.”
Rael Isacowitz
owner & founder of
BASI Pilates
watch Rael's Video Testimonial:
“I always thought I’m the best, but after working with you, now I know YOU are the best. I had such a great time working with you, you are peaceful, kind, smart and thoughtful!”
Shifu Wang Bo
Shaolin Monk
Join Us
Receive the latest updates and find out how you can be involved in the creation of CALM.
Update — Summer 2023
Calm Concepts - More than a Picnic
June marked the date for our first big event - a Pop-up Picnic on our land to celebrate nature and the launch of our lifestyle brand Calm Concepts. Alongside our awesome team and our co-founder, Angela Wendt, we want to express deep thanks to everyone who believes in our vision and contributes to its realization. The CALMunity is growing steady and strong.
Our community is always growing.
Join our whatsapp group, reach out or visit us in person!
Update — Winter 2022/23
Nature is our teacher
It's been 7 month since the fire and - gosh, is nature powerful! The green has come back in full force, fuelled by the ashes, our volunteers and partners, especially RegenWaves. We even had our first harvest sessions before the January winter slumber. Behind the scenes, our team and the CALM brand is growing — a few exciting product launches are coming very soon.
Our community is always growing.
Join our whatsapp group, reach out or visit us in person!
Update — Summer 2022
Fire and a miracle
For once, I am not sure a short paragraph will suffice for this season's update. We have gone through so much. From abundance to devastation. From green to gray and back. The summer started full of promising growth in our food forest. We were getting ready for harvest and then... on July 13th, a terrible forest fire hit. You can find out more about the fire here, but as I am running out of words, all I can say is that we are rising from the ashes stronger than before.
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — Spring 2022
We are growing our regenerative team
As our team is growing, so is the excitement! CALM is starting to feel real! There is still so much to do, to learn, to figure out, but it feels like things are taking on shape. And while our amazing team of architects is doing their thing, my job is to connect it all and build the network. If you want to be part of CALM and have a background in hospitality or finance... reach out!
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — Winter 2021/22
Green Growth
The mild winter of 2021/21 comes with the color green. We are lucky to not be lacking water here in Palmela. We use the good weather to continue our partnership with Regeneration Waves who are conducting agro-forestry workshops on the lower part of CALM. On the design front, the new architectural proposal is ready, complete with natural swimming pool and 7 cosy eco-bungalows built from timber, straw, lime & clay. The licensing process has started.
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — Autumn 2021
Linking the now and the future
We keep on exploring – on paper and in real life! A brave foray into the deep had us finally measure the size and depth of our own gold mine, i.e. our fresh water spring. Our architectural exploits have us creating models where connections to self, each other and environment all feed into each other. Other than that... the earth keeps on giving!
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — Summer 2021
We dive into regenerative thinking
We are starting to see how it will all connect. Offering part of our land to Regeneration Waves - a passionate initiative dedicated to education in regenerative farming and living models - has been an eye opening experience. And while we already enjoy the fruits of this labour, we can't wait to offer healthy products fresh from the food forest to our guests.
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — April / May 2021
Making use of time
Abundance — is the best word that I can think of. We started our food forest barely a year ago and with the abundant water from our source nature is exploding! On the development side of CALM things are moving forward. We have some new potential investors and are working on an even better architectural concept. Sustainable by Design is key!
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — February / March 2021
Growing ideas & a forest
The beauty of our project is that there is always something growing. While I work behind the scenes, growing our network, our vision and impact strategies towards a sustainable future for CALM, nature does its thing. There is always someone to help, to volunteer, to stick their hands in the earth and the fruits of our labour are starting to show.
We are always looking for volunteers!
If you want to learn about food forestry, we'd love to hear from you!
Update — December 2020 / January 2021
Is this for real?
Great news! CALM is officially approved! This catapults us into a more serious funding stage and we are excited to network and pitch at the upcoming Eco Hotel Investment Summit. We also had a team of archeologists on the land to advise us on a required archaeological survey. Our land is situated right below the ancient fort of Palmela, dating back to the middle ages. Life is never dull when planning a building project in Portugal!
