1 WEEK RETREAT
LAKE ATITLÁN, GUATEMALA
FEB 16 - 23, 2025
Hosts & Lead Facilitators:
STEPHANIE KITTELL & VJ BALA
​
Guest Facilitators:
-
COBY & ANANDA (Plant Medicine & Shamanic Ceremonies)
-
IZAIAS & IZABEL (Mayan Fire Ceremonies & Cosmology)
​
FROM $1,988 USD
Flights & Ground Transportation not included.
$88 is donated directly to WATER 4 LIFE.
APPLY HERE
The first step in our application process is to schedule a discovery call: to ensure this journey is appropriate for you, help us best accommodate you, answer any questions you might have, and get to know each other a little.
​
Fill in the contact form below to get started.
A DEEP RETREAT DESIGNED TO HELP YOU STEP INTO THE PRESENCE & POWER OF YOUR HEART, GUIDED & SUPPORTED BY THE GREAT WISDOM OF MOTHER NATURE'S MEDICINES.
​
​
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
​
Maybe you are feeling cagey in the concrete jungle, and are craving a deep immersion in nature. Perhaps you have forgotten your true nature and are ready for a re-set, a letting go, a life pivot, a step in a new direction. Your pragmatic mind may have been steering your life ship and you now desire to reunite with the intuition of your heart. There might be a knowing that a part of you is yearning to be free from unhealthy habit patterns and judgements, to express, play, love and be loved!
So, we’ve got the medicine for that...
​
​
WHAT IS HEART MEDICINE?
​
Heart Medicines are practices, tools, rituals, traditions, and plant teachers that help you step into a more empowered presence of heart; in life, business, and relationship. For all your relations.
​
This is your opportunity to engage with a variety of lovingly selected heart medicines, in a supported and safe container, to see what lights you up and reignites the clarity you seek to thrive!​​
​
​
OUR JOURNEY INCLUDES THESE HEART MEDICINES:
​
YOGA, MINDFULNESS & MOVEMENT ARTS
Together, we will harmonize body, heart and mind through movement, meditation, and breath practices. We’ll explore ancient traditions that help you thrive in a modern context, while creatively embodying and expressing the heart’s capacity to guide you through life with greater awareness, adaptability, and ease.
HEART TO HEART DHARMA DISCUSSIONS
We’ll drive life’s questions deeper into the heart of understanding, uniting science and spirituality. These juicy workshops will help align your heart and mind, expanding your possibilities.
SACRED SOUND & SONG
Our explorations in vibrational resonance will help you harmonize with the frequencies of love, free your voice, and express your heart’s truth, in tune with the rhythm of all life.
SHAMANIC JOURNEY
We’ll enter into a shamanic sound journey through the three worlds of the serpent, puma, and condor - guided by the ancient Meso-American plant medicine of Cacao (for heart opening), along with Sananga (for clarity of vision), and Hapé (for clarity of connection).
MAYAN FIRE CEREMONY & COSMOVISION
In the Mayan tradition, the fire is considered the Ear of the Universe. Our local mayan guides will invite us to co-create the ceremonial fire. Here, we’ll release what is ready to be burned away, offer our prayers and intentions, humble our hearts to the great unknown, and receive the ancient mayan wisdom teachings.
WACHUMA (SAN PEDRO) PLANT MEDICINE CEREMONY
Together, we will journey through the day with the grandfather medicine, the divine masculine, a stoic and wise cactus that slows the thinking mind and brings your heart back to stillness and presence, to witness the spirited interconnectedness of all beings.
AYAHUASCA PLANT MEDICINE CEREMONY
We’ll also journey through the night with the sounds of the Icaros (medicine songs) and the grandmother medicine Ayahuasca, the divine feminine, a jungle vine that lifts the veil between the physical and spirit world, and teaches you the profound lessons you are ready to receive.
SACRED SWEAT & PLANT SHOWER
In community, we’ll enter the sacred sauna to sweat out physical and energetic toxins; clearing space for new beginnings, and then steep in the intelligence and healing properties of plants with a refreshing herbal plant shower.
​
STAND UP PADDLE BOARD (SUP) ADVENTURE in LAKE ATITLÁN
Deepen your intimacy with the Mayan 'Womb of Creation', Lago Atitlán, by paddling into the heart of her waters. Enter into this moving meditation with reverence and wonder, guided by SUP Yoga Certified Facilitator, Stephanie.
DEEP IMMERSION IN NATURE
We invite you to join us in the fertile and feral lands where our own seeds of deep transformation were sewn, in the volcanic highlands of Guatemala. Take a break, gain a shift in perspective, and give yourself permission to re-wild as your bare feet kiss the Earth.
NOURISHMENT
We’ll enjoy 3 delicious and wholesome plant-based meals per day, with unlimited herbal teas from the garden and triple-filtered drinking water. Coffee and additional snacks are available for purchase throughout the day. We are happy to cater to allergies and dietary restrictions.
