Mariposa: The Art Of Becoming
7 Days • 7 Chakras • All Your Selves
February 8-15 2026
Todos Santos, Mexico
What Is The Mariposa Retreat?
Mariposa: The Art of Becoming is a week-long retreat in Todos Santos, Baja that weaves expressive arts, somatic awareness, and gentle nervous-system support into a loving container for transformation.
Over 7 days, we’ll move through the seven chakras as creative portals—into your safety, emotions, power, heart, voice, vision, and connection. You’ll learn how to experience your chakras as gateways into all your selves.
This retreat is designed for creative, thoughtful, soulful people who sense there is more of them waiting inside—more aliveness, more expression, more truth—so that they can discover their deepest potential and highest purpose.
A 7-day expressive arts and chakra-based immersion for creative, sensitive souls ready to become more fully themselves.
During our week together, you will:
Reconnect with your body through yoga, dance, somatic meditation, and intuitive movement
Express your inner world with writing, collage, drawing, drama, and guided creative journeys
Strengthen your imagination & intuition as tools for insight, guidance, and self-connection
Learn to work skillfully with emotion, shadow, fear, and self-doubt in a trauma-safe space
Develop embodied awareness and subtle-energy literacy through chakra-based meditation
Discover tools for knowing yourself intimately — how to turn inward safely, compassionately, and with curiosity
Commit to your creative voice & purpose through expressive arts, play, and creative ritual
Be held in an intimate, supportive group where sensitivity, artistry, and “your weirdness” are welcomed
Leave with daily practices you can use long after the retreat to nurture clarity, creativity, and self-love
Keep scrolling to discover Why Mariposa, meet Zoë, and see the day-by-day journey.
BE ALL YOUR SELVES: AN INTRODUCTION TO EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY WITH ZOË DEARBORN
A free immersive workshop to help you reconnect with your intuition, creativity, and emotional truth.
Start Your Journey Here
PRIORITY LIST
Mariposa is a transformational, expressive-arts retreat designed to help you become more fully yourself.
Join the priority list to share what you’re most longing to shift or create — and be the first to hear about upcoming retreats, new offerings, and limited seasonal pricing specials.
WHY MARIPOSA?
A call you can feel in your body.
You’re here because something inside you is ready.
Maybe you’ve been feeling distant from your creativity — your intuition, your imagination, your sense of inner aliveness.
Maybe emotions you’ve carried for years are asking for space, movement, and expression.
Maybe you’re longing for a deeper spiritual connection that doesn’t bypass your humanity, but brings you closer to it.
Or maybe you’ve reached the quiet, undeniable truth:
There is more of you than you’ve been living.
You’re ready to feel again.
To create again.
To hear your own voice.
To reclaim the parts of you you’ve avoided — the tender ones, the wild ones, the brave ones, the imaginative ones.
You want a way forward that is creative, embodied, emotionally honest, spiritually grounded—
one that teaches you how to know yourself intimately,
feel safe going inward,
meet your emotions with compassion,
and trust your imagination as a source of wisdom.
You’re longing to love yourself more fully —
to welcome all your selves,
and move toward the fuller expression of who you’re becoming.
And maybe most of all, you’re ready for a space where self-love and self-actualization aren’t abstract ideas,
but lived experiences —
where you can rediscover your heart, your voice, your magic, and your truth.
If any of this resonates in your chest, your belly, or behind your ribs… you’re in the right place.
This is why Mariposa exists.
To give you space to unravel, remember, create, express — and become.
Next: Meet Zoë — your guide for this journey.
MEET ZOË
Hola, I’m Zoë Dearborn.
I’m an integrative counselor, expressive arts therapist, creative mentor, and spiritual guide with more than twenty years of experience helping people awaken their inner worlds and become more fully themselves. My work weaves Jungian depth psychology, somatic awareness, intuitive guidance, creativity, and spiritual embodiment into a grounded, emotionally safe process of self-actualization.
I’ve spent my life moving between art and psychology — as a trained dancer, singer-songwriter, writer, performer, and visual artist — and I bring this full creative spectrum into the way I support others. My approach is not clinical or rigid; it’s alive, imaginative, relational, and deeply human.
