ABOUT INTO THE MYSTIC JOURNEYS
Into the Mystic Journeys was created for travelers drawn to places where the sacred is woven into everyday life. We guide small groups through culturally rich and inspiring destinations around the world, offering experiences rooted in living traditions, genuine connections, and the enduring beauty of the lands we explore.
Each journey honors the rhythms of local life, immerses in the beauty of the surroundings, and embraces the moments that naturally emerge along the way. Guided by Deja Cross, travelers move at their own rhythm, exploring their inner landscape while fully engaging with the journey. We travel with respect for the land, its traditions, and the people we meet, holding the journey with clarity, warmth, and presence while honoring the unique path of each traveler.
Into the Mystic Journeys exists to open doorways—doorways into presence, into wonder, and into the deeper awareness that naturally emerges when we move through the world with intention.
Come with an open heart. Travel lightly. Let the journey meet you where you are.
VISION – INTO THE MYSTIC JOURNEYS
Into the Mystic Journeys envisions travel as a soulful pilgrimage—an invitation to connect profoundly—with yourself, with others, and with the rhythms of the world. Through the beauty of the land, the wisdom of its people, and the living traditions we experience, travelers awaken curiosity, presence, and wonder, opening to new perspectives and a deeper attunement to life as it flows.
CORE VALUES – INTO THE MYSTIC JOURNEYS
Presence & Care – We move with intention, tending to each moment and detail to create space for travelers to fully arrive—body, mind, and spirit.
Authentic Connection & Community – We cultivate genuine relationships with travelers, local communities, and the land, nurturing belonging, trust, and meaningful growth.
Holistic Well-Being & Inner Alignment – We honor the integration of body, mind, and emotion, guiding conscious action that supports wholeness and clarity.
Passion, Purpose & Creativity – We encourage travelers to explore their unique gifts, express their vision, and live with intention and fulfillment.
Sacred Awareness & Wonder – We honor the land, traditions, and people as living teachers, inviting curiosity, awe, and reverence into every journey.
MEET OUR INTO THE MYSTIC JOURNEY TEAM
DEJA CROSS
Founder & Retreat Director
Deja Cross is the Founder and Director of Into the Mystic Journeys, bringing over three decades of embodied practice and cultural immersion to every retreat. She lived along the sacred Ganga in Rishikesh, “the Yoga Capital of the World,” among sages, yogīs, svāmīs, gurus, and seekers, absorbing the timeless traditions of devotion, meditation, and sādhanā. Rooted in this living wisdom, Deja blends spiritual discipline, cultural insight, and creative expression to craft heartful journeys that weave beauty, comfort, and depth, guiding participants toward authentic connection and transformation.
Deja (Tejasvi Giri Ma) is a devoted student of Shri Mahant Mukesh Giri Ji Maharaj. Steeped in this spiritual lineage, she practiced closely with her guru at Jhilmil Gufa, a cave where lore holds that the great yogi Gorakh Nāth performed decades of tapasya, tended the sacred fire, and engaged in yogic discourse with Shiva. The cave continues to resonate, inspiring and informing Deja’s own sādhanā and teachings.
Living in Uttarakhand, Dev Bhūmi, “the Land of the Gods,” and along the Ganga River, revered as Ganga Mātā for her capacity to cleanse and nurture life, Deja immersed herself in the daily rhythms of āsana, prāṇāyāma, meditation, pūjā, chanting, silence, and yātrā to temples and sacred caves. This disciplined practice and reverence shape the depth and presence she brings to her teaching.
During her years in Rishikesh, Deja Cross was the founder and director of several projects: Rishikesh International Film Festival and Tejasvi Events—landmark programs that bring together spiritual teachers, artists, musicians, and authors for gatherings rooted in spirituality, creativity, and collective uplift; Shakti Rising International—an annual honoring of women ceremony held in India and the United States; and Ganga Blessings—a grassroots seva initiative supporting families, women, children, medical care, community livelihood, and ecological enhancement projects.
Practicing yoga since 1993, Deja trained in the Viniyoga lineage and the Kashmir Shaivism tradition, and is an E-RYT 500 with extensive experience leading workshops, teacher trainings, and spiritual journeys in the United States and internationally.
With an MBA, a BS in Mathematics, and over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience in hospitality, education, and the creative and spiritual arts, Deja blends clarity and structure with intuition and heartful presence, creating spaces where travelers feel supported, grounded, and open to transformation.
Each journey she curates weaves beauty, comfort, and cultural richness into experiences that deepen connection—with self, with community, and with the sacred. Participants return renewed in body, mind, and spirit, carrying insights that continue to unfold long after the journey ends.
WERNER RAJAN STEPHAN
Retreat Concierge & Pujari
Born and educated in Germany, Rajan began his journey as a teacher, family therapist, and psychologist before traveling to South and Southeast Asia — a trip that became a three-year immersion on the subcontinent. India transformed his life. On Krishna’s Birthday, he met his wife at Sai Baba’s ashram, a meeting that set the course for the next four decades.
Together they established a sacred cow sanctuary that flourished for 20 years. They were honored to support more than ten temples in and around Atlanta with cow dung and gomutra, deepening Rajan’s connection to devotional service and the rhythms of traditional Indian life.
