The Rooted Rebirth Retreat
Step into un-lived chapters of your legacy.
on Lake Atitlàn, Guatemala
An ensouling retreat and cultural exchange for
humanitarian hearts moving through life transition.
Dear soul traveler, ​
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Wow, does your life looks different than it did not so long ago. An era, and a version of you, have come to a close. I know you've been feeling disoriented amid this transition, so here is a supportive place to land, where change can show you its medicine.
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While your future is uncertain, you hold compasses inside your soul. One is how you feel when you examine the state of the world. Remember that disillusionment is also a map, and it can offer you hope and direction. On this retreat, you'll become well-versed at reading that map.
Your other compass is this realization that you are on the precipice of new and un-lived chapters of your legacy. You have more imprints to leave upon this world. Your future is filled with novel adventures, new friends, and humanitarian causes. And it begins right now.
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Join me in Guatemala to ease your spirit through transition, and have a cultural experience that will infuse you with meaning and purpose for the rest of your life. ​
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See you soon,​​
Amanda
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P..S. I can't wait to watch the expressions on your face when you see the volcanoes for the first time!
Around 80,000 years ago, the Los Chocoyos Volcano erupted.
The mouth of the volcano collapsed,
forming a cauldron that would fill with rain waters over years,
and eventually become known as legendary Lake Atitlán.
This lake is now a life source for indigenous Maya communities.
This is a place where rugged natural beauty meets ancient cosmology,
where the marks of colonialism and modernization remain palpable and visible,
where humans from all over the world intersect and experiment with
alternative paradigms of relating and land stewarding.
This place is a microcosm of the challenges and potentials we face on a global scale.
You are being invited here, not to escape reality,
but to commune with a land that teaches how to face reality with new eyes.
Come watch the lava spill at night,
and the volcanic steam rise during the day,
while you do the inner work to step into the un-lived chapters of your legacy.
Oh, the places you'll go...
Legacy is baked into this retreat. It is the marrow. Keep bringing it back to that!
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You will stay at a retreat center that was created by two United Nations workers, Thierry and Maria, who both worked in the peacekeeping missions after the end of the 36-year Civil War in Guatemala.
Thierry has been based in Guatemala for 40 years, and worked for UNICEF, implementing programs for children and youth throughout Central America. Maria specialized in ​​justice reform, a key aspect of the Peace Accords, to integrate traditional Mayan justice into the country's official justice system.
After their work in peace keeping, Thierry and Maria moved to the tiny Maya pueblo of Tzununá, becoming the first foreigners to live here. ​In 2000, the built the first ever retreat center here, where you will stay when you join us on The Rooted Rebirth Retreat.
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Sadly, Maria passed away in April 2025, after battling cancer for a year. The entire community accompanied her to the Tzununá cemetery, paying her a heartfelt tribute. That cemetery is a short walk down the mountain from the Lomas Retreat Center, on the shore of Lake Atitlán.
Maria's legacy in the community continues through Chi Tz'unun Choy Cultural Center and educational NGO, established in partnership with Thierry.
Amanda (your retreat host) sits on the board of directors of Chi Tz'unun Choy with Thierry and other Maya (Kaqchikel) community members. Together, they listen to the challenges and dreams of the indigenous community and engage in projects to support the cultural preservation and social and economic strength of the community. You will visit the center during the retreat!
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There are many towns along the lake, and each one has its own Maya language and style of dress. During your retreat, you spend a day with a
You will spend a day with a Tz'utujil organization that is striving to revive its ancestral culture and regenerate the health of the Lake Atitlán, which is struggling with many ecological problems. You will learn about the local ecosystem and how it is a microcosm of challenges we face globally. And most importantly, you will connect heart-to-heart across cultures in a day of relationship building activities that you will never forget.
You will hike to waterfalls and visit beaches full of volcanic rock. You will star gaze. You will ride boats. You will walk in old growth forests.
You will have access to a pool, sauna, fire pit, yoga shala, restaurant and bar.
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You will recieve massages from traditional Maya healers.
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You will engage in deep inner work that prepares you to step into the un-lived chapters of your own legacy. ​
If you wish to extend your trip, you can also do early morning hikes to watch volcanic activity or tour Antigua, a World Heritage Site.
Oh, the revelations you'll have...
Day 1 - Honoring what's behind you.
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Talking circles in the yoga shala.
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Movement in the yoga shala.
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Pool time.
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Massages.
