Schedule A Call

Mija Retreat: A Retreat For Latinas & Friends

Watch this space for more details coming soon for our next retreat in the fall of 2026

You are invited to a retreat for Mijas and friends focusing on Connection, Calm & Clarity.

  • 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  • Connor Bayou Woodland Cabin 12945 North Cedar Dr. Grand Haven, MI
Buy Tickets

The essential ingredients to begin your journey into self-leadership. In this retreat we will invite you to slow down and listen to that which requires your attention. Fall is the perfect time to reflect on the awe and wonder of believing in you. We will use nature, sound, art, meditation, to bring the body, mind and spirit into alignment.

2025 Retreat Schedule

2025 Workshops

Workshops are first come, first serve and space is limited. Buy your ticket today to reserve your spot.

A.M. Workshop Options

Facilitator: Cynthia Pena
Join us for a deeply restorative 60-minute session designed to help you slow down, reconnect, and nourish your entire being. This experience blends yin yoga, mindful breathwork, and a soothing sound bath to release tension, quiet the mind, and cultivate inner balance.

Through intentional breathwork, gentle yin yoga, and the soothing vibrations of a sound bath, you’ll create space for deep relaxation and renewal. This practice encourages stillness, releases stored tension, and helps you feel more grounded and at ease.

Whether you’re new to yoga or looking to deepen your practice, this session invites you to surrender, restore, and radiate from within ✨.

Please bring your yoga mat and a cozy blanket (or block if you have it) to lean on for support during your practice and to enhance your comfort during the sound bath.

We can’t wait to share this experience with you!

Facilitator: Rebeca Davila

Spring is the perfect time to actualize your dreams and to open yourself up to possibilities. With auricular acupuncture, you will immerse yourself in an experience that strengthens the connection between your body, heart, and mind. The acupuncture session will consist of sitting in a circle with like-minded and dynamic women while you receive your treatment. The point you will experience is called Shen Men, Spirit Gate, calms the nervous system, brings clarity, and makes you feel more connected with yourself. You can also choose an ear seed instead of acupuncture. Incense and music will help set the tone as you go within to become more in tune with yourself and your destiny.

The benefits of acupuncture include: groundedness, clarity, and alignment.

The session lasts a total of 50 minutes. 15 minutes for doing the ear points, 20 minutes of rest, and 15 minutes to take out points and debrief.

P.M. Workshop Options

Facilitator: Pat Sosa VerDuin
The Wise One is you 5 years into the future. This guided walking meditation and journaling experience will take you on a journey into the woods. You will connect with your future self, the Wise One. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, receive insights, and explore your future with Clarity.

  • Dress in layers including shoes that protect from rain
  • A journal or notebook – provided
  • A pen or pencil – provided

Facilitator: Elisa Ortega-Schultz, MS, MA, LMSW

Unleash your creativity in this hands-on workshop, where you’ll create from the heart with mindfulness and intention. This session is a space for self-expression, reflection, and inspiration—no artistic experience required, just an open heart and a willingness to create!

Meet Our Facilitators:

Mija Retreat 1

Cynthia Pena

Restore & Radiate: A Yin Yoga, Breath & Sound Bath Experience
Meet Cynthia
Mija Retreat 2

Rebeca Davila

Aligning Your Body, Heart, and Mind
Meet Rebeca
Mija Retreat 3

Pat Sosa VerDuin

A Walk With the Wise One
Meet Pat
Mija Retreat 4

Elisa Ortega-Schultz

Create with Corazon
Meet Elisa

Frequently Asked Questions

In this season of our development we do not have scholarships available. However in the future Latinas may be able to secure assistance through the Mija Fund.

Individuals that reach out to info@mijacoaching.com will be provided a full refund. If we receive notification 14 days in advance. Capacity for this event is 40 and we anticipate greater demand. We will be curating a waiting list for those unable to secure registration – please email us to be added. We want to respect those that may be placed on a waiting list the time to reschedule their affairs should additional space become available.

Because this is a reflective and meditative space we would ask that you not enter any of the workshops that are in progress. If you need to leave early please plan to leave at a time that is in between sessions so as not to be disruptive.
The total number of registrants will be 40. Each workshop will be capped off at 20. At registration you will be notified if your workshop is full and directed to another workshop.
We will be providing several options to those that prefer gluten free. It is not necessary to order in advance.
Please dress comfortably and in layers. Each workshop has indicated what to bring, if you have it. This event will be held rain or shine. We will be inside and outside. Think flexible and cozy.

Cynthia Pena

Workshop: Restore & Radiate: A Yin Yoga, Breath & Sound Bath Experience

Mija Retreat Bio 1

Someone who has walked through the fire—seeker, advocate for healing, wellness and intentional living.

Cynthia Pena is the founder of Healthy Hotgirl Wellness, a certified HR consultant, podcast host, and yoga teacher who believes in the power of healing, self-love, and transformation—both personally and professionally. She moves seamlessly between boardrooms and yoga studios, helping individuals and organizations thrive by fostering authenticity, innovation, and well-being.

