Our Team

Founder & Center Director, Naturopathic Physician, Psychotherapist, Gerson Practitioner

Dr. Maya Nicole Baylac graduated in psychology at the University of Toulouse, France, in 1965 and obtained an additional degree in social psychology at the Institute of Psychology, Paris, in 1966. She received her medical degree at the Portland National College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2001.

She is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OncANP) and the International Natural Hygiene Society (INHS).

Dr. Baylac has been trained by the Gerson Institute to supervise the Gerson Therapy regimen of nutrition and detoxification for cancer and degenerative disease.

In addition she completed a residential internship at Dr. Alec Burton’s fasting center in Australia. She further acquired a specialty in Reichian Breathwork therapy.

Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist and Clinical Consulting Hypnotist

Susan Bambara is a Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist and Clinical Consulting Hypnotist, offering Hypnosis services, since 2005, first in Universal City, California and then locally in East Hawaii since 2011.

Susan’s clinical Hypnosis experience started in a dental setting including at the USC Dental School Low-Income Outreach Care, while in study of Pain Control Hypnosis Techniques, also Hospital, Hospice and In-home experience including work with PTSD relaxation techniques, sleep support, Pre-and-Post Surgical, as well as Cancer Chemo/Radiation, Health and Wellness support using Clinical Hypnosis techniques to provide support in symptom reduction of pain, nausea, and anxiety, as well as empowering clients to take an active role in the management of their, procedures, processes, treatments and/or positive health life changes for the body, mind and spirit.

Hypnosis is an effective supplemental therapeutic modality for mind, body, and spirit support not limited to, but including:

1. Management and successful empowering tools for worry, sadness, anger, and frustration,
2. Management of pain, fatigue, and insomnia,
3. Management of side-effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, such as nausea or sleep improvement needs,
4. Visualization to promote health improvement, easeful surgical procedures, speedy recovery and healing.

By successfully addressing these areas, studies have shown that hypnosis improves the individual quality of life and life expectancy. Hypnosis helps “ordinary people with ordinary problems” as well as can help in the management and improvement of clinical issues, wherein sometimes a doctor’s prescription will be requested.

It is an amazing and wonderful process that I absolutely love to share with others in both group and individual sessions.

Mahalo, Peace & Blessings,
Susan

“Change Your Mind & Keep that Change”

For further information, please visit: http://www.thehypnospa.com/

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Therapist, Watsu & Aquatic Bodywork, Licensed Massage Therapist

Lilia is a native of Italy, where she attended six years of Medical School and with a Master’s in Journalism became a publicist specializing in health and medical matters. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist specializing in Lomi Lomi, Deep Tissue, Swedish, Shiatsu, Emotional Freedom Technique, Energy Psychology and Cranial-Sacral. She is a Reiki Master, a Breathwork professional, and is registered with the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association as a Hydrotherapy Watsu Therapist & Instructor, Healing Dance Therapist and Waterdance Practitioner.

She has created and developed two modalities, Dolphin Dance and Quantum Leap Healing, which she practices and teaches. She loves to integrate healing techniques in an original synthesis aimed at aligning body, heart, mind and spirit, and to share the gift of holistic therapies with clients and students in spa, clinical and private practice.

Lilia understands that sometimes we come to transitions in our life when we feel a silent cry inside, manifesting in the form of physical or psychological pain. It is at these times of chronic suffering or “breakdown” that an opportunity is presented to reevaluate our choices and the paradigms we based them upon. The “emergency” can then be revealed as an “emergence”, during which the potential for different solutions is discovered and harnessed to suggest new directions and reframe the crisis to a chance for a ‘quantum leap”.
For further information please visit www.aquaticdance.com.

Licensed Acupuncturist, Licensed Massage Therapist

Michael Ceraso L.Ac. LMT began studying healing arts in 2001 at ITM in Chiang Mai Thailand. He has studied numerous modalities including Bare Foot Shiatsu, Cranial Sacral therapy and Polarity therapy.

He has been a licensed massage therapist since 2003. He is a graduate of Hawaii College of Oriental medicine and has been a licensed acupuncturist since 2014.

Currently his practice focuses primarily on Kiiko Matsumoto Style Japanese Acupuncture,a palpation-based style, which utilizes a systematic palpation method that is used to assess the patient’s presentation and monitor the effects of the treatment while the patient is still on the treatment table.

