What part of you is ready to be remembered?

What might awaken when you allow a sacred land to hold you?

How would it feel to give back to the land that welcomes you?

The Spirit of the Land in Oaxaca showers the culture, cuisine and artisan scenes with a palpable frequency of prosperity. Whether it be through harvesting and indulging in the locally grown, luxurious cacao…or the discovery of the nixtamalization of corn into edible masa…or the exuberant tastes and types of flavors infused into the traditional moles…or the robust colors of the woven artisanal creations…or the vibrant Day of the Dead celebration every October…the energy in Oaxaca lives and breathes a sense of plenty through an honor and livelihood for all.

Cultivate a firsthand connection to the Oaxacan essence of prosperity, vitality, creativity and alchemy through one or two distinct landscapes and ecosystems, existing within hours of each other.

With daily curated yoga, meditation and ceremonial practices designed for all levels of experience ~ Your journey is crafted to inspire real and lasting transformation. Through directly experiencing Oaxaca’s radiance and sacredness, you’ll foster an authentic relationship with the land, culture, community and yourself, while digesting Oaxaca at a pace that allows for genuine presence, engagement and appreciation.

Each Spirit of Alchemy retreat gives back directly to nature and the local communities ~ Your visit supports the indigenous people and contributes to many conservation of nature efforts. This is made possible in partnership with Fondo de Conservación El Triunfo (FONCET) ~ a Chiapas-based conservation organization whose work protects the cloud forests, watersheds, and communities of Southern Mexico. Each day of this retreat connects to their mission, and a portion of your financial investment directly supports their work. The land you will touch belongs to one of the most biodiverse and most threatened regions in the Americas ~ and the communities who steward it will be our guides.

We will immerse ourselves in Oaxaca City ~ a UNESCO World Heritage center alive with Zapotec history, traditional cuisine, sacred cacao, artisanal goods and ancient lands.

The Spirit of Oaxaca gives life to this retreat ~ She is the essence behind this experience! Rooted in the heart of the Central Valleys, we will move with awareness and intention to truly receive her ~ walking her colorful streets, experiencing her innate wildness, learning about her rich culture and tasting the living traditions that have nourished her people for millennia.

We will begin by immersing ourselves in Oaxaca City ~ a UNESCO World Heritage center alive with Zapotec history, traditional cuisine, sacred cacao, artisanal goods and ancient lands.

Then we will ascend into the Sierra Sur cloud forest to the Zapotec village of San José del Pacífico ~ perched at 8,000 feet among orchids, mist, and millennia of indigenous wisdom ~ to breathe in the fresh mountain air and explore deeper internal truths.

The Spirit of Oaxaca gives life to this retreat ~ She is the essence behind this experience! From the heart of the Central Valleys to the misty mountain heights, we will move with awareness and intention to truly receive her ~ walking her colorful streets, experiencing her innate wildness, learning about her rich culture, tasting the living traditions that have nourished her people for millennia and absorbing her forest medicine that invokes inner revelation.

The Spirit of the Land in Oaxaca called to me long before I was able to plant my feet on her rich, biodiverse soil. She enticed me with her welcoming arms and gently nudged me to lean in.

Through her, I discovered a newfound appreciation for living fully, and new ways to express it. I first came to her feeling “hungry for more" ... joy, laughter, pleasure, satiation ... and I leave each visit filled with contentment, nourishment and gratitude for how she pours into me. I’m drawn back again and again and again!

I’m honored to guide you and other like-hearted souls through a diverse spread of nature-based and cultural activities throughout this retreat. You can expect to bathe in the Oaxacan essence of beauty and bounty through experience, intention and practice. Daily wellness practices are curated for all levels of experience and include a variety of yoga styles, guided meditations, breathwork exercises and journaling prompts ~ enhanced by energetic, somatic and shamanic healing techniques.

Mark and I would absolutely love to have you join us in March 2027!

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have.

With Love,

Shanin Weisberg, Your Retreat Leader

Shanin Weisberg is a healer, teacher, coach and wellness entrepreneur whose practice spans the full spectrum of integrative, soul-inspired healing ~ spirit healing, energy work, shamanic healing, Reiki, trauma-informed yoga, somatic coherence and intuitive coaching. She is the founder of Surrender to Soul Healing & Wellness, serving clients and students locally in Boulder County and internationally.

At Spirit of Alchemy, Shanin designs and facilitates the healing containers that make our retreats transformational ~ ceremony, somatic integration, shamanic journeying, meditation and soul-level shifts that go much deeper than conventional wellness travel. She teaches weekly yoga at Soul Tree Yoga in Lafayette, CO, and leads her flagship Portal of Light practitioner training, along with other workshops and classes in Colorado and online. Her work draws on deep training and initiation across yogic, somatic, energetic and shamanic traditions ~ and her gift is creating the conditions in which real transformation of the soul becomes possible.

She brings to every retreat the same essence that guides Spirit of Alchemy: when we move through sacred places with intention, reverence, practice and reflection, something in us shifts ~ and that shift is palpable, lasting and genuine.

