Reclaiming Our Soul’s Path, Reconnecting to Our Essential Nature
A transformational sanctuary retreat in the sacred mountains of Tepoztlán, Mexico
Led by Cynthia Luna and Max Freund | November 19-22, 2026
An invitation for leaders, coaches, and seekers to pause, breathe, and listen. Amidst the breathtaking highland bluffs of Tepoztlán, we gather to reclaim the unique song our souls were meant to sing — surrendering our familiar world to find clarity, community, and a deeper alignment with life’s intention.
A Special Invitation from Cynthia & Max
Are you ready to listen to what your soul has been trying to tell you?
In the relentless pace of modern life, it is easy to be driven by a life that was created by the choices and commitments of previous versions of our self. The noise of this world often drowns out our inner compass. We may wake up to find years have passed, leaving us wondering who we have become and what happened to the unique path we once felt so clearly beneath our feet.
It is our belief that leadership—of organizations, of communities, and of one’s own life—must be rooted in an essential truth. When we lose contact with that truth, we rely on tasks and routine to move us through the day, but we lose the why.
We created Journey in Leadership as a life-changing experience for those ready to take an outward journey to an inner place. For every Journey in Leadership, we choose a new landscape that speaks to the collective shift we are observing. For 2026, we feel called to the sacred valley of Atongo in Mexico—a place where the earth speaks in ancient rhythms and the mountains hold a quiet, fierce wisdom.
Our theme this year is Reclaiming our Soul’s Path and Unique Expression in Community. It is an exploration of soul retrieval—finding the parts of ourselves we left behind in the expectations of others, in our own self-imposed obligations, or in the shadows of fear and shame.
In contrast to our traditional Journey in Leadership, this program is designed as a sanctuary retreat, less physically demanding than the Camino de Santiago and more accessible but just as powerfully transformative. We will ground ourselves in a sacred space at a wellness resort and spa, where through ritual, guided contemplative nature walks, and deep communal inquiry, we create the clearing necessary for your true self to breathe.
We would love for you to join an intimate circle of fellow travelers as we journey back to ourselves.
“The process has been about letting go of a lot of things and creating space for myself, rather than trying to fit in more. It has been physically demanding but extremely supportive — comfortable, warm, and very nurturing.”
— Jeremy M, Journey In Leadership
“I love my experience with this program! I developed deeper self-awareness and a deeper connection with nature. I am grateful for the beautiful connected relationships I am cultivating with the other participants and I appreciate that it was all so nicely planned out for us.”
— Journey In Leadership 2024 Participant
“If you are interested in going through something deeply transformational and you are looking to find the depth of who you are, this is the thing for you.”
— Revital P, Journey In Leadership 2019
“The silence and self-reflection supported me to get into a profound deepening and be open to shift the perspective of how I was envisioning what was next for me ‘to do.'"
— Vivi D., Journey in Leadership 2024
“Journey in Leadership offers a tremendous opportunity to step away from your day-to-day life and take time for deep reflection in the presence of a wonderfully supportive community of fellow travelers.” —JIL 2022 Participant
— Journey in Leadership 2022 Participant
What You Will Receive
This Journey is intended to provide resourcing space in community and in relationship with the land where we will honor indigenous traditions of the space to support our exploration.
The experience has been carefully crafted for you to:
Deepen self-contact: Quiet external noise to gain profound clarity on the next steps of your personal and professional path.
Release and renew: Honor and shed the patterns, identities, and burdens that no longer serve you, carving out space for your true self.
Align with intention: Harmonize your daily actions with your life’s deeper purpose, feeling nourished by the inherent bounty of life.
Cultivate lasting community: Join a curated circle of seekers and the growing community of Journey in Leadership alumni. The bonds formed in our programs often evolve into lifelong support systems.
This Experience Includes:
4 Days and 3 Nights at the serene La Buena Vibra Wellness Resort & Spa, a holistic sanctuary nestled at the foot of the mountains.
Nourishment: All meals included, with chef-prepared, farm-to-table dining featuring the vibrant flavors of traditional and contemporary Mexican cuisine.
Guided Pilgrimages: Two contemplative journeys — an ascent to the sacred Cerro del Tepozteco and an introspective walk through the Reserva de Los Venaditos.
