JAYĀ SARASWATĪ — FOR THE LOVE OF WISDOM AND THE WISDOM OF LOVE
Jaya and Saraswatī met on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala during a yoga teacher training they found themselves teaching together… discovering a shared passion of yoga philosophy, sound, music, mantra and bhakti yoga, they began co-facilitating Kula Collective yoga teacher trainings and transformational retreats at their Guatemalan retreat center of The Yoga Forest on Lake Atitlán and around the world. Co-creating the Sound Ceremony trainings they now specialise in teaching, offered 3 times a year in Guatemala and the Advanced medicine Illumination Retreat offered in Peru.
Starting a family in 2017, they have two sons; Elijah Rumi, and Rafael James. Transitioning on from The Yoga Forest in late 2022, they are now hosting at Casa Floresta, a new family home and intimate ceremonial space on the lake front of the magnificent Lake Atitlan. They offer sacred sound and medicine retreats from their family home setting.
JAYAJI
Roland James Hillcoat, known to many as Jaya, is a contemporary contemplative, minister, minstrel, and mystic, among other things.
Originally from Australia, he has spent the last 12 years based in Guatemala, guiding ceremonies, rituals, and retreats. He teaches an interspiritual approach to plant medicines, meditation, sound philosophy, and counselling, and currently serves as the spiritual director of The Forest Path , Casa Floresta, Floresta Atitlán, and the Sound Ceremony Academy.
Jaya’s spiritual path weaves across traditions—Santo Daime, Umbanda, Buddhism, Vedanta, Christian and Islamic mysticism, and the indigenous wisdoms of North and South America and Australia. He is a qualified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapist, an ordained minister, and is currently completing his Master’s in Divinity.
A prolific and dedicated writer and musician, Jaya has just completed his seventh poetry collection, Two Mirrors, and is finalising his forthcoming book, Walking the Forest Path, a collection of ceremonial teachings and transmissions. He has also compiled several robust songbooks for the Forest Path, as well as his own personal collection, with songs and prayers numbering in the hundreds.
SARASWATĪ
Hayley Saraswatī embodies the essence of the creative Mother, balancing loving softness with a graceful strength. Her powerful presence inspires and empowers others to step into their full potential, through vibrant authenticity and awakening to the expansive joy of the heart.
Since creating The Yoga Forest, the Conscious Living Retreat Center she founded in 2009, Saraswatī has wholeheartedly offered herself through the path of devotion; offering kirtan, sound ceremonies, voice workshops and singing circles, Forest Path medicine retreats and Sound Ceremony Trainings for the past decade and a half. Her dedication to creating and holding a safe space allows the veils to fall away, inspiring spontaneous expression and the authentic embodiment of the Truth - all is Love.
Weaving together her passion for ceremony, beauty and natural design, she has since designed and created Kula Maya Boutique Hotel & Spa, and the recently built Casa Floresta family home and Ceremonial Center.
Hayley Saraswatī is also one of seven co-founding members of the Kula Collective, an organization weaving together diverse holistic experiences and educational yoga offerings through combined passions and a collective intention of global awakening.