For more than three decades, Mark Wilhun has walked through some of the most extraordinary places on Earth ~ cloud forests veiled in mist, ancient desert landscapes shaped by wind and time, and coastal wetlands alive with the wingbeats of countless migrating birds. His life’s work has been protecting these places. Now, he is devoted to sharing what they can do for the human spirit.

At Spirit of Alchemy, Mark brings his conservation experience into a new context: small-group retreats that invite people to slow down, move through sacred landscapes, and let nature do what it has always done ~ heal, clarify and transform. His focus is on making Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing), desert immersion and cloud forest wandering accessible to all, weaving them together with yoga and contemplative practice.

Mark currently serves as Executive Director of the Alianza Mesoamericana de Ecoturismo (AME), a Boulder-based 501(c)(3) with a network spanning eight countries across Mesoamerica. He holds a BS in Forestry from Colorado State University and an MBA from San Francisco State University.

What drives him is the conviction that the most powerful thing conservation can do is let people truly feel these places. That is the alchemy Spirit of Alchemy is after.

Oaxaca City is one of the cultural and culinary capitals of Latin America — a living museum of Zapotec civilization, colonial architecture, vibrant markets, and extraordinary food. Allow the city to land in your senses — the smoke of copal on the air, the colors of the textiles, the sound of the zócalo (central square) at dusk. Today is about meeting your fellow travelers and feeling the city welcome you wholeheartedly.

Arrival

*Airport transfer to Casa Divina Boutique Hotel — Transportation included

*Early Arrival Sensory Orientation Walk to El Centro + Mercado

5:00 - 6:00 PM

Opening Circle @ Casa Divina Terrace

6:30 – 8:00 PM

Walk to Welcome Dinner @ Casa Taviche Restaurant

8:15 – 9:00 PM

Yoga Nidra Guided Meditation @ Casa Divina Terrace

During our first full day, we drop into movement, reverence and somatic experience before rooting ourselves in the living food traditions of Oaxaca — traditions inseparable from the land. Quinta Bravo is a working organic farm where heirloom corn, chiles, and herbs grow as they have for generations, connecting modern cuisine to ancient Mesoamerican foodways.

7:00 AM

Coffee, Tea + Snacks Available @ Casa Divina Terrace

*Fruit, yogurt, granola, pan dulce/pastries

7:30 – 9:00 AM

Opening Yoga Flow @ Casa Divina Terrace Studio

9:00 – 10:00 AM

Breakfast @ Casa Divina Restaurant

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

FREE TIME — Walk, Explore, Eat, Shop, Rest

*Optional guided orientation walk to Mercado or El Centro.

*Lunch on your own (cost not included).

2:00 – 2:30 PM

Transfer to Quinta Bravo Organic Farm

2:30 – 5:00 PM

Cooking Class: Salsas, Masa, Tortillas, Empanadas + Mole Tasting

*Quinta Bravo grows its own ingredients using traditional Zapotec farming practices. As you cook, you will learn how these flavors connect Oaxacan cuisine to the ecology of this region.

5:00 – 5:30 PM

Hora de Feliz — Fresh Juices and/or Mezcal

5:30 – 7:00 PM

Dinner @ Quinta Bravo

7:00 – 8:00 PM

Community Firepit — Dessert + Hot Cacao

8:00 – 8:30 PM

Transfer back to Casa Divina

FONCET Focus: Sustainable Production

FONCET supports smallholder farmers in the communities surrounding El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve to transition to sustainable production methods — establishing apiculture programs that support both honey production, crop pollination and promoting conservation agriculture in the lowlands. By making sustainable farming economically viable, FONCET reduces pressure on the forests from the outside in.

Today we rise into the pine and oak forests of the Sierra Norte, cared for by Zapotec communities for generations. As we hike La Cumbre Ixtepeji, allow the mountain air to clear your mind and the quiet of the forest bring you deeper into your body. After a field lunch, we return to Casa Divina to rest and close the day with a slow, grounding practice.

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Breakfast @ Casa Divina

9:30 - 10:30 AM

Transfer for hike

10:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Hike (approx. 3.5 miles) @ La Cumbre Ixtepeji with a "Field Lunch"

2:00 - 3:00 PM

Transfer back to Casa Divina

3:00 - 5:00 PM

FREE TIME — Explore, Shop, Rest, Etc.

5:00 - 6:30 PM

Slow Flow + Yin Yoga Practice @ Casa Divina Terrace

OPEN EVENING

FREE TIME — Explore, rest or have dinner (cost not included) with new friends or on your own!

FONCET Focus: Conservation & Species Protection

El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas harbors one of Mexico's last populations of the Horned Guan — a spectacular, turkey-sized bird found nowhere else on Earth — along with jaguars, tapirs, spider monkeys, and hundreds of migratory and endemic bird species. FONCET's park ranger program places trained guardaparques in the reserve to monitor wildlife, prevent illegal logging and species trafficking, and respond to forest fires.

Today begins with a flowing practice, then opens to hours to wander, savor and rest. In the afternoon, we gather to learn the story of cacao, a sacred Mesoamerican food, before opening our hearts in ceremony and settling into an enhanced yin practice. We close the evening with a farewell dinner for short track participants, celebrating all we’ve received together.

