Introduction

I love reading introductions of different companies and learning a bit more about their brand’s purpose.

Retreats

I'm Chelsea, the creator of Caya Retreats. I started hosting yoga and wellness retreats in 2018 and realized during our first retreat, that the majority of guests were opening up about some sort of trauma they had experienced during their lifetime. I felt there was a need to greater service my students, whether they identified with trauma or not. I wanted to create a container for people to feel safe and process these emotions in a healthy way. I wanted to give people tools to help their nervous system and take ownership of their life.

In 2019, I became a trauma certified yoga instructor. Now, each retreat is facilitated in a way that gives ownership to the guest. We use somatic movements that allow us to come out of our heads and tap into any stuck or repressed emotions in the body. We use language that gives power and control to the practitioner. We encourage guests to choose how they spend their time, create healthy boundaries and listen to their needs.

Yoga

I started practicing yoga in 2006 when I broke my knee cap playing field hockey. I used yoga as a way to rehab my body, but noticed it affected my mental state even more so.

Yoga has taken me many places, both in the world and inside myself. I’ve learned to adapt, to modify and to be fluid in my life thanks to my practice. I find great solstice from heavy experiences of my past on the mat and through yoga.

Aside from the trauma aspect of my teaching, much of my yoga style is anatomy based, focusing on alignment and cueing form over flexibility. Through proper alignment and sequencing, you will energetically connect to the poses on a deeper level, sometimes experiencing an emotional release. I love watching students evolve physically, emotionally and spiritually through their yoga practice.

Hospitality & Wine

In college I studied Hospitality and Tourism Management while co-majoring in Marketing. I love anticipating travelers' needs and have always been curious about what drives people to travel. A true hospitality junkie, I have an appreciative eye for small details and love to create ways in which each guest feels seen.

I've worked in restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, concert venues, branding, public relations and marketing. I think it's really important to not overlook the smaller roles in the industry, as they often have the most guest contact and can make or break someone's overall experience.

Being involved in front line positions has taught me most about how people want to be treated - as an employee AND guest. Hospitality feels like home to me. I love the pace, the chaos, the unpredictability.

From a young age, I grew up curious about wine. My dad, a wine enthusiast, would describe wines to me like he was telling a story: where they came from, the history of the land, the way the climate that year affected the harvests. During my time in Hospitality School, I started the journey of becoming a Sommelier, but life went in a different direction at the time. I decided to table my studies to work more. Still, my passion for wine has led me to Italy, France, Spain and California.

The best way to get to know a grape is to touch it, run your hands through the soil, to know the names of its growers. It’s still a story to me, a fairytale of sorts. Traveling to a new destination and learning about its wine is like meeting your friends' parents for the first time. Suddenly, so many things click and you're able to understand and appreciate your friend on a much deeper level. Meeting the wine where it’s grown not only gives the glass a true personality, it makes it hard to forget.

Writing

I spent a chunk of my twenties writing poems under the pseudonym Bursera Grave. What a time to be alive. I had a writing studio at Viking Mills in Kensington, Philadelphia that hosted Monday Night Writers, a group of dedicated writers who met once weekly to write, workshop pieces and get creative.

It was during this time in Philadelphia that I dabbled in art and street art. I posted poems in sticker form all over the city and everywhere I traveled - I was traveling a lot at the time. I hung at galleries alongside Banksy and Shepard Fairey and had a few solo shows of my own.

Mothering

In January of 2018 I became a mother to a force of a daughter we named Waverly James. My whole mind and body changed when I became pregnant. My creativity and productivity dipped, a lot. I wanted so badly to be fueled with inspiration and create beautiful art and poetry, but, it all kind of fizzled out as time passed.

Right before the pandemic, we decided Wavy needed a sibling and started trying for a second child. In February of 2021, we had another daughter, Willow June.

As a mother, it can be hard taking time away from the girls to lead retreats; sometimes I’m out of the country for two weeks at a time, but it’s my life’s calling. I think it’s very important for parents, especially women, to model that we exist as human beings with individual needs, as well as parents. There is healing in community, and I get to witness it firsthand with each retreat.

Our Team

None of this would exist without the team behind the brand that holds space for healing. There have been amazing photographers, chefs, food suppliers, yoga instructors, co-hosts, web designers, lawyers, calligraphers, graphic designers, hosts, retreat liaisons and so, so many more amazing people that make Caya Retreats what it is today. Because of our amazing team, we are able to host multiple retreats a year and create collective healing experiences.

Immersive Experience

During a Caya Retreat, we typically travel somewhere immersive, meaning, you can really get lost in the culture of that location. Be it cozying up to the fire, living the mountain-side lifestyle of the Catskills, surfing ankle biters at sunset in Costa Rica, or letting yourself get lost in the winding cobblestone alleys of Puglia, we try to maximize curiously living like a local when you travel. Each place is carefully selected based on upscale service, quality and unforgettable food. Locations are often scouted and booked years in advance with much thought and consideration going into each retreat. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Future

Since the beginning, the retreats have been yoga based. In the future, I hope Caya Retreats will morph into a travel company of many facets: writing retreats, unplugged nature retreats, food & wine retreats, friendship and couples retreats, etc. While we’re mostly yoga and movement based, we still make time for a multitude and variety of activities like nature walks, journaling and happy hours.

xo