New Year’s Yoga Retreat in Guatemala
December 27, 2025-January 3, 2026
Villa Sumaya, Lake Atitlan
Co-led by Charles MacInerney & Michelle Fajkus
Release. Renew. Begin Again.
There’s something magical about the turning of the year—one chapter closing, a new one waiting to be written. It’s a threshold moment, a chance to pause, let go of what no longer serves you, and step boldly into the next cycle with clarity, joy, and intention.
Join us on the shimmering shores of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, for a transformational week of yoga, meditation, soulful reflection, and sacred ceremony. Together, we’ll celebrate the close of 2025 with gratitude and set powerful intentions to welcome 2026 with open hearts, clear vision, and vibrant energy.
Guided by longtime teachers Charles MacInerney and Michelle Margaret Fajkus, this retreat blends grounded practices with mystical wisdom. You’ll explore yoga, meditation, journaling, and goal-setting as tools to create a life you love—while also learning from the Mayan cosmovision, a living tradition that reveals how to live in harmony with nature, spirit, and purpose.
Why This Retreat?
The Mayan calendar teaches that time isn’t linear—it spirals, inviting us to return again and again with deeper awareness. This retreat is designed to help you:
✨ Reflect on the year that’s closing with compassion and gratitude
✨ Release habits, patterns, or “toxic goals” that no longer fit
✨ Clarify your soul-aligned vision for the new year
✨ Anchor your intentions through ceremony, community, and practice
As we cross into 2026, you’ll feel more aligned, grounded, and ready to create from a place of flow, freedom, and fulfillment.
What to Expect
Each day we’ll weave together movement, reflection, and inspiration:
Energizing + restorative yoga and meditation sessions
Creative writing prompts + life design workshops based on Charles’ book, Toxic Goals, Flow & the Pursuit of Excellence
Tools for clarifying your deepest desires (mind mapping, visioning, action planning)
A personal Mayan day sign reading to illuminate your path
A sacred Mayan fire ceremony to ignite and bless your intentions for the year ahead
Plus, plenty of free time to rest, explore, and soak up the magic of Lake Atitlán.
What’s Included
✔ 7 nights in deluxe eco-luxury at Villa Sumaya, a renowned retreat center overlooking the lake
✔ 3 nourishing vegetarian meals daily + unlimited tea, coffee, and fresh drinking water
✔ 2 daily yoga + meditation practices with Charles & Michelle
✔ Soul-centered workshops to spark clarity, joy, and purpose
✔ Personal Mayan calendar birth chart reading
✔ Group Mayan fire ceremony
✔ Ample downtime for hammocks, spa treatments, swimming, and stargazing
Optional extras: kayaking, paddleboarding, sauna, hot tub, cacao cooking class, massage, tarot readings, cacao ceremony, sweat lodge, sound bath.
Optional adventures: explore Santa Cruz + other villages, hike volcanoes, zip-line, visit Mayan markets, tour the highlands with anthropologist + shaman Vincent Stanzione, or meet Maximon—the legendary Mayan trickster deity.
Who It’s For
Whether you’re craving a fresh start, navigating a big life shift, or simply longing to reconnect with your inner spark—this retreat is for you.
Solo travelers, couples, creatives, caregivers, teachers, seekers—all are welcome. No prior yoga or writing experience required. Just bring your open heart and your willingness to step into the new year with joy and intention.
This is your invitation to reset, realign, and rise into 2026!
About the Leaders
Charles MacInerney
Charles is a pioneer in the development of the yoga retreat movement. Since 1992, he has led over 100 three- and four-day retreats in the U.S., and more than 50 retreats in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. Charles was the first yoga teacher to combine yoga and creative writing into a retreat and he has since led dozens of these popular retreats both domestically and internationally.
Charles began his yoga journey at the age of 11, studying under renowned Oxford teacher Arlene Council. At 16, his family relocated to a rural farm in East Texas, where he deepened his personal practice in solitude. After successfully rehabilitating a knee injury through yoga during college, he was inspired to teach and began sharing the healing potential of yoga in 1989. Since then, he has taught thousands of classes and workshops. A dedicated supporter of the Austin yoga community, Charles co-founded the Texas Yoga Retreat in 2000, as well as the Living Yoga teacher training program, whose graduates now teach in 42 states and seven countries. Locally, he is perhaps best known for his free outdoor Full Moon Yoga class, which has met monthly for over 30 years.
Drawing from over four decades of personal practice and study with master teachers including Donna Farhi, Thich Nhat Hanh, and John Friend, Charles is known for his grounded wisdom and engaging teaching style. He is the author of Toxic Goals, Flow & the Pursuit of Excellence, and is passionate about helping people align their goals with deeper purpose, presence, and flow.
Michelle Margaret Fajkus
Michelle found yoga as a teenager in Texas and has been practicing ever since. What began as a physical practice quickly became a lifeline. She has been teaching yoga since 2002 and leading retreats in Guatemala since 2010.
After moving to Guatemala City in 2009, Michelle fell in love with Lake Atitlán. She moved there in 2012 and had her daughter in 2013. She lives in Panajachel with her family and works as a writer, editor, translator and retreat center consultant. Michelle joyfully leads retreats that weave the practices of yoga, writing, and the wisdom teachings of Buddhism and the sacred Mayan calendar. She has studied extensively with local Mayan spiritual guides and is an interpreter of Mayan fire ceremonies. Michelle also offers personal Mayan day sign readings online and in person.
She is known for her grounded presence and compassionate guidance. Her teachings are rooted in mindfulness, authenticity, and the belief that each of us is innately whole and deserving of the freedom to live with purpose and joy.
Rates & Registration
Single Lakefront Room: $2495
Double Lakefront Room: $2095 per person
Single Luxury Suite: $2665
Double Luxury Suite: $2325 per person
Includes all retreat offerings, accommodations, meals, and taxes. Does not include airfare, airport transfers, tips, or optional activities.
A $500 nonrefundable deposit is required to reserve your space. Remaining amount due by October 25, 2025.
