Alquimia – Centre of Healing Arts
Regenerative Retreat for Cancer
Seminars/Workshop/Somatic Work
A hypnotic place to connect, unwind, learn and play
DATES: 20th-26th February 2024
LOCATION: Central Valley, Costa Rica
We are hosting a self-empowerment retreat in Costa Rica to clear away the dark clouds of the fears that loom above cancer patients and share a healing circle of community. We will lead the group to the plentiful herbal medicine forests of Costa Rica, in a gorgeous syntropic farm nested closed to Turrialba Vulcano, sorrounded by the midst of mountains. We’ll have a 30-ha farm only to ourselves, which is a fantastic deal.
Our hope for this retreat is to create a hypnotic place to connect with others and their cancer journeys, to relax, unwind, and learn. This will allow us to connect to the inner wisdom in all of us to allow our mind-body-soul to unify in our unique journey.
We are capping the retreat at only 10 participants to create an intimate, more personal experience, so space will sell out fast.
We want to hold a space of beauty, whilst nurturing self expression and inner peace, feeding the mind and activating the body.
Our Amazing Team
Pamela Chambers at www.pamelachambers.com has spent over 25 years as a counselor/life coach/award winning author/ cancer survivor. She has a master’s in education/counseling with distinction from Northern Arizona University and is double certified in EMDR, which is an excellent treatment for little traumas and/or big traumas. Pamela has studied herbal medicine in Thailand and with Elisa Fusi in Portugal. Pamela is certified in Mind Body Medicine with the Center for Mind-Body-Medicine at www.cmbm.org and is also certified in (PNEI) psycho-neuro-endocrinology-immunology. Pamela has worked with Heather, a pinnacle oncologist nurse, and her non-profit group, run gals run for several years to bring support and educate Heather’s cancer patients in mind- body-soul alignment and herbal medicine.
Elisa Fusi is a molecular biologist, writer and herbal medicine practitioner, expert on psychosomatics and ethnobotany. She is the director at Alquimia, www.alquimiahealingarts.com. She has studied several ancestral rituals with indigenous groups around the world. and and she has reshaped the concept of well-being using a more spiritual, person-centered approach. Currently, Elisa has a calling and an education in the field of psycho-oncology, which includes herbal remedies, alternative therapies in cancer, pain medicine, cancer stages and communication. Elisa is a PNEI psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology practitioner and psycho-oncologist. Psycho-oncology is an exciting branch of medicine with a pure holistic approach to cancer patients, taking into account the emotional, spiritual and mental dimension of disease. Elisa will introduce you to several treatments which are complementary or unitary therapies and other treatments generally used for prevention. Together we will also explore a diverse biological explanation to cancerogenesis accordingly to more complex and complete studies in oncology.
Antoinette Van Belle at www.antoinettevanbelle.com is a certified Shiatsu therapist, Dru Yoga instructor and Holistic Life Coach. For the last 25 years she has run her private practice in Heart-centred Holistic Health in Holland, Spain and in Costa Rica as well as running her own yoga studio. She draws from years of experience in yoga and wellness, her own practices, and these powerful healing modalities and loves to support you in your quest for health and well-being. In her practice and her experience in working with cancer patients and supporting her partner through cancer she has seen how the patient tends to become very identified with dis-ease. It’s hard not to with conventional treatment, hospital visits, test and results. Antoinette is passionate about helping people to reframe their experience, to see the bigger picture, to trust their healing process, even if the body doesn’t always cure many people do heal from their emotional and psychological trauma.She will listen to you with compassion and hold a non-judgmental, safe space for you. In her one on one therapeutic yoga classes she helps people to feel comfortable again with moving and breathing, feeling grateful for, honouring and focusing on what does work, “the little, big things that don’t scream for attention”.She combines Restorative yoga, Yin yoga, Somatics, Feldenkrais and Yoga Nidra as well as some gentle but powerful practices from Dru Yoga to help you to move mindfully and find stillness and connect with your physical, emotional and mental bodies.
The Flow of Days
Antoinette will guide the Dru Yoga practice (mixture of asana, meditation, breath, mantra, freedom movement) at the wooden pavilion. Our meals will be farm to table, organic and freshly prepared with love and care by local people. Mornings are dedicated to learning and mind nurturing activities. Pamela and Elisa will present several seminars and workshops with different topics and we’ll have plenty of time for interactive talks, Q&A and playful moments.
After lunch we dive into somatic work, forest baths and ceremonies to celebrate the connection with nature and deepen the practice with plants. We’ll have a full afternoon for tailored EMDR sessions, Relaxation Techniques and Herbal Formulas, with personal advice and counseling. A free afternoon will give you the chance to explore the area, book a shiatsu massage with Antoinette, or simply relax in a swing.
Your Stay
You’ll get the opportunity to live in a magical space in the Central Valley of Costa Rica with a great biodiversity and climate. You’ll love the homey rooms with all the comforts, privacy, and spectacular mountain views. Most of the workshops and seminars will be hosted in the big conference room, while for the practical part will be discovering the forest paths, the temazcal and ceremonial areas.
PROGRAM:
Day ONE Tue. 20th Feb
Orientation and Briefing with the team. Introductory Workshop with Elisa and welcome tour to the farm.
Day TWO Wed. 21st-Feb
Morning Meditation & Yoga with Antoinette
After Breakfast: A Cancer Journey Workshop with Elisa
Afternoon: Positive Living Workshop with Pamela/Alternatives in Cancer Treatments with Elisa and Medicinal Plants’ Tour
Day THREE Thu. 22nd Feb.
