Five acres of Mayan jungle near Tulum, held by a family—for nervous system reset, women's healing, and plant medicine work.
Ten years ago, Maja and Asdru married in Bacalar with a shared vision: to build something meaningful in Chemuyil, a quiet corner of the Riviera Maya 20 minutes north of Tulum. Both trained as permaculture designers and both walking with plant wisdom, they spent three years searching not for a property, but for land that wanted to be part of the work. They found it—five acres of ancient jungle sitting atop the cenote system, fed by cenote-fed water and powered by solar energy. Over seven years, Casa Arkaana emerged not through design but through listening. Every structure, every garden path, every ceremony space grew from living with the land, not building on it. Maja, trained across multiple yoga traditions—Hatha, Vinyasa, Iyengar, prenatal, and trauma-informed practice—shapes the container with meticulous attention to detail. Asdru, who has walked with the Shipibo tradition for eleven years, dieting with Maestro Gilberto Mahua, brings fourteen years of work with plant medicine and deep knowledge of permaculture, agroforestry, and natural systems. Together they tend the land as a family would, present on the property for every retreat. The center holds one group at a time across 8 rooms and 4 glamping tents, sleeping up to 24 guests. Four ceremony spaces anchor the land—most notably the Temple, blessed with a Vedic fire ceremony and built with quartz running through its floors and walls. A food forest grows turmeric, moringa, aloe vera, cacao, chaya, papaya, banana, lime, and mango; the kitchen sources from local producers and seasonal markets, adapting every menu to each group's needs and the arc of their retreat. In four years of hosting, Casa Arkaana has held over 40 retreats and earned 68 five-star reviews on Google. The work held here spans nervous system reset for somatic and trauma-aware facilitators, women's circles and feminine embodiment, and sacred plant medicine and ceremonial work—all guided by the founders' commitment to qualified leadership, clear screening, safety protocols, and integration support that extends weeks after guests return home.
Traditions: Plant Medicine Ceremony, Temazcal (Sweat Lodge), Shipibo Tradition, Yoga (Hatha, Vinyasa, Iyengar, Kundalini), Somatic & Trauma-Informed Practice, Permaculture
Programs: Nervous System Reset Retreats, Women's Healing Retreats, Plant Medicine & Ayahuasca Ceremonies, Yoga & Healing Jungle Retreats, Burnout Recovery Retreats, Bodywork Training (Fascia Release & Deep Tissue Massage), Aquatic Bodywork Certification (Janzu), Dream Work & Ecological Self Retreats