Somatic Release & Deep Rest Retreat
The tension has outlasted the reason for it. This is a somatic release retreat, private, just outside Tulum, working through the body rather than through the story: breath, movement, bodywork, sound and rest. Some of it is uncomfortable, and that is usually where the useful part is.
Is this for you?
You do the work but still feel heavy
You can name your patterns and you know where they came from, and the tension sits there anyway. Understanding has not turned into feeling. You are not looking for more insight. You want it out of the body, not just understood by the mind.
You are tired of managing and want to let go
You have been coping for a long time. Holding it together, staying functional, doing what needs doing. Underneath the competence there is a tiredness that sleep does not touch, and you are ready to stop managing it and let it go.
You want depth without diagnosis
You do not want to be assessed, labelled or treated. You want to be met as a whole person, by people who trust your own body to do the work, with company rather than instructions.
What makes it special
We do not diagnose and we do not treat. Between us we have spent nearly forty years practising and teaching yoga, meditation, somatic work, energy work and classical Tantra. What we have learned is that the deepest release does not come from being fixed. It comes from being held. So that is what we do: patient, and shaped around the person in front of us.
Every somatic release retreat we run is private. You do not join a group of strangers working through their stories. You come alone, or with your partner, to our own place in the jungle outside Tulum, where the pace drops and the body can finally exhale. There is no curriculum and nobody telling you what you should be feeling. There are slow practices, breathwork, movement, bodywork, energy work, temazcal and sound, as much or as little as you want. There is quiet, and there is time. If you choose, the days can include a guided psilocybin session, held with the same care as everything else. What matters is not that you do anything. It is that your body finally gets the conditions it has been waiting for.
Getting started
The work starts before you arrive. We talk about what you are coming for, and what you are not. We screen, because safety is not negotiable, and we tell you plainly what the days will hold.
Clarifying your intention
You decide the timing and the length, and we stay flexible about both. The price is on each retreat page, the same for everybody. If it is out of reach, you tell us and we find a way.
Connection and alignment
Then we talk, on a confidential discovery call. You ask what you need to ask. We explain how we work and how we screen, and by the end we both know whether this is right.
Committing to your work
Once we agree the retreat fits, a deposit holds your dates. It is a booking step, and it is also a promise you make to yourself, which matters more once the days get difficult.
The retreat immersion
The days move in one direction, and none of it is accidental. You arrive prepared, you are held through the work itself, and you leave knowing what to do with what you found.
Psychedelic ceremonies
We approach these journeys with care, and with respect for how personal they are. You are in a safe, comfortable room, someone stays with you the whole time, and what surfaces is yours to work with at your own pace.
Tantra practices
Classical Tantra works through the body, and it is one of the most direct ways we know to put you back in contact with yourself. Sessions may include breathwork, slow movement, partner exercises and conscious touch, always inside the boundaries you set and always at your pace.
Meditation
Guided sits, some long and some only ten minutes. They teach you how to watch what is happening in you without immediately trying to fix it.
Sound healing
Gongs, bowls and other instruments played over you while you lie down. The body settles first and the mind follows, which makes this a useful companion to the harder days.
Yoga
Certified teachers, and no performance. Slow, intentional movement, attention on the breath, and everything adapted to the body you brought with you, whatever shape it is in.
Wellness practices
Depending on what you need, we can bring in other practices, led by people we trust: temazcal, the traditional Mayan sweat lodge, Chinese tea ceremony, massage, hypnotherapy or EMDR.
Integrative support
Time set aside to talk, one to one or with the people you came with. You say what happened, we listen, and together we work out what to do with it.
Nourishing healthy cuisine
A private chef cooks for you while you are here, using fresh ingredients from the market, and there is always more than you will manage to eat. Meals are long, and nobody is in a hurry.
Breathtaking location
The retreats happen at our own place in the jungle just outside Tulum, on land we look after and keep entirely for you. Nobody else is here while you are. The house is modern and self-sufficient, the jungle starts at the edge of the path, and both are part of the work rather than a backdrop to it.
Post-retreat integration
What you find here only counts if it survives contact with your ordinary life. That is why integration is not an afterthought for us, and why we stay in touch long after the retreat ends.
Embodying insights
While you are here we build in time to catch what is moving: journaling if you write, silence if you do not, and Tantric or meditative practices that bring the insight into the body while it is still fresh.
Post-retreat Integration
Afterwards you get integration sessions with us, at whatever pace you need. Some people arrive with questions, some with a plan, and some simply because the week after a retreat is the strangest week of the year.
Optional on-going support
If you want to keep going, we offer follow-up calls, group circles, and introductions to practitioners we trust. None of it is obligatory.
Our team
Between us we have nearly forty years of combined experience in yoga, meditation, somatic and energy work, psychology, psychedelic medicine and nutrition. we will prepare you, sit with you, and guide you afterwards.
Location
Alma Chakana, our home in the jungle just outside of Tulum. While you are with us, the place is yours alone. We never share it with other guests.
Pricing
Our pricing price is fixed and it is on each retreat page, from $1,999 for three days to $3,999 for five. If it is out of reach for you, tell us and we will find a way. If you feel the work was worth more, you are welcome to give more, and it goes to the fund that brings someone else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every retreat include psychedelics?
