Experience Merkaba Retreats
You May Be Here Because...
Something in your life is asking to change.
Maybe you know exactly what it is.
Maybe you can only feel that something isn't right.
You keep functioning.
You keep moving.
You keep doing what life asks of you.
But you know you're carrying more than you should.
You feel stuck in patterns that haven't changed.
You understand them.
You've talked about them.
And somehow, they keep repeating.
Maybe you're facing a major life transition.
A relationship is changing.
A career is changing.
Your identity is changing.
And you're not sure what's next.
Maybe you're exhausted.
Not just physically.
Soul-level exhausted.
Maybe you're carrying trauma, grief, shame, or unresolved pain.
And you're tired of simply managing it.
You don't want another temporary fix.
You want resolution.
Why People Come to Merkaba
There is no single reason people arrive here.
Some come at a crossroads. Others have done years of therapy, recovery, spiritual work, or personal development and know there is still something deeper asking for their attention.
People come to Merkaba to:
-
Interrupt patterns they have understood but haven't been able to change.
-
Work with unresolved trauma, grief, shame, or emotional pain.
-
Reconnect with themselves after years of living for everyone else.
-
Navigate a major transition, decision, loss, or change in identity.
-
Explore their relationship with addiction, compulsive behavior, or recovery.
-
Find their way through burnout, disconnection, or a loss of meaning.
-
Do deeper work within a relationship that has become stuck or disconnected.
-
Create space to hear what their life is asking of them next.
Different stories bring people here.
The common thread is a readiness for something to change.
What You’ll Experience Here
This is not a week to escape your life.
It’s a place to step more fully into it.
You’ll be supported in meeting the patterns, habits, emotions, and internal dynamics that have been difficult to shift—even when you understand where they come from.
Not only conceptually.
Not only intellectually.
Experientially. In real time.
There may be moments that challenge you. Moments that open you. Moments that ask you to see yourself, your relationships, and your life differently.
Because meaningful change rarely comes from understanding alone.
It comes when something you have understood for years finally becomes something you can experience differently.
The intention is not temporary relief.
It is greater clarity. Movement. Connection. And a different relationship with what has been holding you back.
So that when you return home, you are not simply returning from a retreat.
You are returning to your life differently.
What Makes Merkaba Retreats Different
Deep transformation requires more than a beautiful setting or a powerful experience.
It requires trust.
It requires enough safety to let your guard down, enough support to go where you might not go alone, and enough time and space to stay with what emerges.
That is what we have built Merkaba around.
Intentionally Small
Our retreats are intimate by design. We work with individuals, couples, and very small groups so you are never simply another person in the room.
We know you. We know why you came. And we remain personally engaged with your process throughout the experience.
Deeply Personal
There is no one-size-fits-all path through a Merkaba retreat. Your history, intentions, relationships, patterns, nervous system, spirituality, and life circumstances all matter.
The experience is designed around the people who are actually here—not a program everyone is expected to fit into.
Grounded in Experience
This work is held with both depth and discernment.
Psychotherapy, somatic awareness, spiritual practice, contemplative traditions, recovery wisdom, relationship work, earth-based ceremony, and years of lived experience all inform the way we hold the retreat space.
No single framework has to explain everything.
Sacred Medicine Held With Intention
For those whose retreat includes earth medicine, ceremony is approached with preparation, reverence, care, and integration.
The medicine is not the retreat.
It is one part of a larger process of listening, encountering, remembering, and integrating.
A Place Made for This Work
The ArcherShaw River Temple sits along the Rio Cuale, surrounded by jungle, mountains, flowing water, and the rhythms of a living Mexican community.
You can step away from the noise without disappearing from life.
That matters—because eventually, everything you discover here has to come home with you.
Integration Is Part of the Retreat
A profound experience can open a door. What happens afterward determines whether you walk through it.
We help you begin translating what you experience into your relationships, choices, practices, boundaries, and everyday life.
Because the goal isn't simply to have an extraordinary week.
It's to return home able to live differently.
Why Puerto Vallarta?
Puerto Vallarta is the home of Merkaba Retreats—and of the ArcherShaw River Temple, where our private, couples, and small-group immersions take place.
Just minutes from Puerto Vallarta's coastline, the Temple sits along the Rio Cuale in the quiet village of Paso Ancho, surrounded by flowing water, tropical jungle, birdsong, ancient trees, and mountain air.
