Taos Heart & Soul Renewal

Welcome and thank you for checking out our Taos Heart & Soul Renewal Retreat and top-of-the-line offering.
If you’re a high-ranking woman in your industry – i.e. a soulpreneur, therapist, coach, academic, supervisor, team-lead, executive director, or CEO – who’s running on empty, mindlessly jumping through hoops, and feeling blah and disconnected from your authentic self and Big Why, read on.
We love empowering sensitive high-level professional women who feel overwhelmed, drained, and lost by replenishing their bodies and true nature, restoring their heart compass, and reprioritizing their joy, vitality, and impact.
The last three decades, I, Loraine Van Tuyl, have helped countless phenomenal wise souls, professional empaths, and remarkable women get back on track and lead fulfilling lives with the guidance I offered them as a licensed clinical psychologist, shamanic eco psychologist, Depth Hypnosis practictioner, author, online course teacher, or in-person retreat guide.
After learning how so many of you ended up losing your way and neglecting your needs and dreams without meaning to, my dear soul sistar, Claudia Castillo Holley, Rapid Transformational Therapist™, hypnotherapist, and professional chef, and I decided to join forces and create an invigorating, one-stop, life-pivoting retreat in Taos, inspired by both of our personal journeys and professional experiences as highly sensitive, purpose-driven professional women.
The comprehensive and immersive Heart and Soul Renewal Retreat that we designed is 100% informed by our keen understanding how to fully replenish, reinstate, and reboot your best self and innate biofeedback system at the deepest levels.
Our root soulutions are able to pierce through preoccupied minds and our culture’s ceiling on soul healing. They will reconnect you to your own brilliant biofeedback system and true nature through powerful body wisdom activations, equine-assisted mindfulness exercises, eco shamanic practices, nourishing meals and sacred rituals involving SOUL (Seasonal, Organic, Unrefined, Local) food, LECHE DE GAIA and FULL MOON ceremonies, nature hikes, being in reciprocal relationship with the elements and spirits of the land, sound and drum healing, spirit-guided creative expression, sensual embodiment, and everything under the sun that will gently shine warmth and light on your freshly sown renewal seeds.
If you feel a tug to partake in this offering and fully renew and restore yourself – not only by healing sabotaging trauma patterns but by powerfully reactivating your innate heart compass and natural biofeedback system once and for all with the most delicious assortment of activities, practices, and experiences – let’s talk (email Loraine at [email protected])!
Much love,
Loraine and Claudia
(We started following these signs and stepping stones 5 years ago!)
Click to watch informational video

Guides & Hosts
Loraine Van Tuyl, PhD, CHT, Shamanic Eco Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Author
Claudia Castillo Holley, C RTT®️, Rapid Transformational
Therapist, Sacred Food Whisperer & Chef
Why Most Sensitive Women Leaders Struggle . . .
Many of the amazing woman leaders and professional empaths we work with feel trapped by the demands of their “success” and don’t permit themselves to acknowledge, let alone prioritize, their needs, well-being, and dreams, even at home. They’ve been rewarded for adopting problems and emotions that are not their own and can’t imagine another way.
They ache to break-out of their cages, but fear that all hell will break loose if they suddenly start to honor their boundaries, emotions, or longings for respite, clarity, pleasure, and fulfillment. Their guides, therapists, and coaches don’t fully understand the root cause of ther compassion fatigue, overwhelm, and self-neglect either, or how to dig up their buried dreams. So far, most have offered them short-lived, bandaid solutions.
When we reconnect our students and clients to their innate biofeedback system and True North compass, we approach things from the bottom-up instead of top down (temporarily sidestepping the rewiring process to prevent you from getting more entangled, lost, and frustrated in a mental maze) which produces swift, safe, and successful shifts.
At the end of our retreat, you will feel in the flow, solid, and on fire instead of flooded, scattered, and burned out. Most of all, you’ll trust your heart compass to make the most of what’s next along your path and journey, whatever that may be, with confidence, clarity, and renewed self awareness, for GOOD.
We left no stone unturned and combined our most POTENT SOULUTIONS into a special offering for women who long to fully embody their optimal presence, power, and purpose.
You will learn to:
- Clear pesky, self-sabotaging fears, doubts, and catastropic thinking and reactivate self-love, vitality, and pleasure- and purpose-guided body wisdom.
- Prime your mind to sustain DEEP GRATITUDE – a Greatly Receptive Attitude – that welcomes new experiences with curious equanimity, and trusts that creative resilience, magic, and abundance are in the center of life and mystery.
- Ground your default emotional state into your innate self-healing system and unwavering inner peace so that disapproval, worries, and upheavel no longer overwhelm and derail you.
- Experience self trust that’s so profound, you’re no longer afraid of tackling new challenges or opportunities or making quantum leaps in terms of your expansion, impact, and fulfillment.
Objectives and Activities
- Daily food rituals and nutritional teachings, optional cooking experiences, and mind-body-heart-soul alignment ceremonies that incorporate sacred food and support innate body wisdom
- Reconnecting with spirit guides, nature beings, Source, and soul callings through light yoga, journaling, and creative expression
- Re-Tree-t with Soul Authority practice: working with the elements to harmonize Mother Earth and Father Sky energies and balance our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies
- Leche de Gaia Ceremony to deepen your nutrition-body-spirit connection and honor Mother Earth's nourishing gifts
- Going on an easy hike along the Slide Trail by the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge to reconnect and do some solo healing activities in nature
- Visiting World Heritage site Taos Pueblo, Taos Plaza, and historic downtown, a mecca of local artisans, live music, shops, restaurants, and galleries, inviting our guides to cross our paths either on our hike or when exploring these rich and creative treasure troves
- Equine Spirit Sanctuary mindfulness lessons that will entail working in pairs with a horse or a pony to become aware of breathing, grounding, and energy projected