No. Everything we offer is optional, including the medicine. Your retreat is built around what you need and what you are ready for, and nothing is compulsory. Plenty of guests come for the rest, the work and the food, and never ask for a ceremony.
Are your retreats for individuals or couples?
Both. People come alone, and people come as a couple. We build the days differently for each, and we will tell you honestly which retreat suits your situation.
What kind of Tantra do you practice?
Classical Tantra, which works through breath, slow movement, energy awareness and non-sexual conscious touch, always with consent and always at your pace. If you are a couple and want to explore intimacy, we give guidance, and our facilitators never take part in any sexual touch. Our [Tantra guide](/blog/1-tantra-unveiled) explains how this differs from what you will find online.
What results can I expect from a retreat?
We do not promise results, and we are suspicious of anyone who does. Seeing yourself clearly, or knowing what to do next, comes out of your own work rather than out of ours. What we bring is preparation, the tools and a steady space, and we stay with you while you use them.
What is the primary goal of your retreats?
To help you put down the tension you arrived with and hear yourself think again. We keep the days quiet and unhurried, and we leave room for the work you came to do.
What is the general atmosphere of your retreats?
Quiet, unhurried and friendly. Some hours are hard, and we do not pretend otherwise, but nobody is left alone with a difficult one.
Are your retreats standardized or personalized?
Personalized. There is no set programme to fit yourself into. We build each retreat with you, from what you tell us and from what we see on the day.
What does "spiritual" mean in your context?
It is not religion, and it is not decoration. It means the connection to your own heart, to whatever you call the larger thing you are part of, and to the part of you that already knows what it wants.
How do I know if this retreat is right for me?
You will know more after the discovery call than you do now. Our retreats suit people who are ready to look at their own life honestly. The call is where we both find out whether that is you, and whether we are the right people to sit with you through it.
Choose a different theme
We run retreats around a handful of themes, and every one of them is built for the person who books it. If this one is not yours, look at the others.
The full reset micro-retreat
One day, starting in the morning and ending before dinner, with nothing asked of you in between. This is the private one-day reset at our place in the jungle outside Tulum, for people whose calendar will not give them three days.
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Nervous system reset & burnout recovery retreat
Rest has stopped putting anything back. This is a private nervous system reset and burnout recovery retreat in the jungle outside Tulum, for one person, a couple, or a small group who work together.
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Couples Intimacy & Tantra Retreat
Four days for two people who have not properly looked at each other in a while. This is a private couples retreat at our place outside Tulum, built on classical Tantra: breath, slow movement and contact rather than another conversation about the same thing.
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A sacred day for two - couples day retreat
A day for the two of you, with the house to yourselves and nowhere to be afterwards. You do not need to be in trouble to book this. Most couples who come want one private day in the jungle outside Tulum that is not a restaurant and not the beach: slow practice together, some silence, and time to notice each other again.
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The Digital Detox Day
When did you last go a whole day without checking anything? This is that day. One private day at our place in the jungle near Tulum, for a digital detox you can actually keep: no screens, no notifications, and nothing urgent waiting for an answer.
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Psychedelic Integration & Transpersonal Healing Retreat
Integration is the part most people do on their own, and it does not have to be. This is a private psychedelic integration retreat in the Tulum jungle, for the work around the session: preparing for one, sitting with what it opened, or making sense of one you took years ago.
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Deep trip with sound
A few hours of gongs and bowls played over you, privately, with no group to share them with. You come alone or with your partner to our jungle house outside Tulum, the house is yours for the day, and nobody else is booked in.
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Digital Detox & Deep Presence Retreat
Your phone is the first thing you touch in the morning and the last thing you look at, which is a design decision somebody else made. This is a private digital detox retreat in the jungle near Tulum: a few days in which nothing is expected of you and nothing is beeping.
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Tantra intro - a day of embodied practice
Most of what you have read about Tantra is about something else. This is a private day of classical Tantra at our place outside Tulum: breath, slow movement, meditation and non-sexual contact, for you alone or for the two of you.
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Burnout first-aid day
This is the day to book when you cannot take a week and cannot wait another month. Private first aid for burnout in the jungle outside Tulum: breathwork, somatic release, meditation, sound and rest, for one person or a couple.
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Yoga, Sound & Meditation Retreat
Sound, played properly, does most of the work that meditation is supposed to do. This is a private yoga, sound and meditation retreat in our jungle house outside Tulum: slow practice for any level, long sits, and gongs and bowls played for you alone rather than for a room of thirty.
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I leave with a deep connection to myself and the world around me, and remembering that there's so much beauty in the world and we just need to slow down, connect and experience it - and that's the gift that you've given me...
“These 2 are exactly what they portrayed themselves as. Spiritual guides with a specialty in helping couples reconnect. I am very grateful for their time and the gifts they have shared...”
“If you are seeking this path to the point of reading this review, please take this as your sign to pursue. I had this craving inside of me- this seeking of clarity and to exile the inner barriers that were locked in...”
“Our 4-day personalized spiritual wellness retreat in Tulum, Mexico with Compassion Retreats was truly one of the most meaningful and beautifully held experiences of our lives...”
Start with a conversation
Tell us what you are looking for, even if it is not clear yet. We will tell you honestly whether this retreat is right for you.