Facilitator Training for Space Holders

A trauma-informed, practice-based training for experienced facilitators ready to lead with clarity, confidence, and depth.

This 2 week intensive teacher training is an offering to the wider facilitation field.

It emerges from years of witnessing both the beauty and the risks of transformational spaces. As facilitation becomes more visible, the need for ethical leadership, nervous-system awareness, and humility becomes essential.

Mahara created this training to pass on hard-earned wisdom and to support a shift toward spaces held in service of others’ journeys — grounded in integrity rather than performance, presence rather than ego, and responsibility rather than self-focus.

This training emphasizes hands-on practices, somatic awareness, and real-time facilitation experience, supporting participants in developing the confidence and competence to lead safe, and impactful experiences. Rather than focusing on theory alone, this program prioritizes learning through practice, reflection and lived experience.

In just two focused weeks, you will receive a powerful transmission of tools, lived experience, and hands-on practice—within a small, carefully held group and guided by highly experienced, deeply embodied teachers.

DATES 

06.-19. June 2026

Check-In: June 06th, 14 PM  (please come on time)

Our first meal is at 7.30 PM

End: June 19th, at 4.30 PM

*Helpers arive 1 day before and leave two days later.

What Makes This Training Unique

Trauma-informed & nervous-system aware

You learn how to recognize trauma responses in real time—and how to respond skillfully, calmly, and ethically.

Practice-centered (not theory-heavy)

You will teach multiple sessions, receive direct feedback, and refine your facilitation in real situations.

Small group, high attention

With a limited number of participants, there is time for personal guidance, mentoring, and integration.

Real-world facilitation skills

From emotional release and crisis moments to group dynamics, boundaries, and aftercare—you’ll train for what actually happens in the room.

Deep self-work for facilitators

Because your nervous system, shadows, and presence shape the space more than any method.

What You Will Learn

The Mahara Method™

Trauma-Informed Facilitation

• Understanding trauma and stress responses

• Recognizing freeze, dissociation, panic, hyperventilation

• Co-regulation vs. self-regulation

• Holding emotional release safely

• Safety protocols, boundaries & aftercare

Crisis & Nervous System Stabilization

• What to do when someone shuts down or “freaks out”

• Grounding through breath, body & voice

• Verbal and non-verbal regulation tools

• Clear emergency scripts

• Staying present under pressure

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

• Clear, compassionate communication

• Managing conflict in groups

• Giving feedback that empowers growth

• Naming needs and boundaries

• Holding emotional expression without collapse

Embodied Leadership & Shadow Work

• Your facilitator identity and gifts

• Triggers, blind spots & patterns

• How your nervous system leads the group

• Grounding, closure, and self-protection for facilitators

• Authentic authority vs. performance

Teaching Practice & Feedback

• Multiple teaching opportunities (one on one and small groups)

• Supportive, precise feedback

• Voice, structure, pacing & presence

• Clarifying intention & sequencing

• Expanded awareness & mindfulness

• Playfulness & creativity

• Refining your unique facilitation style

Facilitating in Different Contexts

• Festivals vs. small circles

• Retreats vs. workshops

• Online vs. in-person spaces

• Reading the room & adapting in real time

Your Authentic Niche

• Understanding where you truly belong as a facilitator

• Clarifying strengths and direction

• Building confidence in your personal path

TEACHER INTRODUCTIONS

You will train with exceptionally experienced facilitators whose backgrounds span trauma-informed care, emergency response, Non-Violent Communication, embodiment, and decades of real-world teaching and crisis experience.

Each teacher brings depth, humility, and lived knowledge—not just certifications, but years of guiding people through transformation, breakdowns, and breakthroughs. 

Mahara Mc Kay

Founder & Lead Facilitator

Mahara McKay, founder of Equilibra - A sanctuary in the Swiss Alps, is an internationally experienced facilitator, with over 4000 teaching hours across the world, and a decade of embodied practice and facilitation. Her work bridges trauma-aware embodiment, tantric & shamanic arts , breathwork, yoga, meditation, vocal activation, dance, emotional release and shadow integration.

