a journey through
the elements
At the heart of the retreat is a five-day journey through the elements of Ayurveda—earth, water, fire, air, and ether (space)—and the senses through which we experience them.
Each day, we’ll turn our attention toward a different element, exploring its qualities both in the living world around us and our own inner landscape. Through movement, breath, meditation, sound, ritual, self-care, Ayurvedic teachings, and direct immersion in the rainforest, the elements become something more than ideas to understand—they become something we experience directly.
As we slow down and awaken the senses, we begin to notice the subtle language of the body, the rhythms of the natural world, and our own innate capacity to listen.
EARTH
Ground · Nourish · Belong
Earth invites us into the body and back into relationship with the ground beneath us. A day of slowing down, arriving, nourishing, and remembering what it feels like to be supported.
Water
Flow · Receive · Feel
Water reminds us of our capacity to soften, receive, and move with what is. Through sensory experience and connection with the waters of the rainforest, we explore fluidity and our relationship with letting go and receiving.
Fire
Illuminate · Transform · Discern
Fire is the force of transformation—within the natural world and within us. We explore the fires that help us digest not only food, but experience: what we take in, what we transform, and what we are ready to release.
air
move · breathe · play
Air brings us into relationship with breath, movement, sensation, and change. Through embodied practices, we explore what becomes possible when we create more room to move, breathe, respond, and play—inviting lightness, curiosity, and spontaneity into the body and into life.
ETHER
Listen · Expand · Integrate
Ether is the most subtle of the elements—the quiet container that holds all of life. In spaciousness, we create room to listen—to the world around us, and to what is quietly emerging within.
The elements
provide the framework
The practices
bring them to life.
The practices
Throughout the week, a variety of practices will invite you to explore the elements through the body, the senses, and direct experience. Some will ask you to move, some to listen, some to gather in community, and others simply to become quiet enough to notice what is already here.
Nature immersion
PRESENCE · ATTUNEMENT · ALIVENESS · BELONGING
Nature is more than the setting for this retreat—it is the primary facilitator.
Something happens when we step away from the constant input of everyday life and return to the rhythms of the living world. Surrounded by rainforest, the senses begin to awaken. The body softens. Our attention slows.
Here, the rainforest becomes our living classroom. Earth, water, fire, air, and space are not simply concepts, but living forces we witness, sense, and experience unfolding around us in real time. Through forest bathing, sensory exploration, and periods of deep listening and observation, we'll cultivate a more intimate relationship with the elements as they reveal themselves throughout the rainforest.
As we become more attuned, we begin to recognize those same qualities within—using the outer landscape as a portal into our own inner landscape. And as we attune to the rhythms of the living world, we remember a pace that feels less imposed and more innate.
In that slower rhythm, something else becomes possible: we can hear ourselves more clearly. When the noise quiets and our attention is no longer being pulled in every direction, what has been waiting beneath the surface is given space to emerge. Insight, clarity, and inner knowing don't always need to be sought; sometimes, they simply need enough quiet to reveal themselves.
AYURVEda
SELF-KNOWING · DISCERNMENT · RHYTHM · BALANCE
Ayurveda offers us a different way of seeing.
Rooted in the ancient healing traditions of India, Ayurveda emerged from careful observation of nature and the human experience, offering a language for recognizing patterns that can otherwise be easy to overlook: the rhythms that shape us, the qualities that move us toward or away from balance, and the subtle ways our bodies are continually communicating what they need.
At its heart, Ayurveda is a science of self-knowing. It asks us to become curious observers of our own experience—to notice our body’s rhythms, responses, and changing needs—and gives us a practical framework for responding with greater discernment and care.
Throughout the retreat, Ayurvedic teachings will be woven into our experiences as invitations to look beneath the surface—to become more fluent in the language of our own bodies, more attentive to what they are communicating, and more trusting of the inherent intelligence that lives within us. At the heart of this exploration is an invitation to experience self-care not as another thing we should be doing, but as a way of life—an expression of self-love and a commitment to cultivating our vitality.
We’ll explore what it means to care for ourselves with both tenderness and responsibility: to meet ourselves with compassion and grace, while cultivating the loving discipline to make choices that truly nourish us.
The intention is not to leave knowing your “type” or following a perfect Ayurvedic routine. It is to leave knowing yourself a little better—more able to recognize what creates ease, what moves you out of balance, and what helps you find your way back to greater wellbeing and a felt sense of being at home in yourself.
Kirtan + Mantra
VIBRATION · EXPRESSION · INTEGRATION · CONNECTION
Kirtan is a practice of call-and-response chanting rooted in the spiritual traditions of India. At its heart is mantra—an ancient technology of sound that uses voice, rhythm, and repetition to focus the mind and invite us into the ecstatic wisdom of the heart. Many of the mantras we sing invoke deities associated with particular qualities—such as compassion, courage, devotion, and transformation. You are invited to engage with these qualities in whatever way feels meaningful to you; no particular spiritual or religious belief is required to participate.
As each day draws to a close, we’ll gather in song, exploring mantras that invite us into deeper relationship with the element of the day. Offering our individual voices into a choir of many, kirtan becomes a way to drop inward while connecting outward—to let the day settle into the body and integrate what we’ve explored through voice, vibration, and collective experience.