I’m also a long-time Todos Santos local (now in my 18th year), shaped by the desert, the ocean, the land, and the creative community that thrives here. The Baja landscape is part of my lineage of healing — it informs the way I work, listen, and guide.
Over the years I’ve facilitated hundreds of sessions, workshops, events, and creative rituals — holding space for people to explore, feel, express, integrate, and evolve. I’m known for creating environments where people feel profoundly safe, deeply seen, and free to explore all their selves — the tender, the wild, the wounded, the brave, the wise, and the parts still emerging.
My work is for those who are ready to reclaim their creativity, trust their intuition, meet their emotions with compassion, and step into a fuller, more authentic constellation of all their selves.
Training & Approach:
MA in Counseling Psychology, with a focus in Expressive Arts Therapy
20+ years facilitating groups, classes, and 1:1 work
Background in somatic practice, meditation, and intuitive embodiment
Trained musician, performer, visual artist, and writer
Jungian + archetypal frameworks
Trauma-sensitive, nervous-system aware, compassion-based
Creator of the Embodied Imagination Process and the Be All Your Selves approach
Next: What you’ll experience during the retreat.
TESTIMONIALS
For nearly twenty years, I’ve helped people ignite their creativity, reclaim their voice, and open to profound transformation. My work is unconventional, intuitive, art-driven, and deeply human. These testimonials reflect what’s possible inside this work:
THE MARIPOSA JOURNEY
The Outer Journey & The Inner Experience
A creative, seven-portal path into All Your Selves where you will come into contact with your shadow and light and all your colors in between.
Mariposa is a week-long immersion into your inner world — a space where you can soften, open, express, release, and become.
This is not a retreat where you sit back and receive inspiration.
This is a retreat where you remember yourself.
At Mariposa, you explore your emotional, creative, and spiritual life through seven Portals — Safety, Emotions, Power, Heart, Voice, Intuition, and Spirit.
Each Portal corresponds to an energy center in the body (the seven chakras), which we explore through chakra flow yoga, somatic embodiment, expressive arts therapy, guided meditation, and creative ritual.
You’ll learn how to read your chakra patterns, assess your energy, and use creative insight to rebalance these centers — a lifelong skill for emotional regulation, creative expansion, and authentic expression.
But more importantly, you’ll experience what happens when you allow all your selves — tender, powerful, playful, intuitive — to have a voice.
This is a space of deep work and deep play.
A space where your body becomes a guide, your imagination becomes a map, and your emotions become creative fuel.
A space to explore your shadow with compassion, reconnect with your intuition, awaken your artistry, and cultivate the kind of self-love that makes self-actualization possible.
A brief look at the journey
Portal 1 — Safety - Root Chakra
Grounding, nervous system regulation, body trust, the foundation of all creative + emotional work.
Portal 2 — Emotions - Sacral Chakra
Feeling, releasing, digesting emotional experience with movement, art, and breath.
Portal 3 — Power - Solar Plexus
Creative fire, boundaries, agency, courage, your inner “YES” and “NO.”
Portal 4 — Heart - Heart Chakra
Compassion, belonging, forgiveness, grief, joy — the emotional center of self-love.
Portal 5 - Voice - Throat Chakra
Authenticity, expression, truth-telling, creative articulation.
Portal 6 - Intuition - Third Eye
Inner vision, imagination, symbolic thinking, creative insight.
Portal 7 — Spirit - Crown Chakra
Connection to meaning, guidance, wholeness, and your highest Self.
WHAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE
A blend of the therapeutic, the creative, and the spiritual
Learn unique expressive arts therapy techniques for exploring your unconscious and accessing inner guidance
Strengthen your ability to feel safe going inward
Build self-trust, emotional regulation, and intuitive decision-making
Experience deep rest, creative inspiration, and nervous system regulation
Develop your artistic voice through movement, writing, visual art, music, and play
Cultivate your Four Inner Resources: Creativity, Compassion, Curiosity, and Consciousness, itself
Connect with a small group of like-hearted people doing brave, beautiful inner work
Expand your capacity for self-love, authenticity, vulnerability, and expression
Discover playful approaches to healing and shadow integration
Leave with practices that support self-actualization long after the retreat end
A SAMPLE DAY
DAY 1:
SAFETY & THE ROOT PORTAL
Retreat Flow & Schedule (Quick Note)
Our retreat includes 6 full days of practice plus a gentle arrival evening on Day 0 and a spacious, easeful departure morning on Day 7.