Mahara has trained extensively across India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and New Zealand, studying a wide range of spiritual teachings and personal development practices. Her teaching is grounded, experiential, and deeply human—shaped as much by life experience as by formal training.

In this training, Mahara focuses on embodied leadership, facilitator awareness, shadow work, group dynamics, and teaching practice labs. She supports participants in finding their authentic facilitation style while strengthening presence, clarity, courage and ethical authority.

Éva Rambala

Non-Violent Communication & Conflict Transformation

Éva Rambala became an authorized trainer of the International Center for Non-Violent Communication (NVC) in the year 2000 and working closely with Marshall B. Rosenberg, the founder of NVC, for more then five years. With 25+ years of experience and thousands of trainings across 40+ countries, she brings exceptional depth, precision, and compassion to the art of communication.

Her work supports people in expressing honesty without blame, listening with empathy under pressure, navigating conflict, giving and receiving feedback, and setting boundaries with clarity and care.

In this training, Éva leads the Non-Violent Communication module, supporting facilitators to strengthen relational intelligence, manage group conflict, offer empowering feedback, and communicate needs and boundaries without collapsing or dominating.

Rahel

Trauma-Informed Facilitation & Psychological Safety

Rahel is the founder of Zoia and brings a rare

combination of clinical expertise, teaching experience,

and intuitive clarity. With a professional background

as a nursing specialist and lecturer, her work focuses

on trauma-informed spaces, mental health, and nervous

system safety in group settings.

She explores how trauma manifests in the body, psyche,

group dynamics, and spiritual spaces—and how

facilitators can foster safety, self-regulation, and resilience without overstepping their scope of practice.

In this training, Rahel teaches trauma-informed

facilitation, helping participants understand trauma

responses, cultivate safety, recognize overwhelm and dissociation, and support self-regulation within groups.

Yvonne Brunner

Crisis Response & Nervous System Stabilization

Yvonne Brunner brings over 27 years of frontline emergency response experience to this training. Her professional path includes work as a nursing assistant, registered nurse, operating room nurse, and long-term paramedic with Rettung Chur in Switzerland.

Her teaching is grounded, calm, and deeply practical — shaped by decades of real-life crisis situations where clarity, presence, and nervous system regulation are essential. Yvonne specializes in acute stress response, panic, shutdown, and stabilization under pressure, offering facilitators concrete tools for moments when things escalate unexpectedly.

In this training, Yvonne leads the Crisis & Nervous System Stabilization module, focusing on hands-on practice, emergency orientation, and staying regulated while supporting others in intense situations.

🗣 Teaching language: German

If you do not understand German, please let us know in advance — so we can organize a translator if needed.

A CORE PILAR OF THE TRAINING : The Mahara Method™

This training is grounded in a unique ethical and embodied approach known as The Mahara Method™.

Rather than focusing on techniques alone, this pillar addresses the often‑unseen layer of facilitation: the inner orientation from which facilitation arises.

Participants are guided to explore responsibility, shadow awareness, nervous‑system literacy, and ethical leadership — learning how to hold spaces that are rooted in service, care, and attunement rather than performance, self‑interest, or unconscious influence.

Through theory, reflection, and embodied practice, facilitators learn to recognize subtle dynamics such as savior patterns, spiritual bypassing, approval‑seeking, and charisma‑driven leadership — and to reorient toward clarity, humility, and trauma‑informed care.

The Mahara Method™ weaves through the entire training, shaping how participants teach, receive feedback, navigate group dynamics, and carry their work into the world.

This pillar exists because how a space is held matters as much as what is offered.

WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR

• Facilitators who already hold space—and feel the responsibility that comes with it.

Through embodied learning and real-time practice, participants strengthen their capacity to lead safe, grounded and and impactful experiences with clarity and confidence.

• It is open to teachers of tantric and shamanic arts, yoga, dance and vocal activation, breathwork practitioners, meditation guides, embodiment facilitators, bodyworkers, and women’s circle space holders who wish to deepen their facilitation skills through developing the skills, nervous system capacity, and presence required to lead trauma-informed and ethically held spaces.

