Mexico New Years Retreat
January 2nd - January 9th, 2025 • Puerto Morelos, Mexico
Daily Ashtanga Yoga Mysore style, mindfulness, and Pranayama
Start the year grounded, inspired, and intentional in the southeast of Mexico. Held at One Breath of Yoga, nestled in the lush Mayan jungle, this retreat is an invitation to reconnect with yourself, with nature, and with your deepest intentions for the year ahead.
Surrounded by abundant jungle life and supported by a warm, conscious community, you will have time to rest, reflect, and simply be. This retreat is dedicated to nourishing body, mind, and spirit through shared practice, cultivating loving awareness, collective well-being, and a deeper sense of belonging to life itself.
What your days look like
Each day will begin in silence with Pranayama and meditation, followed by Ashtanga Yoga Mysore-style practice. In the afternoons, we will gather for mindfulness and meditation sessions, creating space to integrate and deepen our experience. During the week, we will share a heart-opening cacao offering, take part in a traditional Temazcal ritual honoring ancient wisdom and connection to the elements, and come together for an uplifting kirtan evening guided by Sandra and fellow musicians, a joyful celebration of sound, devotion, and community.
Retreat Highlights
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Cacao offering
A South American treasure, cacao, known as the "Food of the Gods" facilitates vivid healing without psychoactive effects. The cacao offering helps rebalance our energies, open our hearts and connect with our true selves. Our guides create a very joyous ceremony for us. Beautiful Ale Sai, a native of this area will guide us in this experience with her beautiful voice, together with the team from the Ashram to sing along.
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Temazcal
Originating from pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican cultures, the Temazcal sweat lodge, meaning “house of heat”, serves as a space for reflection and rejuvenation. Participants are guided by a shaman inside a dome. Fired volcanic rock heats the space and cleanses and harmonises the spirit of those brave enough to enter. Enter the womb of Mother Earth and return transformed. We will be guided by a local group on this experience.
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Kirtan
A traditional practice of devotional singing, where mantras are chanted in call-and-response form, often accompanied by music. It is a joyful meditation that quiets the mind, opens the heart, and creates a sense of connection within the group. Sandra and other musicians will guide us on this experience.
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Nourishment
One Breath of Yoga offers a vegan Ayurvedic diet. After morning yoga enjoy a healthy brunch. We have a super smoothie, fruits and porridge served around 11 a.m. and then in the early evening we eat again. We encourage our guests to follow the yogic eating schedule as a healthy way to eat during the week we are there.
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Accommodation
For accommodation One Breath of Yoga provides simple cabañas and apartments. Each individual or couple has their own room and en suite bathroom.
One Breath of Yoga
The One Breath of Yoga retreat centre is hidden in the jungle near the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Morales in Quintana Roo in South East Mexico. It has a beautiful thatched roof yoga shala, inviting community spaces and a calm vibe. It has an assortment of animal visitors too. The venue asks guests to experience an ashram way of life, practicing being mindful and quiet. It’s a lovely place to be.
Location & things to do
The retreat takes place near Puerto Morelos, a fishing village in the Caribbean on the Riviera Maya. The ashram itself is a good place to retreat and rest during the week if introspection is your priority. Otherwise, we are close to the village and you can come and go as you please. There are cultural and nature activities available nearby
The white sand beaches surrounding Puerto Morelos are close. And there are limestone cenotes and reef snorkeling spots. The cenotes are natural pools with incredibly pure and transparent water that we can swim in. In the village, there is also the opportunity to buy traditional craftwork at the local market. And a good range of cafes and restaurants too
If you plan to come to the retreat and travel before or after, the whole Yucatan peninsula region is steeped in ancient Mayan culture. There are many archaeological wonders to explore if you travel on. Mexico City and Oaxaca are short flights away too
Getting there
The closest airport is Cancún International Airport and from there you take a taxi. The retreat centre is 30 minutes away. You can also fly to Tulum airport with a 2-hour taxi transfer from there
If you are flying from Europe, you can contact us and we can suggest you affordable ways to fly to the Caribbean.
Pricing
1.270€ per person
It is also possible to pay in three installments of 435€. In total, 1305€ per person
Mexican nationals, please reach out for a price in Mexican Peso
Partners who would like to join but who do not want to take part in the full program are also welcome. And children are also very welcome. Write us for more details about this
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Due to the nature of this retreat and the preparation involved the following cancellation policy is in place:
Full refund minus a 75 € administration fee: For cancellations made on or before 2 November 2026
50% refund: For cancellations made between 3 November and 2 December 2026
No refund: For cancellations made on or after 3 December 2026.
If you’re unable to attend, you can transfer your booking to someone else
What’s included
Daily yoga, pranayama, meditation guidance and dharma input - tailored to all levels of experience
7 nights of accommodation - each person or couple has their own room
Two vegan Ayurvedic meals each day
1 Cacao offering, 1 Temazcal ritual, 1 Kirtan and a Cenote day trip
And a visit by monkeys, if we are lucky
What’s not included
Flights
Airport transfers
Frequently Asked Questions
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The retreat will be led in English. Barbara and the ashram team speak Spanish too.
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The maximum number of participants that can join is 20.
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Some yoga mats are provided at the ashram. You are very welcome to bring your own too.
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Other yoga props are not provided. In the Mysore Ashtanga practice props are not used and posture variations are made to accommodate each body type. You can bring a block or meditation cushion to meditate on if that is supportive for you.
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Incoming airport pick ups can be booked for roughly 700 Mexican Peso / 35€. We will organise onward connections with everyone at the end of the retreat.
Meet your hosts
Barbara Macias & Sandra Gerhard
Barbara has been teaching Ashtanga yoga for fifteen years and has been running a Mysore Ashtanga yoga program in Berlin since 2017. Barbara’s studies include time at KPJAYI in Mysore with Sharath Jois and in Goa with Rolf Naukojat and Sharmila Desai. Her main teachers are Matthew and Carla Vollmer, and she has recently completed the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach
Sandra began practicing yoga in the mid-1990s and completed her Jivamukti Yoga teacher training in New York in 2010. Since then, she has been teaching in Berlin and internationally. Since 2016, she has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga in the Mysore style and began her studies with Matthew and Carla Vollmer. She has also completed further training with Eddie Stern in Pranayama and with David Keil in anatomy.
Do you have any questions?
Get in touch with us below and we’ll get back to you ASAP!