​TIME & SPACE FOR REST & REFLECTION
We offer this fertile ground for you to process and integrate your experiences and surrender into softness.
​
INTEGRATION & AFTERCARE
With ongoing support and guidance post-retreat, discover how to integrate the insights into your life after our week together, as the journey continues to blossom within you. We offer a follow-up group zoom call post-retreat as well as continued conversations in the Whatsapp group chat, and discounted 1:1 support from your facilitators.
​
​
​THIS JOURNEY IS OPEN & INCLUSIVE TO ALL
​
All activities are optional. No experience is necessary. Though some preparation is encouraged (we will provide this information in our application process to ensure you are ready and supported.
You are invited to honour your needs, your space, and your heart’s knowing. Of course, the alchemy is in the sharing! We’ll be co-creating an intimate container - a loving and encouraging space to connect more deeply within and with each other.
THE TAKE-AWAYS:
​
-
You will step into your next chapter REFRESHED, INSPIRED & EMPOWERED!
​
-
You'll also leave with a helpful TOOLKIT of PRACTICES & DEEP EXPERIENTIAL INSIGHTS to continue your journey along the Heart Path.​
​
-
You'll remain FOREVER CONNECTED (digitally & spiritually) to your family of Heart Medicine Journeyers through our private online forums & group chats, to help keep you motivated & inspired.
YOUR HOME FOR THE WEEK
Casa Kula is a regenerative project and retreat oasis meant to nurture the land, strengthen the local community and create a space conducive to healing and celebration. It is nestled in the lakeside Mayan village of Tzununá (Kaqchikel for "Home of the Hummingbird”). Wake up to breath-giving views of Lake Atitlán and surrounding volcanoes, and enjoy the peace and quiet of a true immersion with nature, including walks through the well-loved permaculture gardens - an abundant array of banana trees, coffee, avocado, veggies, tropical flowers, fresh herbs, and more.
Accommodations are sweet and stylish, comfortable, down-to-earth and in harmony with sustainable living, with options to share space or choose privacy (SEE BELOW).
WASHROOMS & SHOWERS: Facilities include multiple shared dry toilets (clean, natural, sustainable, giving back to the Earth) with an epic volcano & lake view; as well as spacious & private outdoor spring-fed solar-powered showers with regular visits from hummingbirds and butterflies. All within a 30-second walk from any accommodation.
WIFI & ELECTRICITY: Electricity is available in all the accommodations (with the exception of the tents). Wifi is available in the central common spaces, though we suggest you take the opportunity to unplug digitally and plug in to nature.
​
LOUNGE SPACES: Hammocks, gardens, ceremonial fire pit, and the spacious outdoor kitchen & lounge offer many places to rest and reflect or connect with your new friends. And the lakeshore is just a short walk away, down a dirt road.
PRACTICE/ CEREMONY PLATFORM: The open-air (with roof) platform is hand crafted with local love from quality teak and bamboo materials, and is outfitted with yoga mats, straps, blocks, cushions, and blankets. The view of the lake and volcanoes is not to be missed. Spirit sings here!
MEALS & BEVERAGES: Nutritious, delicious, plant-based vegan and vegetarian, homemade with love by Chef Manola, well-balanced with quality ingredients, mostly organic, and locally-sourced - often right from the property’s own permaculture gardens! You’ll enjoy three abundant meals per day, with optional snack & coffee purchases available any time. Herbal teas and triple-purified drinking water are available throughout the day as you desire. We are happy to cater to allergies and dietary restrictions.
Private: FURNISHED TENTS
$1,988 USD pp (single occupancy)
Includes palm palapa (roof) over the tent, single mattress and bedding for comfort and warmth - for privacy & a deeper reconnection with Mother Nature. Electricity available in scommon areas. Valuables can be stored in safe in main building.
Shared: INTI (SUN) & QUILLA (MOON) CABINS
$2,128 USD pp (triple & quad occupancy)
Spacious wood cabins with palm roofs, sun-filled large windows, upper and lower levels (each with own entrance) & private deck. Has electricity & secure doors/windows. Inti Cabin has 2 single beds (upper, lower level) & 1 double bed on lower level. Quilla Cabin has 4 single beds, 2 on each level. 30-second walk to shared toilet and shower facilities.
Private: NEW TINY ROOMS
$2,128 USD pp (single occupancy)
Single occupancy spaces that serve as a half-way option between a cabin and a tent. With full raised floor, roof, and door, wood half-walls and wrap-around screens provide and open air feeling (with privacy curtains). 1 single bed, for privacy & a deeper reconnection with Mother Nature. 30-second walk to shared toilet and shower facilities.
Private: GARDEN CABAÑAS
$2,388 USD pp (single occupancy)
$2,128 USD pp (double occupancy for a couple)
Cozy, bright, wood cabins with private entrance and patio, for those who'd like their own space. Has electricity & secure doors/windows. 1 queen bed per cabaña. 30-second walk to shared toilet and shower facilities.