storyteller within
women's sacred expression retreats
June 21st - 28th, 2025
Journey Into Sacred Expression
women's retreat
writing journey - movement - yoga - ceremonies
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala​
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JOURNEY INTO SACRED EXPRESSION WOMEN'S RETREAT
Saturday, June 21st - Saturday, June 28th, 2025
​Villa Sumaya, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
We gather as women, and we unfold the magic.​​
Join an intimate circle of women for a creative inner adventure through a self-exploratory writing journey, yoga, movement, and magical ceremonies on the shores of stunning Lake Atitlan in Guatemala! Together we rise at this inspired women's writing retreat in a luxurious venue of Villa Sumaya, nestled in a cove of Santa Cruz La Laguna on Lake Atitlan.
Breathe and relax into lakeside comfort as we gather for a magical and soulful week in the presence of majestic volcanoes.​ We come together in the spirit of remembering, renewal and reclamation.
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You are invited to take a brave and honest journey into your center to connect with your intuition and express from your core. To unravel the ways you have learned to limit or deny yourself. To trust, embrace and value your embodied presence and your unique nature. To open to the mystery of your unique path beyond your vision.
We are all expanded by the beauty of each being coming into harmony with who she truly is. Within each of us is the call to open our hearts, step further into our courage, expand our self-acceptance and animate our own sacred expression.
RETREAT HIGHLIGHTS
Intimate - there are only up to 12 spaces available​!
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Inspiring lakefront location with volcano views & intimate temple with panoramic elevated views
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7 nights stay in shared or private accommodation
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3 delicious organic vegetarian meals/day and juice bar
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Daily guided movement, somatic or yoga and meditation practices
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Two guided self-exploratory writing circles on most days
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Traditional Mayan Fire Gathering
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Sound Healing Night Ceremony
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Sacred Sweat Ceremony
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Candlelit writing Ceremonies
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Solar hot tub, on-site spa services, pool, sauna, jacuzzi
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Breaks for swimming, hiking, kayaking, SUP, therapies, relaxing
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Optional excursions (cultural or adventure based)
"A circle of women may just be the most powerful force known to humanity. If you have one, embrace it. If you need one, seek it. If you find one, for the love of all that is good and holy, dive in. Hold on. Love it up. Get Naked. Let them see you. Let them hold you. Let your reluctant tears fall. Let yourself rise fierce and love gentle. You will be changed. The very fabric of your being will be altered by this, if you allow it. Please, please allow it."​
- Jeanette LeBlanc
JOURNEY INTO SACRED EXPRESSION
​Set out on a creative and powerful journey through daily meditation, movement, yoga and self-exploratory writing as a channel to reveal insight from within. Participate in diverse healing ceremonies that awaken your feminine energies and stoke your soul connection.
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Breathe, stretch, relax, and align with your center while sharing in the experience with other women. This retreat is not about ‘writing’ as a subject or art form. In this retreat, perception and living life is the art form.
Every woman has a voice that calls her to relax into and expand from her real self. We are gathering together to raise it up, embrace our wholeness and allow our self-expression. When we stop earning our worth and instead we listen within, embrace our essence, validate our truths and desires, and share ourselves from inspired presence and action, we are invited into a wondrous and connective adventure in life.
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Infused by the four directions, we embark on a revealing and catalytic week of re-igniting the voices of our hearts and empowering ourselves as the fluid storytellers of our lives, as well as living beyond all stories we may tell.
WHO IS CALLED TO THIS CIRCLE?
This retreat in an open invitation for any woman who seeks an opportunity to connect and listen in. The women who find this circle often want to pause and reconnect with their center and hear their own voice, in a space that supports and facilitates this. In the circle, women often receive the clarity (and self-validation) of their inner knowing so they can move from the heart freely and with trust.
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Maybe you are in the middle of a big change or you feel like you're ready for something to change. Maybe you are ending or beginning something, or you feel like you're coming upon a crossroads in your life. Maybe you are drawn to writing or you love the journey of self-reflection. Maybe you have experienced loss, or shifts of life circumstances, stages, or phases in your life, or you feel on the verge of something that is still undefined for you. Maybe you simply want a richly connective and immersed experience in a beautiful place with other women!
