lake atitlan, guatemala

august 4 — 10, 2024

the retreat:

Join Morgan O’Hare and the Present Practice Yoga community for an unforgettable 7-day Yoga Retreat in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. This transformative retreat is open to all levels of practice. Gift yourself the time and space to disconnect from your busy life so you can reconnect with yourself and your life like never before. Plus, you’ll have our incredible community to support and expand your experience.

The intention of this 6-night, 7-day retreat is to connect deeply to ourselves, community, and the world around us by embodying the 5 elements: fire, water, earth, air, and ether. Through daily (or twice daily) yoga practices, meditation, contemplation, discussion, and intention setting, we will explore each element while we embark on adventures around the region to fully experience the elements for ourselves.

The retreat will be a beautiful balance of introspective work through yoga, complimented with a rich sense of community, adventure, and culture. The elements are all about balance and living more closely with nature, and there’s truly no better place to embody these teachings than Lake Atitlan.

lake atitlan, guatemala

Lake Atitlan is in a massive volcanic crater in Guatemala’s southwestern highlands. Ringed by steep, verdant hills, it’s known for its Mayan villages and volcanoes with striking pointed cones. Mayan culture is preserved and felt deeply here. Lake Atitlan is a few hours’ drive from Guatemala City, with quaint and culturally exquisite villages all around (we will get to explore the area!). Morgan hosted a retreat here at the start of 2020 and fell in love with the people, culture, and scenery — so much so that she will also be leading her 2025 200-hour yoga teacher training here.

yoga & programming

Yoga teaches us to turn inward, make peace with the present moment, and open our hearts to life around us. This 7-day container, without the distractions of everyday life, offers the opportunity to truly connect with your deepest intentions. With all the distractions of life on pause, there is space to carve out your path and reconnect to your life with purpose and clarity. This retreat and intensive will include deep self-study, yoga practice, and connection with a wonderful community.

Each morning, we will have a morning session that includes meditation, pranayama (breathwork), an extended asana practice (75-90min), and group discussion and reflection based on the elements. Several afternoons include workshops, including a handstand workshop and a backbend workshop. We will have several evening restorative sessions as well. After dinner, we will have time to connect in community, swim, sit around the bonfire, and more. Additionally, we will experience both a cacao ceremony and a fire ceremony with a local Mayan shaman.

This retreat is open to anyone willing to dive deep – all levels of practice are welcomed and encouraged. Additionally, registered yoga teachers will receive continuing education hours through Present Practice School of Yoga.

our retreat center

We will stay at Casa Florestra, a beautiful and newly built retreat center by a lovely Australian couple Morgan met on her second trip to Guatemala. The retreat center is absolutely stunning with its lake-front lawn and fire pit, intentionally-crafted yoga shala and temple, and luxury finishes throughout. Casa Colibri is located directly next door and is where we will be sleeping, so we will have both properties exclusively for our group. The accommodations are beautiful and have everything you need to feel relaxed and at peace.

The food at the retreat center is vibrant, fresh, nourishing, and vegetarian - there will be 4 meal times per day (9am coffee/tea/smoothies, 10:30/11am brunch, 2:30pm light lunch/snack, 5:30pm dinner) - there will be more than enough food to fuel you for all retreat activities! However, you can also explore local restaurants (and meat options) during free time. There is also filtered water always available.

During free time, we can swim in the lake, explore nearby towns, reflect and journal, or simply hang out on the lawn or in one of the communal areas in the retreat center.

WhAT We will do

On top of all the yoga, we will immerse ourselves in the Mayan culture and explore the best of what Lake Atitlan has to offer. Some of our activities include a sunrise volcano hike, swimming in the lake, paddle boarding, cliff jumping, local shaman fire ceremony, cacao ceremony, temazcal (mayan sweat lodge sauna), flower head bath, and exploring nearby villages.

We will explore the different elements throughout the retreat, and the element of water is very special here. We will be staying right on the water - expect morning dips in the refreshing and cool water, opportunities to explore via paddle board, and a visit to San Marcos town where we can swim, cliff jump, and more.

There is no better way to experience the magical scenery of Lake Atitlan than with a sunrise hike. The lake is surrounded by (inactive) volcanoes and is truly the most incredible sunrise spot. The hike is not very challenging, but well worth the early wake-up call to watch the sun illuminate the surrounding volcanoes.

We will explore the significance of ritual and ceremony for Mayan people. We will open our retreat the first morning with a fire ceremony by a local shaman, meant to clear away what does not serve you. We will close the retreat with a cacao ceremony (my favorite!) by a local shaman - Lake Atitlan is the epicenter of cacao ceremonies and it is beautiful how this sacred plant medicine is shared here.

Daily Retreat Itinerary

DETAILS

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

Accommodation and meals

All yoga and programming

Cacao ceremony

Fire ceremony

All retreat activities

Boat taxi pickup from San Marcos to retreat center and back

Professional retreat photography so the memories last a lifetime!

Custom-made retreat journal

Sunset bonfires

Continuing education hours for any registered yoga teacher through Yoga Alliance

ADDITIONAL COSTS:

Airfare to Guatemala City, Guatemala

Transport Guatemala City to the lake (est. $15-30 pp each way)

Travel insurance - not required, but recommended

Souvenirs / outside food and drinks, alcohol

Tips for staff at retreat center (recommended $15-50 total - it goes far!)

INVESTMENT:

The all-inclusive 7-day yoga retreat and intensive is $2000 per person for a shared room (2 people) and $2600 for a single room (your own room).

A $500 non-refundable, non-transferrable deposit (included in total price) is required to save your spot! The rest of your balance is due 90 days before the retreat. If you’d like to setup a payment plan, contact Morgan at presentpracticeyoga@gmail.com!

Spots are limited and our retreats always sell out. Secure your spot below! You don’t want to miss this.

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