The Path

A community of practice. Sustained by presence. Deepened by the commitment to keep showing up.

I spent decades seeking. Seeking relief from my chronic pain. Seeking success. Seeking acceptance. Seeking purpose. Seeking meaning. When I found experiences that I felt significant, I went to seek out more of them. Until one day, I was lost enough to realize that I didn't want to seek anymore, I wanted to find. I wanted to find all these incredible experiences I'd had in every day moments. In the mundane. In the smile from a friend. And in the moments of grief. In incomprehensible loss. In the spaces in between the inevitability of life's ebbs and flows.

That's why The Path exists. It exists in the belief that life is a gift that provides as abundantly as we are able to hold, serve and sustain it. And it will continue to test us. With more, with less, and with always exactly what we need.

Through mentorship, retreats, and daily practice done in dedicated community we support the lifelong journey of finding. Not through endless seeking, but through the steady cultivation of awareness, wisdom, and meaningful action. We believe lasting change is not found in a single breakthrough, but in the commitment to integrate those moments into a way of living that deepens our relationship with ourselves, others, and life itself.

Payton Nyquvest, Co-Founder

What We Offer

Four Pillars. One Journey.

These are the ways it becomes your everyday.

Community

You were never meant to walk this alone.

Real community is not built in a single gathering. It is grown through sustained presence, honest showing-up, and the willingness to be truly seen. Grounded in lineage and held with care, this is a practice of being in right-relationship with yourself, with others, and with the living world around you. This is what the Andean tradition calls Ayni: reciprocity as a way of life.

Practice

The path is made by walking, every single day.

Wisdom without practice is information. Rooted in Andean tradition and guided by Indigenous knowledge, our practices offer a steady, daily architecture for inner work and self-mastery. This is how transformation becomes sustainable, not through intensity, but through consistency. What is cultivated within us is then expressed through how we lead, live and relate to the world around us.

Retreats

Support us to remember what we may have forgotten.

Our retreats are immersive, intentional, and rooted in place, from the sacred highlands of Peru to intimate gatherings closer to home. Each one is designed not to take you away from your life, but to return you to it more whole.

Mentorship

Some things cannot be learned. They must be transmitted.

Our mentorship is not coaching. It is a structured, sacred relationship built on accountability, humility, and the willingness to be truly seen. You will be met where you are and held to where you are called to go.

Your Guides

The people who hold this work.

Andean Wisdom-keeper, Curandero and Co-Founder

Jhaimy Alvarez-Acosta

Cusco, Peru · Vancouver, Canada

Maestro Jhaimy Alvarez-Acosta, a Traditional Curandero (Healer) from Cusco, Peru, has been trained and initiated in the Wisdom Teachings of the Andes and specifically in the lineage of Apu Wachumita and the Mesa Teachings from both the Northern and South-Eastern regions of Peru. Jhaimy began his initiation onto this path at a young age as an apprentice to his Traditional Elders and through this inter-generational training he has now walked the committed path of a Wisdomkeeper for over 30 years.

As a keeper of Ancient Wisdom Jhaimy has been invited to share his knowledge and lead ceremonies at conferences, workshops and specialized tours throughout South America, North America and Europe. He has been an invited guest speaker at several universities including the Indigenous Studies Department at Trent University and McGill University and is a regular guest speaker on podcasts and summits focused on the sharing of Indigenous perspectives and world-views.

He Co-Founded Children of the Seven Rays over 20 years ago, an organization committed to sharing Andean Wisdom in support of empowering people to return to their hearts. Many of those who study with Jhaimy have been part of a vibrant community Yachay Wasi (House of Sacred Learning) for decades demonstrating both a depth and commitment to Self-Mastery and Community Care.

In addition to his traditional lineage and training he has also completed a Masters degree in Tourism from La Universidad Andina del Cusco and holds a license in tourism. He has guided hundreds of spiritual pilgrimages and speciality tours throughout the Andes over the past 25 years providing unique opportunities to experience and connect with the temples and sacred sites in a personal way.

Jhaimy is best known for his heart-centered and humble approach to healing and spirituality. Through ceremony, ritual and healing practices he continues to support thousands of people around the world in moving past their limitations in order to liberate and connect with their heart and their purpose. Rooted in the legacy of his Ancestors, Jhaimy holds a sacred space for us all to feel centered in the deep knowing of ourselves; grounded in Mother Earth and connected to the Cosmos, walking the path of the Qhapaq Ñan.

