Slow Flow Yoga & Writing Retreat
January 1, 2024 - January 1, 2025
*This 7-night program is offered Saturday-Saturday, based on availability. Please contact us for scheduling.
Join Michelle for a week-long immersion in the elements, yoga, self-reflective writing, and the beauty of nature at Villa Sumaya (Santa Cruz La Laguna, Guatemala).
Together, we’ll intentionally slow down, revitalize and deepen our spiritual practice.
Get ready to spark your sense of wonder in the energetic vortex of Lake Atitlan. It’s an everyday gift to gaze at the incredible vistas of volcanoes, sparkling water, and vast sky. This exquisite retreat center is an ideal sanctuary for both inner and outer journeys.
With strong Mayan communities in the region, indigenous traditions prevail. Villa Sumaya’s local and international staff are here to serve you. Each day, we’ll partake in healthy and delicious vegetarian meals.
In a small-group setting, the guided practices of yoga, breathing, meditation, relaxation empower us to tuning in to our energy and intuition. We focus on our connection with the four elements of earth, water, fire and air through chakra-balancing poses, breath exercises, meditations and stream-of-consciousness-style writing practice—as well as a sacred sweat lodge ceremony for purification and gratitude.
Open to all levels from novice to expert. Take home healthy habits and empowering practices that will enhance your personal well being and nurture your intuitive intelligence.
Day 1: Arrive and Ground
It’s ideal to book a morning flight that arrives in the early/mid afternoon in Guatemala. From La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City to Lake Atitlan, it’s a scenic drive (approximately 3.5 hours) across Guatemala’s mountainous landscape. In Panajachel, you’ll board a private lancha for a 10-minute boat ride to Villa Sumaya’s dock.
Villa Sumaya offers spacious rooms with private bathrooms and patios/balconies with lovely lake and volcano views. Gathering together this evening we’ll enjoy a delicious welcome dinner full of fresh, ingredients while meeting one another and setting our intentions for the retreat.
Days 2-7
We spend time each day in sessions that weave breath, movement, meditation, and writing. There’s also plenty of free time for massage, hot tub, rest, swimming, hiking, and exploring Mayan villages.
Sample Daily Schedule
- 8:00 breakfast
- 9:30-10:45 yoga
- 1:00 lunch
- (optional/some days) 2:00 ceremony (e.g., cacao circle, sweat lodge, sound healing)
- 4:00-5:30 yoga + writing workshop
- 6:30 dinner
Day 8: Departure
In the morning, we’ll close our adventure together. You’ll depart Lake Atitlan heading for La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City… or spend a couple of days in Antigua, a picturesque colonial town, to integrate your experiences and learnings from the retreat.
Find out more, ask questions, and register!
What’s Included
- 7 nights of deluxe accommodation (private and shared options available)
- Amazing vegetarian meals
- Unlimited self-serve local Guatemalan coffee, herbal tea and drinking water
- Course tuition (all yoga and writing workshops)
- Sweat lodge ceremony
- All taxes
Not included: transportation costs, tips to Villa Sumaya staff, optional ceremonies and activities
Rates & Registration
Private room: $2099 USD
Double room: $1799 per person
Please email reservations@villasumaya.com for more information or to join this retreat!
A 50% deposit is required to hold your space.
MICHELLE MARGARET
Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a heart-centered teacher, writer and creator of Yoga Freedom. She has been gratefully teaching yoga since 2002 and has led retreats in Guatemala since 2010. Michelle offers an accessible, rejuvenating slow flow practice for all levels, all ages and all body types.
Her teachings incorporate centering, intention-setting, hatha yoga poses, vinyasa flow, dharma/Buddhist teachings, yin yoga, conscious breathing, chakra chanting, mindfulness, pranayama (breathing practices) and deep relaxation.
A former copywriter and elementary school teacher, Michelle has been an integral part of the Villa Sumaya reservations department since 2015. Michelle is also a freelance writer, editor and translator and has written for Elephant Journal since 2010. Hailing from Austin, Texas, she moved to Guatemala in 2009 and has lived on Lake Atitlan with her husband, daughter and cats since 2012.