Maria Hykin

Adventure Yoga Guide - Mexico, Cuba, India, Eastern Europe

Maria Shibaeva Hykin grew up in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. At the age of 24 life took her to New York City, where she became “a successful business woman”. Maria was enjoying all the perks of this status for 12 years, until one day she realized that she wasn’t inspired by her job anymore and needed to shake up her life a little. After a whole year of traveling around the world, she surprised herself and everybody around her by settling down in Cozumel, Mexico. It was a fierce culture shock after Manhattan. More than once she found herself quite frustrated by the slow nature of life on the island, ready to hop on the next plane back to NYC. But then, little by little, she relaxed into this new concept of time and was shocked once again by all the gifts that time has to offer. Imagine all of a sudden having all the time in the world to reflect, try on new roles, discover new passions, learn and relax. Now, this is a life of luxury.

Maria is a certified YOGA Alliance instructor, RYT200. She teaches in a variety different styles ranging from Vinyasa Flow to Restorative Therapy. Her favorite way to guide a class is a balanced Yin & Yang Flow – a slow and mindful practice that begins with gentle warm-up of long yin-style holds to effectively open the body. The class usually ends with a delicious restorative pose that allows practitioners to sink into a deep relaxation, in body and mind. Maria is an avid student of YOGA philosophy and psychology, and she always weaves those themes into her classes, offering her students tools for developing a holistic practice focused on integration of body, mind, and emotions. She is also a safe alignment freak and is on a constant quest to find new ways to help practitioners who have physical challenges to find a painless, enjoyable, and fun way to practice.

To maintain balance in her life, she frequently goes back to NYC to visit friends and continue her YOGA education. Maria is a founding partner in yoYoga Cozumel, a donation-sustained YOGA collective whose purpose is to make YOGA accessible to everybody (physically, emotionally, financially) and to create a community that helps its members feel the joys of YOGA practice and find support during challenging times.