Richie

We all know that the right exercise can help with digestion and sleep, as well as overall fitness – if only we had the time… Well, on our retreats, you do!!
Marisa will take care of you with the Aquacise and Circuit classes – check your selected retreat programme.

Joining us for our 2023 season is Cilla.  Based in Portugal, she has worked with our Chef Susana for quite a while, so they already have a working history in the kitchen – essential for a smooth operation when it comes to catering for everyone on the retreat.  Cilla will also be seen assisting the practitioners at busy times.

It’s actually quite difficult to give Muzz a job title, as he can be found helping in every area and every department of the Retreat.

Lilly has known Muzz for over 30 years and he has supported the team on numerous retreats around the world.  For the 2023 season, he will be with in May for the 4-day retreat and June for the 5-day Retreat.

Muzz will be looking after our guests, ensuring everyone is where they need to be and when, plus will probably get thrown in the pool more than once!!  It’s a tradition!!

Luisa brings a spiritual connection to this Retreat. She is an experienced and highly qualified Reiki Master and spiritual healer.

Luisa lives locally to our retreats.  She grew up in Lisbon to parents who encouraged her to find her true way in life and this provided her with a rich cultured life.  She speaks her native Portuguese as well as French, English, Spanish, Dutch & Italian.

In the early 90’s she started to study and to dedicate my life to complementary therapies.

She trained in both Portugal and the UK in advanced levels of Reiki & Spiritual Healing to ‘Master’ level.

Through Nature and the elements she found a deeper understanding of Life and a connection with Spirit.

Along the years she has learned with many spiritual teachers of Yoga, Meditation, Energy Work and many others.

When she is not working on the retreats she lives in a peaceful, beautiful place with many trees that inspire her every day.

Diliala is a popular part of our team, supporting Richie with the wide range of massage and holistic treatments on offer to those who book on the retreat.

Susana is both a talented and creative chef, as well as an experienced therapist who has always had a love affair for good food, cooking and a holistic approach to life.  She really does live the ‘good life’, choosing to grow her own food, spring her own water and create her own electricity.  Previously she worked at many prestigious Portuguese music festivals, catering for both visitors and staff.  At the same time, she has owned a small clothing shop in one of the most bohemian parts of Lisbon.  The shop was connected to the festival scene, being a hotspot for international public attending the festivals, with the sales of the tickets, fashion and related music.

In 2005 Susana ended up meeting her Irish partner and moved to rural Ireland, to a small town in Kerry
Whilst spreading her love of imaginative healthy cooking, she also retrained as a holistic therapist, in massage, reflexology and Thai foot massage, managing her own successful therapy business for three years.

But the call for a life in the sun was greater and she and her family moved back to the Algarve and now live a couple of miles from our Retreat resort, restoring an old property whilst running an olive farm with lots of animals too.

A large amount of the herbs and veggies you eat on the Retreat has been grown by Susana.  She also knows the best organic food farmers and fishermen to ensure the food we serve is the best possible quality, origin and freshness.

Claudia’s love of her job and how she interacts with people is clear to see and enjoy.  She is great at putting together classes for all levels and abilities, so everyone gets the most out of each class.  Her energy and smile is infectious and that comes across not only in the class content but in her enthusiasm.  Gentle when she needs to be, Claudia somehow manages to get everyone involved for their own good.

When she’s not working with us on the retreat, Claudia has a busy client base at the local sports centre in Loulé for her own 1:1 personal training, aerobic classes and gym programmes.

It’s actually quite difficult to give Izzy a job title, as she can be found helping in every area and every department of the Retreat.
We were so very lucky to be introduced to this very special Brazilian lady, as she was in the middle of touring around Europe and, as is always the case, she was in the right place at the right time… or was it us that was?  Lilly loved Izzy’s energy and heart and Izzy loved our concept and Retreat programme. A like-minded soul, who enjoy helping people and putting them at their ease, she also conjures up a few of her native dishes, for our Retreaters delight and enjoyment.

A talented psychosocial therapist, she loves equine therapy in her homeland and loves to be around animals and humans alike!

Monica is our very own special spirit. She imbibes a sense of calm and peace in her Integral Hatha Yoga classes (from Sri Swami Satchidanand), that she teaches every morning on the retreat.  Her energy and kindness are a must, with the varying levels of abilities of the Retreaters. She combines a varied class, with adaptations for the beginner to the advanced.  She also helps Lilly with one or two meditation classes, that include her very own holistic and spiritual style – this offers another meditation technique that our Retreaters can enjoy and take away with them.

Monica has been with us since we started running retreats at our private Algarve resort and is ideal for hosting classes suitable for all levels.

Whether you are a complete novice or practice yoga regularly, you will find these classes beneficial and a great way to start your day.

