Meet the Founders and co-creators of ŪNAYA

Co-Founder of ŪNAYA Retreats
Hi, I’m Ksenia
At 18, I left Russia and began traveling alone with nothing but trust and curiosity in my backpack. My journey took me across China and eventually to Indonesia, where I lived with several tribal communities. Those years were filled with encounters—landscapes, cultures, religions, and people—but most profoundly, they brought me face-to-face with parts of myself I hadn’t yet met. What began as an outer journey slowly turned inward.
For the past six years, I’ve been fully devoted to the inner path, exploring the depths of consciousness. This journey has taken me through pain and old wounds, but also into profound spaces of power and light. Through body practices, breathwork, meditation, and various forms of therapy, I’ve learned to meet the uneasy places within me with care, presence, and compassion.
I’m especially drawn to the intricate relationship between the body and mind, and to how personal history and mythology shape the way we experience life. Today, I’m part of a project focused on collective trauma healing and other initiatives dedicated to fostering more harmonious ways of relating—to ourselves, to each other, and to the world.
One of the ways I support others is through private healing sessions with sound and frequency. With a natural sensitivity to the subtle realm, I use sound to access the energy field, helping to move stagnant energy, restore balance, and guide people back into deeper connection with themselves.
My own journey is ongoing, but I now feel a strong call to share what I’ve gathered along the way. At ŪNAYA Retreats, I hold space for others as they turn inward, meet themselves more fully, and remember their wholeness.
Co-Founder of ŪNAYA Retreats
Hi, I’m Chris
Movement has always been a cornerstone of my life. From a young age, I trained and competed as a professional wrestling athlete. The discipline, strength, and focus it demanded shaped not only my body but also my mindset. Wrestling taught me the value of perseverance, balance, and being fully present in the moment.
In 2013, I found myself in India, searching for something deeper. I wasn’t looking for anything specific, but life had other plans. A Buddhist book I stumbled upon spoke about healing - not just for the body, but for the heart and mind too. That simple message cracked something open in me.


By 2015, I returned to India and completed my Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh. Immersed in the sacred energy of that place, I dove into yoga, meditation, and breathwork. Slowly, I began to feel shifts - not just in my body but in how I viewed myself and the world. The practices helped me reconnect with movement in a way that was healing, intuitive, and transformative.
For over a decade now, these practices have been my steady companions - honest, humbling, and deeply grounding. The journey hasn’t been linear; it’s been filled with challenges, growth, and moments of profound clarity. But the tools I’ve learned have always guided me back home to myself.
Before this chapter of my life, I worked as a regional manager in a large telecom company. I understand the relentless pace and pressure of modern life, and I know what it means to yearn for stillness, truth, and connection.
Now, as co-founder of ŪNAYA Retreats, I’m here to share what I’ve gathered - not as a guru, but as a fellow human walking this path. What I offer is what I’ve lived: practices, insights, and experiences that have helped me reconnect to myself.

If you feel called, I invite you to join me. Let’s breathe, move, and grow together. Let’s create honest, present spaces for transformation - where we can show up just as we are.

Anton is a master of steam - a professional parmaster - devoted to the healing art of traditional bathing.
Anton

For years, he has immersed himself in the world of Slavic bathhouse rituals, learning not just techniques but the spirit behind them. His journey has taken him to remote villages, where he gathered forgotten fragments of ancient wisdom, stories, and traditions — echoes of a culture slowly fading. With each ceremony, Anton weaves together these elements, offering not just warmth and steam, but a return to something older, deeper, and profoundly human.

Tatjana
Trained at a classical music conservatory, she brings years of experience as a soloist, ensemble artist, and accompanist. Skilled in piano, accordion, and guitar, Tatiana’s relationship with sound runs deep — not just in technique, but in feeling. Today, she channels this musical wisdom into her work with singing bowls, creating spaces of subtle transformation through sound, resonance, and silence.

Tatiana is a deeply intuitive sound therapist with a lifelong connection to music
Plant Medicine Guides
Miro
Yulia
A healer who has dedicated his life to medicine and helping others, Miro has been holding Ayahuasca ceremonies in the Shipibo-Conibo tradition for over 10 years. He studied in Peru. His icaros open hearts, heal souls, and fill the space with light and love. The icaros come to him as a healing flow, intuitively and uniquely for each person. Being in his field is a great blessing — one we are honored to share with you.
A facilitator and guide in the work with sacred plants. A gatherer of ancient knowledge, songs, and herbs — a devoted student of the plants. Yulia works through deep field sensitivity. She is also a yoga therapist, herbalist, instructor of somatic and breathwork practices, and a leader of women’s and singing circles. Her energy is like a mother’s cradle — enveloping you with gentleness and harmony.
An herbalist, poet, plant student, sound guide, and song circle keeper. Marina supports the Ayahuasca ceremonies and fills the retreat space with warmth and nourishing food.
Marina