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This day is about reflecting on the chapters of your legacy that are behind you.
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How has life's challenges and gifts shaped you?
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How did your efforts nourish and exhaust you? ​
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How can you honor the grief for what is changing?
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What is opening up inside you life and your capacity?
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Day 2 - The Humanitarian's Heart​
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Shoreline hike.
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Private Sessions.
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Disillusionment as a compass. ​
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Temezkal
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Day 3 - Your Soul's Code
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The Soul's Code meditations with the waterfall.
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Pana Adventure Day
Talking and writing circle at the beach.
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Learning about the ecology of the lake.
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Addressing human imprint.
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Day 4 - Legacy in the Aquarian Age (North Node)​
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Waterfall hikes
Writing circles
Family brunch
Visiting Chi Tz'unun Choy
Live music
Day 5 - Cross-cultural Heart Engagement with Taa'pi't​
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Waterfall hikes
Writing circles
Family brunch
Visiting Chi Tz'unun Choy
Live music
Day 6 - Preparing your heart for the
Un-lived Chapters of your Legacy​
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Waterfall hikes
Writing circles
Family brunch
Visiting Chi Tz'unun Choy
Live music
Optional Add-on days for: ​
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Quetzaltenango volcano hike - get intimate with lava
volcano lake
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Antigua - world heritage site for historical tours, spa,
private sessions or farm stay
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Santiago-San Lucas motorcycle tours​
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Who will guide the experience?
I'm a Mind-Body Healing Practitioner specializing in Trauma and Neuroplastic Conditions. I pioneered this path out of necessity, while striving for liberation from my own complex, often debilitating trauma and bouts of chronic illness that once drained my quality of life.
I spent my 20s working inside of mainstream healthcare, and then carefully chose a non-traditional path - beyond the standardized limitations and colonial structures that have left humanity so disconnected from the truth about the origins of sickness and the possibilities for healing.
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While working in Chicago as a Patient Care Specialist, I helped dialysis clinics improve patient outcomes by implementing mind-body education and depression management services. At this time, I also worked as a lead advocate for the Cancer Action Network, a role that led me to meet with lawmakers in Washington D.C. In 2013, I became disillusioned by cultural norms that prioritized profit over impact and decided to join the
Peace Corps. ​
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While serving in South Africa, I met David Patient, who in 1983, became one of the first people in the world to be diagnosed with AIDS. Doctors told him he'd be dead in 6 months, and there were no treatments available. But David pioneered his own health plans and lived another 34 years - an outcome that baffled medical experts around the world. He became an award winning United Nations consultant, and co-authored the book, The Healer Inside You, Using PNI Mind Body Science to Help Heal Your Body. David was my mentor from 2013-2017. During this time, I also trained with his colleague, a research psychologist specializing in psycho-neuro-immunology.
In 2015, I entered what would become a 10-year private mentorship with a body-centered therapy practitioner (The Hakomi Method). I have learned from some of the world's leading psych and trauma experts in Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's Traumatic Stress Studies Certificate program, through the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, and multiple courses on body-based trauma support with Dr. Pat Ogden (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy) and Dr. Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing). I have over three years of training in trauma-specialized therapeutic movement and hold certification in Hatha Yoga, Primal Vinyasa®, and Primal Therapeutics®.
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I have lived and learned with families who grew up under political apartheid in South Africa and in the Middle East. They taught me truths about trauma and healing that cannot be learned in a class, but only witnessed in real life - realities about our human capacity for healing, adaptability, and perseverance.
From 2016-2020, I led a media project in which I interviewed military veterans about the psychological aftermath of service to promote healing and understanding about the human aspect of war. Many of those interviewed were combat vets who had served in the Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts, who opened up about experiences they had never spoken with anyone about since being discharged. Most reported feeling tremendous psychological relief from their participation in the project. ​
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In my childhood, I endured multiple adverse events as the daughter of a teen mom. Overcoming trauma and stress-related chronic illness has been a survival necessity for me, which led to my now 17 years of professional experience and studies in Applied Mind-Body Science and Advanced Trauma Support Skills.
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Today, I specialize in helping people who previously struggled for decades in unsuccessful treatment to find liberation from neuroplastic conditions including chronic illness and syndromes, chronic pain, and trauma.​ It is an honor to help people create new chapters of their life in which their symptoms do not define them.
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I currently meet with clients remotely while living among the Maya people of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, where I serve on the board of directors of an indigenous-led NGO.