Each full day follows a rhythmic arc — movement, meditation, creative exploration, rest, embodiment, sharing — and a one is anchored in a different Portal (or chakra).
The schedule below is an example of what a day may feel like, though exact timings may shift in a natural, intuitive flow.
The morning begins with Zoë’s Signature Chakra Flow Yoga — a grounding practice focused on the Root Chakra, breath, and nervous system safety.
The desert air is cool. You move, tone, breathe, and arrive fully in your body.
After breakfast, Zoë offers a Root Chakra presentation woven with Polyvagal Theory — the science + soul of what makes us feel safe, regulated, and connected.
You’ll learn how to recognize your nervous system patterns and what your Root energy has been trying to tell you.
Next is Chakra Assessment — an intuitive and creative method for understanding where your energy is open, blocked, or depleted. You learn to read your own system: a lifelong skill.
In Art Journal Lab, you translate sensation into image, symbol, color, and form.
You create visual language for the foundation of your being.
After lunch: Guided meditation → visual art → journaling → gentle group sharing.
Each practice deepens your internal root system — safety, belonging, groundedness.
The afternoon closes with a beautiful Ceramics Workshop led by artist Stephanie Friedman.
With clay in your hands, you shape a vessel of safety — a tactile reminder that your body and your creativity are one.
This is the rhythm of Mariposa:
movement → insight → creation → connection → expansion.
OUR TODOS SANTOS COMMUNITY
Mariposa is held by the creative community of Todos Santos — a circle of local teachers, artists, and healers who bring their own gifts, lineages, and wisdom into the retreat. These are the people I practice with, learn from, collaborate with, and love. They’re part of my everyday life here — and they help make this retreat feel rooted, real, and alive.
Stephanie Friedman · Ceramics Artist + Instructor
Day 1 — Ceramics Workshop (Root Portal)
https://www.instagram.com/sfriedmanstudio/
Japa Kaur · Kundalini Yoga Teacher
Day 3 — Kundalini Yoga (Power Portal)
Kari Schein · Voice Activation & Kirtan Teacher
Day 5 — Heart-Opening Kirtan (Voice Portal)
Marimar Higgins · Hatha Yoga Teacher
Day 6 — Hatha Yoga (Intuition & Consciousness)
Zoë Dearborn · Lead Guide · Expressive Arts Therapist, Creative Integration Teacher
Day 1, Day 2, Day 4 Yoga Teacher - Chakra Flow Yoga
More teachers may be added. Check this page for updates.
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Here’s what your investment covers:
Luxury accommodation at Hidden Leaf Baja (private rooms, shared rooms or glamping domes)
Round-trip transportation between the San José del Cabo (SJD) airport and Hidden Leaf Baja
3 delicious, gourmet chef-prepared meals per day with vegetarian, vegan & gluten-free options, plus snacks
All expressive-arts materials: paints, journals, collage supplies, clay, movement props
Daily movement practices, yoga, Dance Lab, expressive-arts workshops, and embodied inquiry
Guided somatic and nervous-system practices to support integration and expansion
Daily free time: lounge, reflect, write, rest, walk the gardens, walk along the beach or soak under the stars
An intimate group (max ~ 10 participants) for personalized guidance and deep connection
Post-retreat integration guidebook + individual check-in call after the week
Cost Highlight
Starting investment: $3,474 (double occupancy, stylish glamping dome)
Deposit: $777 USD secures your spot.
(See full pricing and room upgrade options on the booking page.)
Everything you need for a full-immersion, creative, expressive-arts week in Baja.
Ready to join us?
Click below to reserve your space and explore room options:
THE VENUE
Your home for the week:
Hidden Leaf Baja — a serene, desert garden sanctuary outside Todos Santos
Hidden Leaf Baja is a private, lush retreat center nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Baja desert. With open-air spaces, palm gardens, cozy casitas, and thoughtful design throughout, it’s the perfect environment for creativity, rest, and transformation.
