7-Day Yoga Retreat
in Yelapa, Mexico
A Week of Reconnection
February 14 – 21, 2026
What Was, What Is, What is Becoming:
Cultivating Inner Coherence and Innate Meaning During Times of Crisis
Join Meghan for a seven night retreat in Yelapa, Mexico where the jungle meets the sea. Together, we will explore yoga postures, meditation techniques, breathing exercises, yoga nidra, and engage with writing prompts to inspire self inquiry.
You will be guided through daily practices in the morning and afternoon on an open-air deck with flocks of birds flying overhead and beautiful plants and flowers surrounding you. Each day you will have free time to explore Yelapa’s quaint town, beaches, hikes, and waterfalls. Yelapa is located south of Puerto Vallarta and is only accessible by water taxi. This makes it a very unique experience, free of cars.
The Intention of the What Was, What Is, What is Becoming Retreat
The What Was, What Is, What is Becoming Yoga Retreat is designed for the sincere yoga practitioner who is seeking a deeper understanding and experience of yoga practice with a contemplative group of people. The experience of yoga is more potent when we practice within a community of like-minded individuals (satsang). Our practices during the retreat will offer the practitioner an opportunity to cultivate a relationship with their inner awareness. The practice of discerning awareness can help one feel grounded and confident in the decisions they make and the actions they take in their daily lives.
More about our week’s topic…
The state of the world reflects the quality of our individual and collective mind. Currently, this reflection is one which reveals that our shared mind is severely fractured, disoriented, fearful, angry, and self-serving. This is not hard to see nor is anyone escaping the adverse impact of such profound imbalance; however coming to a deeper understanding of its root is where much of humanity falls short. We are standing on the precipice of a multitude of humanitarian and planetary crises in addition to living through a global pandemic that has created some form of loss for each of us. Although our bodies are designed to handle stress in small quantities, if chronic external stressors are persistent, the health of the body and mind will suffer. It is a common reaction to resist change and fear the unknown, but when we do, we are contributing to and perpetuating the instability that we are all experiencing and trying to escape. The critical piece that we overlook is that our current inner state is what shapes what we become. Therefore, if we want to find creative solutions for the crises of our time, it is imperative that we commit ourselves to practices which render inner coherence and provide us with innate meaning.
A study titled, Intersections of Personal vs. Collective Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Hijacking of the Human Imagination, shows that “collective trauma frequently opens up or 'triggers' un-remembered personal trauma… Human imagination, which we normally utilize to make meaning out of traumatic experience, can be hijacked by fear - leading to avoidance of suffering and to illusory formulations and alternative realities such as conspiracy theories. Alternatively, the imagination can be employed in more realistic and creative ways - leading through conscious suffering to healing and wholeness. Which path the imagination takes is shown to depend on the capacity of individuals to feel the full reality of the human condition in general and the exquisite vulnerability of our existence as fragile human beings at this moment in history.” (Kalsched, 2021)
How do we move from “conscious suffering to healing and wholeness” when the ground beneath us is severely fractured and seemingly crumbling from beneath our feet? How do we feel the full reality of the human condition without our consciousness being “hijacked by our fear” and the confusion that our fear creates? Can our practices not only establish inner resiliency and coherence, but also penetrate deeper to uncover the truth of reality? Instead of turning away from the discomfort of uncertainty and instability can we turn towards the creative and generative potential that the unknown holds for us? If we don’t embrace practices which render clarity and transcend self-serving interests during times of collective crises, then when do we?
Ignorance and your previous karma also, that is like a cloud. So we have to clear that cloud, then you yourself become clear. It is not coming from outside. To clear your cloud you have to do something. Without doing anything it is not possible. So caves are not necessary, but you have to give some time to dharma. It is needed, you know? It’s possible for every person, not me only. Everybody can feel that state of mind. (Lama Govind)
From the mind springs the sense of being a separate self (ahamkāra or “I-maker,” i.e. ego) which is prompted into action through desire. Each action has an inherent reaction creating a chain of causality (karma). Due to our fundamental misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, we take the changing, fluctuating world around us to be something which is permanent and unchanging. This misunderstanding turns our attention outwards to the transient world, its objects, and experiences with the belief that they will bring us the joy and satisfaction that we long for. Attaining what we desire may provide momentary pleasure, but like the seed of a dandelion scattered by the wind, the initial desire propagates into many desires, thoughts, feelings, and emotions all of which are the clouds that conceal the pure awareness of our mind and its ability to see the true nature of reality. As Lama Govind reminds us, each one of us is capable of clearing the clouds of our ignorance and karma, but to do so requires effort on our part to both understand and actively engage with the teachings and practices which reveal the “underlying nature of things” (dharma). (Gethin 35, 1998)
During our time together in Yelapa, we will explore, contemplate, discuss, and engage with the teachings and practices of yoga that whic shine a light on the “underlying nature of things.” Yoga offers a plurality of practices offering the individual their own unique approach to practice. Theory provides us a path, but we must do some form of daily practice to maintain awareness and cohesion in the midst of the free fall of the unknown. If we don’t make the effort, time will swiftly pass by and our collective legacy will be one which was fractured, disoriented, fearful, angry, and self-serving. But each one of us possess a deeper knowing and when awakened, our becoming can be one which transitions from a time of suffering to one of healing and wholeness. We just have to make the effort to clear the cloud of our ignorance and karma in order to awaken.
