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Oneness and how we can harness the greatness within.

Feb 22, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Mar 14, 2020

Last night, my partner came to me with utmost concern around the jeopardy of our public lands surrounding our beloved home in Crested Butte, CO due to a recent article in our local newspaper regarding the deregulation of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). The issue is definitely deeply concerning, but what concerns me more is the rampant spread of anger, fear, and powerlessness.


These days I often avoid any conversation around politics or issues which may result in heightened emotions around particular beliefs or models of the world. This choice is not because I myself feel power-less, but because I believe in sending my energy out in other ways. In the past, I have found myself feeling angry, depressed, and hopeless around such issues often finding it hard to release from the depth of my fears. I know now, that it is these emotions that degrade my health on a cellular level, and I have a choice as to whether I involve myself with them or not. I am not saying I never feel anger or sadness by any means, but when I have the awareness enough to make a choice, I choose love. Choosing to love others when it is hard, is also choosing to love myself when it is hard. In this way, I am power-full. The goal of our beloved Uncle Trumpy is to instill fear, hatred, and disconnection. I refuse to prescribe my mind, body, and spirit to those low levels of energy. Our world, does not need more fear, it needs more trust and love for one another.


As you read this, you may be thinking to yourself," yes, but 'just' loving our fellow neighbor without taking action isn't enough!" The fact of the matter is, we as humans are, for the most part, unaware of our power and potential. This fact is to the point that we give it away constantly and convince ourselves of it obsessively. It is a proven fact that we are made of energy, everything is energy, and certain states of being produce certain frequencies of energy. How could there not be a powerful shift in consciousness if enough people practiced more love and kindness vs. fear and hate? If I, a manifestation of the divine in a body (matter), expressed love and kindness towards you(a different body but same manifestation of the divine) and you could feel that, how are we not One? The same concept applies to your dog when they know you are on your way home. Sometimes they become aware of this 30 minutes before you arrive! Your dog was not gifted with a mind that convinces them of their separateness as ours does. They just are as they are, experiencing energy and connection.


My point is, we are power-full. We have the power to shift world wide consciousness, heal chronic and terminal illness, change the molecular structure of water, and experience life in a way that is full of love. How, you might ask? Well let's look at the emotions and effects on the body for instance. If a mere thought of lifting weights can actually signal the nervous system to tell your muscle fibers to tone a certain area of your body, then your 'mind' also has the power to heal the body of anything! Moving from the intra to inter- connection to others, we can 'feel' when someone is upset, angry, or happy. We feel calm around certain individuals. We feel anxious around certain individuals. Why couldn't my positive thoughts help and encourage positive thoughts in others?? Everything we think, say, and do has power. It has the power to heal us as well as the power to make us sick. Ultimately, it is your choice.


My intention for this article is to plant the seed of Oneness. My hope is that we release the concept of separateness and allow ourselves to connect to our fellow humans. What would happen if we let go of the ego trip that tells us how different we are based on our beliefs, appearances, culture, economic status, athletic or artistic abilities, or possessions? You may ask yourself what it would be like to live in a world where we could recognize our 'differences' as gifts of compassion from the Source to learn and develop our innate wisdom. You may ask yourself what it would be like dis-identify with the concepts of good vs evil and know that there is only Source at the end. I imagine I might feel complete freedom, wholeness, and love. On the surface the political world is corrupt, evil, and wrong. You could say the same about someone who doesn't share the same values as you, and underneath it all is an opportunity to actually take our own individual power into our own hands and begin to manifest what we are actually capable of!


So the next time your partner/spouse picks a fight with you, or the dog next door won't stop barking, or Uncle Trumpy says another insensitive thing and feelings of frustration and anger are ignited, experiment with what it would be like to be humored with and thankful for this compassionate gift to go inside! They may not be giving it in compassion, but a gift of growth none the less!


In the words of the late and great Ram Dass, "We are all just walking each other home."


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Heart Medicine Retreat

May 1-7, 2027
at Casa Floresta Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Awaken your heart's wisdom through daily yoga, self-study, ceremony, soul-ful connections, and carry that love out into the world.

Serene Mountain View
Imagine waking to soft light spilling across the water as three volcanoes emerge from the morning mist. Your bedroom window looks out onto the mystical lake.  Birdsong drifts through the gardens as the sun begins to rise. You practice your personal morning ritual on your private porch and breathe in the cool lake breeze before your first class in the sacred temple.
 
 Later, you sip warm, earthy cacao around a crackling Mayan fire as sweet smoke rises and ancient prayers are spoken. You are grounded, open, and alive.  You later sit quietly on the dock watching the light shift across the lake, you notice a softness within you, a deep surrender. Somehow, under a sky full of stars, held by song, laughter, and the people who have become your circle, you are home.
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Serene Mountain Lake

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Heart Medicine will nourish your soul, create lifelong connections, and instill the deep sense of love and trust you've been seeking. Through daily yoga, local Mayan ceremonies, song, dance, and discussions rooted in the yogic texts as well as current visionaries, you will raise your heart vibration.  Lake Atitlan is a powerful womb in which you can slow down, trust, and crack open the floodgates of your heart.

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Sitting at a lake at sunset

If you...

  • Feel a pull to go deeper into your daily practice beyond the physical postures.

  • Seeking a daily rhythm grounded in the yogic path.

  • Are curious for  how we can use yoga as the roadmap into the heart and Self. 

  • Seek a sense of belonging to a spiritual community of like-minded people through authentic connection.

