Each year on my birthday I write myself (and sometimes Apollo) a letter. This year I was in India and wasn’t gifted the opportunity of time to craft this letter and I felt New Years Day was the PERFECT time to write a yearly letter. I am wishing you all a beautiful year ahead and hope your 2015 is full of love, light and happiness.
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Dear 2014,
Wow. Thank you.
I’m not sure how to start this letter other than to begin with gratitude. You have slammed into me and surprised me in some of the most magnificent ways and I bow to you as the year that put so many beautiful things into motion, as well as the year that changed me inside and out.
I opened Barefoot Yoga Shala.
BYS has been my biggest life changer yet. I’m working through navigating what it means to be a boss, to manage my money and to work in providing a space of sanctuary for my community. I had some big, huge stumbles and some amazing breakthroughs this year and believe I’ve done pretty well for being open only 9 short months. I cannot wait to see what this year ahead brings us and know it will be grand!! We have a retreat coming in June, a lot of workshops on the horizon and a community that is expanding daily. Grateful doesn’t even cover it!
I completed my 500 hour RYT requirement and met Shiva Rea.
Okay I admit it. I haven’t sent in the paperwork….. but it’s on my desk and all I have to do is drive to Rhode Island!!! After a week in Florida, I ended my last day of training by opening my studio the very next day. Talk about a huge vinyasa wave, drawing my ending to a close with a huge new beginning the very next day!
A month later I went back to Rhode Island (and Boston) to train with my amazing mentor, Shiva Rea. I’m beyond grateful to Debbie & Coral for not only teaching me this past year, but for also introducing me to Shiva. It was such a blessing and I’m so excited I got to meet her!
New Babies. New friends. New love.
Ella Leila Ryan was born on April 28th, 2014 and I am so blessed to have met her in the hospital. My beautiful friend Nadia and her wonderful fiance Tom welcomed her and honored me with the opportunity to meet her right away! What a gift to meet such a precious life so early. I’m psyched to be a bridsemaid in their wedding this May and cannot wait to celebrate alongside them as they become the Ryans!!
Alongside Ella’s birth, was the birth of new friends. This year I have met some of the most incredible people, through owning my own business (Shannon), going on retreats (Erin) and being in the blogging world (Boston Blogger Ladies), I have met some incredible soul warriors this year and value these new friendships quite highly. I’m so happy you entered my life!
I attended TWO yoga retreats.
And met some amazing people who have become close friends through the process. I rode horses and practiced yoga ON a horse, as well as found the perfect spot for BYS’ very first yoga retreat in 2015. Bring it on!
We moved into a new home.
The Ravikumar Den is (almost) fully a home now. We have added in all the photos now and my altar is complete. Our office is in transition, but I’m certain it will look fabulous soon enough! The only thing missing is an air mattress for extra cousin/sibling sleepovers. I love our little space and although this is a temporary home, it’s still OUR temporary home and I’m very proud of how we have decorated and created it to match our personalities.
We spent the entire summer in Wolfeboro.
Karthik and I made a vow this year to spend as much time in my folks summer home as we possibly could. We wanted more time together as a family and even challenged ourselves to the Tavern beer/martini challenge as a cousin clan. We swam, played on our new SUP board and made sure to eat way too much ice cream as we baked on the beach alongside my beautiful best friends/cousins. It was a summer to remember!
My very best friend got married.
Talk about an honor… to be an honor! I was the matron of honor in my best friend Sandra’s wedding and there is no place I would’ve rather been on August 23rd, 2014. I am so happy for her to be a newlywed and can’t believe Mike wanted to join this insane family of friends we have… but I’m so glad he did. Love, love, love all around.
We celebrated our third wedding anniversary.
What a blessing to be married to my best friend. Someone who makes me laugh every single day, who takes care of me always and who is someone I am honored to share the rest of my life with. I love my husband so much and am ever grateful we have created this little family of ours and created so much love around us!
We went to INDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m still processing everything that happened and writing furiously about our experience, but we made it to India. After 5 years of togetherness and 3 years of marriage, we finally set foot on Lufsthansa airlines to travel to the motherland. It was the trip of a lifetime and one I’m still dreaming about often.
Not only did I ride an elephant (and fed her valla pullum), but we explored the country with our FAMILY. I finally met all the beautiful faces of people I have seen for years through the computer screen on Skype and fell in love with everyone at first site. I cannot wait to go back and hug everyone as soon as we are able!
I stuck to my 2014 words all year, as best I was able.
2014 was an OMazing year and it truly was full of abundance, strength and love. I was challenged in ways I never knew and found strength in my physical and emotional body. I was gifted abundance in many more ways than money: a trip to India, becoming a sponsor for many amazing products, became a writer for profit (!!!) and truly dove into the idea of saying YES and accepting help whenever it is given. Love was present EVERYWHERE. From family time to building our home and our fabulous vacations, we found love in everything we did. I wrote more hand written love letters this year than ever before and was constantly doing my best to live in the moment, full of love and grace.
2015 will be the year of the Warrior Princess!!!
A beautiful friend of mine, Erin-Ashley, told me that this coming year would be about ownership (of my business, but also my life). I mulled over this word for a while and although I liked the meaning, ownership sounded kinda dull to me. I wanted something more fierce and yet feminine to start my year and found it in the combination of words: warrior princess.
This year will be about working towards my first profitable year in business, as well as softening into the divine femininity of home life. It will be a mixture of blending worlds and creating a business, family and life I love and I cannot wait.
Although it is the first day of the year, I am already feeling alive and excited by the possibility of the new beginnings being created around and within me. 2014 you kicked some major ass and I cannot wait to see what your brother, 2015, will bring me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for a transformative and beautiful year.
Thank you for my amazing husband and Apollo (both of whom have changed my world, forever and ever amen).
Thank you to our families, both here and abroad, for always loving us and supporting us along every journey we encounter.
Thank you to my students and our community at BYS. I love you so much soul warriors and I cannot wait to see what this new year brings us!!!
Jai Ma!!!!!
Happy New Year, Soul Warriors. May 2015 be full of whatever it is you need in life. Sending you love, light and happiness.
Namaste
Jenny