You’ll have access to beautiful gathering spaces, shaded decks, walking paths, art areas, and quiet nooks for journaling, resting, or simply breathing. The land itself is a partner in the retreat — grounding, calming, and deeply supportive.
Accommodations include private rooms, shared casitas, and glamping domes, each designed with comfort and simplicity in mind. Healthy, delicious meals are prepared onsite by a private chef using fresh, local ingredients.
You’ll feel held by the space itself — warm, quiet, beautiful, and inspiring.
Round-trip group transportation from the San José del Cabo (SJD) airport to Hidden Leaf Baja is included in your retreat package.
Next: Accommodations & Pricing
ACCOMMODATIONS & PRICING
Choose the space that supports your comfort, rest, and creative unfolding.
Hidden Leaf Baja offers a range of beautiful, comfortable accommodations to support your retreat experience — from private rooms, with attached bathrooms and glamping domes, also with bathrooms.
All rooms are simple, warm, and thoughtfully designed, giving you the space to rest, reflect, and reconnect with yourself.
Retreat pricing begins at $3,474 USD for shared glamping accommodations (double dome).
Private rooms begin at $5,320 USD, with several options depending on availability.
A $777 USD deposit holds your spot.
All prices include your accommodations, meals, workshops, materials, airport transfers, and everything listed in the “What’s Included” section.
Click to view room options, pricing details, and secure your spot on WeTravel.
FAQs
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The retreat runs from February 8–15, 2026.
Day 0 (Feb 8) is arrival and the welcome session.
Day 1–6 (Feb 9–14) are full retreat days.
Day 7 (Feb 15) is departure morning.
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At Hidden Leaf Baja, a private and lush retreat center near Todos Santos, Mexico — about one hour from San José del Cabo (SJD) airport.
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Yes. Round-trip group transportation between SJD airport and Hidden Leaf Baja is included in your retreat package.
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7 nights at Hidden Leaf Baja
3 chef-prepared meals daily
All expressive arts + movement workshops
Dance Lab
Somatic + nervous system practices
Journals, art supplies, clay, collage materials
Rituals, circles, guided journeys
Post-retreat integration support
Group airport transfers
Use of all retreat center amenities
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Retreat pricing begins at $3,474 USD for shared glamping accommodations (double dome).
Private rooms begin at $5,320 USD.
A $777 USD deposit reserves your spot.
Full room options are available on the WeTravel booking page.
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The group is limited to 6-10 participants for an intimate, connected, deeply held retreat experience.
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No experience is necessary.
All practices are guided, accessible, and designed for creative humans of all backgrounds — whether you’re a seasoned artist or someone reconnecting with creativity after years away.
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Mariposa is therapeutic, but it is not a therapy retreat.
It blends expressive arts, movement, somatics, imagination, Jungian depth work, and guided inquiry in a creative, compassionate trauma-informed environment.
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Each day includes:
guided somatic or movement practice
expressive arts therapy workshops (journaling, collage, clay, singing, drawing)
Dance Lab or yoga
rest + free time
chef-prepared meals
sunset rituals and group connection
Some evenings include special events such as stargazing or a night out in Todos Santos.
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Yes — most participants attend solo.
You will be warmly welcomed and supported from the moment you arrive.
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Yes. Our chef can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free meals. Please let us know your needs in advance.
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Please see the detailed cancellation and refund policy on the WeTravel page. Deposits are non-refundable but may be transferable depending on circumstances.
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Click the button below to view room options and secure your spot.
Have Questions? Let’s Talk.
Still not sure if Mariposa is right for you?
I offer a free 15-minute Q&A call where you can ask questions, feel into the container, and get a sense of whether this retreat is aligned with your needs, your timing, and your heart.
Book a Free Call →
ARE YOU READY TO BECOME MORE FULLY YOURSELF?
A week of creative awakening, embodiment, expression, and inner transformation awaits you in Baja.
Reserve Your Space →
A place to rest and transform, where what’s been waiting inside you finally emerges.