Our Accommodations
We will be staying at Los Naranjos Retreat Center, which is nestled into the jungle of Yelapa–an ideal environment to immerse ourselves in nature and untangle ourselves from daily distractions and the hyper-active pace of modern life. The combination of slowing down, tuning into the senses, intentional daily practice, wholesome community, and nutritional home-cooked meals prepared with love by local Yelapians, provides the very foundation from which we can restore and rebuild our vital resources and connect to the deep self within.
Our accommodations are beautiful open air palapas set in among bougainvillia, coconut, avocado, and palm trees in a small canyon that leads to a waterfall. Each day we will be provided delicious, homemade family-style vegetarian meals along with a variety of fresh juices. Vegan and other dietary restrictions can be accommodated. Some of the fruits and vegetables in our meals are grown by our host, there will be an option to tour the garden.
The retreat grounds have hammocks for lounging, instruments for playing, paths for exploring and witnessing the abundance of flora and fauna.
Explore the gallery of past retreats to Yelapa
Daily Schedule
7:00 - 7:30 AM: Meditation
7:30 - 8:00 AM: Coffee, Tea, Fruit
8:00 - 10:00 AM: Haṭha Yoga
10:00 - 10:30 AM: Brunch
10:30 AM - 4:30 PM: Free Time
4:30 - 6:30 PM: Practice
6:30 - 7:00 PM: Dinner
Cost
$2400 includes your accommodation at Los Naranjos, meals, 2 daily practices, and discussions with self-inquiry prompts.
Travel costs including the flight and water taxi (approximately $30 USD for round trip) are separate. All your needs are taken care of once you arrive in Yelapa.
How to get there
You will need to arrive in Puerto Vallarta (PV) prior to Saturday February 14th. Many past participants have flown in to PV the day before the retreat (Friday, February 13th). We recommend that you book your accommodation in PV as soon as you are able because this is a popular destination. On Saturday, February 14th, the group will meet at the Los Muertos Pier to take a water taxi to Yelapa in the late morning (the water taxi leaves PV at 11:00 AM). On Saturday, February 21st, we will accompany you to the Yelapa dock to take a late morning water taxi back to PV. If you choose to fly back on February 21st, book your flight for a late afternoon or early evening departure so you don’t have to feel rushed. It takes about an hour to get from Yelapa back to the pier in Puerto Vallarta. From the pier, you can take the local bus, hail a taxi or take an Uber to the airport or your next destination.
What to bring
You will need a passport for travel – make sure your expiration date is 6 months out from your return date of your flight
We recommend packing lightly and to use a carry-on bag that is easy to transport–we suggest a backpack. We will be going from plane, to car (or bus), to water taxi, to the jungle and back.
Please wear comfortable shoes. We recommend sandals, many people bring tennis shoes or a closed-toe shoe as well.
Bring clothing for warm days, swimwear and layers for the mornings and evenings. Hat and sunglasses are recommended.
Bedding is provided, you may opt to bring your own travel pillow and/or blanket. We recommend ear plugs, the jungle is active at night! Bring a flashlight or headlamp to navigate your way around the retreat grounds in the dark and to go to and from the bathroom at night.
A shower towel is provided. You should bring an additional towel if you plan to swim or hang at the beach and river.
Sunscreen (reef-safe)
Insect repellent (no Deet)
Flashlight/headlamp
Water bottle
You may want to bring spending money for shopping, snacks on the beach and in town (although we are always well fed by the Los Naranjos staff!). There are opportunities to book adventures like parasailing, and to rent equipment for snorkeling, paddleboarding, kayaking and more.
At the end of the week you can opt to leave a cash tip for the wonderful folks taking care of us. There are no ATMs in Yelapa so please get cash (Pesos) in advance at the bank, the airport or ATMs in PV. Tipping is optional and could be between 680 and 1360 MXN Pesos ($35 - 70 USD) or more
Registration
$500 Non-refundable deposit holds your spot
$1900 Due January 3, 2026
$2400 Full payment by January 3, 2026
Register
Refund/Cancellation Policy
No one books a retreat with the intention of canceling it, but unexpected events do occur. Our cancellation policy is in place to help us all in making it possible to make dreams come true and be held when unexpected arises and adjustments need to be made.
If you need to cancel:
Cancellation requests submitted before January 22, 2026 can receive a refund of 50%.
Requests submitted after February 7, 2026 will not be refunded.
HOLD DEPOSITS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. Hold deposits (minus $100 USD re-listing fee) are transferable to another attendee found and assigned by the original attendee.
Full balance due 2 weeks before the start date of retreat unless otherwise noted.
All refunds will incur a 4% processing fee.
If your hosts need to cancel:
In the event that the retreat has to be canceled a 4% processing fee will be kept and 100% of all other payments will be refunded.
We cannot be held responsible for any personal expenses, such as airline tickets.
Notification of cancellation for any reason will occur at least 2 weeks prior to the retreat start date.