Vivencia Maya Retreat
8-day Cultural Immersion
in the Heart of Mayan Cosmovision
August 5th-12th, 2026
We are so honored to invite you to a mystical adventure in the Sacred Mountains of Xesampual, to commune with Nature, study her medicines and the rich culture of the Maya K’ich’e.
Join us for a unique cultural experience in the heart of Maya Cosmovision, this 8-day Retreat is a transformative journey guided by ancestral practices, connection to nature and the Spirituality of the Cholq’ij (Sacred Mayan Calendar) and your K’ilal Ch’umilal (Star of your birth).
This rare opportunity offers the possibility for profound personal growth, spiritual connection, self-healing and ways of connecting to life that can support you through all areas of your life.
An opportunity to immerse yourself in the Mayan Culture of Guatemala & learn about the Cosmos, plant medicine, ritual and ceremony from the Maya K’iche’ Peoples.
Align with the natural cycles of the Cosmos and the Earth.
Rooted in the Mayan Highlands of Guatemala, our Retreat will take place at a Sacred location…
Xesampual (Heart of the Mountains), Santa Lucía Utatlán.
Nana Ixquik’ and family invite us warmly to spend 8days (7nights) at their Sacred home in the mountains of Xesampual- A Mayan Sacred Site where our Retreat will take place: August 5-12th.
Lake Atitlán - San Marcos La Laguna.
This is our point of departure and return, an optional 3 nights accommodation at our hotel can be added in your registration: August 3-5 (before heading to Xesampual) and the night of the 12th (day of return).
**We advice our attendees coming from abroad to plan your flight to arrive at least 2 days before our start date (August 5th) so you may get everything you need at the lake to bring to the mountains and have a smooth travel experience.
JOIN THE WAITLIST
Retreat Overview
Over the 8 days of our retreat we’ll experience different traditional Mayan practices, hike to a sacred site, drink and prepare Cacau in a ceremonial way, plant baths inside the Tuj(Mayan Temazcal), attend a Mayan ball game, learn to heal yourself with the Mayan Abdominal massage, study the Cosmovision, try traditional foods, sit in Sacred Fire ceremonies, receive personal and group guidance from the Elders, and SO MUCH MORE…
During this retreat we will explore topics that may challenge learned belief systems and normalized cultural practices. Approach this retreat with an open heart, a curious mind, and a willingness to self-reflect and grow.
Connection to Ancestral and Earth-Based Practices
Deepen your connection with nature and the sacred cycles of life through rituals, ceremonies, and plant medicine.
Cultivate a sense of purpose, clarity, and belonging as a guardian of life and the earth.
Healing and Empowerment
Heal inherited beliefs and cultural distortions about community, health, and humaning.
Gain tools and practices like abdominal massage and working with medicinal plants to support personal and communal healing.
Integration of Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science
Learn to integrate ancestral Mayan teachings with contemporary understandings of human’s health.
Develop a holistic approach to thriving physically, emotionally, and spiritually by aligning with the natural rhythms of the body.
EXPERIENCE
In this retreat you will receive:
2 Sacred Mayan Fire Ceremonies
1 Healing Session inside the TUJ (Mayan Temazcal)
Personal Nawal Reading
Sacred Fire connection daily
Ceremony with the Spirituality of Cacau
Daily traditional foods
Sacred Tabaco and Cacau divination (a personal or group message channeled by our teachers).*
Your personal handwoven Faja
Agua Florida and Raxpom heating balm (handmade by you)
Song Circle with Cacau- opening the heart and voice
Marimba (for our 2 ceremonies)
Attend a traditional Mayan Ball game
Immersion into the Mayan Culture, the Ancestral Medicine ways and SO MUCH MORE….