Tentative Daily Schedule
9 am Breakfast
10 am Light Movement
11 am Sacred Circle Time & Practice*
12:30 pm Lunch
2 pm Practice*
4 pm Cooking Opportunities
5 pm Dinner & Food/Body Mindfulness
6 pm Sacred Circle Time - Shares & Check-ins
8 pm Free Time - mindful walks, star gazing, hot tubbing, private retreating or yin yoga
*****
Check-in June 2nd: 4 pm ~ Check-out June 7th: 9 am. The earliest the airport shuttles leave to ALBQ is 8 am on June 7. TAOS-ALBQ is a 2 1/2 hr drive. Have this in mind when booking your flight back home and check in with us if you have any questions.
*****
*TYPES OF BIOFEEDBACK PRACTICES: Body Wisdom Hypnotic Activation, Re-Tree-ting with Soul Authority, Sound & Drum Healing, Shamanic Journeying, Soul Purpose and Creative exploration, Upleveling your True North Heart Compass, Full Moon and Leche de Gaia Ceremonies, nature hikes, elemental and sacred land offerings, and Equine-assisted mindfulness exercises.

Meals & Nourishment
Meals and snacks will be plant-strong with vegan and vegetarian options, some animal protein and will include SOUL (Seasonal, Organic, Unrefined, Local) foods as much as possible.
Optional cooking experiences: All meals will be mindfully crafted by Claudia. You're welcome to help in the kitchen during free time and creative expression periods to gain great insight how she combines flavors. Learn how she carefully chooses and arranges ingredients to maximize nutritional properties and digestion while energetically infusing all meals with deep reverence for Mother Nature and for all involved in the nourishing process.
"Claudia redefines what it means to eat good food. My mindset around eating completely changed after experiencing Claudia’s services. I thought I was a 'good eater,' but Claudia takes it to another level. I thoroughly enjoyed learning a new way of eating that elevated my relationship with food. I learned what it means to nourish my body, I learned the importance of using organic fresh ingredients, and I learned how to enjoy food with intentional mindful eating. She puts her heart and soul into her creations and it really shows. My palate was SINGING with every dish she made and her Leche de Gaia ceremony is magical. It’s hard to explain how special that ceremony is. The moment I tasted the Leche de Gaia… my taste buds exploded with excitement. It was like my body was saying 'Thank You!'"
— Tasha Wong, Joshua Tree Nourish your Authentic Self Retreat Participant

Retreat Includes*
- 5 nights at a beautiful Taos style farm house
- All meals and snacks, including one night out to a fabulous
Taos restaurant - 6 day transportation and visits to Taos Pueblo and Rio Grande Gorge Bridge at sunset
- All materials, practices, ceremonial ingredients, and
activities during retreat - Taos Plaza and historic downtown stroll
- Leche de Gaia & Full Moon Ceremonies
- Equine-assisted mindfulness exercises at Equine Spirit Sanctuary