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There is absolutely no one "right" reason to come to this retreat. But if this retreat is right for you, you will have a hunch. All women share they have this hunch... and that hunch makes for truly magical circles. When women join from their intuition, it's like we've begun the gathering ... far before we've even begun.
"Your very cells hummed you into existence through a song never before or again danced, if not by you. You need not strive, dear, you were harmonized into being. All you will ever yearn for is to be inside of your hum."​
- Aimee Hansen
IN THIS WOMEN'S RETREAT, YOU WILL...
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​Gather with a powerful circle of women in rawness and vulnerability.
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Ground in your body and intuition through meditation, yoga and movement.
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Show up here and now, as you are, and present to whatever is real to you.
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Honor and be witnessed for your embodied experience as a woman.
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Immerse in a journey that is both individual and collective for the circle and all women.
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Reveal your truths moment to moment by connecting to your heart within.
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Embrace yourself in all of your contradictions and wholeness.
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Shed the stories you tell against yourself, in the many ways you may tell them.
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Reconnect with your essential self, your vivid energies, your soulful desires.
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Call back your inner voice to hear what sways your soul.
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Conspire with your unique presence, frequency and expression in this life.
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Reclaim your belonging to the greater mystery and beauty all around us - and open to listen to the divine call beyond or outside of your vision.
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Remember the magic that unfolds when women circle together with love.
More: why we gather & about the retreat.
YOUR FACILITATORS
Aimee Hansen, creator of Storyteller Within Retreats, will lead in facilitating this women's retreat. Aimee is based in Guatemala and has co-created and facilitated this retreat with over 200 women since 2015, across 25 different events in Guatemala and further events in the U.S. She trusts in the mysterious sways of our hearts and the essential truth in our bodies, listening to what lights us up from within and moving, again and again, from this embodied and guiding knowing.
Robin Kempe is a Guatemalan based esoteric conscious yoga teacher and soul sister who weaves seamlessly with Aimee. She combines her deep knowledge of transpersonal shamanic principles, anatomy and physiology, yoga philosophy, mindfulness and pranayama with dynamic hatha flow postures, intuitive energy healing, sound and the power of storytelling to ignite the fire within, open the heart and help us to return back home to wholeness, peace and love.
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​For each event, Aimee brings in further curated guest facilitators offering magical sessions which are woven together to expand and deepen our journey.
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"Seven years later and I can still say - this retreat was THE retreat that changed the trajectory of my life. This experience didn’t just support me in writing a new story for my life, it brought the ME back to life who would one day live that story out loud. Years later and the words on those pages in the Guatemala forest have all become real. Today I travel the world, run a business that I love, writing and creating along the way. Aimee is a wizard at weaving together an experience for the books. Her Spirit calls in and crafts the most beautiful circle of humans that feel as if you’ve known them forever. The exercises, the journeys, the play, the mystery…it’s all an unforgettable treat for the soul. I booked my ticket for this on a whim one night in Chicago long ago and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you’re considering joining…don’t overthink it. Get on the plane and take the ride. It’s not going to make sense until you get there." - Victoria Washington
A STUNNING LOCATION IN GUATEMALA
Cradled by rural highlands and lush forests, Lake Atitlan is a breathtaking beauty framed by three majestic volcanoes. The lake is known to attract travelers in search of soulful reconnection.
Resting in a secluded lakeside cove accessible primarily by boat, Villa Sumaya is an eco-chic sanctuary dedicated to rejuvenation, holistic practices, and preserving Mayan tradition.
This gorgeous location offers expansive views, inviting and comfortable accommodation, delicious and nurturing slow-food meals, juice bar cafe, on-site spa, solar hot tub, pool, jacuzzi, fair-trade boutique and wood-burning sauna in unparalleled natural surroundings.
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Villa Sumaya is an eco-friendly wellness center perfect for self-care, refreshing perspectives and renewing energies. The intimate Tara Temple will be our primary gathering space - situated on the top floor of our luxury accommodation, we will have a perch from which to absorb the expansive beauty of the lake.
SAMPLE RETREAT FLOW
Guests arrive on Saturday, June 21st afternoon to relax and settle in. We'll open our circle in the evening after dinner. Our daily flow will begin on Sunday, June 22nd.
