The Retreats

Día de los Muertos in Sacred Mexico

October 30 – November 5, 2026 · Puerto Vallarta

A House of Story Medicine Retreat

A deeply transformative women’s retreat experience during the sacred season of Día de los Muertos in Puerto Vallarta. Honouring our ancestors, re-framing grief, re-writing your story.

Featuring:

  • Cacao ceremony
  • Sacred sisterhood circles, breath work and sound healing
  • The Malecon Sugar Skull sculptures and giant Catrina experience
  • Catrina Storytelling, Sugar skull creativity, Catrina make-up and flower crowns
  • Rooftop candlelit gatherings
  • River jungle cleansing and secluded beach re-birth
  • Ancestral alter creation, book of witnessing

View the full retreat itinerary and experience the traditions, ceremonies, and stories that make this celebration so meaningful.

Complete a short questionnaire to explore whether this retreat is the right fit for you.

Story Medicine Writing Retreats

November 16 – 22, 2026 · Puerto Vallarta

Writing As Transformation

Story Medicine Writing Retreats invite women into creative rebirth through memoir, storytelling, reflection, and emotionally immersive writing experiences in sacred Mexico.

Created by publisher, author, and transformational storytelling guide Julie Ann, these retreats combine:

  • Writing workshops
  • Story development
  • Creative healing
  • Authentic cultural immersion
  • Ceremony
  • Emotional witnessing
  • Soulful community

For women ready to:

  • Write their stories
  • Reclaim their voice
  • Transform life experience into meaning
  • Reconnect with creativity
  • Birth a book or memoir from the soul

Discover what’s included in our 7-day retreat experience and download the full itinerary.

Complete a short questionnaire to explore whether this retreat is the right fit for you.

Real Cultural Mexico Experience

Jan 21st – 27th, 2027 • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Discover the authentic cultural Mexico from an expat who has been living here full-time for 7 years and is fully immersed in the culture.

Join us for an eye-opening look at the real Mexico! 

Discover the magic of Mexico on a seven-day women’s journey blending cultural immersion, sacred ceremonies, creativity, and connection. Set in a beautiful hillside sanctuary overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this intimate retreat invites you to experience Puerto Vallarta beyond the ordinary.

Share a traditional cacao ceremony, experience sacred water cleansing, explore local artisan traditions, discover herbal wisdom, and enjoy sunset dinners overlooking Banderas Bay. Through storytelling, creative reflection, and heartfelt conversations, reconnect with yourself while building meaningful friendships with women from around the world.

From colourful Mexican streets to moments of stillness, celebration, and ceremony, every day offers something memorable. Return home with renewed inspiration, treasured memories, and a deeper connection to Mexico, yourself, and the stories that shape us.

The Elemental Journey

  • Earth
    Arrival, grounding, belonging welcome cleansing and ceremony
  • Air
    Breath, opening, connection through sound healing and breathwork.
  • Spirit
    Compassion, devotion, the Divine Feminine – Through meaningful encounters with local artisans and herbal wisdom keepers, women are invited into deeper connection with the living spirit of Mexico.
  • Water
    the healing waters of Banderas Bay and the mystery and symbolism of Los Arcos, one of Puerto Vallarta’s most iconic natural landmarks., Stunning secluded beaches and tropical waters.
  • Water
    Community, celebration, gratitude in the heart opening Cacao ceremony.
  • Earth, Water & Fire
    Wisdom, cleansing, transformation through ancestral wisdom, healing traditions, cultural connection, and transformation at the sacred Kawutu River, where a traditional cleansing ceremony invites release and renewal.

    Sunset dinner by the river is followed by a traditional Aztec Fire Dance beneath the evening sky.

  • Grace
    Integration, renewal, becoming.

Meet Julie Ann

Julie Ann is a publisher, author, and guide in narrative transformation who has helped more than 300 authors bring their stories into the world over the past 17 years.

She created The House of Story Medicine as a place where story, culture, connection, and community come together to create meaningful experiences and lasting transformation.