Carlsbad Retreat

You will move with intention. Sit in the stillness you crave.
Eat well and connect deeply.

There's a village thirty-five miles north of San Diego where the ocean is steps away, the trails pull you out of your head, and the pace of life makes your nervous system exhale. Carlsbad is not incidental to this experience — it's part of it. The landscape does something to people. It always has. That's where we do this work.

Three days. Your body, your mind, and the space between them — finally given the attention they've been asking for. Most of our guests say it's the hardest thing they've done in years.

Every single one says it was the most necessary.

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These are not spa weekends. Three days of honest, fully-supported work — and nature is not a backdrop here, it's part of the practice.

BJ and Jess Gumkowski have spent over 40 years combined competing, coaching, and going deep — on the racecourse and off it. As endurance athletes and dedicated yogis, they live at the intersection of physical excellence and inner work. Clark, the golden retriever, serves as Coach of Joy. He takes his job very seriously.

Their retreats draw two kinds of people: athletes ready to add the dimension their training has been missing, and high-achievers who have optimized everything except how they actually feel. Both are welcome. Both leave changed.

Two ways in. One experience.
The Immersion is for small groups who want to go all the way — fully guided, fully personalized, nothing held back. The À La Carte is for larger groups who want real programming woven into time that's still their own. Different structures, same depth of intention. Choose the one that fits where you are right now.

Immersion Retreat

1 guest, private | $3000 per person
2-6 guests, semi private | $1500 per person
Deposit: $500 per person non-refundable/non-transferable

For groups of one to six. Three days, two nights. Fully guided, fully personalized. Before you arrive, you’ll complete a questionnaire that lets BJ and Jess shape every session around your goals, your training background, and what you’re ready to work on. The entire weekend is a deep immersion with two coaches who are fully present with you — there is nothing generic about it.

What's Included:

Plant-based meals throughout — prepared with intention, not as an afterthought
Daily yoga and guided meditation — up to two sessions per day, from invigorating morning flow to restorative yoga nidra
Physical coaching and guidance
Guided experiences
Mindset and performance coaching woven throughout — in sessions, on the trail, over meals
Deep-dive conversations on: plant-based nutrition and performance, Ayurveda and body type, journaling as a practice, meditation beyond the app, mindset and identity, minimalism, yoga as a science of the mind, and enlightened partnerships
All yoga venues, logistics, rentals, and permits handled

What's Not Included:

Lodging in Carlsbad Village is arranged separately - here to help point you in the right direction
Airfare and airport transfers are not included

À La Carte Retreat

10-15 guests | $525 per person
15-25 guests | $475 per person
Deposit: $1500 non-refundable/non-transferable

For groups of 10 to 25. Structured programming woven into time that’s still your own. Morning yoga, plus sunset yoga on the second day - up to 4 classes throughout the weekend. One facilitated session each day. The rest: Carlsbad’s beaches, trails, restaurants, and the particular kind of rest that comes from being somewhere beautiful with people you actually like.

This format works beautifully for teams, mastermind groups, and communities ready for something more than a trip.

What's Included:

Yoga and meditation — up to two sessions per day, all levels
All yoga venues, logistics, rentals, and permits handled
One facilitated session per day (for example):
- Intro to Ayurveda
- Forest Bathing - experiential
- Mindful Eating — discussion and shared experience
- The Joy Audit
- Alignment
- Meditation 101 — real tools, real questions, no prior experience needed

What's Not Included:

Lodging is arranged separately — staying in Carlsbad Village is ideal
Airfare and airport transfers are not included
Transportation during retreat
Meals

In three days, you could…

Move your body in ways that remind you what it's actually capable of
Sleep without an alarm and wake up without dread
Have the conversation with yourself you've been putting off
Leave with a practice — not a plan you'll abandon on the flight home

The right environment changes everything. That's what we build in Carlsbad.

INTRODUCING

Your Instructors

Jessica and BJ Gumkowski are endurance coaches, yoga instructors, athletes, and founders of YogiTriathlete, known for integrating high-level training with mindset and awareness.

Both lifelong athletes, they have each spent over 20 years competing in endurance sport, bringing more than 40 years of combined experience to their work.

BJ is a multi-time World Championship qualifier across Ironman World Championship and Ironman 70.3 World Championship, as well as a Boston Marathon qualifier, and is recognized as a top age-group Ironman triathlete.

Jess's work began in sports and orthopedic massage therapy and evolved into yoga, breathwork, and mindset coaching—helping athletes train with awareness and live with intention.

She is the host of the Awake Athlete Podcast, and author of Awake Athlete: When Mastery Is Your Only Option, along with two cookbooks focused on high-vibe nutrition.

BJ and Jess lead from the front—living the principles they teach—bringing presence, discipline, and intention into both training and daily life.

Through their work, they help athletes build not just fitness, but resilience, clarity, and ownership in how they train and how they live.

"I came as an athlete, I thought I was there to train. By day two I realized the real work had nothing to do with my body — and everything to do with it. I've been chasing that feeling ever since."

- Mary K, Endurance Athlete

"I've done offsites. I've done team building. This was the first time I left one feeling like I actually knew the people I work with — and myself a little better too. Carlsbad didn't hurt either."

— Rachel T., founder

"We didn't come because anything was wrong. We came because everything was fine and we wanted more than fine. Three days with BJ and Jess gave us a shared language we still use."