ABOUT
I found in the body my first home.
It was within it that I learned to listen, to blossom, and to recognize beauty.
I am Yayá Freitas — yoga teacher, somatic therapist, artist, and founder of Hortus.
With a degree in Philosophy, I began my journey in yoga at the age of 22 and, since then, I have been deepening the body as a path to presence and awareness. At 26, I immersed myself in massage and healing practices, discovering that touch is also a language — one capable of restoring and transforming. As an artist, I found expression and sensitivity that permeate my work and shape the way I relate to the body and to others.
I come from Brazil and, for the past six years, I have been planting roots in Portugal, where I build family, community, and this shared space of well-being. It was in the midst of the pandemic that Hortus was born: a garden made of hands and heart, created to reconnect, restore, and blossom.
What is the somatic approach?
At Hortus, the somatic approach understands the body as a place of memory, language, and healing. Through conscious touch, mindful movement, and deep listening, somatic therapy invites you to perceive what your body feels, holds, and needs to express. It is a practice that traverses the physical, emotional, and energetic without separating or forcing. A path to restore balance, reduce tension, regulate the nervous system and reconnect with your living beauty.
Our history
Every journey begins with a purpose. Ours was born from a deep desire to inspire transformation, balance, and connection.
It started with a small room in the historic Shopping Brasília mall in downtown Porto. It wasn't just a space, it was an idea in motion. That's where the first sessions were born: massage therapy treatments, yoga meetings, practices conducted in a close and individual manner. At the pace of those who arrive, feel and stay.
At one point, Hortus was also welcomed into my home. There, between open windows, conspiratorial silence and hot tea, the work deepened. It was a time of rooting. The sessions took place with the most genuine elements: presence, listening and trust. They gained intimacy, close monitoring and the bond with those who accompanied me became even stronger. This cycle brought stability, opening up space inside and outside for Hortus to flourish as a studio, now located in Cedofeita, in the heart of Porto.
Today, Hortus is more than just a studio. It is a living space, where care becomes practice and beauty happens in the details. Between sessions, experiences, classes, workshops, and events, we continue to cultivate presence, movement, and well-being with simplicity, listening, and intention. We welcome with time, work with our hands, believe in the strength of the body, and in the wisdom of those who allow themselves to feel. Hortus is made up of encounters. Of those who arrive for the first time, of those who have been walking with us for years. And of everything that is yet to be born.