Craniosacral Therapy & Lymph Drainage Therapy

Through her caring touch, Val hopes to help you feel comforted, safe and secure so you may receive relief and healing from physical or emotional trauma.

I have been a licensed massage therapist for over 20 years, since receiving my diploma from McKinnon Institute, Oakland, CA. She was employed for over 14 years as Director of Fitness & Massage, Oakland Hills Tennis Club, Oakland, CA, SF Bay Area.

In 2005 she became certified in Craniosacral Therapy through The Upledger Institute. She enhances her touch therapy skills annually through continuing education with Upledger & the International Alliance of Health Education. In 2013 she became certified in Lymph Drainage Therapy through Chikly Health Institute.

After relocating to Hawaii, Val graduated from Hawaii Massage Academy and received my Hawaii State License in 2009. Until 2011, she was employed as Administrator and Head Instructor at HEISEI International Institute of Massage.

Through the power of healing touch Val makes patients feel better and make a difference in patients’ lives. She has a particular interest in craniosacral therapy for anxiety, depression and PTSD.

For further information, please visit: http://www.craniosacraltherapy.abmp.com/

Chef, Exercise Therapist, Yogalates, Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching

Even though I was happily born, raised and living in Germany my curiosity and sense of adventure spurred me to travel extensively. First throughout Europe, then Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the west coast of the USA and from there the Big Island of Hawaii. I immediately fell in love with the island which has been my pristine home ever since.

In 2005 while living for a few months in San Francisco my interest in teaching fitness was sparked and I was certified as a group fitness instructor. My love for yoga inspired me to join a Yoga Teacher Intensive based on a Vinyasa Flow with Darren Main from San Francisco. A Pilates work shop and a second Group Fitness Course followed in 2007. In 2009 I enjoyed a Yoga teacher Training with Baptiste Power Yoga and in 2012 I continued pursuing my love for yoga in a 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training with Cloud Nine Yoga from L.A. All the while enthusiastically teaching at fitness studios and Kalani Honua Oceanside Retreat Center as well as offering personal training sessions.

Besides sport, I love preparing and eating amazingly tasty and healthy foods. Nourishing my body is a passion and inspiring others to do the same brought me to IIN, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, where I was certified as a Health Coach in December 2011. Preparing meals is not just making food, it is art, and I love showing people that healthy foods are fun and enjoyable.

Fun is definitely an important part of my life and a prerequisite for a healthy body and mind. I am always interested and studying new classes and ways of how to increase happiness in one`s life through guided meditations, paraliminals, gratitude practices, appreciation, dancing, art.

Most of all I love life and people. I enjoy teaching, coaching, and entertaining through fabulously healthy foods as well as fire dancing, an art form which I have been practicing for about 15 years.
Mainly, I feel really blessed to be doing what I love.

Personal Trainer, Certified Stott Pilates Instructor, TRX Suspension Trainer

Daina Fawn is the artistic director of Charisma Dance Theater, owner of Transcendence LLC – Home of East Pilates Hawaii, a Certified Stott Pilates instructor, TRX trainer, Acro yoga Montreal teacher, Thai yoga massage practitioner, RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher), Zumba & SOMA fitness instructor. Daina has trained with, Arlene Bjork, master yoga trainer; Pilobolus dancer Kent Lindemer; Richard Rossiter, master Pilates trainer; Cleo Parker, Gabrielle Roth and the list goes on.

She has been a passionate scholar of dance, Pilates, yoga and the healing arts in universities all over the USA. Daina danced and taught dance professionally for Charisma Dance and the Latin Ballet of Virginia. She has 11 years of experience teaching Stott Pilates and 15-year teaching dance. She fell in love with dance and movement as a spiritual practice 22 years ago and it continues to be the thing that feeds her soul.

Her Pilates studio is a scenic stroll away from the retreat center and an extremely fun way to get the body in shape!
You can visit Daina online at: http://eastpilateshawaii.vpweb.com.

Chef, Advanced Surfer

Ian comes to us most recently from a life lived aboard private yachts as chef, where he developed a passion for a more intimate relationship between patron and culinarian. Inspired by his love of the outdoors, water sports, clean living, and being a health motivated vegan, he naturally progressed into the healing and raw food world. When not creating dishes provided by our islands bountiful selection of organic produce, you can most likely find him chasing waves at some secret Big Island break.

