Ria Ray dedicates herself to helping others through self-healing, mindful meditation and discovering strength from within

Spiritual healer, clairvoyant and self-taught artist Ria Ray believes in empowerment, letting go and that all things connect. When she was 27 years old, the Trinidad and Tobago-born self-taught artist’s life changed forever when her mother, father, brother, sister and uncle died in their home in Washington D.C. from carbon monoxide poisoning.

“I was in so much pain, shock and in a deep depression,” says Ria, who was living in Philadelphia at the time. “But there was this grace within me, and it was like my awakening. I didn’t know why, but I knew I wanted to give back what was taken from me. It was a natural feeling that came almost immediately. Then it became a journey about how to uncover and share my gift. I traveled the world and went to every retreat I could go to, but I realized that all of these things were only working momentarily—it couldn’t fill the void within me. Through the act of searching, I healed layers of me that allowed the deeper me to start healing myself.”

Ria, a mother of two, graduated from Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science (now Thomas Jefferson University–East Falls Campus) with a degree in business and management. She worked in the textile and fashion industry for several years but struggled to find her purpose.

“I couldn’t find meaning in what I was doing,” explains Ria, who divides her time between Los Angeles and Anna Maria Island, Florida. “I wanted to find greater meaning and wondered, ‘Why did I survive?’ I wanted to help others tap into their power and be accessible to themselves.”

In 2000 Ria launched her business spanning one-on-one in-person sessions and phone consultations for loss, relationships, physical ailments, trauma, life transitions, anxiety and depression. Seven years later she debuted a line of eponymous bath and body goods including candles and organic body butters and sugar scrubs depicting words such as “dream” and “beauty.” She also offers a collection of mantra ties, mediation cards, journals, hoodies and her own paintings.

“One of my favorite words is ‘satiate,’ and I want to help others melt away their fear,” explains Ria. Her products are now carried at boutiques including the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, The Detox Market and Alandrea in Redondo Beach’s Riviera Village.

“I’m the conduit for whatever needs to happen, and I help people let go from whatever is stopping them,” she shares. “I think every individual has their own truth, and the only way to actually be in a state of love is to be in a state of your own truth—because that is what freedom is. I think I have the ability to help people see the most loving perspective that exists within them.”

Ria, who has created REST classes and workshops consisting of breathing, energy work and meditation—in partnership with Lululemon, has just introduced a newly rebranded collection of her existing products. “I’m not trying to build an empire,” she says. “It’s so easy to get lost in sense of self. I feel like I help people yield a more positive lifestyle and wake up to themselves. I want to give people back to themselves.”

Ria’s 5-Minute Self-Care Exercise

Your breath is your catalyst and the alchemy that you need to heal yourself and to sustain your true self. There’s nothing more powerful than that, but it’s the thing we don’t want to do. To me this is the best self-care to find clarity and allow love.

Lying down or sitting in a comfortable position, open your feet and the palms of your hands, drop your shoulders, loosen your jaw and relax your belly. Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and bring it all the way from your feet to your ankles and knees (you want to feel that air and that breath come all the way up through your entire body). Then release it through exhaling.

It’s almost like you’re breathing in your new light and your new energy that will open up new perspectives that you need to see and allow to be revealed to you. Use that cleansing breath to allow in more light and love and to release fear and negativity. Breathe in the new energy and breathe out whatever you’re trying to let go of. For example, breathe in love and release doubt.

I know as women we have a lot of insecurities, and we allow our insecurities to create doubt in us. This is a surrendered form of breathing to create more of a sense of inner comfort. If you use your breath like a supplement or meal at breakfast, lunch and dinner and do five minutes of conscious breathing, that alone would help. It helps clear out the negative thoughts.