The Global Wellness Economy Reaches $6.8 Trillion: Oana Rațiu and Felice Langkamp Bring The Sacred Descent Retreat to Marbella

Oana Rațiu and Felice Langkamp bring this growing economic trend to Marbella with The Sacred Descent, a five-day transformational retreat combining somatic practices, subconscious work and an immersive wellbeing experience

The global wellness industry continues to expand beyond its traditional categories, as consumers increasingly invest in mental wellbeing, preventive health and personalised experiences.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy reached $6.8 trillion in 2024, representing 6.1% of global GDP, and is projected to reach approximately $9.8 trillion by 2029.

This growth reflects a broader shift in consumer behaviour. Wellness is increasingly moving beyond fitness, nutrition and traditional spa services towards a more integrated approach that includes emotional wellbeing, mindfulness, longevity and immersive experiences.

For women in leadership and entrepreneurial environments, this conversation has particular relevance. Professional performance often comes with sustained cognitive load, decision-making pressure and multiple areas of responsibility, increasing interest in structured wellbeing experiences that go beyond conventional relaxation.

It is within this changing international landscape that Oana Rațiu and Felice Langkamp created The Sacred Descent, a five-day transformational retreat taking place from 21–25 October 2026 in Marbella, Spain.

From wellness to a structured transformational experience

The Sacred Descent was designed as an immersive programme combining different approaches to personal development and wellbeing within a single five-day journey.

At the centre of the concept is the ancient Sumerian myth of Inanna’s descent through seven gates, used as a symbolic framework for exploring different layers of beliefs, behavioural patterns, emotions and identity.

The programme combines somatic work, subconscious belief work, PSYCH-K®, EFT, breathwork, sound healing, Reiki, coaching and integration practices.

Rather than presenting these methodologies as independent activities, Oana and Felice have structured them around a progressive process described through three stages:

Descent. Integration. Return.

Across the five days, participants move through themes including beliefs and patterns, control, body awareness, personal narratives, emotional expression, voice and identity, with each stage building on the previous one.

The daily rhythm combines morning meditation and yoga, two principal workshop blocks, communal meals and evening workshops or closing practices, allowing participants to experience the programme as a continuous process rather than a series of isolated sessions.

What does The Sacred Descent aim to offer?

One of the defining characteristics of an immersive retreat is continuity.

Instead of participating in an individual workshop and immediately returning to everyday responsibilities, participants have five consecutive days in which the themes and practices can be explored progressively and subsequently integrated.

The Sacred Descent is designed to offer participants:

- greater awareness of recurring patterns and subconscious beliefs;

- an opportunity to explore the relationship between emotions, physical responses and behaviour;

- practical approaches to emotional regulation and body awareness;

- dedicated time for reflection outside professional and personal routines;

- exposure to complementary personal-development methodologies within one structured programme;

- space to explore themes including control, personal narratives, emotional expression and identity;

- an integration process intended to help translate insights from the experience into everyday life.

The retreat is positioned as a facilitated personal-development and wellbeing experience, rather than a substitute for medical or psychological treatment.

Importantly, the process does not begin and end in Marbella. Participants also receive a pre-retreat opening call and a post-retreat coaching call, creating continuity around the residential programme.

Two founders, complementary expertise

The methodology behind The Sacred Descent reflects the complementary professional backgrounds of its two co-founders.

Oana Rațiu, Transformational Facilitator and Women’s Centered Coach, is trained in PSYCH-K®, EFT, Reiki, Sound Healing and New Code NLP. Her work focuses on subconscious beliefs, emotional patterns and the relationship between internal processes and personal transformation.

Felice Langkamp works with somatic practices and subconscious reprogramming, bringing a body-centred perspective to the programme and exploring the relationship between physical responses, emotional patterns and behavioural change.

Their collaboration reflects a wider development within the wellness sector: the movement towards multidisciplinary experiences in which cognitive, emotional and somatic practices are integrated rather than approached separately.