Ian’s first job was pizza cook, and he worked in kitchens until he was twenty. At that age he joined the family business in Real Estate finance where he excelled at streamlining the operations and production flow of a major lender. He transferred offices from Seattle, Honolulu, Sonoma, to Miami, assisting the top producing processing centers in the country. Eventually he partnered with an old colleague to start a boutique company specializing in higher end, complicated transactions, agriculture and commercial properties. All throughout this time Ian was vegan, most of the time raw vegan, cooking for himself.

After a transformative life experience he had a moment of clarity and realized that making money was not as important as he originally thought and he needed to step away from the career that he had built and that he needed to do some soul searching. He jumped on a boat in New Zealand and never looked back. During this journey he re-discovered his love for the ocean and preparing food for people. Ian quickly established a good reputation working on yachts as a private chef.

Although he enjoy the challenge of being on the ocean and working on boats, his true passion is the food that he eats himself, which is purely plant based. He finds that the flavor profiles possible in plant based and raw vegan cuisine are far more diverse than anything he can find eating conventionally prepared dishes.

Ian is now focused on continuing to identify and create new dishes based on local island produce, and bring awareness to the necessity of leading a well-balanced and happy life. He is applying his passion and skill at the Aloha Wellness Café, downtown Hilo, and Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center and continues to grow in his understanding of each ingredient as it pertains to healing applications and food being medicine. In the long term Ian would like to create a school for plant-based food preparation chef training.

Thai-Yoga-Massage Therapist

Makana Imig ventured to Thailand over ten years ago and took a Thai massage course with a Master named Asokananda, the founder of the Sunshine Network of Thai Massage. She was so fascinated by this bodywork that she stayed first for month, and then for years, studying with several senior teachers of the sunshine network and with the Thai Master Pichet Boonthumme and the Senior Teacher of the Blind Practitioners, Sinchai Sukwasdee. This fascination never subsided and is still increasing, as she dives deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the body and the soul.

Thai massage has a 2,500 year-old tradition and is a wonderful and very effective technique to relieve muscle pain and to mobilize the joints. Rooted in the concept that energy lines called SEN run through the body, as long as there is a free flow of energy we remain healthy. Disturbance of the flow, however, leads to disease and illness. To regain health and re-establish the equilibrium of our energy, we need to release these blocks to promote a free flow of blood. This supports a proper blood supply with nutrients and drainage of the lymph.

All techniques used in Thai massage serve to open and balance the energy in the body with meridian work and yoga-like stretches. It is a whole body massage, traditionally on a mat on the floor, dressed in loose pants and a loose shirt. A session can be either relaxing or therapeutic, depending on the needs of the person.

Facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie, Trained Gerson Therapy Home Caregiver

A Polish native, Witold aka “Witek” has globe trotted from Alaska to Mexico, Europe and India. He began residence at the Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center in 2004, where he is a therapist specializing in The Work of Byron Katie, a Gerson Therapy home caregiver, and can be found working around the retreat center on various projects. He enjoys the retreat environment it is a place where he engages with likeminded people and it keeps him focused on his own health.

While in India, Witek studied with an Ayurvedic Doctor and learned how to give Ayurvedic treatments. He is passionate about non-dualism, teachings from Ramana Maharishi that offer a path to enlightenment and disillusion of ego. He also has a passion for carpentry, swimming in the ocean, canoeing, snorkeling, hiking, mountain biking – especially the trails in Volcano National Park.

Witek discovered The Work in 1998 and became part of the founding staff of The Work Center in Barstow California, where he lived and worked with Byron Katie. He did the work himself as part of his own profound healing and helped put the curriculum together for the school. The Work discovers the root cause of stress or suffering or emotional burden. Then, like a good disease cure, treats the root cause (not symptom) and supports the discovery of deep peace & freedom.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Brain Gym, Hypnotherapy, Reiki, Psych-K

Shakti has been practicing healing work for the last 20 years, exploring a variety of techniques that support and empower individuals to heal themselves.

Her first training came from Educational Kinesiology (Brain Gym) where she’s shared brain gym movements in her role as a Circus Arts Teacher with the Hiccup Circus. Next, she became a certified Hypnotherapist and an Emotional Freedom Techniques Practitioner. Shakti spent two years teaching special education teachers & students/parents here in Hawaii these tools specifically for de-stressing, relieving test anxiety, and improving learning, focus, and performance in the classroom. All of these techniques are tools that Shakti has used in her own personal growth. Shakti has acquired the gift of reading the body and helping her clients release blocks to their freedom and success.

