Name: The Hermitage – Guatemala
Item: The Hermitage – Guatemala
Rating: 5
Author: Sofia Madeira

The Hermitage is a Practitioner’s Retreat Center set on the shores of Lake Atitlan in the highlands of Guatemala. It offers beautiful and simple cabins for practitioners looking to dive deeper into their own practice in a safe, quiet and natural environment.

All cabins have a beautiful view of the surrounding volcanoes and lake, and access to the gardens with a private dock for swimming. Also available is an immersion into darkness, in a purpose-built Dark Retreat Stone Home.
The Hermitage is an off-grid Retreat Center that supports and maintains permaculture gardens and sustainable living solutions.

Practitioners may choose a retreat of any length from a minimum of five days up to several months; and can structure their daily schedule according to their own interests and experience. The Hermitage recommends a commitment to silence for the length of stay, and welcomes all practices and traditions.

All Solo and Dark Retreats are supported with delicious and wholesome vegetarian meals each day, and access to an excellent home library of spiritual books. Also available are individual guided meditation or yoga classes and one-on-one retreat guidance.

Retreating in complete darkness is a practice common to many of the ancient and contemporary spiritual traditions across the world. From the monks and lamas in Tibet, to the Kogi Mamos in Colombia; the ancient Egyptians and the mystics of 15th Century France, Dark Retreats have provided revelation and illumination to countless practitioners who have sought the inner light.

The Dark Retreat is an unparalleled experience in intense seclusion, in which the practitioner is deprived of all light and sensory distractions, and thus plunges into a deep witnessing awareness of the mind, and eventually experiences the perception of the inner light of pure Consciousness.

Built entirely from natural river stones, cement and crystals, the Dark Retreat at The Hermitage is submerged into the hillside and is entered through a special underground tunnel. Resting predominantly under the earth at the base of a sacred copal tree, retreaters will experience the embrace of mother earth as they ‘return to the womb’ of darkness and silence.

The Dark Retreat at The Hermitage has been specifically designed with an increased air flow capacity that exceeds the average resting oxygen exchange rate, enhancing the amount of fresh oxygen to the brain and allowing for increased mental focus and clarity in meditation.

Retreaters have the option of two wholesome vegetarian meals per day or may wish to bring their own food or snacks. Food is delivered through a double-door food cupboard, drinking water is provided inside and the bathroom features a natural eco shower offering hot water throughout the day.

Rates for the Dark Retreat depend on length of stay and whether the retreater chooses to be catered for or self-catering. The prices below do not include food – to have two meals per day served during the retreat, please add an additional US$10 per day to the following rates.

The Hermitage is owned and run by Severin and Emma Geser, who are both commited meditation practitioners and qualified meditation and yoga retreat leaders.

Originally from Switzerland and New Zealand, Severin and Emma both travelled for many years, before settling permanately in Guatemala. They are both passionate about exploring and integrating spirituality in daily life and have a commited practice themselves, inspired by Advaita Vedanta (Non Duality), Tibetan Buddhism, the Christian Wisdom Teachings, and the Self Enquiry Method of Ramana Maharshi.

Severin and Emma created The Hermitage on their own permaculture property in San Pablo as a space to provide exactly what they were looking for themselves for many years. They are both excited and grateful to now offer a space for practitioners to dive deeper into their own practice, supported by a stunning natural setting, nourishing food and spiritual support on Guatemala's Lake Atitlan.

The Hermitage welcomes you anytime!

SOLO RETREATS

The Hermitage offers high quality, simple cabins for practitioners seeking peace and contemplative silence. Each cabin is private and unique and offers unparralleled views of Lake Atitlan and its surrounding volcanoes.

Built entirely from natural materials, the cabins are light and spacious, designed intentionally for the purpose of retreat and silence. Each has a comfortable bed, shelves, writing desk and personal practice space and comes with a private bathroom with solar shower.
Practitioners may choose from one of the hillside cabins, or the beauitful bamboo tree house, with two rooms and meditation platforms twenty feet above the ground. Also available is a studio space for artists and writers looking to do a creative retreat with self-catering options available.

Practitioners may make use of the permaculture gardens for practice and contemplation, and will find many beautiful hidden meditation spaces amongst the trees and bamboo forest. The Hermitage has a private dock and lake access for swimming or enjoying the sunrise at the water's edge.

The Hermitage – Guatemala

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