Five days and seven symbolic gates

The five-day structure follows a clear progression.

Day 1 – Arrival introduces participants to the framework through an opening ceremony and the story behind The Sacred Descent.

Day 2 – The Upper Gates explores patterns and beliefs, control, somatic practice and sound healing.

Day 3 – The Middle Gates moves into personal narratives, breathwork, voice and the concept of emotional and personal “armour”.

Day 4 – The Lowest Gates focuses on suppressed emotions, false identity and the relationship with self, concluding with a sunset ceremony.

Day 5 – The Return is dedicated to integration, the closing process and the transition back into everyday life.

The structure is intentionally sequential. Yoga, breathwork, somatic practices, subconscious work and other methodologies are incorporated into the broader progression rather than presented as stand-alone wellness activities.

Marbella and Viluz: the environment as part of the programme

The physical environment is another deliberate component of The Sacred Descent.

The retreat will take place at Viluz Luxury Well-being Resort, a boutique wellbeing property located in the foothills of Sierra de las Nieves, overlooking the Mediterranean and close to Marbella.

Set across a private four-hectare estate, Viluz combines natural surroundings with dedicated spaces for individual and group wellbeing practices.

The property includes a 110 sqm indoor multifunctional Temple, a circular meditation room, treatment rooms and a spa with hammam, sauna and scrub shower.

Outside, the estate features a 200 sqm deck designed for yoga, meditation and ceremonies, a swimming pool, natural swimming lake, meditation areas, an ice bath and dedicated breathwork platform, gardens and secluded areas for reflection.

Accommodation is provided in Deluxe Rooms with private terraces and views towards the sea, mountains, gardens or lake.

The residential programme includes five days and four nights of accommodation, three organic meals per day, all workshops and practices, professional photography, the pre-retreat opening call and the post-retreat coaching call.

Located approximately 35 minutes from Málaga Airport, 10 minutes from the beaches and 25 minutes from the historic centres of Marbella and Mijas Pueblo, Viluz combines accessibility with the privacy required for an immersive programme.

The rise of immersive wellness

The Sacred Descent also illustrates a broader evolution within the international wellness market.

As the sector grows, the value proposition is increasingly moving beyond individual services towards curated experiences that combine methodology, destination, professional facilitation, community and continuity.

For women navigating demanding professional and personal environments, this creates space for a different approach to wellbeing: one that is not limited to temporary recovery from stress, but focuses on awareness, emotional wellbeing and sustainable personal development.

At the intersection of women’s wellbeing, immersive wellness and international wellness tourism, The Sacred Descent translates these trends into a structured five-day experience.

The first edition of The Sacred Descent will take place from 21–25 October 2026 at Viluz Luxury Well-being Resort, Marbella, Spain.

OANA RAȚIU | Co-Founder, The Sacred Descent

“Many of the patterns that influence the way we make decisions, respond to pressure or relate to ourselves operate below the level of conscious awareness. At The Sacred Descent, my work focuses on bringing these patterns into awareness and creating the conditions in which women can examine the beliefs and emotional responses that may no longer serve them. By combining subconscious work with coaching, EFT and other integrative practices, the intention is to move beyond intellectual understanding towards meaningful, sustainable change.”

FELICE LANGKAMP | Co-Founder, The Sacred Descent

“Personal development is often approached primarily through the mind, but our experiences and responses are also reflected in the body. My work within The Sacred Descent brings a somatic perspective to the process, combining body awareness, nervous system regulation and subconscious reprogramming. The intention is to help participants recognise their responses not only cognitively, but also through the body, and to develop a deeper awareness of how these patterns influence the way they experience everyday life.”

It is precisely this combination of subconscious and somatic work that defines the methodology behind The Sacred Descent. While Rațiu’s work focuses on beliefs, emotional patterns and subconscious processes, Langkamp brings the body and nervous system into the equation, allowing the five-day programme to approach personal development from complementary perspectives."

More about the SACRED DESCENT RETREAT: https://www.thesacreddescentworld.com/