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About Maria

**Timely invitation: Please visit this page for an invitation to Peru Night on Saturday, November 11th at the Portland Yoga Project**

Maria Sanchez Herrera is originally from Lima, Peru. For over 20 years she has been helping people empower themselves through befriending their bodies and living their lives with compassion. She teaches yoga, mindfulness, and breathing techniques to women who are survivors of trauma.

Maria is a Kripalu certified yoga instructor with over 200 intensive hours of instruction. Maria is a certified LifeForce Practitioner, which is a yoga practice designed to alleviate depression and anxiety. She has completed an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction training.  Maria has also taken a Trauma Sensitive training with the Boston Trauma Center. She has also completed a 200-hour Kundalini teacher training.

Maria also teaches South American cooking workshops that nourish the mind, body and soul. She is passionate about reestablishing the connection between food and health as a tool to empower others. Growing up with a strong relationship with food, cooking, and community, Maria sees how people can achieve self-sufficiency through growing and cooking their own food. Her students learn that eating healthy does not have to be expensive or complicated, and that it can be both fun and delicious. She believes that a healthy and rich diet is the most powerful medicine and that it can cure almost any ailment. For Maria, cooking is another way she shows her love. She shared that love with Portland as the owner of Inca Roots restaurant for several years and now shares it with the Greater Portland community through cooking classes. She had collaborated with Spiral Arts, Cancer Community Center, Biddeford Adult Education, Cultivating Community, MacAuley Residence, Skillins Greenhouses and The Portland Food Coop.

Maria lives in Portland, Maine with her two daughters. She travels to Peru every year and teaches trauma sensitive yoga in San Martin de Porres, Lima, Peru, where she grew up. She is a cofounder of Friends of Nuestras Raices, an after-school art program for at-risk children and youth.

Maria is available to teach cooking and/or yoga classes for individuals or groups. She can be reached at incaroots@yahoo.com or 207-272-2071.
Find Maria on Facebook, and on Instagram.

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15 Day Spiritual Journey to Peru

8 Open Spots You are invited. Last updated 10/17/2023
Join us in February 18 – March 3, 2024
The Land of the Quero and Aymara Shamans
Cuzco & Puno

Total Cost of the 15 Day Journey: $3,800 (does not include airfare to Peru, see below for details) [click here to register]

This epic 15-day journey takes you directly into the center of the world, Cuzco (literally means belly button), and the heart of Peruvian shamanism offering you the opportunity to participate in Incan ceremonies led by Quero Shamans and Aymara Shamans of the Altiplano and Lake Titicaca area of Puno.

stone building built into the crook of a giant mountain with green and rock tall mountains in the distance
Naupa Iglesia

In Cuzco we will visit the Naupa iglesia where we will do a permission ceremony led by Quero Shamans. Silvia Calisaya,, Aymaran Shaman will lead us to a vision quest in Macchu Picchu. We will explore the Sacred Valley and the majestic Andean Mountains and visit Incan sites such Sacsayhuaman where we will do a cleansing ceremony to release past lives and karmas. We will visit Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Moray and Aguas Calientes.

in the foreground is a blurry stack of rocks, there is a structure that looks like it is made of stacked rocks with a pointed top and a window, the sky is a vibrant blue
Pachamama Temple

We will travel to Puno and Lake Titicaca, do water ceremonies, and visit the Aymara’s sacred sites of the Amantani to Taquile Island to the Pachamama Temple in Arama Muru. We will visit an Aymara community of elders where we will share a meal of foods prepared in the style of the ancient Aymaras. Following the meal, we will perform an Ayni Ceremony. Next, we will visit the

Colca Cayon in Arequipa the home of the Peruvian Majestic Condors. There we will perform our last ceremony.

We will practice daily yoga at the foot of the sacred Andean Mountains. We will have the opportunity to visit the colorful markets and eat local organic and delicious food from the rich mountains of Peru.

Our home base, Munay Tika

Our home base for 5 days will be in Ollantaytambo at a beautiful spiritual center nestled in the Andes Mountains. Maria will lead a daily Kundalini practice in the morning and restorative yoga in the evening. These practices will strengthen your nervous system, balance your glands, purify your blood, and clean out subconscious thought patterns. This practice will bring balance to your body, mind, and soul.

In this spiritual journey, you will experience the depth of your soul and true identity. This direct experience of your higher self will build a platform of strength, radiance, and security on which to build your life and create a state of total relaxation where healing and transformation can take place.

The cost of this 15 Day Journey will include: Pick-up/drop-off from Cusco airport, all land transportation, entrance fees for site visits, double occupancy accommodations, breakfast, ceremonies, and all yoga sessions.

The cost of the 15 Day Journey does not include: Airfare, lunch, dinner, personal expenses, or private shamanic healing sessions.

register here

click here to download the itinerary

Images from previous spiritual journeys to Peru:

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What to Expect in Cuzco & Puno

  • Yoga practice each day.
  • All Levels of yoga skills are welcome. No previous experience is necessary. This event is perfect for both the beginner, as well as the experienced yogi.
  • We will work with Silvia Callisaya, an Aymara medicine woman.
  • Day trips to Macchu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, the majestic Andean Mountains as well as visit Incan sites such as Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Moray and Aguas Calientes. You will have the opportunity to visit the colorful markets.
  • All meals are are sourced-locally, nourishing and delicious; breakfast is included in the fee, all other meals are self-pay.
  • You will experience the energy and the power of the Apus (Andean mountains) and the magical Peruvian scenery.

    register here

Click here to download the trip itinerary.

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How to Register for this Spiritual Journey

15 Day Spiritual Journey fee: $3,800 (does not include airfare to Peru)

Please note the fee includes a nonrefundable deposit of $1,900; deposits must be received by November 15, 2023.

Space is limited. To reserve your space:

Click here to complete your registration form. The registration forms will be sent to Maria. After receiving the registration form, Maria will share directions for making the deposit.

After receiving confirmation of your registration, e-mail a copy of your passport to Maria at incaroots@yahoo.com.

The cost of this 15 Day Journey will include: Pick-up/drop-off from Cusco airport, all land transportation, entrance fees for sites visits, double occupancy accommodations, breakfast, ceremonies, and all yoga sessions.

The cost of the 15 Day Journey (and the optional days in Lima) does not include: Airfare to Peru, lunch, dinner, gratuities, personal expenses, massage, or additional/individual shamanic healing treatments.

For more information contact Maria at 207-272-2071 or incaroots@yahoo.com