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MEET THE FOUNDERS
We’re Richa and Saguna — best friends who found that our deepest healing happened not in solitude, but together.
Maya is a practice and a community born from our Thursday hangouts. What started as a simple commitment to meet every week — after reconnecting at a friend’s wedding — slowly became something sacred. We did yoga, breathwork, meditation, journaling, and endless deep reflective conversations. In each other’s company, we discovered that self-love and radical self-acceptance weren’t just ideas — they were what truly carried us through our own healing journeys.
Neither of us had a straight path. But the thing that helped us both, more than anything else, was learning to love ourselves as we were — and to let someone else witness that process without judgment.
Maya is our way of sharing that safe space. The one we found in each other. Because healing doesn’t have to be a lonely path. In fact, some of its most powerful moments happen when we stop walking alone.
RICHA
I trained as an architect, but my path curved into interior and graphic design. My healing journey taught me that the most important space I could ever design was the one inside myself.
Self-love and radical self-acceptance didn't come easily to me. I had to learn them slowly, over years — not months. My relationship with healing practices runs deep and long. I've sat with them on quiet mornings, in breakdowns, and in moments of unexpected grace.
Few years back, I felt called to go deeper. So I went to Vipassana (10 Days Silent Retreat) — not to escape, but to truly connect with myself. To give myself the gift of being just by myself, with no distractions. Those 10 days were some of the most deeply reflective of my life. I really felt connected to my mind, my body, and my soul. Through that practice, I was introduced to the world of sensations — those mild, quiet feelings I could only access when I sat still enough to listen. It changed how I relate to myself.
Coming out of that stillness, I realized that the gentlest, most lasting practice I could bring into my everyday life was also the simplest: positive self-talk. Affirmations saved me. They still do. Learning to speak to myself the way I would speak to someone I love — that became my ongoing practice.
Last year, I started offering healing hangouts to my friends and community — guided meditation, expressive art, breathwork. Just showing up, holding space, and watching what happens when people feel safe enough to be real.
Then, at the beginning of this year, I began slow traveling through South America. I carried those healing hangouts with me — sharing them in hostels, in quiet apartments, under open skies. Wherever I went, I kept creating that same safe container. And everywhere I went, people showed up, opened up, and reminded me why I love doing this.
I'm writing this bio from Colombia, so grateful for how far a little self-love can carry you.
Travel taught me this: you tend to attract the kind of person you are. Country after country, I kept meeting warm, kind souls. Some became lifelong friends. I don't think that's just luck. I think when you do your own healing, the right people have a way of finding you.
At Maya, I'll be sharing what actually helped me — guided meditation, expressive art, and breathwork. Not as someone who has arrived, but as someone still walking the path.
SAGUNA
I am a certified yoga instructor and certified stretch therapist. I am deeply passionate about sharing the practices that have supported me on my own healing journey. My healing journey began with yoga asana practice during a time when I was experiencing anxiety and constant overthinking. My mind often felt overwhelmed and caught in cycles of spiraling thoughts.I was grateful to discover yoga because it helped calm my mind.
Over time, I completed my yoga teacher training and began learning about the other limbs of yoga. I also started practicing breathwork and meditation, which led to powerful experiences and a deeper connection with myself. In addition, I completed a 10-day silent meditation retreat, known as Vipassana, which further deepened my practice.
I have found great value in exploring and practicing the different limbs of yoga, as each one offers something meaningful and supportive depending on what I need in the moment. These practices continue to support me every day.
After completing my teacher training, I became involved in the yoga community in Kansas, for which I will always be grateful. The people I met through yoga truly felt like home, and they remain an important part of my support system. The sense of community and shared experience has been a vital part of my healing journey.
Even after moving from Kansas to New York, community continued to play an important role in my life. I am grateful to have connected with Richa, and together we began offering Healing Hangout gatherings inspired from our own weekly healing hangouts for our friends, which have been incredibly meaningful.Participating in art, yogic practices, and shared experiences with friends helps me feel more connected to the world and allows me to explore deeper layers of myself. These gatherings have become an important part of my week, and I always look forward to them.
I look forward to continuing this work and sharing the practices that have helped me along my journey. Yoga provides me with a roadmap for navigating the challenges of everyday life.
In my sessions, I incorporate breathing exercises, guided meditation, and yoga flow. I bring together the practices that have been most supportive throughout my journey. Everything I teach comes from both personal experience and the tools that have contributed to my healing, growth, and well-being.
With lots of Maya (means love in Nepali) — thank you for being here.
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© 2026 by Maya.