Face yourself
a 10-day no phone retreat

Ten days of full digital detox on the edge of the jungle outside Tulum, in a small group. No phone, no screens. A structured daily rhythm of meditation, movement, and stillness. A nourishing vegan diet and intermittent fasting. One private hour with Chi, who's there to guide personally throughout the stay. Most retreats are built to make you feel good. This one is built to make you face yourself. It's harder than comfortable, and more useful.

A group meditating cross-legged inside the shalaA man practicing a Qigong movement on a porch, arms raised, with another person beside himChi Om placing his hands over another person's during a group blessing indoorsA close-up shot of a man in a downward dog yoga pose Two women in a warrior yoga pose
The frame

A full reset,
top to bottom

Stillness, detox, and guidance, held in a fixed daily rhythm. Each one shifts something on its own. Ten days of all three at once is a different order of thing.

Stillness

After a few days without a screen to reach for, the mental noise settles on its own. You stop performing — no faces to keep up, no notifications to answer. The thoughts you've been outrunning start to surface, and there's nowhere to put them except here.

Time with Chi

The detox brings things up. Your private hour with Chi is where you work with them. Part energy work, part conversation, adjusted to what you actually need. And it doesn't stop at the hour — he will be there to guide you through the rest of your days here too.

Vegan meals + fasting

Everything you eat is plant-based, gluten-free, and low in sugar — designed to support the inner work, not distract from it. Nineteen hours of daily fasting from 2:30 PM to 9:30 AM gives the body space to rest and reset, and puts the mind face to face with one of its most ordinary patterns: the impulse to eat as escape.

Digital detox

Devices go into a box upon arrival and stay there. No screens, no notifications, not even a clock. Attention span comes back. You remember what it's like to be in a room without also being somewhere else.

Our daily structure

  1. 05:00-09:00Morning Practice (meditation, teaching & movement)
  2. 09:30Breakfast
  3. 10:00Personal space: rest and reflection
  4. 12:30Healing Juice
  5. 14:00Nourishing vegan meal
  6. 15:00Personal space: rest and reflection
  7. 19:00Qigong Session
  8. 20:00Evening Teaching with Chi
Where you'll sleep · what it costs

Two ways to stay

A private cabaña with A/C, or a spot in the shared cabaña with fans. Both have an en-suite bathroom and their own entrance. One price covers the whole stay — the bed, the food, the teaching, all of it.

Private Cabaña with A/C

  • En-suite bathroom
  • Private front porch
  • AC + ceiling fan
1 person2 people
Mar — Nov$1,444$1,999
Dec — Feb$2,888$3,999
10 days / 9 nights

Shared Cabaña with Fans

  • En-suite bathroom
  • Ceiling fan, jungle breeze
  • Up to three people
Per bed
Mar — Nov$888
Dec — Feb$1,777
10 days / 9 nights
What's covered
  • Vegan & gluten-free meals, salads + daily juice
  • A private hour with Chi — energy work and conversation, recorded
  • All practices: stillness meditation, Qigong, and movement
  • Chi available one-on-one throughout, whenever you need it
  • Personalized action plan built from your session and your ten days
Dates & availability
Early autumn · 2026
Sep 4 — 13
Fri → Sun · 9 nights
Autumn · 2026
Oct 19 — 28
Mon → Wed · 9 nights
Thanksgiving · 2026
Nov 20 — 29
Fri → Sun · 9 nights
Christmas · 2026
Dec 17 — 26
Thu → Sat · 9 nights
New Year · 2026
Dec 28 — Jan 6
Mon → Wed · 9 nights
January · 2027
Jan 15 — 24
Fri → Sun · 9 nights
Late winter · 2027
Feb 12 — 21
Fri → Sun · 9 nights
Early spring · 2027
Mar 6 — 15
Sat → Mon · 9 nights
No instant booking · we talk first

Tell us you're
thinking about it.

Ten days here is a real commitment, so we begin with a conversation: a few words from you, then a call. Just write when you're ready.

connect@the-essence.orgwe reply within 24 hours
or just email us at connect@the-essence.org — whatever's easier
A look around

Before you come,
have a look

Rest and reflection

Plenty of time for rest and reflection

Questions, before you write

The things
people ask

Still unsure about something? That's normal — it's why we start with a conversation rather than a checkout.

Ask us anything →

Yes. Devices go into a box on day one and come back on day ten. We hold an emergency number for family, and someone checks it daily — so you can be reached if it truly matters. Everything else can wait.