Becoming Light Retreat - TULUM

How would your life be different if you know you could counsciously create how you feel each day?

How would you feel if your life was full of magic and mystery?

And you were completely in your power to bring any energy that you want to live forward through your everyday practices?

If you believed in manifestation and energy again and knew how to show up for yourself and others in difficult moments?

In this retreat, we work with deep subconsious repatterning, activations, movement and vibrational therapy, as well as offering workshops on consciouss communication, authentic relating and freedom of expression. Learning and encorporating these into your life, you will be able to completely get out of your own way and come back to joy and power that is inherently yours.

Humanity has always been fascinated with altred states of consciousness; we can see it in the oldest scriptures, from ‘soma' in vedic texts to ayahuasca in Amazonian rainforest and pre-dating it all, the Algerian cave paintings of a mushroom shaman. Nearly all the ancient tribes had something in common: they all worked with some sort of plant medicine used in a ceremonial way.

At our hidden jungle Eco-Community, we aim to bring that knowledge forward in a gentle and accessible way, to show you how all these practices, that are on the rise in the west can illuminate a deeper transformation through the use of subtle, or even sub-perceptual mind alteration.

That’s where the revolutionary idea to weave together plant medicine and conscious movement, sound and breath came to life. As you immerse yourself in a five day long program of daily yoga, meditation, breathwork and sound journeys, we will provide the missing elements, and guide you on this deep exploration of what’s possible.

What we aim for with this process is giving you an idea and tools to see what is possible on the path of healing. So many of us have an imense desire to heal and grow, and we often get stuck on the ´how´. Our practices are designed to bring you out of this limbo of not knowing and into your own power, where you become your own guide, your own 'shaman'.

During these days, you will stay in a conscious community, nestled deep in the jungle outside Tulum, Mexico. With the help of grandfather plant Huachuma and Kai Kai Kuna (Taj Mahal mushroom), we will open ourselves in a sensual embrace of Mother Earth, Gaia, and learn to experience reality in profoundly different ways.

The retreat is facilitated by an international group of healers, chefs and teachers. We choose to work with smaller groups to make the experience more intimate and personalized and we encourage the development of skills that you can use as tools beyond the days of the retreat.

We believe the process requires bravery.  Bravery to step out of the traditional constructs of globalized monoculture and step into alternative systems grounded in the reality of what is possible when we align ourselves to the wisdom and power of Nature. To activate our roots as children of Gaia and remind us of our responsibility to live symbiotically with the source from which all life originates.

About the main Facilitators:

Akasha and Kira are traveling yogis & sound healers who have dedicating their lives to living and sharing the feelings of joy, abundance, and ease. They combine many different techniques learned all around the world in their daily practice and teachings, such as yoga asana, transformational breathwork, reiki, theta healing, pranayama, and subconscious repatterning.

Originally from California, they travelled to India for a year to live and work in ashrams and conscious communities, completing yoga teacher trainings in a traditional Indian ashram and an intensive Kundalini course. They have spent the past two years traveling with crystal alchemy and Tibetan singing bowls along with various other sound healing instruments. They have led sound baths, workshops, and trainings across the United States, India, Thailand, and Mexico.

The two together hold a balanced space of feminine and masculine energies in order to harmonize all that is within and all that is with out. They are passionate about using the most fundamental elements of vibration and breath to create space for people to connect with and explore the part of themselves that never dies. They aim to help people to see what lies on the other side of fear and to find out that they are capable of far more than they believe.

Jakob Gricar's journey with psilocybin began in Thailand where a single microdose opened his mind about being able to treat anxiety and depression on his own.  After doing extensive research on the effects of the structured treatment, he started experimenting with it as he was living in Australia.  Within three months, his life had changed completely.  He He left Australia for Peru where he helped facilitate ceremonies with stronger mind altering healing plants, learning about traditions of the Andean and Amazonian tribes.  He came back to wroking with psilocybin in Mexico where he helped organize and hold space during various ceremonies.  Jakob's personal healing story is a strong testimonial of the power and wide range of benefits of the use of plant medicine and his connection and knowledge of how to energetically assist the process are what makes it accessible to anyone.  

