january 16-23, 2027
Essential Somatics®️ Retreats:
Eight Days in Mexico to Reconnect with your Body
Immerse yourself in Clinical Somatic Education on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Learn to move without pain, understand why chronic tension develops, and return home with skills that last a lifetime.
Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico | Teacher: Martha Peterson | All levels welcome
january 16-23, 2027
Essential Somatics®️ Retreats:
Eight Days in Mexico to Reconnect with your Body
Immerse yourself in Clinical Somatic Education on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Learn to move without pain, understand why chronic tension develops, and return home with skills that last a lifetime.
Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico | Teacher: Martha Peterson | All levels welcome
What if Your Body isn't the Problem?
You’ve spent years managing the same chronic tension. Physical therapy helps for a while, then stops. Massage feels good but doesn’t last. The exercises pile up on a list you never quite get to, meanwhile, the tension keeps building.
That’s what changes at Mar de Jade.
Those approaches treat the tight muscle without addressing why it got tight in the first place. Your nervous system learned patterns of holding years ago and never released them. Your brain has lost the ability to sense certain muscles, so they stay contracted.
You’ll learn Clinical Somatic Education, the method that addresses chronic tension at its source. Not through force or manipulation from the outside, but through pandiculation: actively engaging and slowly releasing muscles in a way that resets their length at the level of your motor cortex.
Explore all of this, and more, at Mar de Jade in the tropics of Mexico.
Mornings are movement sessions addressing the three stress reflex patterns your body learned in response to years of pressure and protection. Afternoons are yours: walk the beach, swim in the ocean, rest in a hammock. The warmth works on muscles that have been contracted for too long. The schedule balances focused sessions with the unstructured time your nervous system needs to integrate.
This isn’t a vacation with movement classes. It’s eight days focused on understanding your chronic tension and developing skills you’ll use for life. Plus, all Essential Somatics retreats are beginner friendly, or perfect for a refresh in your practice.
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Your Retreat Leader
Martha Peterson has spent over 20 years teaching people something revolutionary: chronic pain isn’t something you have to live with.
She’s the founder of Essential Somatics, a certified Clinical Somatic Educator, and author of Move Without Pain. She’s one of the leading voices continuing Thomas Hanna’s work in Clinical Somatic Education. But here’s what matters most for this retreat: She gets it.
Martha believes you deserve to understand what’s happening in your own body, that you’re capable of change, that transformation doesn’t require suffering or pushing through.
She’s been leading retreats for nearly 10 years at some of the most beautiful locations in the world: Mar de Jade in Mexico, Hollyhock in British Columbia (invited back 10 consecutive years), and now the mountains of Portugal. When you spend five days with Martha, you’re not just getting instruction. You’re working with someone who has dedicated her life to this work, who understands the neuroscience and the movement patterns, and who brings the deep compassion required to guide people through real change.
Itinerary Highlights - Your Days at Mar de Jade
Your days follow a natural rhythm of movement, ocean, and rest. The schedule balances focused sessions with plenty of unstructured time, giving your nervous system space to absorb what you’re experiencing.
Mornings: Movement Sessions
Six morning movement sessions throughout the week where you’ll work with different areas of the body: releasing rigid back muscles, dissolving neck and shoulder tension, freeing your breathing, creating ease in your hips and feet. Martha teaches with hands-on feedback, helping you feel the difference between forcing a movement and allowing your nervous system to release.
You’ll explore the three stress reflex patterns – Red Light, Green Light, and Trauma Reflex – understanding not just how to address them but why they develop in the first place.
Midday: Nourishment and Free Time
Three delicious meals per day, all prepared on-site with locally sourced organic ingredients. The food is fresh, nourishing, and designed to support your body without weighing you down.
Your afternoons between sessions are yours. Walk the beach to the charming village of Chacala, just a short walk down the sand. Swim in the ocean, pool, or relax in the hot tub and jacuzzi. Take a self-guided walk to the dormant volcano.
Mar de Jade offers optional activities throughout the week that you can sign up for in advance: whale watching, spa treatments, salsa dance classes, guided tours to local petroglyphs, paddleboarding, visits to the local organic farm where all the food is grown, and trips to the local craft market. These activities are available for an additional cost.
Evenings: Rest and Reflection
Optional late afternoon sessions will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Evenings are yours to settle. The closing circle happens Friday evening, bringing the week’s experience together before Saturday morning departure.
The pace here is intentionally slower than daily life. The ocean, the warmth, the unhurried rhythm—all of it supports the nervous system work you’re doing in the sessions.
Sound like the perfect week away?
What You’ll Experience:
Clinical Somatic Education in Practice
This retreat offers both the essential foundations of Clinical Somatic Education and deeper explorations that go beyond the basics. You’ll leave with an understanding of why chronic tension develops and how to address it yourself.
In-person learning
- $Discover an approach to pain-relief that is more effective that other methods
- $Learn how and why muscles become tight and painful
- $Identify your movement habits and personal responses to stress
- $Understand the cause of chronic pain, injury, sciatica, and more
- $Improve your self-awareness
Course Materials
Essential Somatics Retreat Workbook is an easy-to-follow guide that contains helpful tips and photos for creating and maintaining your personal home movement practice.
