The Magic of the Maya
MAGIC OF THE MAYA RETREAT
FUNDAMENTALS OF THE LIFE OF THE
ANCESTRAL MAYA
Oct. 31 – Nov. 7, 2026
“There are places in the world where ancient wisdom is not history—it is still alive.”
Join us for seven unforgettable nights on the shores of Lake Atitlán as we step into the living traditions of the Maya through ceremony, cosmology, food, storytelling, nature, and community.
Hosted by a Maya Tz'utujil spiritual guide and a Guatemalan wellness practitioner, this intimate retreat offers a rare opportunity to learn directly from the people, practices, and landscapes that continue to carry this wisdom forward today.
Like so many beautiful things, this retreat began as a dream—a wink from the Universe and a thread that needed to be followed— with curious minds and open hearts.
The first seeds were planted in the afterglow of a sacred fire ceremony—everything radiated with the mystery and fullness of the experience, still covered in the smoke that spoke of ancestors and folklore. Through the reflection of the beauty of these traditions and the power of sharing them, the vision began to emerge…
Later, the offering grew clearer and the dates were selected using the wisdom of the Maya sacred calendar, and the journey had began.
YOUR FACILITATORS
Your guides are two Guatemalans, from very different backgrounds, but with the same intention and dream for the future. Together, they invite you into a rare opportunity to learn directly from the living spiritual traditions of the people of Lake Atitlán and rest in the beauty of nature.
Thomas and Sofia work in natural rhythm. There is an ease and joy to it, as though they have been weaving beauty side by side for lifetimes. Creating this retreat is a sacred, heartfelt offering that they are honored to share with you.
THE CONTAINER
An intimate, beautiful, and lovingly held space
so you don't have to do anything but arrive, release, and receive from the very first moment.
A healing, magnetic location right on Lake Atitlán
so you can truly rest, breathe in beauty, and feel held by your environment too.
Every detail of the retreat curated with love and excellence by locals
from the meals to the accommodation and human care - for a transformative and nourishing
THE OFFERING
Maya Cosmology & the Sacred Calendar
Discovering Your Personal Nahual
The 13 Foundational Energies & 20 Daily Energies
Traditional Sacred Fire Ceremony
Maya Textile Demonstration
Traditional Maya Food Demonstration
Organic, Mindfully Crafted Cuisine
Daily Movement & Meditation
Sound Healing Journeys
Profound Immersion in Nature
This is for you if...
You've always wanted to visit Guatemala but weren’t sure who to put your trust in.
You've read the Popul Vu or other Mayan texts and feel inspired to learn more.
You’ve explored the Mayan calendar and feel inspired to learn more.
You need to unplug from the default world and explore something magical.
You’ve been called to Lake Atitlan, it’s mystery, beauty, depth and portal energy.
You want to rest deeply, eat beautifully, move gently and be held by two people who deeply care about your experience.
What’s Included
Round trip airport transfers
Goodie bags with curated gifts for each participant
7 nights lodging
Boat transfers
All meals, coffee, tea
All programming - daily workshops, movement practices, sound healings, fire ceremonies
One on one personal Nahual reading with Thomas
Guided trip to San Juan- lunch, textile demonstration at Cooperativa la Botanica, mural tour
Mayan cooking class
What’s Not Included
Additional food and drinks beyond programmed meals
Massage and energy work sessions
Airfare
Gratuities for Villas del Carmen staff, shuttle drivers, and boatmen
From an early age, Thomas was immersed in the teachings of his ancestors, witnessing ceremonies, healings, prophecies, and sacred practices that shaped his understanding of life and spirituality. As he grew older, these experiences deepened into a calling to continue learning, practicing, and sharing the traditions of his ancestors.
Today, Thomas is dedicated to sharing the wisdom, ceremonies, and sacred traditions of the Maya with integrity. His work bridges ancient knowledge with contemporary life, helping others cultivate greater harmony, understanding, and connection with themselves, nature, and the spiritual world.
Thomas integrates traditional Maya wisdom with alternative healing modalities and medicinal plants.
