This retreat will offer participants three consecutive days of sweat lodges to help process deeply held traumas, restoring emotional wellbeing, clarity, and purpose.
Morning meditation, yoga, individual readings, and a fire ceremony will be offered before each sweat lodge, allowing for a personalized and transformative experience — clearing the path to a more empowered, open, and fearless version of yourself.
Maya Medicine is an integrated system of healing rooted in ancient Mayan civilisation. This tradition focuses on restoring health by balancing the five elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space.
Maya Medicine works to treat the root cause of imbalance — often karmic or ancestral — through a range of techniques including egg and pulse diagnosis, energy healing, talking therapy, abdominal massage, and dream work. These practices help to open pathways for deep processing of trauma, which often underlies psycho-emotional and physical symptoms.
Lucy McCarthy teaches soulful, breath-led vinyasa flow yoga with an emphasis on yoga as a transformative and healing modality.
Her full-spectrum classes incorporate a broad range of yogic practices — including postures, breath work, meditation, mudra, and mantra — and are woven through with heartfelt philosophy and wisdom.
Lucy will guide the yoga sessions to support the deep process of the sweat lodges, facilitating an open heart, mind, and body.
For inquiries or to sign up, please send an email to info@mayamedicine.co.uk
SIGN UPMAYA MEDICINE – AN INTERVIEW WITH ROLAND TORIKIAN:
“This retreat has been transformative for me.
It allowed me to face some heavy and ugly parts of my shadow in a way that felt inaccessible before. Roland’s guidance emboldens you and makes you feel safe. When you feel safe and held, you just go deeper, if, of course, you are ready to change. The empowerment I felt was something I simply couldn’t have accessed through my usual talk therapy alone, at least in my personal experience.
The Temazcal, or sweat lodge ceremony, is such potent medicine. I genuinely believe this kind of work is essential maintenance for the soul.”
“The retreat has been a deeply transformational experience for me. I learned how simple things can change my confidence and presence. I also found peace in letting go of control where it’s not needed, and I discovered a profound connection with nature. The warm sense of love, wisdom, and the beautiful encounters with others during the retreat will stay with me for a long time.”
“The Maya Medicine sweat lodge and yoga retreat in Sweden was a life changing experience for me.
Roland’s experience in the worlds of medicine, philosophy and healing, and his strong grounding in meditation and ceremonial practices combine to make this a unique and powerful healing journey.
Shambala Gatherings is a magical venue with very powerful healing energy, set on a beautiful lake and steeped in yoga philosophy and community – it was the perfect safe haven within which to explore Roland’s unique brand of medicine.
The sweat lodge experience is beyond words, and definitely the strongest medicine I have ever experienced. Whilst incredibly challenging, Roland holds a grounded and supportive space to really allow one to go deep. Not for the faint of heart, the experience astonished me. The amount I was able to release in a few short days, at a very deep level, really surprised me, and I imagine I will be benefiting from the information that I have received and the support I felt on my journey for a long time to come.
To top off the experience, Lucy’s yoga practices were inspiring, nourishing, and the perfect tonic after a long day in the lodge. These classes really brought the retreat together by providing a space to process what was ready to be processed, and to deeply rest and rejuvenate between sessions.
I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who joined the retreat, those who assisted Roland in putting the experience together, and those who helped me personally see the experience through when it felt like I couldn’t go on. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this retreat to anyone looking for a deep, healing medicine.”
“Working with Roland and attending his sweat lodges over many years has been one of the most wonderful gifts on my healing journey. Over time the sweat lodge became a beautiful sanctuary and refuge in which I could feel held and do some profound and deeply transformative inner work.
Roland holds space in a deeply loving and supportive manner, and his years of experience in the tradition of Maya medicine is very obvious. I will be eternally grateful for all of his guidance back home to a place of healing and happiness.”
WHAT’S INCLUDED
- all meals and accommodation
- daily meditation, yoga and fire ceremony
- three sweat lodges
- daily individual reading/cleansings
- pick up and drop off from local station (Skinnskatteberg)
PRICE AND REGISTRATION
Shared twin room: £1295
Please note that you can also bring your own tent and camp.
DAILY SCHEDULE
(subject to change)
Arrival Time: Earliest 3:00 PM
Departure Time: 3:00 PM
Please note that we’re unable to accommodate early arrivals or late departures. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to hosting you!