Morning: Meditation & Yoga with Antoinette
After Breakfast: Natural Medicine for Cancer Workshop with Elisa/Creative Visualization with Pamela
Afternoon: Cacao Meditation and Journey with Elisa
Day FOUR Fri. 23rd Feb.
Morning: Meditation & Yoga with Antoinette
After Breakfast: EMDR Theory Workshop with Pamela/Herbal Formula Intro Workshop with Elisa
Afternoon: personalized EMDR, Relaxation Techniques, and Herbal Formulas on request.
Day FIVE Sat. 24th Feb.
Morning: Meditation & Yoga with Antoinette
After Breakfast: Mind-Body Medicine Workshop with Pamela/Forest Bath with Antoinette
Afternoon: Free time. Possibility to visit the surroundings or book a Shiatsu massage with Antoinette.
Day SIX Sun. 25th Feb.
Morning: Meditation and Yoga with Antoinette
After Breakfast: Taking Care of your Soul Workshop with Pamela/Pain Medicine & Psychological Care with Elisa
Afternoon: Somatic Breathe Release + Active Meditation with Elisa/Q&A plus brainstorming
Day SEVEN Mon. 26th Feb.
Morning Meditation and Vagal Activation with Elisa
Breakfast, debriefing + closing ceremony
Inclusions
- 6 Nights Lodging (double occupancy or single room)
- Breakfast Lunch and Dinner (vegan, vegetarian, gluten free upon request)
- Transportation to/from the retreat
- Personalized EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) sessions with Pamela
- Personalized Herbal Formulas with Elisa
- Relaxation Techniques with Antoinette
- Natural Medicines and Alternative Therapies to support your cancer journey
- Workshops on creating joy, gratitude, and living a positive enriched life.
- Meditation balancing your physiology and psychology, to quiet the immune-inhibiting fight, freeze or flight response.
- Daily Dru Yoga practice
- Somatic Breathwork and Active Meditation
- Guided Imagery seminar to maximize the effectiveness of your immune response as well as to help you make wise decisions about the challenges that confront you.
- Cacao workshop and a sacred Cacao Ceremony
- Temazcal ceremony
Exclusions
- Round trip airfare to Costa Rica
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Laundry Services
- Travel Insurance
- Transportation outside of included excursions
- Meals outside of the retreat
- Shiatsu Massage or other extra therapies not listed under inclusions
Price
Per person (double occupancy) now discounted $ 2.550
We recommend to share your room with another participant. Single rooms are available with an additional fee.
Payments & Cancellation Policy
- To reserve the retreat a 800$ non-refundable deposit is required.
- In case of cancellation it is possible to redirect your deposit to a later booking without additional fees.
- The last payment should be done by: January 2024
- We recommend to buy travel insurance. Travel insurance will generally reimburse for last-minute cancellations due to personal emergencies.
Contact
For general Inquiries/Bookings email to: Pamela Chambers pamela@pamelachambers.com
For Information about Costa Rica/Lodging & Meals email to: elisa.fusi@mail.com
For Yoga/Bodywork email to: a.h.vanbelle@gmail.com
FAQ
All meals provided by hotel are health conscious and organic. They can accommodate any dietary restriction and goes above and beyond what is expected of a resort to provide for their guests.
Your passport must be valid for a minimum of 3 months following your arrival to Costa Rica and you must have a return ticket to another country within 90 days of entry. At the time of writing, no visas are necessary if staying less than 90 days.
The closest airport is the San Juan International Airport. The airport is approximately 2 1/2 hours from the Resort.
Transportation to and from the airport is included in the room price you see above. Any other transportation you would like during your stay is additional and a driver can be scheduled directly through the resort.
Absolutely not….all of our retreats are carefully designed to cater to every individual’s specific wants and needs.
We get asked this all the time, and to be completely honest, we love to see people traveling solo and grow their tribe. Because our single rooms are scarce, we advise you to share a room.
You can inquire about availability, and we will be happy to accommodate you for an additional daily cost of $30.
We take great care in designing our trips and only select the highest quality venues and providers so that you will not be placed at risk.
In the unlikely event of injury or illness, our Retreats team will reach your emergency contact if necessary. If you have a travel insurance your provider will also be able to provide guidance on where to receive medical care if required.
We are not liable for any injuries incurred whilst on one of our retreats.
We offer both Paid-In-Full and Payment Plan options for all of our retreats.
Payment Plans are only available if there are more than 30 days before the retreat start date as that is when all balances are due.
Should there be any spots still available within the 60-day window, Paid-In-Full is the only available option.
If you cancel your retreat:
o 60 days prior to the start of the retreat you receive 100% credit toward another retreat within 12 months.
o 30-60 days prior to the start of the retreat, you receive 50% credit toward another retreat within 12 months, and forfeit the remainder.
o 0-30 days prior to the start of the retreat, you receive no refunds or credits.
If we cancel the retreat:
We have never had to cancel a retreat; however, if we ever do, we will refund you all deposits and payments you have paid. We cannot, however, compensate you for credit card fees, airfare, or travel costs incurred. In the unlikely event that the Retreats must cancel a retreat due to weather, natural disaster, pandemic, or political upheaval, we cannot guarantee a refund; we will give you credit toward another retreat at a convenient date.
To cover these risks, we highly recommend you purchase travel insurance.
We welcome and would absolutely love to hear your ideas! Please email alquimia@mail.com to offer any ideas or suggestions.
Yes, we have organized a Zoom meeting for all potential participants in December to clear up any confusion and get to know one another. Dates will be announced soon. Please, fill the form below in case you want to join the meeting.