He considers it a profound honor to accompany others on their life journey and is committed to serving with compassion, respect, and heartfelt dedication. Thomas will guide retreat participants through Maya cosmology, the sacred calendar, nahuales, traditional ceremony, and the living spiritual traditions of the Maya people of Lake Atitlán.
Sofia is a holistic wellness practitioner dedicated to helping others achieve vibrant health through a myriad of physical and devotional practices. With decades of yoga practice and training—including Anusara and Yandara certifications—she brings ancient wisdom to modern healing.
A certified Foundation Training instructor and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Sofia also studied raw food science at the Living Light Culinary Institute. For the past three years, she’s led hundreds of sound healings and served as director of Mountain Town Music’s Healing Sounds initiative in Park City, Utah.
Sofia founded the iconic Club Ven Aca on Lake Atitlan in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades living and working on Lake Atitlán, cultivating deep relationships with local artisans, guides, healers, boatmen, farmers, and community members. Through her work as a wellness educator, chef, retreat leader, and owner of Villas del Carmen, she has become passionate about creating meaningful experiences that connect visitors with the beauty, culture, and living traditions of Guatemala.
Sofia serves as the retreat host, chef, movement instructor, sound healer, and cultural bridge, helping participants feel welcomed, supported, and deeply cared for throughout the journey. You are in good hands!
The Venue
Villas del Carmen is committed to crafting a space for healing, celebrating, honoring, growing, and creating through the lens of community and change. This is a place where guests are presented with the opportunity to experience Guatemala and the richness of her people, history, and natural treasures with unparalleled amenities and comforts.
The space is named in honor of the property’s original owner whose vision for the land is being exalted and refined in the spirit of the world’s Arabic origin, meaning “garden or orchard”. A place where all scenes are alert at all times: sights and scents of flowers and trees, the taste of fruits, the soft feeling of the petals and the water that laps at the shore, the sound of the birds that flutter up in the branches and the soft murmur of the wind through leaves.
The garden here has been mindfully crafted and cultivated over 15 years by Arturo Perez, a talented and devoted Ka’qchikel man who has made the property his Earthen canvas where he has colored the landscape with native flowers and plants that he sprouted and planted from a few original “mother” plants over a decade ago.
Pricing
Early Bird Pricing available through August 11th Double occupancy starting at $1,985 $600 deposit secures your spot
Detailed pricing and room options coming soon…
We can’t wait to welcome you and share these treasures with you.
Casa Azul- 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths -2 twin beds (or one King) and 1 queen, max occupancy 4, 2nd story lake view
Private - $2222 per person
Shared - $1985 per person
Pricing After 8/11/26
Private - $2722 per person
Shared - $2185 per person
Casa Rosada- 2 bedrooms 2 baths- 2 queen beds, 1 daybed, max ocupancy 5, 1st and 2nd story lake views
Casa Amarilla- 2 bedrooms 2 baths- 1 full bed, 2 twin beds (or one King) , 1 sofa sleeper, max ocupancy 4, 1st and 2nd story lake views
Private - $2444 per person
Shared - $2185 per person
Pricing After 8/11/26
Private - $3144 per person
Shared - $2444 per person
We require a non-refundable deposit of $600 to hold your spot and to ensure early bird pricing. Payment plans available.
The Phoenix Retreat
Join Life Coaches Kendra Davies and Dina Brady for this transformational women’s retreat!
Click the image to learn more and sign up!
Returning to Stillness Retreat- A Path of Reconnection
Returning to Stillness Retreat
LAGO ATITLAN, GUATEMALA 11.03.25 - 11.10.25
“A Sacred Journey to Soften, Breathe, and Remember Who You Are.”
The Retreat - A Path of Reconnection
A 7-day immersive experience at Lake Atitlán to rest deeply, reconnect with your body, your intuition and your joy - and return to life with clarity, renewed energy and practices that truly support you.
In Returning to Stillness, we'll guide you through a 6-day embodied journey to rest your nervous system, reconnect with your feminine essence, and remember how to live from softness, clarity and joy - even when the world outside feels loud, fast or uncertain.