Here's a sample schedule (subject to change and days will differ, to accommodate ceremonies, special sessions and excursions):
7:00-8:30 Meditation & Holistic Hatha Flow/Vinyasa Flow
8:30 Delicious Breakfast
10.30-1.00 Sacred Expression Writing Circle/Discussion
1:00-3:30 Delicious Lunch & Free Time
3:30-6.30 Sacred Expression Writing Circle/Discussion
6.30 - 7.30 Delicious Dinner
7.30 Sauna, Circle, Healing Ceremonies (some evenings)
Meals are vegetarian and gourmet. Chicken/fish ($8 extra per meal) and alcohol can be added to meals at your discretion.
Relax in a hammock and enjoy the views, swim in the lake, do a meditative walk on nature trails, receive a spa treatment, dip in the solar hot tub & pools, or detox in the sauna in daily breaks.
On a day or two, we'll hold longer breaks and offer optional group excursions - visits to villages or hiking/kayaking adventure options.
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You will also participate in afternoon/evening ceremonies with guest facilitators - such as Sound Healing, Traditional Mayan Fire, Cacao Ceremony, and Movement or Dance.
Guests are advised to fly into Guatemala City no later than 12pm on June 21st (or arrive the night before and stay near the airport so you are well rested to begin) and book return flights for mid afternoon on June 28th or following day. We can provide hotel recommendations for stays in Antigua (recommended!) or near the airport before or after the retreat.
PLANNING YOUR TRIP
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This retreat will take place during green season - when the foliage is lush and full. Late June usually brings canicula - an annual seasonal pause in the rains, but we may experience some afternoon showers with bright sunny and warm mornings.
Lake Atitlan has beautiful villages to explore (weaving, artisan) and cultural and wildlife tourist activities. It's also a gorgeous place to simply soak up the volcano views and nature. On your way from the airport, the UNESCO World Heritage charming streets of Antigua offer many colorful, cultural treasures.
It's always recommended to stay at the lake or visit Antigua for some extra time and enjoy the beauty if you schedule allows. Antigua is a lovely transition place to spend a couple days before or after the retreat.
travel insurance
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To further protect your travel investment, including transport costs or unforeseen circumstances, travel insurance is strongly advised for all participants.
For maximum coverage, purchase a 'cancel for any reason policy' upgrade option which covers a high percentage of your non-refundable costs. These policies often need to be bought 14-21 days after booking and have a 48 hours prior to departure cancellation window. Available from insurance companies like Trawick International and Travel Guard.
Total Retreat Cost (Inclusive):
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$2650 USD (triple)
+ upgrades
(7 nights, 8 days including arrival & departure)
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This is an intimate, curated retreat experience.
(max 12 women)
Deposit to Reserve:
$600 USD
Full balance is due on or before 30 days out for this retreat event.
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Retreat is 100% confirmed at 4 women minimum. Please see payment & cancellation policies!​​
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​Please inquire with Aimee for any questions around payment - whether payment plans or special requests.
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Triple Room (shared)
+$2650 USD
Shared: Lotus House, Triple
Double Room (shared)
+$100 upgrade
Shared: Lotus House, Double
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Private Suite (upgrade)
+$450 upgrade
Private: Lotus House
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Retreat package includes:
- Daily morning guided meditation & yoga/movement practice
- Two self-exploratory writing circles on most days
- 7 nights accommodation at Villa Sumaya (double or private)
- Delicious vegetarian breakfast, lunch & dinner
- Unlimited tea/coffee service
- 4+ sacred healing ceremonies (eg. Mayan Fire Ceremony, Sound Healing, Sacred Sweat
- Sauna/jacuzzi evening for group
- Use of swimming pool & solar hot tub
- Base gratuities for local staff members
- All Taxes
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excludes:
- Additional options:
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Optional excursions during longer breaks (approx $60/each)
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Spa treatments, massages ($85/hour, $110/1.5 hr/$140/2 hr)
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Meal protein supplements (fish & chicken $8) or alcohol
- Flights & ground transport (usually shareable) to the retreat
- Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
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Community Love
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A $50 donation per woman will be made to
Camino Canicas, a grassroots intuitive supporting under-resourced children in San Marcos La Laguna.