Do you have a comment or an idea for us?
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
Update — November 2020
A food forest in the making!
This month was a true community effort! We planted 69 fruit trees, hundreds of bushes and berries and seeded thousands of seeds. The aim is to give part of the land back to nature and to help re-grow a forest for our guests to enjoy. Our fruit tree sponsorship programme was a full success. Thank you for all who have helped contribute to this important milestone.
Do you have a comment or an idea for us?
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
Update — September/October 2020
Working towards a sustainable future!
The pomegranates are here! The juicy red fruits suddenly started to explode everywhere and we have been feasting and sharing. Lots of activities on the land as well — digging swales, preparing terraces. Yes, we are ready for the big planting to start! At the Planetiers Conference in Lisbon we presented CALM. Portugal's first Pilates Wellness Retreat's mission to be "Sustainable by Design" is getting lots of attention and great feedback.
Do you have a comment or an idea for us?
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
Update — July/August 2020
When nature does her thing
While we were away for part of the summer, care of the land continued. We had a mind-blowing harvest of tomatoes and discovered just how fertile our land is. The earth knows... On the CALM side, we submitted the project to the city hall. Keep your fingers crossed that they love our Pilates Hotel as much as we do!
Do you have a comment or an idea for us?
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
Update — June 2020
Working on sustainable growth
We continue to spend almost every day on the land. We restored an old 'lavadouro' (a large public wash bassin) that we uncovered in the upper part of the land. In parallel, our landscaping and reforestation plans are starting to really take shape. CALM's purpose and mission as a future fit business is becoming clearer every day!
Do you have a comment or an idea for us?
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
Update — May 2020
Using the calm to connect to the earth
COVID-19 hasn't exactly helped to speed things along administratively. But we are patient. Time is a luxury. So far I've felt that letting CALM develop at its own pace has enabled us to dive even deeper into the project. We are building the land and natural environment into the architectural concept. And in the meantime we have started to grow an amazing vegetable garden that feeds our family and our souls.
Do you have a comment or an idea for us?
Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
Update — April 2020
Birth of a food forest
While the architectural plans are being finalized, we started regenerating the lower part of the land to establish a food forest.
In the words of our permaculture specialist: "On top of the land you will heal the people, at the bottom you will heal the nature!" Next month we will submit our building plans for CALM to city hall. Fingers crossed!
Update — Feb/March 2020
Digging into the bush
On our first deep explorations of our 1.2ha land, we discover gold! We have a spring! The giant reeds along the stream are teeming with birds. We started pruning some of the trees as well. There are lots of ancient pomegranates, but also olives and young fig trees. As we can only build on the top third of the property, we plan to restore the lower land back to its natural state, using indigenous flora found in the Arrabida region.
This month we recommend:
Sheri Long
BASI Pilates at its finest
Back in 2012 when I became a BASI Pilates teacher, I took a workshop with Sheri Long in Istanbul. It deeply marked me and has greatly benefited many of my clients. Living in Portugal, California is light years away for me, so I usually don't get to see her. This week I will treat myself with a live Theraband class that I am very much looking forward to. Sheri teaches zoom classes every Monday (Reformer), Tuesday (Mat) and Thursday (Reformer) and for a treat book yourself a private session. Get in touch by email to reserve your spot.
This week we recommend:
Flex studios Hong kong
XTend Barre Live Stream
My relationship with Heather Thomas-Shalabi, founder and owner of FLEX Studios goes back to my early years of being a Pilates teacher in Hong Kong. Today, over 10 years later, her once little Pilates studio in Stanley has become one (actually two ;-) of Hong Kong’s premier studios for Pilates, Yoga and well-being. Hong Kong is lucky enough to be allowed to open its doors again and classes will resume at FLEX next week. Lucky for us though, Heather decided to keep the live streaming for some of their classes, including XTend Barre and several Mat Pilates and Yoga classes. Check the full schedule here and book yourself in.
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