Ancestral Ritual: A traditional Temazcál (Nahua sweat lodge) ceremony facilitated by local practitioners to support purification, rebirth, and somatic integration.
Coaching & Facilitation: Daily morning reflections, group coaching circles, and an intentional structure designed by master coaches Cynthia and Max.
Airport transfers, with a group shuttle to take you from the Mexico City airport straight to our retreat space in Tepoztlán (requires alignment with shuttle schedule).
If you are ready to join us, click here:
About the Tepoztlán
Tepoztlán is one of Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns), famous for its vibrant creative community and the ancient Aztec temple perched high on the cliffs above. It is widely considered a center of spiritual energy and magnetism, making it the perfect container for the work of Journey in Leadership.Tepoztlán is one of Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns), famous for its vibrant creative community and the ancient Aztec temple perched high on the cliffs above. It is widely considered a center of spiritual energy and magnetism, making it the perfect container for the work of Journey in Leadership.
The town is a safe and popular destination for international and domestic tourists. It is a 1.5-2-hour drive from Mexico City’s airport, and our program package includes a group shuttle to transport you from and back to the airport.
About La Buena Vibra
Our program will make its home at La Buena Vibra Retreat and Health Spa, a beautiful sanctuary in the Atongo Valley, nestled at the base of the sacred mountains east of Tepoztlán. Designed to foster well-being and introspection, the resort provides an atmosphere of peace and serenity. Its tranquil gardens, stunning views, and dedicated spa facilities offer a restorative environment that complements our deep exploration in the Journey in Leadership community.
If you choose to stay extra days at La Buena Vibra to experience their spa, yoga, and meditation classes, or simply to spend more time exploring Tepoztlán, the hotel will extend you a special group rate.
Your Guides
You will be accompanied by two experienced integral coaches who will guide both your inner and outer journey:
Cynthia Luna
A coach, facilitator, and practitioner at the intersection of leadership development, collective trauma healing, and systemic change, Cynthia Luna (she/her/ella) interweaves the art, science, and mystery of human development as it meets the embodied context of each person and human system in which it is expressed. With a 25+ year professional background spanning corporate, community, and individual development, Cynthia’s clients describe her work as an artful fusion of in-depth methodology, direct yet compassionate insight, and somatic transformation. Her experience navigating systems of oppression as an immigrant woman of color in leadership and her inner work integrating her mixed Indigenous/European ancestry have given Cynthia a profound understanding of socio-cultural dynamics that informs the depth of her work.
Cynthia has a longstanding spiritual practice grounded in embodied awareness as a student of the Diamond Approach and Thomas Hübl. She is certified as an Integral Coach by New Ventures West and has trained coaches as senior faculty in that school for the past 19+ years. She is certified as a facilitator of Hübl’s Collective Trauma Integration Process (CTIP), and also has advanced training in Somatic Experiencing and related modalities. Cynthia holds an MBA in Organizational Development and Operations from Loyola University, Chicago.
She was born and raised in Mexico City, has lived in Europe, and is currently residing in Southern California with her life and business partner Max, and their geriatric but lively rescue dog, Pippi. She enjoys live music, meditation, movement, travel, nature, and co-being in community.
For his entire life Max has been “running in the dark” — embracing the mystery on a journey of self-development and socially engaged spirituality. In his youth, his path took him from exploring Liberation Theology and alternative masculinities in Central America to studying Buddhism among Tibetan refugees in India. For the past 21 years he has been helping himself and other men reclaim their full humanity with the ManKind Project, where he is a Co-Leader Candidate and serves as national Co-Lead for Intercultural Competence & Belonging. Like Cynthia, he has been a student in the Diamond Approach for the past 15 years and studies collective trauma healing with Thomas Hübl.
He embodies his insights at the personal, systemic, and spiritual levels in his work as an Integral Coach certified by New Ventures West, as an ecosystemic team coach with corporate leadership teams, and by leading Journey in Leadership.
Max Freund
Max (he/him) is a coach and consultant specializing in building teams, organizations, and networks that enable transformational leadership. Max’s professional career has spanned youth development in South Africa to his current work coaching corporate leadership teams and weaving philanthropic networks. Throughout, he has given expression to his passion for collaborative action as a means for people to discover their own authentic selves while shifting systems to make a positive impact greater than they ever could have imagined on their own.