Shakti has worked to create change and peace in the world, and believes that it’s an inside job! Her own healing journey has been transforming her own “inner mean girl”, critic, judge into what she calls finding the “Star Within.” Shakti help her clients discover and unleash limiting beliefs that are holding them back so that they can lead the life they desire.

Shakti loves teaching tools to empower, inspire, and motivate people to help themselves and turn their dreams into reality. As a mother, she’s been able to nurture and support her daughter’s passion and career in the circus arts. Her experience as a mother has been a true gift, and it has inspired her to continue helping others to love themselves so that they can shine and spread their gifts in the world.

Shakti is the publisher of Puna Happenings- a local network for events and activities in the area (www.PunaHappenings.com); you can visit her websites at: www.integratedenergybalancing.com or www.findthestarwithin.com.

Osho’s Active Meditation, Trance Dance, Mayan Bath, Soul Hunting

In 1991, Shola began her personal healing journey in Italy, where she was an active student and teacher at acclaimed holistic healing center, SoleLuna. During her 12 years at SoleLuna, Shola received certification in Trance Dance, Soul Hunting, Osho’s Meditation techniques and many other body, mind and spirit modalities. Later, she became a graduate of 9 Gates Mystery School in California. Shola is experienced in fire walking, sweat lodge ceremonies, and other shamanic traditions, including Mayan, Aztec and Inca. In 2003, she came to Kalani as a staff member for a shamanic retreat facilitated by Wilbert Alix. Shola felt such a strong connection to this land that she quickly called it home. She has found through inward exploration and external experiences that her best teacher is still and always Mother Earth.

Shola is a very curious being that craves and creates powerful experiences. She fully believes that in order to change something in this world, we must be the change, first. The healing practices that she offers focus on the journey inward, to nourish the Self from one’s center. She believes an intimate relationship with one’s self takes willingness and practice to develop, as it is the most important relationship for us.

Through her shamanic modalities, Shola facilitates a reconnection of ancestral awareness and the natural environment. This connection to the land holds healing beyond human capability, and once established, it can assist in transformational healing. Shola feels blessed to be able to continue her life work and share her gifts on this island, where Mother Earth is so alive and vibrant.

“Inside each of us is a master. In order to know this master, we must spend time with it.”

Licensed Massage Therapist, Yoga Instructor, Meditation Facilitator, Ecotherapy Tour Guide

Banka has spent much of her life as a seeker, student, and spiritual practitioner. At the young age of 13, Banka first started meditating. Her teacher at that time was her mother, Sheila. Buddhism has been an important element of Banka’s study and practice. She lived at Tassajara Monastery and Green Dragon Temple where she practiced a strict discipline of Zen Buddhist meditation, chanting, and silence.

In 1994 Banka received ordination (Jukai) from her teacher Reb Tenshin Anderson. She then went to France to study with Thich Nhat Hanh, and in 1995 received the 5 Precepts Ordination. India called to Banka, and she had the great fortune to go on a pilgrimage and study with HH the Dalai Lama, receiving White Tara Empowerment in 1997.

Since that time Banka has studied yoga intently, receiving many certifications along the way and bringing a wealth of experience and understanding of yoga into her teaching. In 2003 Banka completed her first teacher training at Kalani with Kathy Elder. Her second yoga teacher training, in 2007, was in the Sivananda method. Also in 2007 Banka completed her third teacher training in Jivamukti Yoga. And her fourth teacher training came in 2015 in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. Banka became an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher in 2015.

Healthy, peaceful lifestyle and nutritious diet has also been a focus and force of study for Banka. She is certified in the Kushi Macrobiotic Healing Lifestyle and in the Ann Wigmore Institute Living Foods Lifestyle. Banka has also spent long periods of her life devoted to direct action campaigns to liberate animals, defend forests, anti-nuke, and indigenous rights.

Banka is grateful for her teachers, Shri Sharon Gannon and Shri David Life, co-founders of Jivamukti Yoga.

Banka has spent 5 weeks since 2008, studying, living with and taking care of her teachers in New York.

Banka offers her gratitude to her other teachers; the Earth, animals,plants, trees and the ancestors.

***LOKAH SAMASTA SUKHINO BHAVANTU***

May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts words & actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness & freedom for all.