New Moon Women of Wisdom Yoga Retreat – Workshop Leader Bios and Workshop Descriptions

Maria Akal is a midwife, mother, and healer from Mexico. She lives in Tulum with her family and supports the women of her community with birth, ceremony, yoga, herbalism, and ritual. She is a powerful advocate, educator, and space holder for women’s health and empowerment. Her joy shines from her like the sun, and her ceremonies evoke a sense of deep connection and remembrance. She is passionate about bringing women together to experience the power of prayer and ritual as an innate part of the sacred power we hold.

Maria will lead the Womb Wisdom Ceremony, a blend of traditional midwifery, somatic bodywork, yoga, and a variety of other practices. This experience explores the feminine lineage and unlocks the information residing in the womb, guiding participants on a journey of self-discovery that embraces femininity and invites a rebirth into their truth within a raw and wild nature.

R. Esther Lutes, MD, E-RYT200, Reiki master teacher, Urban Zen Integrative Therapy, Yoga Nidra Certified Thirty years as a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician fostered a desire to learn multi-cultural tools for health & well being. Yoga, Reiki, essential oil therapy, meditation, pranayama, body awareness, energy flow, yoga nidra and many other holistic modalities have offered Esther a lifeline to playful curiosity balanced by grounded faith. According to Esther there are so many tools available for the energetic rhythms of the mind, body, & spirit.  Let us continue to pause for awareness, learn, & practice together.

Esther will lead us in the following workshops:

New Moon Potential Moon energy is yin, feminine, nurturing, and powerful; imagine your favorite cuddle blanket & a cup of tea. Each new moon offers the opportunity to foster a new beginning with this energy. We will partake in this lunar opportunity by creating personalized intention with hand mudra & mantra. This mudra mantra will be your tool for any moment when your internal rhythms need nourishment. We will seal this practice with a gentle yoga moon flow with many options for accessibility in the moment.

Mala Meditation Have you seen the long strings of beautiful beads & seeds that hang in yoga studios & adorn the wrists & necks of some yoga students? Do they catch your eye and cause you to wonder? We will explore this curiosity and learn how to offer ourselves a meditative practice with these sacred beauties. The practice is simpler & more profound than you can imagine. Mala beads will be provided.

Yoga for emotions Fear, anger, worry, anxiety, sadness are powerful emotions that can alter our response to life experiences. Yoga and energy medicine offer us the tools of awareness, movement, and breath to experience the energy of these emotions & then transmute them to useful energy.

Esther will also lead us in a restorative yoga practice with Reiki and a yoga nidra meditation.

Gabylu Alcantra Gabriela is a mother, healer, and carrier of the ancient feminine rituals of her home country of Mexico. She has done deep study with the grandmother’s of her community for many years and applies practices for the womb, of working with plants, and of keeping sacred rituals with the rhythms of the land to her own life and also for her family and community.
 
Gabylu will be guiding us in working with the local healing plants by infusing them into honey, creating a healing sweetness for each woman to bring back some of the sweetness we share in our time together in the Herbalism and Plant Medicine workshop and Cacao Ceremony.
 

Cyn Mathis is retired from a fun but exhausting corporate career and now focuses on being a good mom, sister, friend, and Mimi (grandma). Over the years, she has become a registered Yoga Instructor (200 RYT), certified Yoga Tune-Up Teacher, Certified Somatic Mind-Body Healing Practitioner, Functional Body-Movement practitioner as well as a certified Career Coach … all in a quest to find clarity through change and use innate wisdom and energy to live life fully. Cyn geeks out about anatomy, so be prepared for some alignment-based awareness and movement!

Cyn will lead us in two workshops. Blissful Breathing uses intentional breathing paired with slow, mindful movement to help create space for change in your body, mind, and spirit. We’ll explore and open up ‘stuck spots’ and feel your nervous system drop into a natural state of calm and relaxation.

Somatic Healing Techniques brings conscious attention and perception of bodily sensations such as muscle tension, heartbeat, breath, and temperature, to gain a deeper understanding of your emotional and physical state. Learn specific tools and techniques to reset your nervous system and recall a state of calm, no matter where you are.

Ixchel Cuevas is a singer, dancer, and performer from the Mexican Caribbean. She shares her healing abilities through shamanic/Spanish medicine songs. She actively participates in medicine circles and ceremonies, guiding others through transformative sound healing journeys with a diverse array of instruments. Her artistry aims to inspire, heal, and elevate the spirit through the power of sound and movement. Ixchel will provide music during several of the ceremonies and the Sound Bath.
 

Your Yoga and Meditation Guide 

Maria Santoferraro, joy spreader, E-RYT 500 yoga teacher, storyteller, and always a practicing yoga student currently resides in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. After spending over 25 years as a stressed-out corporate executive she needed a detox from an unhealthy Blackberry addiction, lack of sleep, and an aching back caused by scoliosis. She sought out a healthier lifestyle and is grateful to have found her physical and spiritual release through the practice of yoga. Today she is living a balanced and blissful life, teaching beach yoga, leading international yoga retreats, and providing inspiration on her blog the Daily Downward Dog, Her playful, heart-opening teaching combines meditation, breath, alignment, and asana in slow-flowing vinyasa yoga classes that incorporate inspirational class themes, music, chanting, laughter, and the spiritual teachings of yoga to create a peaceful environment where students can quiet their minds, let go of fear and stress, and experience a deep sense of healing, relaxation, and joy.