Wednesaday, September 9th
3pm Arrival
3pm – 7pm Swim, sauna and explore
7pm Welcome dinner
Thursday 10th – Saturday 12th
6:30am Morning meditation in the Yurt
7:30am Yoga with Lucy in the Yoga shala
9am Breakfast
11am Lodge prep & individual cleansings
12pm – 4pm Sweat Lodge ceremony
4.30pm Fika
7pm Dinner
Sunday, September 13th
6:30am Morning meditation
9am Breakfast
Free time/ Swim & Sauna
1:00pm Lunch
3pm Check-out
THE FOOD
Inspired by the Indian Ayurvedic health tradition, our kitchen serves delicious and nutritious food that is vegan, gluten-free, and made primarily with organic ingredients. Meals are often enjoyed on the sunny deck overlooking the lake. We are happy to accommodate dietary allergies—please inform us when making your booking.
LOCATION AND ACCOMMODATION
Shambala is an intimate yoga community and retreat center nestled in the forests of Bergslagen, two hours from Stockholm in Skinnskatteberg, Västmanland.
Dedicated to community and yoga, Shambala’s vision is to live harmoniously with nature. Surrounded by lush forests and a tranquil lake, it invites you to enjoy peaceful walks, refreshing swims, and moments of reflection. A highlight is the floating sauna by the lake, offering a soothing experience.
Accommodations are cozy and simple, with options to share a room or enjoy a private single room when available. Rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
At Shambala, you’ll be welcomed wholeheartedly with open arms into a homely, family atmosphere, where daily lake swims and saunas are just a part of the healing experience that this special place offers.
You can view our accommodation options below.
For more information on our rooms and facilities, please visit our The Place page.
Shared Twin Room
Shared Triple Room
Bring Your Own Tent
meet the team
TEACHER’S BIO
Roland Torikian
Roland Torikian has practised as a Maya healer for 30 years in both Mexico and the UK.
He trained in Maya Medicine with Lauro de la Cruz in the highlands of Chiapas during the 1990s. After completing his apprenticeship, Roland opened a clinic in Dharamshala, North India, while studying Tibetan Buddhist philosophy under Geshe Sonam Rinchen.
His work bridges the Mayan and Tibetan traditions of healing, combining Maya sweat lodges and healing practices with meditation and shamanic rituals from the Kagyu lineage and Bon Buddhism.
Roland regularly leads workshops, sweat lodges, and retreats in the UK, Mexico, and Europe.
“The real aim of this medicine, is to help people find space and openness in their hearts, transforming suffering into wisdom and learning how to live and work with the elements. If the sacredness and magic of each moment can be appreciated, true healing can take place. When pure energy flows and the five elements are in balance, clarity, physical and mental well-being and a healthy and happy relationship with the cosmos prevail.We can then come into our true power as warriors, to illuminate the
darkness of our time and give medicine back to this Earth.” – TORIKIAN
Lucy McCarthy
Lucy’s yoga and healing journey began many years ago on a rooftop in India, and she has never looked back.
Since then, her passion for yoga and a sincere heart longing to awaken have led her across the globe, seeking out teachers who could guide her deeply on the path to awakening.
With over a thousand hours of training and a zeal for sharing the gems of yoga with her students, Lucy’s teaching reflects her diverse in-depth studies, broad influences, and passionate heart.
Along her path, Lucy came across Roland and his magical sweat lodges. For over 10 years, she has been immersed in sweat lodges with Roland. They now collaborate together, bringing the transformative practices of yoga and Maya medicine together.
Lucy is deeply grateful to all the teachers and the wisdom of the teachings that have helped her on her path.
MORE at Shambala
GALLERY
How to get here
Shambala Gatherings
Borntorpet 1
Skinnskatteberg
Sweden
Located just two hours away from Stockholm in Skinnskatteberg, Sweden, the area is easily accessible by air, train and car, making a great option for a short break wildlife destination.
- Coming by air: The nearest airport to Shambala is Stockholm Vasteras. The second nearest airport is Arlanda airport, the main airport in Sweden. You can easily take a train all the way to Skinnskatteberg from both of them.
- Coming by train / bus: We are fortunate to have a train / bus station at Skinnskatteberg only 5 minutes ride from the center. We offer free pick up services from this station in summer.
- Coming by car: Simply open this Google map on your navigator and follow directions to Borntorpet 1 in Skinnskatteberg, Sweden.