With space for taking notes, articles about the history of Somatics, and much more–this workbook helps you stay on point, focused, and inspired.
Expert Guidance
- $Small group instruction with hands-on feedback
- $Learn pandiculation technique to reset muscle function
- $Understand how stress creates holding patterns
- $Learn walking movements to restore a free and easy gait
- $Integrate your new learning, movement, and growth through activities during downtime
Integration Time
Your time in amongst the guided sessions are exactly that, yours. Spend your afternoons walking around the nature we sit within, rest, or take part in some of our selected optional activities.
Take time to process and embody what you’re learning, make connections with others in the community during meals and downtime. Spend a moment considering what your new daily practice can look like.
the setting
Mar de Jade, Chacala, Mexico
Mar de Jade sits nestled between tropical jungle and pristine sandy beach in Chacala, a peaceful fishing village on Mexico’s Pacific coast. This is an intimate retreat center offering a relaxing, supportive, and inspiring environment away from the demands of daily life.
The movement studio overlooks the ocean. The dining terrace opens to sea breezes. Hammocks hang between palm trees along the beach. Everything about this place invites you to slow down.
Mar de Jade has hosted Essential Somatics retreats for years. The staff knows the rhythm of the work. The space supports it. And the setting does some of the teaching alongside Martha: the ocean reminds you to breathe, the sand teaches you about balance, the hammocks show you what it feels like to be fully supported.
What's Included In Retreat Pricing?
Our Packages
The retreat price is displayed in USD, but you will be able to pay in your local currency upon booking.
Mar de Jade offers various accommodation options to suit different budgets and preferences. You’ll book your room and board directly with Mar de Jade after registering for the retreat through Essential Somatics.
Two-Step Registration Process
Step 1: Book your accommodation directly with Mar de Jade
- Complete the Mar de Jade booking request form online
- Or call 1-800-257-0532
- Or email info@mardejade.com
Room rates and options are available directly from Mar de Jade when you book. Your Mar de Jade reservation requires a 50% deposit, with the balance due according to their payment schedule.
Step 2: Register and pay your retreat registration through Essential Somatics
- Early Bird (through July 1, 2026): $750 USD
- Regular (after July 1, 2026): $850 USD
Have a question about the upcoming Mar de Jade retreat that you’d prefer to chat through with one of our team? Book a call here.
Included in Your Retreat Registration:
- Movement sessions (plus optional afternoon sessions on Mon, Wed, Fri)
- A retreat workbook plus digital resources
- An unforgettable experience
- A group of amazing new friends
- Life-long skills
What’s included in Your Mar de Jade Booking:
- Accommodation (booked directly with Mar de Jade)
- 3 delicious locally sourced organic meals prepared onsite per day
- Access to: swimming pool, hot tub and jacuzzi, complementary yoga and meditation classes, the charming village of Chacala, just a short walk down the beach. The walk to the (dormant) volcano is self-guided and free
What’s not included:
- Airport transfers (taxis can be booked directly with Mar de Jade
- Flights to and from Puerto Vallarta
- Travel insurance
- Optional extra activities such as whale watching, spa treatments and paddle boarding (participants can sign up for these in advance with the retreat center).
Disclaimer: Participants must be 18 years of age or older and must be able to get down onto the floor and back up again with relative ease, as most movement sessions will be floor-based.
Retreat Participation Agreement
What Past Participants Have to Say
Your Questions Answered
We want you to feel confident in your decision. Here are the questions we hear most often.
I don't have a lot of movement experience. Is that okay?
Absolutely. These retreats are open to all ages and backgrounds. Anyone who wants to learn how to feel better and move their body pain-free is welcome.
I have scoliosis. Is this course appropriate for me?
Yes. You will be guided to go slowly and gently. You may find that smaller movements are best for beginning to address the muscle tension inherent in scoliosis. We will show you what to do so it works well for you and your needs.
Do I have to get down on the floor?
Yes. While we will do a seated routine, most of the movements will be done on the floor.
Am I responsible for my transportation, accommodations, and meals?
For the Portugal retreat, you will need to arrange flights or transport to Oleiros, and we will then transport you from there to the Vale de Moses venue. The price above includes your accommodation and covers all the delicious meals we have planned, which are vegetarian/vegan.
For the Mexico retreat you are responsible for your travel to the retreat venue (taxis from the airport can be arranged via the venue). You also need to book your accommodation directly with the venue. Meals are included in the lodging cost.
Do you plan to add more dates and locations?
Absolutely. As they become available, we will update everyone who is on our email list and connected with us through social media.
What type of payment do you accept?
We accept credit cards and Apple Pay using PayPal and Stripe.
Are these movements guaranteed to work for me?
Like anything in life, you have to put in the time and effort to experience results consistently. While the methods and movements you will learn are not a magic pill, most people walk away feeling better than they have in years.
More questions? Visit the FAQs page
Stop Wondering. Start Understanding
You’ve been managing tension for long enough. You’ve tried enough approaches that didn’t address the real source. You’ve put yourself last on the list enough times. This is your chance to finally understand why your body holds what it holds and learn the skills to release it.
January 16–23, 2027
Mar de Jade, Chacala, Mexico
Early bird pricing ends July 1, 2026
Questions? Email us at info@essentialsomatics.com