Programme note

The Neighbours Hub — a private reset in Furnas

Programme note · updated October 2026

Enquire

At a glance

In Furnas, São Miguel, Azores — about 45 minutes from Ponta Delgada (PDL). Each experience is tailored to each cohort.
Eight guests in one closed cohort; one cohort per season. October 2026 cohort fully booked; enquiries open for future experiences.
Private calibration with Rob Paynter 7–14 days before you arrive, and again after you leave.
Application only. Investment: on enquiry.

The method: Breathe · Move · Connect

Breathe. Wim Hof Method breathwork and cold exposure with Samir Javed. Regulation at the body level before anything else.
Move. Somatic movement, yoga and raw nature with Carolina Lino; handpan and sound in nature with Jorge Valerio. Movement that slows thinking.
Connect. Eight founders and executives, decision councils with Rob Paynter, and the cozido das Furnas table.

The decision council

You bring one decision. The coach brings the method. The room pressure-tests your thinking — asking the questions your usual circle won’t. You do the deciding.

The journey and the shape of the week

Before: a private calibration with Rob to set a clear intention. The week: body first, then movement in raw nature, then an honest room of eight; a sound bath with Nuno Amendoeira closes each day. After: a private calibration so the clarity survives your calendar. This is the shape of the week, not an itinerary.

The people

Samir Javed — Wim Hof Method — Level 3 Instructor. Leads the reset at a physiological level. Cold exposure and breathwork as tools for nervous system regulation and sharper decision-making.
Rob Paynter — Executive Coach · Former C-suite executive · CBT. Guides decision-making and integration. Private calibration before and after the reset. 20 years inside C-suites. Specialises in decision-making under uncertainty.
Carolina Lino — Yoga · Somatic Movement. Uses movement to support clarity and mental focus. Specialises in somatic practices for high-performance professionals.
Jorge Valerio — Handpan · Sound in Nature. Uses movement and sound in nature to transition out of mental noise. The bridge between physical regulation and stillness.
Nuno Amendoeira — Sound Healing. Uses sound to unlock presence and internal stillness. Closes each day's programme.

Founded by Miguel Pestana (London, formerly Google) and Tiago Cordeiro (Sydney, formerly Burton), both from São Miguel.

The place

Private Cabins. Tucked into the landscape. No hotel corridors, no lobby noise. Just the sound of the forest and the earth below.
Thermal Hot Springs. Geothermally heated water rising from deep below the earth’s surface. You immerse. Your nervous system stops negotiating. This is where the physiological reset begins — before the breathwork, before the cold.
Terra Nostra Gardens. Ancient thermal pools in a subtropical forest. Mineral-rich water heated by the earth below. The air is different here. The light is different. Everything slows down by design.
Cooked Underground. Pots lowered into the earth. Six hours of geothermal heat. No chef, no kitchen, no flame. The earth does the cooking. This is where cozido das Furnas has been prepared for centuries — a ritual before it became a meal.
Cozido das Furnas. The most unhurried meal you will ever sit at. Slow-cooked underground for six hours, served at a table with eight people who have earned the right to an honest conversation. Food as metaphor for the entire week.

Who it is for

Founder or senior leader, 35–60
Making 6-figure+ decisions
High-performing but mentally saturated
You know your decision quality has quietly declined
Willing to step away from control for the full programme

Not for you if: looking for relaxation or a traditional holiday; avoiding difficult decisions, not facing them; unwilling to engage in physical activities.

The container

No cameras. No audience. No record. Honest conversation requires no audience; privacy is the condition that makes the work possible.

How a place is offered

Enquire — five short questions, about two minutes.
Read personally by the founders and reviewed with Rob Paynter — a reply within 48 hours.
Calibration with Rob, 7–14 days before you arrive.
The week in Furnas.
Integration — a private calibration after you leave.

The research behind the method

These studies informed the design of the programme. None of them studied The Neighbours Hub.

Lever	Finding	Source
Breathe	Five minutes a day of cyclic sighing (two inhales through the nose, one long exhale through the mouth) improved mood and reduced physiological arousal more than mindfulness meditation.	Balban, Spiegel, Huberman et al., Cell Reports Medicine, 2023
Move	Walking boosted creative output by around sixty per cent compared with sitting still.	Oppezzo & Schwartz, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2014
Move	A ninety-minute walk in nature measurably reduced rumination — the loop your brain runs when a decision won’t resolve.	Bratman et al., PNAS, 2015
Connect	Group intelligence is real and measurable — and has little to do with the smartest person in the room. It depends on how the group talks: who listens, and whether everyone gets a turn.	Woolley et al., Science, 2010
Place	Four days immersed in nature, disconnected from devices, improved creative problem-solving by fifty per cent.	Atchley, Strayer & Atchley, PLoS ONE, 2012
Method	Across more than 1,000 major business decisions, the decision process mattered roughly six times more than the quality of the analysis.	Lovallo & Sibony, McKinsey Quarterly, 2010
Outcome	Goals change behaviour when people are committed to them — and commitment grows when the goal truly matters to you and you believe you can deliver it.	Locke & Latham, American Psychologist, 2002
Sound	Natural sounds lower stress and lift positive feelings. Water sounds showed the strongest effect on health outcomes.	Buxton et al., PNAS, 2021

Contact

reset@theneighbourshub.com · Book a 30-minute call: calendly.com/reset-theneighbourshub/30min · instagram.com/theneighbourshub/