Visionary, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder

Payton Nyquvest

Vancouver, Canada

Payton Nyquvest is an entrepreneur, mentor, and bridge-builder between ancient wisdom and modern life whose work is dedicated to helping people live with greater purpose, authenticity, and reverence.

His journey into this work, like for many others, is a deeply personal one. Suffering with severe chronic pain since his earliest years, Payton searched for and explored all forms of healing in effort to free himself of this life long diagnosis. Ultimately, arriving in ceremony with master plants became a turning point in his life, opening the door not only to healing his chronic pain, but to a deeper understanding of himself and the path he was meant to walk.

While those ceremonies may have been the catalyst for healing Payton desired, what was clear was that the internal scaffolding built over decades of personal work was what had made it so impactful and sustainable.

That experience inspired Payton to found Numinus Wellness, one of the pioneering organizations in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy and mental healthcare. Over the past decade, he has helped build programs, clinics, therapist training initiatives, and clinical research studies that have supported hundreds of thousands of people seeking healing and growth. Along the way, his work has been featured by publications including The New York Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, and CTV.

While much of his career has been spent building organizations and leading teams, Payton's deepest passion lies in exploring what helps people create meaningful and lasting change in their lives.

Through The Path, he brings together insights from leadership, personal development, ceremony, and Indigenous wisdom traditions to support others in their own journeys of growth and self-discovery. His approach is grounded in humility, personal experience, and a deep respect for the cultures and traditions that have helped shape his understanding of healing and transformation.

Payton believes that each of us carries a unique gift to offer the world. His work is dedicated to helping people reconnect with that gift, cultivate greater awareness and accountability, and live in deeper alignment with their values, purpose, and service to others.

Rooted in the living traditions of the Andes and grounded in the rhythms of modern-day life, what they hold together is rare: a space where wisdom becomes practice and practice becomes your path.

Take the First Step

Upcoming Offerings

Where your Path becomes lived.

Private Immersive Retreat

Whistler, BC

A private, small-group immersion rooted in lineage, held in community, and shaped by your own inner process.

This is more than four days together. It is a two-month container, with the retreat at its centre. It begins weeks before you arrive, with foundational preparation rooted in the lineage and teachings that will carry the work. It culminates in the retreat itself. And it continues afterwards, with focused integration processes and a personal invitation into our Yachay Wasi community, along with mentorship opportunities for those who feel called to keep walking the path.

The retreat moves between facilitated group sessions, ceremonial practice, and spacious unstructured time. You will have moments of deep collective work, time alone with yourself, and the opportunity for private one-on-one sessions with Jhaimy.

A balance between structure and spaciousness. Self-Mastery and Community Care.

The Arc of the Retreat Experience

Thursday

Arrival

Welcome and orientation before our first meal together. The evening begins with an opening circle and Despacho ceremony; a sacred Andean ritual to mark your intention and bring the group into one shared container for the journey ahead.

Friday

Going Deeper

The most structured day of the retreat, and by design. Three sessions of Andean teachings build on each other, laying the foundation and arriving at readiness. The evening is yours to rest and prepare, before we move into ceremonial practice held under Jhaimy's direct guidance and care.

Saturday

Integration

Spacious by intention. The morning is yours. After lunch the group reconvenes for process and sharing. Personal sessions with Jhaimy are available through the afternoon. The evening closes with our final circle and integration session, finding footing together before the return home.

Sunday

Return

Sunday morning is unhurried. The closing circle honours what has moved through you and seals what you carry home. Time to sit, connect with those you walked alongside, and begin the quiet work of bringing this back into your life.

October 8–11, 2026

Intimate by design. By application or invitation.
Deadline to apply for our Fall retreat is July 15th.

Sacred Pilgrimage

Northern Peru

Northern Peru holds one of the most powerful ceremonial landscapes in the Andes. Its deserts, rivers, mountains, and ancient temples carry the memory of civilizations that shaped spiritual understanding thousands of years ago.

Guided personally by Jhaimy, who has walked this path for over 30 years, and co-facilitated by Payton, this sacred journey offers space to slow down, reflect, and open to the guidance of both the land and your inner self.

October 22 – November 3, 2026

Applications are now open and space is limited to a small and intimate group.
Deadline to apply is June 30th.