Olga has been a valuable member of the holistic team for many years with us in Portugal. Her techniques are ideal for exfoliating body treatments and facials. She or one of her team will deliver a very welcome aromatherapy and de-stress back neck and shoulder massage. She loves achieving calm in her treatment room on the retreat and enjoys seeing the chilled out looks on our Retreater faces after a hot stone or hot candle massage. She also has her own very busy practice in Loulé, a few miles from the retreat however, when our retreats are running, she loves joining us with her team to make a difference.

You can view the range of holistic treatments available here.

Richie has always had an appreciation of music and technology.  He spent a good proportion of his early career as a nightclub DJ, radio presenter & working on outside broadcast events. He has project-managed countless prestigious events from National sports cup matches, employee reward (Oscars) nights for National companies and celebration party events for a host of celebrities as well as being the first choice for many prestigious corporate clients.

Over a 10 year period, he gave his time freely for 3 months a year helping with the charity ‘Dreamflight’ as a cameraman and video editor.  In addition to filming two groups of 16 terminally or seriously ill children and their support teams, he produced two 90-minute feature films, documenting their 10 day holiday in Florida for their families (who didn’t go with them) to watch at cinema previews and to have as a keepsake.

He loves helping to achieve happiness and for the past 8 years has worked as a compere at the multi-award winning Ealing Half Marathon.  He is also the lead compere for all British Heart Foundation fundraising events, a charity he has worked with for over 24 years.

He was an avid fan of Ice Hockey and was the announcer on match nights, even fulfilling one of his goals of being a presenter on ITV when covering Ice Hockey matches.

He is a recipient of numerous industry awards for presenting, DJing and compering and can be seen occasionally getting back in the saddle for private friends & family occasions and even on the retreats!!

In the early clinical days of Life Right, his focus was logistics, computer interface, audio downloads and website creation. Inspired by the stories of people’s courage and will to improve their health status, he retrained as a Music Therapist at Roehampton University and then went on to master his skills in clinical reflexology, Indian Head Massage, sports massage and aroma-hypnotherapy.

He is a valuable part of the Team and manages logistics, appointments and ultimate experience, whether that is on a residential retreat or in one of our consulting hubs.  He is also one of the holistic practitioners who can provide massage and audio interventions and treatments on our retreats.

in 2020, Richie used his skills and experience to set up an entire radio station and bring it to air.  The popularity for Life Right Radio has grown way beyond expectations and achieves better listener hours (length of time listening) than some commercial radio stations!

Richie is a keen Formula 1 fan and has previously stepped in as lead singer with Marillion & Pink Floyd tribute bands.  In his spare time, he loves being out on the sea on his jetski, plus he can be heard playing piano, drums and guitar, although rarely at the same time!

Ian spent a good proportion of his youth as a competitive swimmer.  He still loves watersports and regularly pushes his level of fitness towards competing in Triathlons.  He approaches his passion for wellbeing in the same way, by working with those who wish to be better or who want to retain their flexibility and fitness, by helping the body and mind to work synergistically together to achieve neuromuscular stabilisation whilst protecting the integrity of the body and its organs: An ideal approach for injury, rehabilitation and pain management.

He studied at Glamorgan University and qualified as a Chiropractor in 2001.  Working alongside eminent UK Chiropractors, he was awarded his Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) from the European Chiropractors Union Board of Education, following his PRT (Post Registration Training scheme) year at the Cowbridge Chiropractic and Spinal Rehabilitation Clinic

Due to his interest in neurology and how this plays itself out in the body through chronic pain, he studied Western Medical Acupuncture and received a Post Graduate qualification in 2007.  He uses acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy to his gentle, yet effective, patient-led manual approach and achieves good results with those patients who cannot tolerate or dislike a traditional ‘chiropractic’ approach.

In 2012, he was able to study under the tutelage of Karel Lewit and Pavel Kolar learning Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilisation, both in the UK and Czech Republic.  This knowledge and insight into how joint dysfunction occurs and how to treat them has given him a better understanding of rehabilitation, sports injury, neuro issues and how to inform the brain to change and heal.

He has travelled across the Continent and settled for a few years in Germany, learning the language and practicing as a Chiropractor in a busy Clinic, a mean feat in itself, with the jargon and terminology!  He appreciates how that informed his knowledge on the anatomy and physiology of the human body and is not phased by any presenting issues.

He has worked for the past 5 years with Lilly in a diverse and challenging clinical environment, where a holistic approach to dysfunction and pain is primary to the consultation process and subsequent treatment.

He is currently studying a Master’s degree in Medical Sonography at the Anglo European College of Chiropractic University College, specialising in Musculo-Skeletal Ultrasound Diagnosis.

His other interests include watersports, triathlon and two allotments and living in Portland, Dorset, he can often be found riding the waves on his surfboard.  He has also been known to provide swimming and breathing technique lessons to lucky recipients on our residential Retreats.