Riva May began her training in Buddhist Vipassana Meditation in 1997 at the Insight Meditation Centers in Cambridge and Barre, Massachusetts. She further expanded her training in Thailand, India, and Nepal during a 3-year sojourn to Buddhist monasteries, Hindu ashrams, meditation centers, and yoga centers.

Riva became a Reiki practitioner in 2001, channeling energy for healing. Since 2007, she has been one of the meditation core faculty at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York.