Madel

Madel Méndez is the steward of Kawoq Forest, a sanctuary in Lake Atitlán where retreat leaders from around the world come to host and quietly unravel.
For over three years, she has worked behind the scenes of dozens of retreats, supporting facilitators at every level and witnessing what most people never see: the energetic, emotional, and physical demand of holding space for others.
She is a certified breathwork facilitator, holistic aesthetician, and trained integrative nutrition health coach. Her work is rooted in the body where breath, touch, and presence create real restoration, not just temporary relief.
Her approach is precise, intuitive, and deeply attuned allowing people to soften in ways they often cannot access on their own.
Living on this land, her work has been shaped by an ongoing relationship with the Mayan cosmovision informing the depth, intention, and respect behind every space she creates.
She understands retreat leaders not as clients, but from the inside.
HELD is her response to what she has seen again and again:those who hold everything… rarely have a place to fully let go.
This is not a retreat you attend.It’s a space you enter and are fully held.