The energy of Puerto Vallarta, the Zona Romántica, and the Pacific Ocean are only a short drive away.
And yet, here, it feels worlds apart.
Guests often tell us there is something about this place that is difficult to describe.
A stillness.
A softness.
A sense that you can finally exhale.
Why Here?
Easy to reach.
Direct flights from many major cities make getting here surprisingly simple.
Close to everything. Away from the noise.
Puerto Vallarta is minutes away, while the River Temple feels immersed in another world.
Nature is everywhere.
River. Mountains. Jungle. Waterfalls. Ocean. Tropical wildlife. Sunsets. The natural world isn't scenery here—it's part of the experience.
Mexico has a way of opening you.
The warmth, culture, food, people, rhythm, and beauty of this place invite you to slow down and become present.
There is room to hear yourself again.
Away from the routines and demands of everyday life, something begins to quiet. Your body can soften. Your mind can settle. And what has been difficult to hear can become clearer.
Transformation doesn't always require escaping the world.
Sometimes it simply requires stepping into a place where the noise falls away, nature reminds you who you are, and there is finally enough space to listen.
For us, that place is here.
The Land, the Culture, and the Spaces We Call Home
Many of our retreats unfold in the heart of Puerto Vallarta — surrounded by mountains, ocean, rivers, waterfalls, culture, color, and warmth. This gallery captures some of the landscapes and energy that support your journey.
Private 1:1 and Couples Immersions
In addition to our small group retreats, we offer private immersions for individuals and couples who want deeper, more personalized support.
These custom-designed experiences allow you to move at your own pace, explore the work more intimately, and receive Christopher and Aeon’s full guidance throughout your journey.
Whether you’re navigating a life transition, strengthening your relationship, or seeking a deeper reset, these private immersions offer a powerful, highly tailored path.
Meet Your Facilitators
At the heart of every Merkaba Retreat are Christopher Shaw and Aeon Archer. And when we say your retreat is personal, we mean it.
Christopher and Aeon are with you throughout the experience—from your preparation and arrival through the deepest parts of the work and into integration.
There are no rotating facilitators and no handing you off to temporary staff. The people you trust with your story are the people who stay with you.
Together, Christopher and Aeon bring more than 32 years of combined experience across psychotherapy, trauma-informed care, somatic work, spiritual practice, yoga, recovery, earth-based ceremony, and transformational guidance.
Christopher Shaw
Christopher brings more than 18 years of experience as a psychotherapist, educator, and guide. His work integrates psychological depth with spiritual practice and embodied experience, helping people explore patterns, relationships, identity, recovery, grief, and the places in life where understanding alone has not created change.
His presence is grounded, compassionate, direct, and steady—especially when the work becomes difficult.
Aeon Archer
Aeon brings a deeply relational and intuitive presence to the retreat space, informed by spiritual practice, yoga, somatic awareness, energy-based practices, and years of accompanying people through meaningful inner work.
Guests often experience Aeon as warm, perceptive, and deeply present—someone who can sense when to offer support, when to ask a question, and when simply to stay close.
Two People. One Container.
Christopher and Aeon bring different strengths to the work, but they hold every retreat together. That partnership creates something central to the Merkaba experience: a consistent, deeply personal container where you can begin to let your guard down because you know who is beside you.
You don't need us to have all the answers.
You need people who can stay present while you discover what is true for you.
That is the heart of how we hold Merkaba.
Real Stories From Our Guests
C, USA & Costa Rica
"Having spent years doing deep trauma work and participating in various intensives, I can honestly say this experience felt like all of those combined—and then expanded into something even more impactful..." Read more.
Eric, Austin, TX
"The Merkaba Retreat gave me the space, the support, and the sacred tools to reclaim my light. I return home with an open heart, a reawakened soul, and immense gratitude for this deeply healing journey." Read more.
Drebo, Austin, TX
"My time at Merkaba Retreats was nothing short of life-changing. I experienced profound healing, clarity, and a deep remembrance of who I truly am. The sacred space, guided ceremonies, and beautiful community held me through transformation I didn’t even know I was ready for." Read more.
We host sacred retreats in Mexico and beyond. Each gathering is intimate, intentional, and soul-selected.
-
2026 - We are available for private 1:1, couples, and chosen family customized immersions in Mexico or at your chosen location.
-
October 12-18 - Group Immersion - RETREAT Designed for Women - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
-
December 7-13 - Group Immersion - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
