Friday, August 28, 2015

July Ambassador for Barefoot Yoga Shala

Mermaid pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
Wheel pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
I previously wrote a bit about our yoga practices with regard to a yogawith horses retreat that we attended in June in Stowe, Vermont with our yoga studio, Barefoot YogaShala in Middleton, MA.

In July, I was selected as an Ambassador for the studio. Studio owner and teacher Jenny Ravikumar selects two students per month to promote the studio on social media. This was a no-brainer for me, as it is something that I do anyway. Yoga has been such a positive influence in our lives over the past 9 or so months, and I’m not sure that we would have become so enamored with it if we hadn’t found this particular studio. The community of instructors and students is welcoming, dynamic, and supportive. We have made many new friends and we are at the studio taking classes and workshops an average of 4 or 5 times per week. It makes us feel great physically, spiritually, and emotionally, so of course I want to spread the word to any others who might be interested – whether they are experienced yogis, or beginners (like we were).

As part of the Ambassador program, participants get a yoga photo shoot with local photographer Sarah Jayne Photography, and Jenny conducts an interview about their yoga experiences. The photo shoot was so much fun! And my interview is now posted on Jenny’s site.

Tree pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
Tree pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
       

Warrior II (Sarah Jayne Photography)
Reverse Warrior (Sarah Jayne Photography)
         


Mountain pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
Camel pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
Dancer's pose (Sarah Jayne Photography)
July Ambassadors Steph and Meghan with Jenny (Sarah Jayne Photography)

Jenny was almost 9 months pregnant at the time of the photo shoot, and still practicing yoga daily and teaching several times per week. In fact, she taught right up until 5 days before she gave birth. She and her husband Karthik welcomed baby boy Zyan Jacob on Monday evening. We are so excited for them and can’t wait to meet the little guy!

Jenny and Zyan (Sarah Jayne Photography)
Karthik, Jenny, and Zyan (photo courtesy of Jenny's mom Brenda)
Zyan Jacob Ravikumar (photo courtesy of Jenny)

Sunday, August 16, 2015

July 4th in Ecuador

We spent the 4th of July with our dear compadres in Ecuador this year.

Here are some posts that we made to Facebook about the trip. Full trip diaries coming soon to the main website!

7/3/15

Even though Barefoot Yoga Shala is closed for the holiday, we did an hour plus long practice with our godchildren in Ecuador this morning. Although I am not a licensed teacher, Craig thinks I did a pretty good Jenny Ravikumar impression. He thinks she would have been proud 
wink emoticon heart emoticon With Craig's MS, the stretching really helps, so we decided to incorporate our practice into our vacation as well. And all 3 kids loved it!! Craig was feeling really run down before we came here, but lots of rest and healthy food and fresh air have done him wonders, even at high altitude.

 
Yoga practice: Craig and Sisa in tree pose


Craig and Sisa practicing yoga



Max the dog joins practice, just like Apollo Ravikumar at Barefoot Yoga Shala!
Sisa in proud pigeon with Yupanqui and Tayanta
Yupanqui, Sisa, and Tayanta in supta baddha konasana

Craig, Yupanqui, Sisa, and Tayanta in happy baby pose
Craig, Yupanqui, Sisa, and Tayanta in Figure Four

Steph practices her headstand
Craig practices his headstand


7/5/15

We had another great day yesterday with our compadres in Ecuador. We helped with chores around the homestead, did another yoga practice, and played with the kids. I plucked my first chicken, and the family hosted a nice family from Holland for a homestay.

Steph in mermaid pose
Steph in wheel pose
Craig in headstand
Group savasana at the end of yoga practice
Craig plays Jenga with the kids
Steph and Tayanta
Steph plucks a chicken
Steph carries the chicken to Rosa for butchering
Dinner with Dutch guest

So, Papa Francisco (the Pope) has arrived in Quito, and the airport is closed for a couple of hours today with many road closures. He is supposed to fly out tomorrow morning, and as far as we can tell, our flight tomorrow at 2 p.m. should still be on schedule, but who knows. I guess it qualifies as an act of God (literally) if our flight home is postponed?



7/7/15

The Papal visit to Ecuador did not impact our flight home yesterday.
We watched his arrival at the Mariscal Sucre airport on TV on Sunday night. As soon as he stepped out of the plane, his cap went flying due to the high winds. He was very good-natured about it. After a welcome ceremony on the tarmac, his Popemobile (or Papamovil, in Spanish) drove him to Quito. Half a million people lined the streets to see him.
Papa Francisco rides to Quito in his Jeep Papamovil as we watch on TV

It's a really big deal for a country whose population is 80% Catholic. There hasn't been a Papal visit to Ecuador since 1985.
Apparently he spoke about the need for a more inclusive Catholic Church.
As Popes go, Papa Francisco is pretty cool!
When we flew out of Quito yesterday, we could see the red carpet area of the tarmac where they had held the welcome ceremony.

Here are more photos from the trip:

Tayanta meets us at the airport

Sisa and her Achi Taita get reacquainted on the ride home from the airport
Tayanta
Sisa
Yupanqui
Full moon over Volcan Imbabura, viewed from the 3rd floor of the house
Craig and Tayanta
Tayanta
Volcan Cotacachi, viewed from our morning walk
Volcam Cayambe, viewed from the 3rd floor of the house 
Rachel (the local Peace Corps volunteer) comes for a visit!
Sisa surveys the family farmland, a short walk down the road from the house. Quinoa and lupins are planted here. The soil was very dry, but luckily they got 2 days of rain after we returned home.
Rosa, Tayanta, and Sisa
Sisa, Tayanta, and Yupanqui return home from the store
Rosa and Tayanta
Abuelita in her outdoor kitchen
Aida and Tayanta
Tayanta and Antonio at breakfast