We at BUHAY RETREATS value diversity and inclusiveness. We are a wellness community that aims to help people improve their way of life through different wellness practices such as yoga and movement, meditation, arts and crafts, traditional healing methods, and the plant-based lifestyle to name a few. Together we want to move, learn, and explore different methods that can be beneficial to our body, mind, and spirit. Through our different events and workshops we wish to bring together a community of like-minded individuals that share the same passion for living a better way of life.
MEET THE COMMUNITY
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Teachers Bry Reyes and Shiela Matias both facilitated Buhay's first ever Yoga and Wellness Retreat in Dumaguete last February 2020.
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Bry Reyes practices and teaches Rocket, Ashtanga, Yin, and Vinyasa. She has been practicing yoga since March 2013 and has been teaching since March 2015.
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Shiela Matias always seeking new ways to inspire growth and transformation by constantly refining her own asana practice, she shares techniques that accommodate different types of bodies at any level of practice.
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Bry and Shiela are two of the Philippines' leading certified Rocket Yoga teachers. They share their knowledge of the practice in different yoga studios around the Metro and they also hold different kinds of yoga workshops online.
You can visit their page @rocketyogaphilippines to learn more about what they do and the classes they offer!
Teacher Karen facilitated BUHAY's online event on Essential Oils last June. She is in constant pursuit of additional yoga studies, anatomy, and movement courses, and has also branched out into body working.
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Karen has been teaching yoga since 2009. She is trained to teach Ashtanga Yoga, Core Strength Vinyasa, Yin Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, and Postnatal Yoga.
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She has also trained for Traditional Chinese Medicine in The Ateneo de Manila University, Dual Zone Myofascial Release Therapy in FTI Singapore, Anatomy Trains in Motion, Slings Essentials, and Part 1 of Slings Myofascial Training, Thai massage under the International Training Massage School of Thailand, and Yoga Therapy with Mark Yao.
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Karen learned about Young Living in 2016 and trained with The Center for Aromatherapy Reasearch and Education in New York to learn more about the chemistry of essential oils and the Raindrop Technique.
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She is also the mentor of The Oils You Love Everyday (OYLED) group.
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AÜA was our passionate and inspiring facilitator for our Going Plant-Based online event.
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Food is one of her biggest passions in life and her goal is to share her plant-based journey with everyone and how it has changed her life for the better over the years.
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AÜA is a multi-hyphen entrepreneur by trade and a passionate cook at heart. An ex-omnivore, she tried going plant-based as a dare and has discovered the many physical, mental, and emotional benefits of this new lifestyle.
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Rediscovering her relationship with food and cooking, she is now an advocate who is always happy to share fun, plant-full meals and ideas with everyone.
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Check out her website lifewithaua.com to know more about her plant-based journey!
Andy Tonda, founder of Breathe Easy Remedies - a simple, plant-based skincare brand that offers accessible, mindful, and cruelty-free products inspired by everyday rituals, hosted our talk on SELF-CARE RITUALS: Simple ways to hold space for yourself and fill your cup in these unpredictable times.
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Born and raised in the Philippines, Andy now lives in London where she runs a small business called Breathe Easy Remedies - a brand that is focused on creating effective and environmentally low impact products that can support a more sustainable lifestyle. Woven into this she is also a DJ, and a dedicated yogi. Very inspired by the ancient healing systems of Ayurveda and TCM, she is an advocate of incorporating simple daily rituals into her lifestyle that contribute to boosting immunity, raising her vibration and increasing overall vitality and well-being.
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You can shop for her products at breatheeasyremedies.com and you can also give her a follow on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/user/andrea.tonda for some nice tunes to go with your daily self-care routine practices!
Lee Grane is a singer/songwriter from the Philippines, whose voice and music evokes an ethereal quality that has the ability to transport and captivate listeners deeply into the world of sound. She has the uncanny ability to tune in to the living breathing element of sound and share its resonance with others.
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She shares her voice, singing mantras and healing music at kirtan events and yoga festivals. The practice of chanting and meditation drew her to the path of yoga in 2012. Felt the yearning to have greater understanding and experience the depth of sound, she followed this call and ventured into the study of Nada Yoga, where music is the primary sensory element that brings forth deep states of consciousness and overall well being. She received and completed her training at the Nada Yoga School in the foothills of Rishikesh, India, birthplace of Yoga, studying Indian classical music, Bhajans, Sanskrit mantras and Hatha Yoga under the tutelage of a team of Indian master teachers.
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Today she bridges both world, reaching different communities. She offers Nada Yoga, sound meditation sessions, leads kirtans, and SpiritSongs and Soul Rhythms and keeping true to her love of singing, serenading audiences in different cities and musical venues.
Sekar is a mother of two and an expat here in the Philippines. She has travelled the world and enjoys food and sharing this with her family.
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If there's anything she's passionate about, it's fitness, cooking, and travel. She puts importance in eating well, living healthy, and being happy wherever she may be in the world.
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She is the friendliest person you can ever meet and is so full of life, A rainy day won't stop her from creating her own sunshine.
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You can follow her Instagram account @expat_fitfood_mom to know more about her! She also features really cool food art that can inspire you for your next bonding activity with your children.
Chloe Romero is a surfer and yoga teacher based in Manila.
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Trained in the Philippines and Bali, she is certified in Vinyasa and specializes in teaching The Rocket (Progressive Ashtanga) in the tradition of Larry Schultz. She is currently immersed in the study of Katonah Yoga under Abbie Galvin.
Chloe is the co-founder of Yoga|Break, a community-based yoga practice. Her classes are inspired by her diverse lineage, and reflective of her own self practice: challenging, playful, yet accessible and introspective.
Ria Tirazona is a yoga facilitator/therapist and educator. She also holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology and is a licensed psychologist from the Philippines.
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A self-confessed emotional eater, her struggle with weight has opened her up to new ways of celebrating her body and treating herself with love and compassion. This is what inspires her to share the practice. Her passion as a yoga facilitator and therapist is to support and empower others in discovering their personal path to wellness through trauma-informed, body positive, accessible, and mental health aware practices such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness. She likewise wants to let people know that indeed, yoga is for EVERY BODY.
Her background in psychology is a huge boon to the way she holds space for others, as it’s helped her work with everyone from beginners to older and less active students, plus people with injuries, chronic illnesses, and people with weight, emotional, or mental concerns. Her nurturing yet playful classes are relaxing while being surprisingly challenging. She emphasizes building strength and functionality in movement while harnessing softness in the body and mind. Follow her yoga insights on Instagram at @biggerbodyyogaph, as she takes on life, one asana at a time.
Prem started his fitness journey in Las Vegas when he discovered HIIT pilates back in 2013.
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Since then, he has taught over 2,000 HIIT Pilates classes and has introduced the method in Australia, New Zealand, and in 2017, the Philippines. On top of being a HIIT man, Prem is also a certified yoga instructor. He completed his 200H Hatha Yoga teacher training in Mysore, India back in 2017.
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Besides selling burgers, Sabina has dabbled in CrossFit and powerlifting since 2014 and 2019.
Sabina Yulo is part-owner of burger joint Buns & Bros and full owner of two cats named Trevor and Timmy. Growing up a “chubby” kid in Manila, Sabina is no stranger to the thin Filipino ideals of “beauty.” After years of trying to live up to that standard and feeling like less of a person for failing, she came across the concept of body positivity and has spent the last year learning more about it and sharing concepts to whoever wants to listen.
With her knowledge of nutrition, fitness, and body positivity, she enjoys having discussions about finding what lifestyle and mindset makes you happy, healthy, and feel your best self.