KIN Retreat
in Paamul, Mexico
Living & Creating from Connection
with the Wider Web of Life
A 7-day retreat with Brooke McNamara & Rachel Blackman
February 22-28, 2026
Sunday-Saturday
Cost: From $2,700-$3,900 USD
All inclusive: room & board, daily meals,
daily classes with Brooke & Rachel,
2 fabulous excursions, & more
You’re invited to remember yourself home in the wider web of Life, to rest into profound resource, and to allow creative aliveness to fill and overflow you. Join beloved somatic educator and animist creativity whisperer, Rachel Blackman, and award-winning poet and transmitted Zen teacher, Brooke McNamara, for 7 days and 6 nights at a gorgeous, family-owned, beachfront villa at Copal Retreat, surrounded by the magical coastal world of the Riviera Maya in Paamul, Mexico
Facing the beautiful waters of the Caribbean Ocean and cohabitating with an abundance of coconut palm trees, flowers, hermit crabs, iguanas, pelicans, and other jungle and tropical beings, your invitation is to awaken to innate kinship with all beings, and the creative emergence that arises naturally from there.
Whether you long to allow your imagination to unfurl naturally like the wild hibiscus, to rest attention in receptivity until your soul organically speaks, or to let the voices of your own living body, in symphony with countless other living bodies, simply express what's true, this retreat is your refuge and opportunity.
Come for nourishment. Come for inspiration. Come to feed and be fed by the wider web of Life to which you've always belonged. Leave with fresh insight, energy, and creations that you can gift yourself and others ongoingly.
You are most warmly invited to join us for KIN in-person retreat!
You’re invited to remember yourself home in the wider web of Life, to rest into profound resource, and to allow creative aliveness to fill and overflow you. Join beloved somatic educator and animist creativity whisperer, Rachel Blackman, and award-winning poet and transmitted Zen teacher, Brooke McNamara, for 7 days and 6 nights at a gorgeous, family-owned, beachfront villa at Copal Retreat, surrounded by the magical coastal world of the Riviera Maya in Paamul, Mexico.
Facing the beautiful waters of the Caribbean Ocean and cohabitating with an abundance of coconut palm trees, flowers, hermit crabs, iguanas, pelicans, and other jungle and tropical beings, your invitation is to awaken to innate kinship with all beings, and the creative emergence that arises naturally from there.
Whether you long to allow your imagination to unfurl naturally like the wild hibiscus, to rest attention in receptivity until your soul organically speaks, or to let the voices of your own living body, in symphony with countless other living bodies, simply express what's true, this retreat is your refuge and opportunity.
Come for nourishment. Come for inspiration. Come to feed and be fed by the wider web of Life to which you've always belonged. Leave with fresh insight, energy, and creations that you can gift yourself and others ongoingly.
You are most warmly invited to join us for KIN in-person retreat!
Welcome!
February 22-28, 2026 ~ in Paamul, Mexico
Book by July 1, 2025 for an early-bird discount of $300 off!
KIN Retreat is your invitation to enter your living and creating through the vital portal of Life Itself, here and now. When we practice this way, alone and together, consistently over time, we can remember the bounty of being interconnected with all things vast and tiny, infinite and infinitesimal. Our living and creating can become an emerging conversation fuelled by the experiential richness of existing right here, right now, on earth.
WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING:
“Brooke and Rachel are magical facilitators who react to the needs of the group. They seem to know exactly which elements to add or remove at the right time to create something succinct and moving.”
“Infinite thanks - I recovered my identity as an artist and a deep connection and relationship to my own creativity, which I feel like is fully alive and flourishing again.”
KIN WORKSHOPS ~ WHAT TO EXPECT:
Life is happening right now - anywhere you put your attention: things and beings are expressing exactly what they are, with their unique and illuminating qualities. Your tummy might be grumbling, wisely telling you: time to eat! Someone nearby, a stranger or beloved, may be silently expressing a palpable sadness or radiance that opens your heart.
Maybe the wind is alive outside in the branches, and indeed it is inside, here in our lungs. Even the objects many may call inanimate, have a resonance. A voice. That stone that fits so well into the palm of your hand and warms gently with the heat of you, has journeyed through many epochs to be ready to meet you here, in this particular shape, in this specific moment.