This retreat is not built around modules or linear progress.
It unfolds as a living, spiraling journey - one that meets you in all dimensions of your being: body, mind, heart and spirit.
Each day invites you to move deeper into presence, truth and embodiment, layer by layer, breath by breath.
We don't begin from urgency or crisis. We begin from longing - the sacred call to return to stillness, to love, to your center.
Every morning opens with intention.
Each day flows through experiential practices - not theory, but movement, breath, rest, emotional release, nature, beauty. And every evening closes with integration: silence, journaling, fire, sisterhood, deep listening.
This is not about doing more….It's about feeling more. Receiving more. Coming home to yourself - gently, fully, in your own rhythm.
Retreat Highlights
THE CONTAINER
An intimate, beautiful, and lovingly held space
so you don't have to do anything but arrive, release, and receive from the very first moment.
A healing, magnetic location right on Lake Atitlán
so you can truly rest, breathe in beauty, and feel held by your environment too.
Every detail of the retreat curated with love and excellence
from the meals to the accommodation and human care - for a transformative experience wrapped in real nourishment.
THE METHOD & THE PROCESS
A unique methodology that honors body, mind, emotion, and soul
so you walk a real reconnection journey, with simple practices that stay with you beyond the retreat.
Days filled with conscious movement, silence, nature, and full presence
so your mind can quiet down, your intuition can awaken, and your inner rhythm becomes your compass again.
A reconnection with your body as a temple of pleasure, rest, and nourishment
so you can reclaim your vitality, feel radiant, and live inside your body with love.
THE HUMAN HOLDING
Close, present support by two facilitators with lived experience
so you feel guided with real presence, embodied wisdom, and grounded care.
A circle of brave women, intentionally selected
so you can share from truth and receive the holding of a loving, living community.
THE TRANSFORMATION & THE RETURN
A deep renewal on every level - physical, mental, emotional, and energetic
so you return to life with more clarity, joy, and inner direction.
A path that continues after you leave - with community, tools, and support
so what you lived doesn't stay in a memory, but becomes a new way of being.
This is for you if...
You've been holding a lot.
You're tired of giving, of running, of keeping it all together.
You long for a real pause - not just a vacation, but a sacred return to yourself.
You want to feel connected again - to your body, your joy, your inner voice.
You want simple, beautiful tools that stay with you when the world gets noisy again.
You want to rest deeply, eat beautifully, move gently and be held by wise women who get it.
From "I should be doing more"...
to "I know how to come back to myself, anytime."
From feeling scattered, tense, tired....
to feeling radiant, rested and rooted - in your own pace, your own truth.
Meet your facilitators…
Sofia Mileti
Sofia is a holistic wellness coach, yoga teacher, and sound healer dedicated to helping others achieve vibrant health through breath, movement, nutrition, meditation, and sound. With decades of yoga practice and training—including Anusara and Yandara certifications—she brings ancient wisdom to modern healing.
A certified Foundation Training instructor and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Sofia also studied raw food science at the Living Light Culinary Institute. For the past three years, she’s led hundreds of sound healings and served as director of Mountain Town Music’s Healing Sounds initiative in Park City, Utah.
Sofia owns Sunset Creek Farm in Utah and Villas del Carmen in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, where she is honored to be your host and chef.
Julia Ramos Puente
Julia is a women’s coach and facilitator of transformation.
For many years, Julia has been devoted to supporting individuals and organizations in their journey of transformation - helping to create a more conscious, human, and sustainable world from the inside out.
Today, she guides women through powerful transitions, helping them reconnect with their truth, align with their soul's purpose, and live in a way that is conscious, embodied, and spiritually anchored.
A lifelong seeker and devoted student of personal growth, Julia has been on her own path of transformation since the age of 23. Her life has taken her through profound crises and awakenings - all of which have led her to explore the four core dimensions of being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
She doesn't teach from theory.
She guides from over 20 years of lived experience - with tenderness, depth, and truth in her presence.