Rajan describes his relationship with India as lifelong and soul-rooted — a connection that continues to unfold. Through what he calls divine guidance, he met Tejasvi / Deja Cross, a meeting that aligned effortlessly and opened the door to his role with Into the Mystic Journeys.
One of the most sacred moments of his life was fulfilling his wife’s last wish: offering her ashes to Ma Ganga during the Maha Kumbh Mela in India. Guided without asking — by a Swami who appeared at the exact moment Rajan needed direction — the puja unfolded with grace, timing, and blessing. He calls this the moment that reaffirmed his trust in the divine plan.
Rajan brings that same sense of devotion, steadiness, and support to every India and Bali retreat. He carries the precision of German efficiency, the compassion of a psychologist, and the heart of a Pujari — ensuring every journey is smooth, soulful, and sanctified.
MARINA MAREK
Retreat Ambassador & Yoga and Wellness Guide
“Have you ever met people who have something very special about them? It’s as if they have a bright light shining through them that touches everyone they meet, a light that inspires and brings a sense of calmness and peace. I have met a few people like that.” — Terry Hunt and Paul Benedict, Ancient Wisdom for a New Age: A Practical Guide for Spiritual Growth
Marina wanted to become on of them one day.
Marina was introduced to Yoga since childhood by her father, a soccer player and an athlete. She became passionate about her Yoga practice while studying the writings of the Indian Master Swami Sivananda, and many year later visited his Ashram in Rishikesh, India.
Her yoga practice and teaching was influenced by Shiva Rae and Rodney Yee, followed Paul Benedict’s guidance for Spiritual Growth.
She started teaching at Wendy Fit Yoga and Pilates Studio and on the Tampa Bay Yoga Cruises, and WendyFit Retreats since 2007. Wendy became her inspiration and yoga friend.
Marina teaches Yoga on the Beach, Stand Up Paddleboarding Yoga, Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative and Hot Yoga, Pilates, Aerial Yoga and Thai Yoga Therapy, Pranayama. Facial Yoga becomes her new passion. New name came up “WOW” YOGA – Slow paced, mindful yoga poses incorporated with Facial Yoga.
Her students and followers are not only in Florida but in Austrian Alps. Marina visited The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Rishikesh, India and studied History and mystery of Yoga poses.
She deepened her spiritual knowledge during recent trip to India with Deja / Tejasvi and Vandana in November 2024 . Honored to participate and partner with Wanda at the Smoky Mountain Yoga and Wellness Festival in June 2025. Presented at the St Pete Yoga Festival 2024 in Sunken Gardens and 2025 at the St Pete Pier. Part of the yoga teachers team Re-treat Yourself by Deja Cross / Tejasvi Yoga.
Certifications:
-AFAA/NASM certified Personal Fitness Trainer
-Member of Florida Yoga Teachers Assosiation
-Member of Yoga Alliance ERYS -200 Yoga Teacher Training by Wendy Fit Academy
-Tatem Yoga Certificate of completion of Aerial Teacher Training
-BeachYogaPinellas&Vitamin Sea Cayman :
-SUP Yoga Instructor,
-SUP Fitness instructor
Certified by International Thai Therapists Assosiation
Follow Marina Marek on Instagram and Facebook: SkyLimitYoga
SEVA
Retreat Ambassador & Breath Awareness Guide
Seva’s path has been shaped by deep curiosity, direct experience, long-term practice, and a devotion to embodied awareness.
What began as an exploration of yoga, meditation, and psychedelics, evolved into a grounded commitment to breath, nervous system regulation, and conscious community. In 2018, Seva founded and stewarded the Ecstatic Dance St. Pete community, cultivating spaces rooted in movement, music, and authentic connection for seven years. In 2019, Seva became a Kundalini Yoga teacher and has since developed extensive experience in breathwork, pranayama, meditation, and Vipassana. This work expanded into the founding of Roots to Crown in 2022, a conscious community space and transformational event venue, where Seva collaborated with well-known conscious musicians and workshop leaders, holding containers that balanced structure, freedom, and integrity.
At the core of Seva’s work is a seasoned capacity to hold space paired with a dedicated student’s mindset. Recently, Seva relocated to Bali to fully commit to a path of mastery through freediving and breath. Freediving has become the central practice through which years of inner work are distilled into stillness, presence, and a disciplined relationship with the body, the nervous system, and the ocean. From this place, Seva shares his lived experience with clarity and conviction, supporting others in directly feeling, trusting, and expanding the body’s innate capacity through breath.
GRACE NORI
Retreat Ambassador
Grace is a soulful guide, coach, and holistic practitioner devoted to supporting humans in deeper presence, purposeful living, and embodied growth. She brings experience coaching individuals and groups, holding intentional holistic events, and serving as a board member for a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing holistic wellness.
As a Reiki practitioner and founder of her own small business consulting practice, Grace blends heart-centered intuition with grounded support for purpose-driven entrepreneurs.
An artist and musician at heart, she has shared her voice through music and radio, using creativity as a tool for connection, healing, and storytelling.
Her work is rooted in community, connection, and an unwavering passion for helping others awaken to their fullest expression of self. Grace is honored to join Into The Mystic Journeys in holding space for transformation, connection, and inner exploration.
ALONG THE WAY GALLERY