*NOT INCLUDED: Airfare, shuttle to and from Albuquerque airport to either Santa Fe or Taos
(1 or 2.5 hrs - ranging from $60-$125 one way) and optional lodging in Santa Fe or Albuquerque.
Why work with us and why this retreat?
It’s not possible to put a price on frustrating blocks, emotional mood swings, exhaustion, continuous conflict, and silent suffering and hiding. We can claim that our methods can save you thousands of dollars on coaching or therapy that only reveal frustrating patterns that you already know but don’t show or teach you how to change them. We know how to quickly fast forward to where you left off and restart exactly where you ran into a dead-end. We then empower you with innovative, cutting-edge tools, skills, and the most well-rounded and effective experiences that will help you to pick up momentum and produce satisfying shifts in no time.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
"Validated my truth" "Unique methods" "Profound healing of scary issues" "Magical synchronicities" "Empowering tools for life" "Major life-changing impact" "Best health investment" "Mindblowing shifts in myself" "Deep transformation of old patterns" "Comprehensive skillset"
We are crystal clear what we are about, what we stand for, and who it is for. We guarantee that our unique offerings and dedicated commitment to excellence and the highest good of all involved in our programs will continue to produce the above-mentioned results. We trust that our integral practices will positively impact those we work with and leave them with a solid skill-set how to continuously evolve, ground, and benefit from even the most challenging life lessons.
Investment* 2023
$2,350 private room (shared bathroom)
$2,450 private room (own bathroom)
$1,900 shared room (shared bathroom)
Reserve your spot with a $500 deposit
Balance due May 20, 2023
*All inclusive except airfare, shuttle to and from ALBQ airport to Santa Fe or Taos
(1 or 2.5 hrs - ranges from $60 - $125 one way) and optional lodging in Santa Fe or Albuquerque
Contact Loraine Van Tuyl at (925) 642-1716 or [email protected] if interested in joining us.
Our COVID-19 requirements based on CDC suggestions: To create an environment where everyone feels comfortable and is safe, we are requiring a negative test result from an official lab within a 3-day window before arrival, and a second test upon arrival using a home kit. A raincheck for a future retreat will be provided in case of a positive result.


Because of imbalances around sex and gender in many cultures and because of the intimate living spaces that will be shared, this retreat concentrates on serving those who identify as other than male. That said, one of the imbalances that we will be addressing and working on represents an important thread in need of healing (reactivating sacred feminine and masculine energies) so that we can reweave the fabric of our societies to be fully inclusive of all expressions of sex and/or gender.
About your Guides
About Loraine Van Tuyl, PhD, CHT
Fear is not our true nature. Love is. Loraine learned that as a highly sensitive child while playing along the edges of the Amazon rainforest of her native Suriname. She often imagined she was Mowgli, filled with awe and wonder for her nature sanctuary that kept her safe from a world that she often didn't understand.
After a military coup uprooted her family, they moved to the concrete jungles of Miami. She coped with the devastating loss of her safe sanctuary and most trusted lifeline to her true nature during the awkward middle school years by becoming selectively mute and pretending not to speak English.
Decades later, her rigorous studies, certification, and extensive training in clinical psychology, shamanic practices, meditation and mindfulness fundamentals, energy medicine, eco psychology, and Depth Hypnosis quantum leaped her healing. She wrote and shared her story in Amazon Wisdom Keeper: A Psychologist's Memoir of Spiritual Awakening in 2017. Since then, she has talked to audiences, big and small, on podcasts and radio shows, at conferences, retreats, and book stores.
Her second book, Soul Authority: Liberatory Tools to Heal from Oppressive Patterns and Restore Trust in Your Heart Compass (2022) and her unique Soul Authority™ methods have empowered hundreds of wise souls in psychology, holistic health, academia, the arts, conservation, entrepreneurship, economics, and social justice work.
She has most recently been invited to participate in intimate 20-person think tanks on topics such as mindfulness, racial healing, and community building alongside leading consciousness pioneers and master teachers, such as Ruth King, Jack Kornfield, Thupten Jinpa (primary interpreter of His Holiness the Dalai Lama), and Sharon Salzberg.




