Tending the fire that guides the way

Ancient Awakenings is a living expression of inner alchemy where transformation unfolds through experience.

Yelitza’s Journey

My path into this work wasn’t planned. It began as a personal search for restoration. Born in Houston, Texas, to immigrant Mexican Purepecha descendants, I grew up surrounded by diversity, hustle culture, and the promise of the American dream yet something essential felt missing. I turned inward, drawn toward the healing arts. What unfolded was a deeper relationship with nature, ancestral wisdom, and a way of living that felt rooted, meaningful, and whole.

From the mind to heart to womb, I learned to navigate the shadows of my early life. Through experiences of survival, dissociation, substance use, and single motherhood I came to understand the weight of responsibility in creating a new foundation for myself, my daughter, and the generations to come. These years asked me to grow quickly, to choose differently, and to listen more deeply to what life was teaching.

Along the way, I built successful businesses and followed the path of productivity and ambition, only to reach another threshold of burnout in a society that often values output over soul. That breaking point became an initiation, an invitation to seek nourishment beyond the material and into the deeper calling of life.

Through this passage, I learned to loosen my grip on control, to trust our natural cycles of death and rebirth, and to meet uncertainty with the power of will. Transformation, I came to understand, does not arrive from outside us. It begins within.

Today, I serve those walking their own path of return: back to themselves, to the Earth, and to the wisdom that has always been within. I do not walk as a teacher above, but as a sister alongside, offering grounded guidance through presence, reflection, and connection.

This is a space where understanding and unity are practiced over fear and separation, and where the journey toward wholeness is remembered, one step at a time.
Signature style text reading 'Yelitza Herrera' in cursive handwriting.
Founder & Facilitator of Sacred Practices and Inner Alignment
Ancient Awakenings

2016

Began my journey into the healing arts with meditation, pranayama, and yoga.

2017

Studied the ancient wisdom of the Andean medicine wheel through the International School of Yoga; earned Mystical 200 YTT in Ashtanga and Hatha Yoga in the Andes, Peru.

Cacao ceremonies facilitated in local community events like Urban Bhakti Farm, DMT holistic fare at Thompson Hotel, Dragonfly Festival, The Interchange, Casa Colibri

2018

Advanced energy work through Holy
Fire Reiki

Mission work in Cartagena supporting women’s empowerment and self-sustainability through skills-based education in underserved school communities.

Practiced and facilitated Agnihotra meditations, an ancient Vedic practice

2019

Reiki I & II in Mount Shasta, California, deepening tools for integration and energetic alignment.

Cocreator of Shakti at the Bhakti conscious community events.

2020

Facilitated Sistership Circles: intimate women’s gatherings offering ritual, dialogue, and safe communal spaces.

2022

Initiated into Plant Dietas in the Peruvian Amazon at El Encanto de Chullachaqui under Maestra Juana’s guidance of the Shipibo lineage.

Kambo initiation with Matse Carlos
Dune Amazonia, Peru.

2023

Hape crafting with Brazilian Huni Kuin lineage carriers.

Global Citizen of Pachamama Alliance

2024

Hosted first retreat, laying the foundation for Ancient Awakenings

Andean Misha altar received from Maria Apaza, Altomisayoc (spiritual priestess) of the Q'ero nation

2025

Participated in “Voces de las
Abuelas,” women’s gathering blessed by 13 grandmothers across the Americas in Tepoztlán, Mexico.

2016

Began my journey into the healing arts with meditation, pranayama, and yoga.

2017

Studied the ancient wisdom of the Andean medicine wheel through the International School of Yoga; earned Mystical 200 YTT in Ashtanga and Hatha Yoga in the Andes, Peru.

2018

Advanced energy work through Holy Fire Reiki

2019

Reiki I & II in Mount Shasta, California, deepening tools for integration and energetic alignment.

2020

Facilitated Sistership Circles: intimate women’s gatherings offering ritual, dialogue, and safe communal spaces.

2022

Initiated into Plant Dietas in the Peruvian Amazon at El Encanto de Chullachaqui under Maestra Juana’s guidance of the Shipibo lineage.Kambo initiation with Matse Carlos Dune Amazonia, Peru.

2023

Hapé crafting with Huni Kuin lineage carriers, Brazil.Global Citizen of Pachamama Alliance

2024

Hosted first retreat, laying the foundation for Ancient AwakeningsAndean Misha altar received from Maria Apaza, Altomisayoc (spiritual priestess) of the Q'ero nation

2025

Participated in “Voces de las Abuelas,” women’s gathering blessed by 13 grandmothers across the Americas in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
Abstract gold spiral design overlaying stylized gold shapes on a black background.

Today

Beyond credentials, the true measure of this work is found in everyday life: in the relationships we nurture, the care we bring to our homes, and the responsibility we live by example. Our actions ripple revealing the silver thread in our collective story.

Ancient awakenings is the living expression of this path: a space to reconnect with our divine essence
The offerings Ancient Awakenings provides values Intuition and intellect, nature and technology, ancient ways of knowing and modern life.

We honor teachings that remind us that restoration is not found in choosing ancient wisdom or modern life but learning how they walk together, in service to inner balance and collective wellbeing.

What We Value

Gold textured silhouette of a vase with a handle and a diamond shape above it.
Integrity
Living in alignment with values, actions, and commitments
Compassion
Approaching ourselves and others with gentleness and understanding
Respect
Moving through life with awareness of the impact of our actions and a deep regard for all beings
Safety
Holding space for the fullness of experience without judgment, honoring boundaries and providing a secure container
Integration
Weaving insights for growth, into practical daily life with personal responsibility
Connection
Embracing vulnerability, building relationships, nurturing community
Green circular symbol with a pattern of radiating petals resembling a stylized flower or sunburst.

Explore Our Retreats

Carefully curated retreats exploring nature, culture, ceremony that nurture your being.
Ancient Awakenings is rooted in Ayni right relationship, sacred exchange, reciprocity. We find it essential to support Indigenous communities, honoring the wisdom carried through ancestral traditions from which some of our practices originate.