Moonwake Retreats co-founder Amanda Schmidt shares the personal healing journey that led her to Peru and a transformative encounter with Mother Earth. She came home with one profound truth: our disconnection from nature is a disconnection from ourselves. And nature, given the chance, knows exactly how to bring us back.

On February 1, we hosted Moonwake by Candlelight, a winter wellness gathering in Washington, DC designed as a gentle pause beneath the Snow Moon. Through sound, ritual, and the Five Elements, thirty women gathered in community to rest, release, and reconnect. Read more about the evening and the intention behind it.

The Five Element Method is Moonwake’s nature-based framework used to guide our retreat participants through an intentionally sequenced arc of renewal. Our method is rooted in the five elements of nature —Water, Air, Fire, Earth, and Stardust — using science-backed practices, ancient ritual, and nature immersion to create lasting transformation and healing.

The Osa Peninsula is more than a destination - it’s an opportunity to return to yourself. This tiny corner of the world is secluded and untouched. It’s surrounded by extraordinary biodiversity, rooted in a community that deeply respects nature, and guided by the spirit of pura vida. It’s the perfect place for the type of wellness retreat that encourages you to slow down, reconnect, and begin again.