During plant medicine ceremonies, the layers that we shed, the profound healing and epiphanies we experience can be beautiful but can also crack the foundation that we’ve been living our life from making us question who we are, what we’ve been doing and where to go from here.

Ashley Barba is a psychotherapist, certified yoga therapist, and reiki master, who serves as mentor and integration therapist for sacred plant medicine ceremonies. Experiencing a spontaneous spiritual awakening at 20 years old, Ashley’s life trajectory took a 180- transitioning from studying business management to all things related to psychology and holistic health. Creating her career based on the guidance she was given, Ashley has spent the last 15 years immersed in psychology, culture, feminism, nutrition, yoga, somatics, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, quantum physics and numerous energy and spiritual healing modalities.

Within months of receiving her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Gender Studies from University of Illinois Chicago, Ashley attended the Sivananda Ashram in Bahamas where she received her 200-hour yoga teacher training and Children’s Yoga Teacher training with a specialization in learning and developmental disabilities. When she arrived back state side, Ashley attended Pacifica School of Oriental Medicine, Chicago, for massage therapy with the goal of combining the model of Chinese medicine with yoga for mental health. She then went on to receive her Master’s of Social Work from Loyola Chicago and her yoga therapist certification from Kripalu.

Over the past 10 years Ashley has been integrating her knowledge while serving various populations in the city of Chicago from underprivileged to large corporations and celebrities including Chicago Public Schools, hospitality, corporate events, intermittent services, hospitals, refugee communities and private practice. Ashley continues to expand her knowledge drawing upon teachings from C.G. Jung, Abraham Maslow and attending trainings by Gary Kraftsow, Ana Forrest, Gabriel Cousens, and Judith Lasater.

Using an integrative approach, Ashley serves as a guide to understanding the programing stirred up during ceremony and assists its actualization in the physical world. Her sessions involve talk therapy and personalized mind-body exercises for each participant’s needs including yoga, somatics, breathwork, guided meditations and energy healing. You can learn more about her at www.awakenedradiance.com

The property where the retreat takes place is a sacred space situated on a natural cenote in the Mayan jungle.  

It is possible and recommended to extend your stay by coming early and/or staying after the retreat is complete.  Being in the energy of the space is in itself already very healing and could help you integrate the process.  If you'd like to do that, please clarify which days you would like to stay in the questionaire we send you when you register.  We will get back to you about the availability and pricing options.  Staying on the property before and after the retreat not only helps with the integration process but also takes away the stress of travel.  

Below is an example of our daily activities during the retreat.  Each day has its own tone, but nothing is ever set in stone.  We set general guidelines but ask you be open to what needs to come through and happen organically.

DAY 1 MONDAY – INTENTION

ARRIVAL & CHECK IN

2:00 PM LATE LUNCH AND ORIENTATION

4:00 PM RESTORATIVE MOVEMENT WITH SENSORIAL ALCHEMY

6:00 PM DINNER AND OPENING CEREMONY

8:00 PM CRYSTAL ALCHEMY SOUND BATH

DAY 2 TUESDAY - OPENING

7:30 AM MEDITATION & INTENTION WITH HUACHUMA MICRODOSE

9:00 AM LIGHT BREAKFAST

11:00 AM VINYASA FLOW

1:30 PM LUNCH

3:00 PM TRE (TRAUMA RELEASE EXERCISE) INTRO

4:00 PM CACAO CIRCLE 

6:30 PM LIGHT DINNER

7:00 PM FREE TIME 

 

DAY 3 WEDNESDAY - DEVOTION

7:00 AM CHI GONG

8:00 AM BREAKFAST

11:00 AM EFT (EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE) 