  • Are needing inspiration and connection to something greater than yourself 

  • Have an adventurous spirit and curiosity for new places and cultures

  • Seek connection to ancient rituals and traditions and also are interested in developing your own 

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Ashley King

Lead Facilitator

Ashley has been on her yogic journey for 20 years! She started her yoga teaching journey on Lake Atitlan a decade ago, but her passion for connecting others more deeply to themselves started at a very young age in the Buddhist tradition.  She is a registered Yoga Alliance continuing education provider as well as an enthusiastic student of David Garrigues' and his Ashtanga Revolution.  Her passion for all things yoga have inspired a life-long devotion to the practice, its ancient teachings, and how to live a more fulfilled existence through the heart's path and how our yoga practice is an act of daily devotion. Ashley creates a sacred container that invites the student into themselves without expectation or judgement.  Her classes are meant to challenge you, but never to harm!  She is an alignment junkie, but in recovery.  She believes no matter how you practiced that day, practicing is enough!   Since childhood, Ashley has had a life-long affair with sound and song.  Its ability to crack open the soul and instantly connect us to spirit, has been a ritual practiced for millennia.  You can bet that she will most often begin and end classes with mantra or a song.  

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Emma Pfaff

Asisstant Facilitator

Emma's yoga journey began over 15 years ago. What started as a personal practice has grown into a lifelong love for the connection yoga cultivate within ourselves and one another.  After completing her 200-hr YTT in Crested Butte, Colorado, Emma found a deeper appreciation for the practice as a space to slow down, listen inwardly, and connect with our innate wisdom.  Her approach to teaching is rooted in curiosity, connection, and the belief that yoga is about creating space to explore, feel, and grow.  Emma loves guiding others back to themselves that fosters a sense of community, shared  transformative power, and practice that meets you exactly where you are.

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Casa Floresta is a secluded luxury family-run eco-retreat center on the shores of Lake Atitlán, with sweeping views of the lake and surrounding volcanoes, lush gardens, cozy cabins, a private dock, and a beautiful Temple space for our practice. Every room, shared or private, has its own ensuite bathroom and a view of the lake.
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Whats Included?

  • 6 nights / 7 days at Casa Floresta in a shared or private room

  • All meals: organic and vegetarian, with 2 large meals and 2 snacks daily

  • Daily yoga and mindfulness practice

  • Heart integration workshops and ancient text discussions

  • Daily sound and song

  • Traditional temazcal ceremony

  • Mayan fire and cacao ceremony

  • Sound Ceremony

  • 1 complimentary Sauna and plant bath

  • Plenty of unstructured time to rest, reflect, and simply be

Whats NOT Included?

  • All transportation to and from retreat center including airfare, shuttles, and boat transfers

  • Any additional retreat center activities including: SUP tours, local boat tours, Women's Weaving Cooperatives, Hikes with local Guides

  •  Optional Voice Activation Workshop

  • Additional Saunas and Plant Baths

  • On-site Massage

  • Any personal off-campus excursions to local villages

  • Optional Post-Retreat Plant Ceremonies with Forest Path

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San Marcos and Surrounding Areas

Guatemala is an incredible destination known for its ancient sacred sites (Tikal), active volcanoes, beautiful textiles, cacao and coffee plantations, and warm hearted people.  Guatemala is a place where modern and ancient ways live side by side.  Mayan culture is deeply embedded into everyday life to this day.  I have spent lots of time in Guatemala, and the fact that it is so affordable, I HIGHLY recommend giving yourself time to explore this magical country.  Ask about my 50 mile hike in the jungle to the largest known pyramid by volume!

San Marcos, is the closest village to Casa Floresta.  Accessible by boat taxi, it is no short of a lively expat vibe with many organic cafes, merchants, and colorful shops filled with intricate beads and textiles.  

There are many villiages around the lake that have their own flavor and I most certainly encourage a visit to them all! My personal favorite place to find textiles is Santiago.  Panajachel is not to be missed on market day for a truly authentic experience!

Antigua is my absolute favorite place to visit outside of the Lake.  It has a colonial vibe with lively markets and squares, shops, cobble stone streets, historical buildings, amazing cafes and restaurants, and cute boutique hotels run by many young Guatemalans.  Antigua always has something going on! Its where I stay before and after I land in Guatemala City instead of near the airport.  


 

Investment

Early Bird:

Paid in full by December 10, 2026
Shared room: $2,300
Private room: $3,200

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After Dec. 10 & Payment Plan Options:
Shared room: $2,600 (or 4 payments of $650)
Private room: $3,500 (or 4 payments of $875)

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Space is intentionally intimate:

only 8 private rooms and 12 shared spots.

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From My Heart to Yours:

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If there were ever a time to get to know your own heart, NOW is quite the time!  My first time visiting Lake Atitlan was a decade ago for my very first yoga teacher training at the Mystical Yoga Farm.  It was my first solo trip out of the country, I had no idea what to expect of the land that was said to hold so much power and transformation.  I was certainly hungry for spirituality.  

I can tell you for certain, that I am who I am today because of this place.  I was changed forever by the power of song, cacao, sweat- lodge, and yoga.  From the indigenous Mayans to the expats who now call the Lake home, all experience an opening within themselves.  Through ritual and ceremony, the Mayans still turn to the spirits of the land for guidance, protection, and an open heartedness.  We are being asked now more than ever to connect to the land, to ourselves, to each other.  We will change the world through learning how to meet non-love with more love, and it starts with ourselves.  

 

If you are ready to embark on a deep spiritual journey into your depths, the sacred womb is waiting at the banks of Lake Atitlan.

Ashley

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