RETREAT FLOW
Our retreat officially starts on August 5th with our travel together from San Marcos La Laguna, Lake Atitlán into the Mayan mountains of Xesampual. However, we are including an optional 2 nights accommodation at our hotel in San Marcos from the 3rd to the 5th of April to facilitate a soft arrival for the ones traveling from other countries and a 1 night accommodation at the same hotel on our return to the Lake on April 12th. So the full flow would look a bit like this:
August 3rd, 2026 - JunLajuj Aj (optional)
Arrival to Lake Atitlán and check in at the hotel
August 4th, 2026 - Kab’lajuj Ix (optional)
Day to get anything you need from town to bring to the mountain (e.g. snacks, toiletries, offerings, etc)
August 5th, 2026 - Oxlajuj Tzikin
Departure from San Marcos La Laguna in shuttle - 2:00pm
Arrival to Xesampual Community- 5:00 pm
Check in and dinner
Welcoming circle with Nana Rosalía
August 6th, 2026 - Jun Ajmak’
Opening Ceremony with Cacau and marimba
Introduction to Maya Cosmology
Creation stories with Nana Rosalía
August 7th, 2026 - Keb’ No’j
Tabaco cleansing ceremony
Mayan Nawal reading
Song circle with Cacau
August 8th, 2026 - Oxib Tijax
Hike to the Sacred Site, ceremonial offering
Maya Medicine Workshop
Time for 1:1 sessions*
August 9th, 2026 - Kajib Kawoq’
Tuj (Mayan Temazcal)
Traditional Mayan Ball game
Time for 1:1 sessions*
August 10th, 2026 - Jo’b Ajpu
Learning how to do a Self Mayan Abdominal massage
Time for 1:1 sessions*
August 11th, 2026 - Waqib’ Imox
Preparing Cacau in traditional way
Maya Cosmovision #2
Time for 1:1 sessions
August 12th, 2026 - Vukub’ Iq’
Closing Ceremony with Cacau and Marimba
Departure after lunch - 2:00 pm
Arrival to Lake Atitlán, check in at the hotel (optional accommodation).
Daily Flow format:
7:30am - Breakfast
9:00am - Activity of the day
1:00pm - Lunch
3:00pm - Second Activity of the day
6:30pm - Dinner
8:00pm - Occasional activity of the night
Snacks and breaks in between.
YOUR GUIDES
María Xtal’y
Born and raised in Guatemala, María is a Holistic therapist, Medicine woman, Artist and Full Spectrum Doula dedicated to serving the sanctity of life and our connection to Mother Earth. María weaves worlds through earth\water-based knowledge systems, utilizing indigenous ways of thinking to make holistic models of Physiology and Ecology. María is an apprentice of the Maya Cosmology via her relationships with Nana Ixquik’ and the family. She created Ruk’u’x Kawoq’ Academy in 2025 with the intention of amplifying the voices of the Mayan Midwives and sharing what has brought healing to her own life with more people around the world.
Nana Rosalía
Is a revered Elder Midwife and Ajq’ij who comes from a lineage of traditional Birthkeepers and Time Keepers from the Maya K’iche’ Peoples. Rosalía has kept and passed down to generations Ancestral Knowledge regarding birth, postpartum, womb health and the Mayan Cosmology. She is also a survivor of the Guatemalan genocide of indigenous peoples from 1960 to 1996. Nana Rosalía has sustained the Wisdom of her grandparents, attended hundreds of births in the traditional ancestral way, she has also taught and shared her wisdom with countless people from all over the world for decades and is a pillar of true Wisdom, Love and Resilience for all the K’iche’ Peoples and the world.
Nana Ixquik’
Daughter of Nana Rosalía, Ixquik’ was initiated as an Ajq’ij (Mayan Spiritual Guide) at the young age of 13, receiving a responsibility from her Elders to share the Mayan Cosmovision through her spiritual abilities with the world especially through her work as a Midwife and with Women’s health. Ixquik’ is a spiritually gifted Healer who has developed in ancestral healing modalities known only by a few talented healers in her lineage. Ixquik’s dedication to the Sacred is felt through each word she shares, her connection with the Earth and her embodiment of Ancestral Medicine is a gift to the world.
K’ICHE’ FAMILY
We will be held at Nana Rosalía’s home for 9 days (8 nights) in the Sacred Mountains of Xesampual where the whole family is waiting to host you and share with you their sacred culture, wisdom and way of connection to life.
Inclusions & Details
What’s included:
7 nights accommodation in a shared room at Xesampual Mayan Community: Experience communal living & closeness to nature in the Mayan mountains of Guatemala, our Elders receive you in their home for this unique experience.