2:00 PM SMALL LUNCH

4:00 PM THETA HEALING ACTIVATION

8:00 PM MAGIC MUSHROOM HEALING CEREMONY

DAY 4 THURSDAY – INTEGRATION

9:00 AM BREAKFAST

10:00 AM CONSCIOUSS GUIDED INTEGRATION

1:00 PM LUNCH

5:00 PM CHI GONG

6:00 PM AUTHENTIC RELATING WORKSHOP

6:30 PM DINNER

7:00 PM RUSSIAN SAUNA

DAY 5 FRIDAY – BREATH

7:30 AM  MEDITATION & HUACHUMA MICRODOSE

8:00 AM SHAMANIC BREATHWORK

11:00 AM BRUNCH

4:30 PM DEEP FASCIAL RELEASE YIN YOGA WITH CRYSTAL SINGING BOWLS

7:00 PM LIGHT DINNER

8:00 PM COMMUNITY SONG CIRCLE

DAY 6 SATURDAY – CLOSING

7:30 AM SUNRISE MEDITATION & MUSHROOM MICRODOSE

8:00 AM KUNDALINI RISING WORKSHOP

9:30 AM BRUNCH AND FREE TIME

12:30 PM CLOSING CIRCLE

RETREAT INCLUDES

• 5 Nights and 6 Days in sustainably built accommodations inspired by nature in an Eco -Comunity Ixchel Garden Cenote
• Nourish with delicious, locally-sourced, organic, healthy meals
• Daily morning yoga, breatwork and meditation
• Natural Cenote
• Sauna & singing circles
• Introduction to plant medicine as healing therapy
• Facilitated mushroom ceremony

CONTRIBUTION DOES NOT COVER:

• Airfare
• Trips: If participants decide to leave the retreat for personal needs they must cover their own transportation and any personal spending. your transportation, lodging, and food will be covered based on previous authorization and review from core members.
•  Personal food outside of what we offer during the retreat
• Personal hygiene products such as toothpaste and shampoo, soap, etc.
• All expenses and costs caused by or associated with illness or injury including but not limited to medical expenses, hospital bills, medications and emergency transportation and/or evacuation

PACKING LIST

•  Headlamp with red light option & batteries
• Loose fitting long pants (at least one pair of quick dry pants that do not require a belt are good to have for days when you are hiking with your pack on).
• Swim wear
• Loose fitting long sleeve shirts
• Comfortable outfit for Yoga/movement classes
• Lightweight scarf
• Flip-flops or slip-on shoes
• Journal and/or notebook and pens
• Water bottle 
• Biodegradable soap and Shampoo
• Sweater and/or Jacket: You can find lots of nice sweaters and ponchos in Mexico.
• Lightweight blanket, shawl or poncho: Many people love to have a small blanket for ceremonies and meditations. You can also find these in Mexico.
• bio degradable Sunscreen
•  Crisp new bills: It is difficult to change money that is ripped, folded and worn looking.
• Yoga mat (optional): We have some available however we may not have enough for everyone. We happily accept yoga mat donations when you leave :)
• Smaller day bag or waist pack (pack this away in your larger pack when hiking in so you only have one bag to carry and your hands are free).
• Personal hygiene: be sure to bring biodegradable soap. Ladies, please bring reusable or 100% cotton, compostable feminine products.
• Time Keeping Device with Alarm (phone or watch)

After applying for the retreat bellow, we will send you an initial email including a form, in which we'd like to invite you tell us a bit more about yourself. Due to current situation, we're keeping the capacity of the participants low, so the information will be reviewed to help us see if this is the right fit for you and we will notify you as soon as we do so. Upon the acceptance, we ask to pay an initial deposit either via TransferWise or through website, which will be deducted from the price when you pay the rest. We reserve the right to cancel the retreat four weeks before, if the minimum amount of participants isn't met, in which case, we will return the deposit. If you choose to, you're still welcome to stay in your booked accommodation and experience the community and some activities, despite the retreat not taking place.

Full cost of the retreat: USD$2222

Early bird price: USD$1888

Email:  for more detail and arrangements

info@voretexretreats.com

Tulum, Quintana Roo

Mexico