The Venue…
Villas del Carmen
We are excited to introduce Villas del Carmen, a retreat center and luxury lodging on the north shore of Lake Atitlan. Previously known as Club Ven Aca, Villas del Carmen has undergone renovations, rebranding, and re-awakening to the endless possibilities for deeply connected and transcendent experiences on the shore of the most beautiful lake in the world.
We are committed to crafting a space for healing, celebrating, honoring, growing, and creating through the lens of community and change. This is a place where our guests are presented with the opportunity to experience Guatemala and the richness of her people, history, and natural treasures with unparalleled amenities and comforts. Look forward to Starlink internet, potable water systems throughout, lakefront pool and jacuzzi, plush bamboo sheets, and memory foam bedding, passive solar hot water, solar-system electric, friendly and knowledgeable staff who will stock your kitchen, book your transportation and tours, and even prepare delicious and nourishing meals on-site.
Villas del Carmen is named in honor of the property’s original owner whose vision for the space is being exalted and refined in the spirit of the world’s Arabic origin, meaning “garden or orchard”. A place where all scenes are alert at all times: sights and scents of flowers and trees, the taste of fruits, the soft feeling of the petals and the water that laps at the shore, the sound of the birds that flutter up in the branches and the soft murmur of the wind through leaves.
The garden here has been mindfully crafted and cultivated over 15 years by Arturo Perez, a talented and devoted Ka’qchikel man who has made the property his Earthen canvas where he has colored the landscape with native flowers and plants that he sprouted and planted from a few original “mother” plants over a decade ago.
Sofia Mileti and Dina Caal are you chefs, crafting nourishing, locally sourced, and delicious meals for your retreat!
Take a photo tour of the property!…
The Lake…
Lago Atitlan
Lake Atitlán is one of the most breathtaking and energetically charged places on Earth. Surrounded by ancient volcanoes and nestled deep in the highlands of Guatemala, this sacred lake holds a frequency that feels both otherworldly and deeply familiar—like coming home to yourself.
The Ancient Maya believe it is the umbilicus of the Universe, the solar plexus of Creation. There’s something about the way the light moves here, the way the wind whispers through the mountains, the way time slows down and invites you to listen more closely to your body, your breath, your inner knowing.
It’s a place of deep introspection, of beauty that softens the edges, and stillness that reveals what’s been waiting beneath the surface. For those seeking restoration, clarity, and transformation, Lake Atitlán offers more than just a backdrop—it becomes an ally in your healing. That’s why we host retreats here. It’s not just where we gather—it’s where we remember who we are.
Pricing…
Early bird pricing available until 9/24/25
Ask about our financing options…
Pricing- (Oct. 10, 2025 registration closes)
Blue House
Private - $2222 per person
Shared - $1950 per person
Pricing After 9/24/25
Private - $2950 per person
Shared - $2144 per person
Pink/Yellow House
Private - $2411 per person
Shared - $2111 per person
Pricing After 9/24/25
Private - $3250 per person
Shared - $2444 per person
Here's what your experience covers:
6 nights / 7 days of high-end accommodation at Villas del Carmen
Daily guided practices: movement, breathwork, journaling, emotional integration
Opening and closing ceremonies, sacred fire ritual
Gourmet, consciously prepared meals by chef & nutritionist
Personal support from two experienced facilitators
Optional online integration call after the retreat
Access to private, intimate group (max 10 women)
Welcome kit and daily materials for reflection & ritual
Does not include:
Airfare
Massage, reiki, astrological readings or numerology readings
Alcoholic beverages
Gratuities
(We require a non-refundable deposit of $600 to ensure early bird pricing. The balance must be paid in full by 10/10/25 (unless you have set up financing with us). Due to the nature of this retreat, there must be ample notice for any other refunds or cancellation of plans. After 10/1/2025, there will be no refunds, but a balance can be applied to a stay at the resort or to another retreat that takes place at the resort, minus the deposit fee.)
Are you ready to step into your heart-centered transformation in the magical healing vortex of Lake Atitlan?
New Years Eve Party
Join us for a special celebration of the New Year! Enjoy several courses of Sofia’s delicious cooking, a live dj, fireworks & lake views!