At her core, Cynthia is committed to holistic wellness, embracing all its dimensions—spiritual, emotional, physical, environmental, social, intellectual, and financial. She creates spaces where people can heal, grow, and reconnect with their authentic power, whether through reimagining a people-focused HR strategy, leading yoga and sound bath meditation, or deep conversations on The Healthy Hotgirl Podcast (available on Apple and Spotify).

As a 200-hour certified yoga teacher, Cynthia creates healing-forward spaces where people can pause, reconnect, and embrace every part of themselves through movement, breath, and sound.

Her mission is clear: to help others alchemize pain into purpose. With the courage to know yourself and the compassion to hold space for your journey, Cynthia is living her truth and inviting others to find their own.

Rebeca Davila

Workshop: Aligning Your Body, Heart, and Mind

Mija Retreat Bio 2

Rebeca Davila is the owner of Vida Acupuncture, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she practices Traditional Chinese Medicine to help patients experience optimal health and create healthier lifestyles. Rebeca’s holistic approach to healing combines her social work therapeutic skills with Traditional Chinese Medicine’s philosophy of treating the whole person- body, mind, and spirit, to bring forth transformation.

Her specialties include psycho-emotional acupuncture (stress, anxiety, depression), acupuncture for fertility, and pain relief. Her experience as a full-time professor in a Bachelor of Social Work program informs her educational style with patients about the philosophy and practical use of Chinese Medicine in daily life. Rebeca has also taught several continuing-ed courses for clinicians at Grand Valley University that include The Benefits of Eco-Therapy, and Pain Management.

She enjoys urban farming and believes in the importance of having a personal connection to food as part of a healthy lifestyle. She also loves to travel internationally and has visited over a dozen countries.

www.vida-acupuncture.com

Education:
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Chicago, IL
December 2010, M.S. in Traditional Chinese Medicine- Acupuncture & Herbs

University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, Chicago, IL
June 2000, A.M., Concentration in Administration and Policy

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
May 1998, B.A. in Psychology and Latino Studies

Licensed Acupuncturist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Patricia Sosa VerDuin

Workshop: A Walk With the Wise One

Mija Retreat Bio 3

Patricia Sosa VerDuin (Pat), an established Latina leader, a powerhouse giving leadership in public, nonprofit and private spaces. Scaling movements and serving as a thought leader and partner to executives and front line leaders. Someone who relates to the head and heart issues that come with leadership. A love and curiosity for the human spirit providing space for mutual learning. Building on the strengths in others that they have yet to acknowledge, realize or recognize in themselves.

Pat is the founder and Principal of MIJA Inc., her dream a day when there is a critical mass of Latinas leading the world with courage, compassion and clarity. Her mission to embolden the minds and inspire the hearts of Latina leaders everyday. By creating the conditions that connect to the leader within so that they can be confident leaders in the world.

Her strengths…courage, curiosity and connection. Courage, because she walks humbly toward fear rather than away. Curiosity, because of her love for the unique story that makes each person an expert of Self. She creates Connection, without it nothing else matters, it’s a companion to trust.

Recognized in 2012 as the Lakeshore Leadership Athena Award recipient. A W. K. Kellogg Foundation Leadership fellow. Named in 2018 by the Michigan Hispanic/Latino Commission as one of the most influential Latina’s. The co-founder of Sisters Who Lead an affinity advancing the wellness and career mobility of women of color to executive leadership.

Elisa Ortega-Schultz, MS, MA, LMSW

Workshop: Create with Corazon

Mija Retreat Bio 4

Elisa graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in social work from Hope College. She earned her Master’s degree in social work in 2010 and her second Master’s degree in Communications in 2020 from Grand Valley State University. Her background is in a variety of settings, including juvenile justice, special education, and substance abuse; however, she has spent most of her career as a therapist working with children, families, and individuals with mild to severe mental illness.

Elisa has worked at GVSU since 2017 as the Work Life Consultant, where she helped faculty and staff get connected to resources and address work-life balance issues. In this work, she has learned the importance of self-care and resiliency for working professionals. She also owns her own business, Embrace Strategies, LLC, where she provides training for employers. She developed Emotional Strength Training, Interpersonal Effectiveness for Work and Life, and Embrace Strategies for Well-being and Leadership: Becoming a Heart-Centered Leader.

She is currently serving as an Employee Ombuds for GVSU, where she helps faculty and staff navigate workplace conflict. She is pursuing a doctorate degree in Workforce Education and Human Development from Western Michigan University, where she intends to research how Latinas experience and navigate conflict in the workplace. She hopes to highlight the ways Latinas overcome adversity and demonstrate resilience in the face of difficulties.

Elisa is a wife and mother of two teenage boys. She has a passion for creativity and self-expression, enjoying collage-making, journaling, and lifelong learning.