• Space-holders wanting to deepen safety & confidence

• Those ready to do their own inner work alongside professional growth

• This training is not for beginners—it is for those who feel the responsibility and privilege of holding others.

WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH

• Greater confidence and embodied authority

• A strong trauma-informed foundation

• Practical tools for real facilitation moments

• Clear communication & boundary skills

• Refined professional readiness

• A deeper connection to yourself

• A clearer sense of your authentic facilitator niche

INVESTMENT 

Please keep in mind that Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world for travel costs, especially accomodation and food - significantly above average Europe prices.

Just for accomodation and food alone (NOT including teachers, marketing, or cleaning, etc..) for a total of two weeks in Switzerland, to rent a space for retreats it costs around CHF 2500-4000.- (per person).

For the same standard in Portugal = CHF 1500-2400.- and in Asia around CHF 500-2000.- for the same standard & quality.

• Early Bird Tickets (Not for Helpers Ticket) - Save CHF 299.- Ends 1. March 2026.

  Use the Discount Code: spaceholder299

• Dorm Room Ticket: CHF 4'999.- Inkl MWST (8.1%) Earlybird Price 4'799.-

• Double Room Ticket:  CHF 5'555.- Inkl MWST (8.1%). Earlybird Price 5256.-

  You will share the room with 1 person and each have their own bed – first to book gets the double bed ;)

  
  

• Private Room Ticket: CHF 6666.- Inkl MWST (8.1%) Earlybird Price 6367.-

  
  

• Helper Ticket: CHF 3500.- Inkl MWST (8.1%)

  No Early Bird Discount

  ** When signing up for the Helpers Ticket, you agree to arrive a day earlier and leave 1 day after the course. Please contact us soon after your registration, so we can send you all information you need to know.
  

Monthly payment plans are available. Feel free to reach out if you’d like more information.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN YOUR TICKET

• Your chosen accomodation in the Swiss Alps.

• 3 delicious vegan/vegetarian meals per day during two weeks

• A two week intensive facilitator teacher training with exceptionally experienced facilitators

• 8.1% MWST / Tax

  
  

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED ("Fees")

• Tourist Tax 4.40/night *

•  2.3% on the first payment (online ticketing fee).

• Your transportation to the venue

*With the tourist Tax you have the possiblity to travel with Public Transport for a discounted price in Glarus.

PAYMENT PROCESS 

The payment process is split into three payments:

1st payment = room reservation (Online Payment)

2nd Payment = 2 weeks intensive teacher training (Bank transfer)

3rd payment = delicious vegetarian/vegan meals (at the venue, direct to our cook)

THE VENUE

EQUILIBRA – A sanctuary for inner alchemy and awakening, located in Filzbach, in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by majestic mountains. The view of the beautiful Lake Walensee and its waterfalls, along with many wonderful hiking trails right outside the door, invites you to relax. In the 1920s, the building was a silk factory, later a mini-golf course, before it was converted into three apartments. Today, it has been lovingly renovated, preserving the charm of the building.

ACCOMMODATION

The accommodations at Equilibra are on-site and offer enough privacy and space for your comfort. 

We have a showerplan and share all bathrooms. There are 4 showers which is enough for the small group size that we accomodate.

If you would like a private bathroom, we recommend booking a nearby hotel - click here. 

In our cozy 64m² dormitory, there are no bunk beds, and everyone has their own privacy through dividers or curtains.

HOW TO GET HERE

For information on how to reach us by plane, train, bus, or car, as well as parking details, click here. 

Address: Equilibra, Webereistrasse 7, 8757 Filzbach, GL, Switzerland

GOOD TO KNOW

• Please check your email inbox or spam folder after your online purchase to see if you have received our confirmation email with further important information. If not, it’s important to contact us.

• 1 week before the course, we will send you a welcome letter with all the details you need.

• The course is suitable for English and German speakers who understand basic English (you can speak/teach in German). Three of four teachers will be guiding this course in English.

• Karma Yoga: Everyone will be helping once a day for 15-20 min either with cleaning or in the kitchen.

QUESTIONS: If you have any questions, please contact us via email at 4maharamckay@gmail.com

We look forward to welcoming you here at Equilibra.

Mahara & Team