3 full meals per day and some snacks: Taste traditional Mayan foods and be nourished by meals prepared every day by the family, we will have vegetarian and gluten free options (please let us know any food allergies or restrictions in the application form).
Cacau and special herbal teas: Nourish the Soul with the magickal drinks of the Maya Lands.
Supplies for Offerings and Altar making: You will be provided with a base of offerings and materials for our community altar and the ceremonies. Some materials you will have to bring or buy.
Gift: Special arrival gift from our hearts to yours.
Transportation to/from Lake Atitlán - Xesampual: We will meet in San Marcos La Laguna on August 5th and travel together to our retreat destination Xesampual in a shuttle.
Pricing:
All Inclusive with shared accommodation $2,400
Early Bird: $1,900 !!!
A 30% ($570 USD) deposit is required upon application.
If you are not accepted you will be refunded in full.
An exploration call is required to complete the registration process.
** Optional Add-on: shared accommodation at hotel in San Marcos August 3-5th and August 12th $200 (3 nights total, meals not included)
** Upgrades to private accommodations at hotel or at Xesampual can be discussed on our exploration call.
Not included:
Airfare, transportation to and from the airport, or travelers insurance.
If you opt for our accommodation at Lake Atitlan August 3-5 and 12th the following meals are not included: 3rd-breakfast,lunch,dinner; 4th-breakfast,lunch,dinner; 5th-breakfast,lunch; 12th-dinner.
**If you’re traveling from abroad we recommend you to arrive on the 4th to have a smooth travel experience and spend 2 nights at the Lake before heading into the mountains.
Payment Plans:
After your application deposit (3o%) you can opt for any of the following payment plans:
1 payment of $1,330
2 payments of $665
3 payments of $444
**Payment links will be shared directly with you via email.
1 scholarship exchange position available for a creative photographer/videographer: full program exchange for documentation of our retreat.
IMPACTFUL EXPERIENCES, SYSTEMS CHANGE & RECIPROCITY
We care about the impact that our actions have for the collective and extended consciousness of the Bioregion we inhabit. As conscious stewards of traditions of care it is important for us to direct, pour, invest our energy into building the systems of LIFE that we wish to see in the world. It is important for us that you know that your participation in this retreat contributes directly to the creation of a Mayan Birthing Home “Casa Tortuga” at Xesampual, you are contributing to the continuation of Mayan birth keeping arts and the uplifting/regeneration/continuation of Mayan Culture. THANK YOU!!
“Casa Turtuga” is a project in its initial planning phase for the construction of a Mayan Indigenous Birthing Center in Santa Lucía Utatlán, Sololá. Our purpose is clear: to create a space where life can be born in a safe, dignified and profound way connected to ancestral Mayan wisdom. “Casa Tortuga” will offer service to women, children, and families integrating millenary knowledge and modern healthcare practices.
ECO-CULTURAL TOURISM
It is one thing to travel around the world to encounter the same places, costumes and activities everywhere: fast food, parties based on alcohol consumption, meaningless conversations with strangers, artificial clothing, mass-produced products to consume… This type of tourism not only affects greatly the ecosystem - with pollution and consumerism, it also affects the Soul and ancestral cultures by erasing true diversity and replacing it with a superficial homogenous way of walking through life. Mainstream tourism is a danger to humanity, to our Earth and to every living being who has a Spirit.
It is a very different thing - a sustainable way - to travel places to contribute to the unique ancestral cultures they hold, to LEARN from the Land and it’s Peoples, to travel with a purpose of bettering our humaning. A tourism that supports indigenous communities, is based on respect and genuine connection- to the Land, to people and to ourselves. When we practice this way of traveling we create a systems change, we become part of a peaceful revolution to GIVE BACK to the millenary wisdom that resides within ancestral cultures. When we practice Eco-cultural tourism we feed our Soul with connection, ancestral knowledge and a felt sense that we are walking in a beautiful way that helps us to heal our personal and collective wounds. THIS is the tourism in which we believe, in which we participate and which we inspire people to practice.
“Every breath ever taken is still in the air to breathe. I breathe the breaths of the Ancestors, and everybody else’s too.”
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