We recently connected with Paula Cordoba and have shared our conversation below.

Paula, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Traveling has always been my passion, but as I entered my 30s my body started asking for a vacation after my vacation. The need to rest from many days of walking, carrying bags, trying new exotic foods, indulging in gelatos, and many other things that weren’t part of my everyday routine. Starting 2020, I was determined to do something better about my traveling plans which were no longer sustainable as they were. I wanted to keep traveling but doing something that felt meaningful and important to my wellbeing—both physically and emotionally. So I packed my bags and headed off to a wellness retreat. This became the beginning of my wellness traveling journey.

I put together my strongest work skills (event planning) with my passions (traveling + yoga) and that’s how the idea of creating One & Well and becoming a retreat organizer came up!

And why retreats? I believe stepping out of our routine and away from the noise, the congestion and the familiar creates fertile ground for reflection, understanding, compassion and growth.  We’re better able to identify patterns that might be holding us back, keeping us stuck or making us play small.  A retreat broadens the scope. It gives our bodies time to rest, nourish and recover.  When the body is at ease, the mind becomes more creative, sharp and fluid.  When the mind is creative, sharp and fluid, this human experience becomes elevated.

One & Well focuses on retreats that are all are about the physical, emotional and mental well-being while enjoying the benefits of pampering and taking care of oneself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always been passionate about yoga, meditation and fitness as separate things I practiced in my life since I was young. Once I realized how deeply intertwined these three disciplines where (mind, body and spirit) and how they had helped me transform my life, I decided to quit my corporate job as PR and event industry (I worked for 10 years organizing big corporate conferences for Citibank, coordinating Netlfix red carpets and press junkets and Ocean Spray’s media tours) and dedicate my time into creating meaningful experiences that would plant a seed of a positive mindset and ignite change. Ever since I started working in the wellbeing space 5 years ago, I feel more aligned to a higher purpose.

I started working as Marketing Director for a wellness + fitness studio before COVID started and launched the on-demand platform which quickly grew and became one of the most well known digital platforms in LATAM. I feel very grateful for this experience because it thought me how to embrace the unknown, trust in my own ideas and ultimatley witness the power mental, emotional and physical practices had in people’s lives, specially as we were all living difficult times.

I began One&Well as a retreat organizer company, that would work alongside yoga and wellness partitioners to create experiences in the most beautiful (and less known) natural locations. I want to help people discover new world sites, meet new people and have meaningful and transformative experiences. I’ve heard stories from retreaters and their takeaways couldn’t be more different, for some the most memorable moment was about opening up and being vulnerable with strangers which have ended in close friendships, for others it has been experiencing for the first time a Temazcal or Cacao Ceremony and connecting with a higher energy force, their connection with nature, learning about a new culture, for some its the first time they do something for themselves and rediscover the meaning of self-love, or maybe its as easy as pampering yourself with a week long of nourishing food and massages!

Everyone has a different reason for going on retreat, but at the end, everyone is moved by the same thing: learning about themselves, even if it’s uncomfortable, and finding some sense of peace and calm. To reflect on the past, to live the present and set new intentions for the future.

I am proud for having the courage to step away from a steady and good job and start something new with only my savings. I didn’t have a clue where this would lead but I knew it felt right. After almost three years since I started One & Well, I have organized 10 successful retreats and recently opened my first holistic retreat center in Malinalco, Mexico.

My hope is that I can now help other retreat leaders run their retreats! I can give them the tools and know-hows to smoothly organize a magical experience. I am currently working on Los Apantles 2024 retreats calendar and planning a monthly themed retreat.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Why do most people travel or plan a vacation with family or close friends? Because they want to spend quality time and share their experience with people they trust.

As a retreat organizer with 0 marketing budget, I knew that my best source of new clients was to build trust with yoga instructors. If I invested my time in creating meaningful connections with them, by being an open book about budget and accounting, involving them in the planning and coordination, and with complete honesty about me also being relatively new in this business, I would be able to build trustworthy relationships. This has a ripple effect, because all of the instructors I have worked with have already built trust with their students and fostered strong communities.

Most of the times, I reach out through IG to start the conversation. If we are a good match and our vibes align I usually travel to meet them in person. And that’s where the real connection takes place and we close the deal.

I use my marketing skills to design the creative and visuals for the retreat, which helps convert their interested students into clients. After three years of carefully curating every detail during the retreat to make sure it is a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends, I start to notice that word of mouth is also a very powerful way to attracting new (and old) clients.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Get out of the office and find inspiration! As someone passionate about wellness and retreats, I know the value of stepping away from work. It’s great to be able to break the routine, switch it up, and engage with people and surroundings we normally wouldn’t make time for. Oftentimes, that’s where our best ideas come from.

Another lesson I had to unlearn was the belief that what you do defines who you are. Working in corporate taught me that titles and achievements were the definition of success. This plays such an important role in your self-confidence which helps shape your identity and self-worth. I now believe that seeking harmony between what we do and who we are is the key! In retreats I have met all sorts of people, with high paying jobs, artists, freelancers, moms, spiritual seekers, with different life stories. And at the end, it’s about the human connections, we all have feelings and experiences to share that create bonds with others, regardless of our backgrounds!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.oneandwell.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneandwelltravel/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-cordoba-872710188/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user142313703