In our KIN workshop space during retreat our themes will be drawn from what is bringing us alive. We are invested in an Animist world view - meaning we are especially curious about the aliveness in everything. This means we can venture together pretty much anywhere our curiosity takes us!
Each workshop will include:
- a Welcome & check in,
- a guided somatic, inner visioning process,
- a little teaching from us,
- a writing/ creating prompt (you might move, paint, draw, sing…)
- and a sharing space
CREATIVE CO-WORKING TIME ~ WHAT TO EXPECT:
Our creative co-working time at KIN Retreat will include:
- A brief check in on what we’re drawn to explore
- Parallel play time: co-working on a project you have going, or something emerging in the moment. Daydreaming, reading, napping all welcome as part of your research! This is time when we are exploring alone, together.
- a brief closing round of what we received/ where we’re at, to complete the sesion
During this time you are welcome to bring something you are already working on, create from the stimulus that arrives from our check in, or simply take your pen, paintbrush/ voice/ body for a wander and see what emerges. Maybe together we can find a lush relaxation and powerful gravitas when we let the voices of our own living bodies simply express what's true.
Venue
Copal Retreat is a family-owned center situated on the coast of the Riviera Maya, in a beach town called Paamul. It is an hour away from the Cancun International Airport, 15 minutes north of Playa del Carmen and 20 minutes south of Tulum.
The villa faces the beautiful waters of the Caribbean Ocean and is situated beside an isolated and ungroomed coastline beach that is a sanctuary for beautiful marine species, a five-minute bike ride through the jungle.
It is also situated beside another public beach with white sand that is a three-minute walk away. There are kayaks, paddle boards, beach bikes, and hammocks to use in your free time. Our beautiful suites are all steps away from the beach pool, the common space, and our rooftop studio space and covered palapa studio space.
Rooms & Pricing
Book by July 1, 2025 to receive $300 off all prices listed below!
Our KIN Retreat will have full and exclusive use of the Copal Retreat Villa during our week-long stay. There are plenty of options for communal lounging and creative time on the rooftop balcony, the dining room area, and out around the pool and beach.
For your stay, Copal has 9 beautiful independent guest rooms available - all with private entrances, air conditioning, fans, private bathrooms, wifi, and daily cleaning service. Each room can be configured as a single or double room. 5 of the rooms have 2 double beds, 4 rooms have 1 king size bed. Almost all rooms have beach or ocean views. The below prices reflect a choice of single or double use, and level of luxury of the room type.
If booking for double use, please indicate your preference for a roommate. If you do not have a preference, we’ll place you with someone of same gender.
To reserve any room type, you may either:
- Pay a non-refundable deposit of $750 USD, and pay the rest of your fee by October 24, 2025
- Pay in full upfront
Courtyard Double Room ~ $2700 USD
Courtyard Single Room ~ $3100 USD
Beachfront Double Room ~ $3000 USD
Beachfront Single Room ~ $3400 USD
Rooftop Double Room ~ $3500 USD
Rooftop Single Room ~ $3900 USD
Food ~ Cocina Copal
Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner is prepared by Copal’s in-house team of cooks and chefs. The menu focuses on Mexican cuisine with contemporary style influences, using only nutrient-dense and locally sourced ingredients.
Their kitchen will accommodate any dietary restrictions or preferences, always preparing and serving you with love.
What Students are Saying:
“I have never experienced such a sensitively, generously, unconditionally held space by two kick-arse womenfolk, where everyone was important, and we focused on connecting to the things that matter: ourselves as creative beings in a beautiful, abundant, magical world.”
“I loved the variety of activities from mindfulness, body-based awareness, poetry, dance, creativity, somatic learnings, and so much more. It is restorative and a rich reminder of our humanness. I came away with a deeper connection to my animal body, to the greater body of the cosmos, and a sense of community and the diversity of our group.”
Please bring strange things.
Please come bringing new things.
Let very old things come into your hands.
Let what you do not know come into your eyes.
Let desert sand harden your feet.
Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.
Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
and the ways you go be the lines on your palms.
Let there be deep snow in your inbreathing
and your outbreath be the shining of ice.
May your mouth contain the shapes of strange words.
May you smell food cooking you have not eaten.
May the spring of a foreign river be your navel.
May your soul be at home where there are no houses.