Our voices ask something vulnerable of us: a willingness to be heard. Within the collective sound of kirtan, we have an opportunity to explore our voices without the pressure to perform or get it right. As we become more comfortable inhabiting and sharing our own voice, something else can begin to open—a greater willingness to express ourselves, take up space, allow ourselves to be heard, and trust what wants to move through us.
No musical experience is needed. Come as you are—to listen, to use your voice, and to experience the simple sweetness of making music together.
Sattva Yoga
EMBODIMENT · AWAKENING · FREEDOM · RADIANCE
Sattva Yoga is a holistic Himalayan yoga tradition that weaves movement, breath, meditation, mantra, kriya, sound and self-inquiry into one integrated practice. Rooted in the wisdom of the Yog-Vedantic tradition, Sattva invites us to awaken the body, quiet the mind, open the heart, and reconnect with our innate wholeness. It is not simply a practice we do- it is a way of living with greater presence, vitality, freedom and truth.
This is an embodied path of remembrance. Rather than striving toward a particular shape or outcome, we cultivate the capacity to listen deeply, move intuitively, breathe consciously, and reconnect with the wisdom that is already within.
This offering is accessible to all bodies and skill levels, with invitations rather than expectations. Through this practice we discover where mind and body meet. We cross a threshold—into presence, into feeling, and into the deeper mystery of being alive.
ritual + ceremony
SUBTLETY · REVERENCE · RECIPROCITY · MYSTERY
Ritual and ceremony have deep roots across cultures and throughout human history, offering meaningful ways to honor our relationship with the seen and unseen dimensions of life.
Ritual creates a bridge between the tangible and the intangible, allowing us to engage with nature and with ourselves through embodied intention. It is a way of making the invisible visible—giving form to intention, relationship, gratitude, transition, and remembrance.
The power of ritual is not necessarily in the action itself, but in the quality of attention and relationship we bring to it. Through conscious gesture, offering, and presence, we create space to listen beyond words and attune ourselves to the subtleties of life.
In ritual, we become a living prayer—an embodied expression of our intention and our belonging to the whole. We engage not only the conscious mind, but the deeper layers of our psyche, allowing what cannot always be articulated to find expression.
Through these intentional offerings, we bring meaning into form, enliven our relationship with the natural world, and remember our place within the greater unfolding of life.
THE RHYTHM OF OUR DAYS
There will be a rhythm to our days, but not a rush.
Our days together will be full—woven with practices, teachings, shared meals, and time immersed in the rainforest. Each day will have its own rhythm. The teachings, practices, and experiences will be shaped by the element of the day—our guide for what we explore, encounter, and discover together.
Within that fullness, we’ll intentionally set aside a period of personal time each day— follow your own rhythm. You might schedule a massage, swim in the pool, journal, take a nap, wander the grounds, connect with someone you’ve met, or simply rest.
Throughout the week, we’ll move between learning and discovery, movement and stillness, shared experience and personal reflection, giving voice and listening deeply—creating a rhythm that allows us to engage deeply while giving ourselves time to absorb what is unfolding.
AN INVITATION, NOT AN OBLIGATION
Everything we offer is an invitation. Part of practicing self-knowing is learning to listen when the body asks for something different. There may be moments when the most meaningful choice is to join the group—and others when it is to rest, wander, or simply be alone.
We invite you to participate fully, while honoring the wisdom of your own needs.
THE RETURN
Bringing the retreat home
The retreat doesn’t end when we leave the rainforest.
Stepping away from everyday life can create remarkable clarity. But the real practice begins when we return—to our relationships, responsibilities, routines, and all the familiar patterns waiting for us there.
Throughout our week together, we’ll cultivate a collection of practices, perspectives, and tools that you can draw from long after the retreat is over—ways of listening to yourself, tending to your well-being, reconnecting with what matters, and finding your way back when life inevitably pulls you off course. The intention isn’t to return home with another list of things you should be doing, but with resources you’ve experienced for yourself and can choose to return to when they serve you.
POST-RETREAT INTEGRATION
Following the retreat, we’ll gather for three online integration circles designed to keep what we re/membered close. Together, we’ll revisit the insights, intentions, and practices that emerged during our time in Costa Rica and explore what it looks like to bring them into our daily lives.
These gatherings offer a space to reconnect, reflect, stay accountable, and continue putting what we’ve learned into practice. The intention is not for this retreat to become a beautiful memory held somewhere in the past, but something that remains alive—something we continue to practice, embody, and carry forward.
The changes may be significant or subtle. What matters is that the experience has somewhere to go—that the clarity we cultivate begins to shape the choices we make, the ways we care for ourselves, how we show up in our relationships, and ultimately, how we meet the world.
GO DEEPER
What opens during the retreat may be asking for more time, attention, and care.
If you desire more personalized support following the retreat, there will be opportunities to continue working individually with Emily, Akacia, or both. One-on-one work allows us to meet you more fully in the particular terrain of your life—to explore what emerges during our time together, receive individualized guidance, deepen the practices and insights that are most meaningful to you, and support you in turning what you discover into meaningful change in your life.
Both Emily and Akacia work with clients remotely, making it possible to continue this work together wherever you are in the world.
The way we care for ourselves shapes the way we meet the world.
As we learn to tend our own lives with greater presence, compassion, and responsibility, that care has the opportunity to ripple outward—to our relationships, our communities, and the larger whole of which we are a part.