Additional Facilitators
In addition to Cynthia and Max, your experience will be held and enriched by three additional emergent facilitators:
The Community of fellow travelers in the group, on similar paths of discovery.
The earth itself with its own grounding and support.
Your own inner guidance, which will unfold with a depth you may have never experienced before as you enter into new and yet familiar terrain.
“To be able to do it in a community of others, where there’s an opportunity to have that time alone but also to be with other people and reflect is such a gift.”
— Julie C, Journey In Leadership 2019 Participant
"I experienced a deep somatic releasing, which frankly, I wasn't particularly expecting or aiming for. A knot from a very, very long time ago that I see now has been holding me back from fully allowing myself to be in the world, as it is."
— Reggie H, Journey In Leadership 2024
“How would I describe Journey in Leadership? In one word: transformative. You won’t go home the same person you were when you left. Your beautiful inner self will emerge, you’ll fall in love with your fellow peregrinos, the Camino culture and history — and something that transcends even those things. Just do it! You won’t regret a single second.”
— Margaret M, Journey In Leadership 2019 Participant
Accommodations
We will be staying at La Buena Vibra Wellness Resort & Spa, an award-winning destination known for its lush gardens and spectacular views of the Tepozteco mountains.
Amenities: Two outdoor pools, a full-service spa, and dedicated meditation/yoga spaces.
Rooms: Superior Suite accommodations featuring Egyptian cotton sheets, en-suite bathroom, and rainfall showers. We offer all participants King bed single-occupancy rooms at no extra surcharge to ensure a private sanctuary for reflection.
Cost
The all-inclusive price for the program is $2,995, which includes single accommodations with en-suite bathroom, breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, plus all program content and resources. (If helpful for organizational billing purposes, we can invoice program costs separately from accommodations.)
Discounts
Early Bird Special: Register by August 15, 2026 to receive a $300 discount ($2,695 total).
Shared Room Discount: If you choose to share a room with a partner or friend, a $300 discount will be applied to your registration.This is a great opportunity if you want to experience the journey along with one or more friends, family members, or work colleagues!
Partial scholarships: Available for people engaged in nonprofit, social impact, and community leadership who have limited resources. Scholarships are limited; please inquire with us prior to registration.
Note: Multiple discounts may not be used in combination. Click here for full terms & conditions.
Payment schedule
Initial deposit of $1,500 per person is due immediately upon registration.
Balance of payment (after applying discounts and surcharges) will be invoiced August 15 and is due in full no later than May 1 (or date of registration, if later).
Travel Logistics
The program includes group shuttle airport pickup upon arrival and drop-off upon departure. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from Mexico.
Arrival: To take advantage of the group bus transfer, participants should book air travel to arrive at Mexico City (MEX / AICM) on November 19, 2026 prior to the designated time (to be determined). If you do not use the airport transfer, you are responsible for making your own arrangements to arrive at the Hotel Buena Vibra Resort & Spa, by the night of November 19.
Departure: Plan to depart from Mexico City after the designated time, late afternoon on November 22, 2026. Details will be provided upon registration.
Extended Stay: You are welcome to stay additional nights at the hotel at our reduced group rate before the program starts or after the program ends. Notify us as you make your travel plans and we will provide details to get the discount.
To Register
The first step in answering the call to your Journey in Leadership is to declare your intention to venture forth — and within.
If you are ready to take up that call, click below:
To Register
We will be holding a number of free introductory mini-workshops where you can meet your guides, get a taste of our explorations, and learn more about the Journey in Leadership.
Each interactive session has a unique topic, and you are welcome to join us at no cost and no obligation for as many as you like — in fact, we encourage you to join us for all of them!
May 13: Listening to the ecosystem of our heart
June 1: Our being and becoming in the journey of our heart
June 30: Our path of belonging in the heart of the world
July 28: Stepping in and saying yes the calling of our heart
All of these calls are at 4:00-5:15pm PT, and you can use the links below to sign up for one or all of them. Please reach out with any questions. We look forward to having you join us!
If you have immediate questions, we would be happy to answer them as well.