Walk carefully, well loved one,
walk mindfully, well loved one,
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us,
be always coming home.
~ Ursula LeGuin
Please bring strange things.
Please come bringing new things.
Let very old things come into your hands.
Let what you do not know come into your eyes.
Let desert sand harden your feet.
Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.
Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
and the ways you go be the lines on your palms.
Let there be deep snow in your inbreathing
and your outbreath be the shining of ice.
May your mouth contain the shapes of strange words.
May you smell food cooking you have not eaten.
May the spring of a foreign river be your navel.
May your soul be at home where there are no houses.
Walk carefully, well loved one,
walk mindfully, well loved one,
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us,
be always coming home.
~ Ursula LeGuin
Frequently Asked Questions
Please see the section near the top of this page titled “Retreat Schedule” - it has lots of information about our schedule for this retreat, including a tentative daily schedule of activities.
Book your flight to arrive at Cancun International Airport. A transportation shuttle is provided from the airport to Copal Retreat (about 1-hour drive) on Sunday, February 22nd - leaving the airport between 2-6pm.
Shuttles will also be provided back to the airport from Copal (about 1-hour drive) on Saturday, February 28th, leaving the villa between 10am - 12pm.
If you are unable to make these shuttle time windows, Copal can help you make travel arrangements at your own expense.
- Daily sessions with Brooke & Rachel in meditation, Feldenkrais (gentle movement), KIN Creative Workshops, and/ or Creative Co-Working
- Facilitated space to share your creative work, and receive feedback if you want it
- Transportation shuttle from and to Cancun airport on Feb 22 (2-6pm) and Feb 28 (10am-12pm)
- Double or Single Courtyard, Beachfront, or Rooftop accommodations, all with private entrances, air conditioning, fans, private bathrooms, wifi, and daily cleaning service.
- 3 daily delicious, nutritious meals, curated and prepared by amazing local chefs, minus one lunch and one dinner away from the retreat on tour days. First day is dinner only, and last day is breakfast only. The weekly menu is customizable to dietary restrictions and preferences. The food is always a highlight for guests at Copal.
- Shuttles and entrances to 2 included tours: jungle cenote (freshwater natural pools) and Tulum Mayan ruins (lunch not included)
- Welcome ceremony on the first evening, led by a local shaman with musical cuencos under the stars
- 1 beachfront massage for every guest
- Hosting help from Copal
- Access to bikes, paddles, and snorkel masks, to explore the local oceans, pathways to turtle sanctuary, and villa’s beachfront pool
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- Flights or travel to Cancun
- Shuttle from & to airport outside the time periods offered by Copal (Feb 22, 2-6pm and Feb 28, 10am-12pm)
- Lunch out at Tulum Mayan ruins
- Dinner out Thursday night, either in Paamul or 15 minutes away at Playa Del Carmen
- Travel insurance
Guests are responsible for purchasing travel medical insurance and cancellation insurance which are strongly recommended. Purchasing travel insurance helps to mitigate any unexpected circumstances such as medical issues prior to traveling or while traveling, last minute flight cancellations or personal issues that might affect your trip. Retreat participants can look into rates and policies through www.travelguard.com.
All participants are required to sign THIS health & liability waiver from Copal Retreat in order to attend this retreat. Brooke and Rachel will require an additional health & liability waiver, which will be provided after registration and before arrival to retreat.
All participants are encouraged to purchase travel insurance. Please explore your options to purchase a premium policy with a Cancel For Any Reason contingency. Group travel bookings are not protected so it is the individual’s responsibility to protect their own investment. To get an immediate quote for travel insurance, visit Travel Insured or Travel Guard.
Should you need to cancel your registration, you may receive a refund minus the $750 non-refundable deposit before October 24, 2025.
After October 24, 2025 no refunds will be provided.
All $750 deposits are non-refundable.
Please reach out to Brooke at BrookeJMcNamara@gmail.com with any questions and she will respond as soon as possible - with some time possibly needed to contact Copal Retreat first.
Book by July 1, 2025 for an early-bird discount of $300 off!
Together, Rachel and Brooke lead a bi-annual 7-month program called Feeding Your Genius: Deep Resourcing for Activating Your Gifts, and an on-going writing membership program called KIN: Writing from Connection with the Wider Web of Life.