About Claudia Castillo Holley, C. RTT , CHT, N.E
Claudia’s vast life experiences started as a highly sensitive, creative and precocious little girl in Venezuela. Born with a vision challenge, she still taught herself how to read and mastered many forms of art and musical instruments. Eager to fit in, she learned early on to disconnect from her true self and magical inner world, and unconsciously lived with silent shame and blame for her uniqueness.
Four+ decades of never ending soul searching through countless careers, homes, relationships, and health challenges inspired her to study everything she could about the power of food and self-healing practices for optimal health and wellbeing.
Soon after immigrating to the US in the early 2000’s, she challenged the status quo. While adapting to yet another career, home, language, and culture, she successfully supported her daughter in overcoming serious health challenges using holistic methods. This evolved into a life purpose and deep desire to share her tools with others. Her creative nature and expertise allowed her to combine mindfulness, super foods, colors, flavors, textures and the power of intention to produce delectable meals that fortify the body, mind, heart and spirit.
The pandemic and radical midlife challenges brought her to her knees, with deeper life, health and vision challenges. She took the opportunity to up-level her fierce spirit with Rapid Transformational Therapy and Hypnotherapy. She healed wounded parts of herself and continues to hold loving space for her inner child who now belongs safe and loved in her timeless present moment. This has brought great peace, and sustained happiness, gratitude, playfulness and freedom to her life and to the healing services she offers through her therapy practice and in-person and virtual retreats.





Loraine's Testimonials
"Loraine has a glowing gift for guidance and has birthed a living body of wisdom: an alchemy of her love for humanity, her spiritual and intellectual brilliance, her roots in the rainforest, and her ascent to the highest levels of traditional education. Her work is cutting edge. And comforting center. And inspiring, boundless horizon. I've never trusted a mentor more. I just passed the ultimate test when the most challenging person from my past tried to push all the old buttons. I was so in my authority. It was amazing. I’m now able to invoke my muse - at will - and feed the flow of my fiction. Sometimes, I just stop and smile and marvel. I'm so grateful.“
— J.R. Schumaker, author of Diana's Dragons: The Awaited
"I was able to connect with each of the elements, and it was amazing how cleansing, transformative, and powerful each meditation was to break up past densities, thick thought patterns, and to allow fresh, new, expansive, and fun energy back into my life."
— Teresa Shen, LAC, Master of Chinese Medicine, CEO/Lead Physician, Eastern Medical Center (retreat participant)
"I have never felt as settled or at peace as I have since I have experienced Loraine's course... Now four months later, I still enter my sanctuary and learn from my guides each time I meditate and the old story of abuse is no longer my story. I’m completely free of it (never meditated or worked with guides before taking this 10-week Soul Authority course)...This is still true 4 years later. I'll be forever grateful."
— Margaret Delph, Warehouse Manager
"Loraine is an absolutely amazing individual and healer... She is plugged into the world of spirit and energy in a way that very few people are... a true wise woman and anyone working with her will certainly be transformed by her presence alone. She brings to the table a deep knowledge of what is called for in the moment and will be indispensable help to anyone working with her."
— Karallyn Earls Streit, Shamanic Energy Medicine Woman, Spiritual Catalyst

Claudia's Testimonials
"After suffering from extreme and debilitating menopausal depression for over a year, I finally have my beautiful life back! I knew that self-harm was imminent. Claudia was able to help me overcome an absolutely unbearable situation within just a few days of our first session! She is very kind, intuitive and extremely compassionate. She makes every interaction with her unbelievably easy and pain free..."
— Susanne Hartwell, SC USA
"The result was extraordinary! For years I hadn’t been able to move forward in the professional field. I'm starting a new path and I totally need to believe in myself. I honestly didn’t expect to see results so quickly, and was greatly surprised when all the negative feelings were not there anymore. Even the physical symptoms were gone, just amazing! I was impressed by Claudia's lead during our sessions. Her work is FREEING"
— C. Ruiz, Canada
"I'm delighted that the specific internal changes I wanted to make happened instantaneously, and have been lasting. The troubled, unproductive, repetitive thought cycles have simply stopped, evaporated, naturally and easily. I feel back in balance again, cheerful and full of hope. I sleep soundly, and wake up with a renewed sense of purpose and eagerness. At my job, I am working with a brisk efficiency and greater precision in my accustomed highly productive state."
— Heli M Dunn, Georgia USA