8:00 – 10:00 AM

Coffee/Tea + Breakfast @ Casa Divina

10:00 – 11:15 AM

Morning Yoga Flow @ Casa Divina

11:15 AM -3:00 PM

FREE TIME — Walk, Explore, Eat, Shop, Rest

Optional guided orientation walk to Mercado or El Centro.

Lunch on your own (cost not included).

3:00 - 3:30 PM

Cacao Overview Conversation

3:30 - 5:30 PM

Heart-Opening Cacao Ceremony + Yin Yoga Practice @ Casa Divina Terrace

Locally sourced cacao to soften the heart and settle the mind.

6:30 – 8:30 PM

Dinner + Short Track Farewell @ Tierra Del Sol Restaurant

Today marks a threshold. After a morning practice and closing circle, we lovingly send off our short track companions and set out on the winding road into the Sierra Sur. As we climb into the cloud forest of San José del Pacífico, the city falls away and the mist welcomes us in. We end the evening gathered around the fire, setting intentions for the deeper inner journey ahead.

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Coffee/Tea + Breakfast @ Casa Divina

9:30 - 11:00 AM

Morning Yoga + Sharing, Short Track Closing Circle

Short Track Transfer to Airport

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Lunch @ Casa Taviche

1:00 - 4:30 PM

Transfer to San Jose Del Pacifico

6:00 - 7:00 PM

Dinner @ La Vaca de San José Restaurant

7:30 – 8:30 PM

Firepit Intention Setting Circle

FONCET Focus: Water & Watershed Protection

Cloud forests like the one you are standing in are the origin of rivers. They capture moisture from passing clouds, filter it through deep soils, and release it slowly into the streams and aquifers that sustain communities far downstream. FONCET's water program protects these hydrological systems through sustainable farming practices, livestock exclusion from riverbanks, soil conservation, and forest protection — recognizing that a healthy watershed is the foundation of every other form of human and ecological wellbeing.

This is the heart of the retreat, the day for our deepest inner work. Two paths are offered, and both lead to the same place: a more honest meeting with yourself, held by the mountain forest. You may choose to receive the forest’s medicine in ceremony, or walk among its orchids, ancient oaks and birdsong with a local guide. Either way, the cloud forest is your container. We gather again in the evening for a gentle practice and sharing circle to help integrate all that has opened.

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Breakfast @ La Vaca de San José Restaurant

Option 1 — Forest Medicine Ceremony

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Short Hike (approx. 1.5 miles) to Outdoor Ceremony Site

Receive the medicine of the forest. Bathe in the healing energy of the Cloud Forest, supported by natural plants that inspire inner revelations and positive change. The forest itself is part of the medicine — its beauty, its diversity, its complexity a mirror for your own inner landscape. This ceremony is held by the forest itself, your intentions, healing songs and shamanic and energetic techniques.

Option 2 — Guided Cloud Forest Hike

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Guided Long Hike (approx. 4.5 miles / 1,200 ft elevation gain)

A naturalist-guided hike through the cloud forest. Your local guide will introduce you to the ecology of this place — the epiphytic orchids and bromeliads clinging to ancient oaks, the endemic birds calling from the canopy, the fungi holding the forest together underground. This is a moving meditation: the forest as teacher.

1:00 – 5:00 PM

FREE TIME — Rest, Explore

Lunch on your own (cost not included). Small restaurants within walking distance. Optional outdoor bridge walk with views over the Sierra Sur.

5:00 – 6:30 PM

Evening Yin Yoga Practice + Sharing Circle @ Majestic Mountain Studio

A gentle, integrative practice and opportunity to share after a profound day.

6:30 – 8:00 PM

Dinner @ La Vaca de San José Restaurant

Today we greet the morning with one last practice in the mountains, overlooking the Sierra Sur, before winding our way back down to Oaxaca City. After an afternoon to rest and settle, we gather for a farewell dinner and closing circle, bringing together the threads of our journey and reflecting on what each landscape has revealed. We close with gratitude for the land, for one another, and for all you’ll carry home.

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Breakfast

9:30 - 10:30 AM

Morning Yoga Flow @ Majestic Mountain Studio

Indoor + outdoor option — weather permitting, we practice outside looking out over the Sierra Sur.

11: 00 AM - 2:30 PM

Transfer back to Oaxaca City

2:30 - 5:30 PM

FREE TIME

6:00 - 8:00 PM

Farewell Dinner + Closing Circle

We close with celebration and reflection. A guided conversation will draw together the threads of the journey: What has each landscape in Oaxaca revealed to you? How does wellness inspire your path forward? And what is one thing you will carry home — a practice, a commitment, a changed relationship to the natural world?  We will introduce FONCET's current conservation priorities in Chiapas and share how participants can stay connected after returning home — whether through donation, advocacy, or simply telling the story of what you witnessed here.

On our final day, we share one last breakfast, say our goodbyes, and send you home with a full heart and the Spirit of Oaxaca living within you.

Breakfast

Departures

Transportation included to Airport (OAX)