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Archive for the ‘Ambassadors’ Category
Retreat with Shiva Rea at Esalen in Big Sur fueled my heart fire and fed my soul with nature, yummy organic food grown on the land, community of dear friends and new friends, rejuvenation in the hot spring baths, and entrainment to my inner rhythm. Radio Devi (Vir McCoy and Evan Fraser of Hamsa Lila) guided our experience with infectious instrumentals weaving thru electronic beats DJ’d by Shiva. They were right with us every step of the way in a dance with our collective energy leading us into epic moments of trance, flow, and quiet heart reflection.
I made the journey with my friend Michelle Bouvier of Hoop Nectar; we arrived at Esalen in the afternoon when the light was golden, shimmering on the land illuminating the gardens and inviting us to explore. Within moments we were adventuring and engaged in Bodacious Play. Michelle was spiraling in her hoops as I was loving nature yoga and cartwheels. We explored the gardens smelling the healing herbs, checking out the variety of colorful veggies, and tasting the yummy apples right from the trees.
On this first night together Shiva shared some valuable information and visual slides that outlined the importance of “Tending the Sacred Fire”. She explained that studies show that stress has a rhythmic brain wave state that creates a dissonant energy field often resulting in dis-ease in the body and in life. Dr. Sue Mortor also talks about this in her recent TEDx NASA segment. By learning to tend the fire within on all levels, physical, creative, emotional, and mental in varying degrees we contain the fire making it fully available to us. The reward is access to and expression of our innate creativity.
Primed with this new knowledge we proceeded to move into the experience. Shiva shared shaker eggs with us and the room filled with the entrancing rhythmic sound. Shiva and Radio Devi took us on a musical journey that morphed into a movement alchemy. Soon we were guided into deep rest and silence. Inspired by the brilliance of the stars a few of us went to the hot baths and settled into our new rhthym as it entrained to the crashing waves below.
Celebrating the last new moon of the solstice year we met the next morning to sit in inquiry and process composting the essence of the year. We composted these emotions and energies while riding the waves of prana flow asana that offered both strengthening structure and gentle freedom. Our afternoon and evening were free for connecting with nature and nurturing the soul. We met again under the new moon for a fire ceremony and celebration of the seeds we were planting for this next season. Soon we were moved again by an entrancing musical journey inspiring ecstatic free form movement.
Sunday morning, while most of our group was at the baths, I enjoyed the opportunity to practice Tai Ji with master Al Huang. Shiva, her dad, step-mom and I gathered with the Tai Ji group on the deck open to receive the fresh morning sunlight rising over the mountain. Al has been teaching on that deck for 50 years and happens to be one of Shiva’s cherished teachers. His teachings are simple and humorous yet packed with power. It was beautiful to witness Shiva’s connection with her family and deep affection for this teacher of hers. I caught a glimpse of the little girl inside and could see this beautiful affinity for spirituality and truth had grown from seeds planted by her father. Curious, I asked her dad what he had wanted Shiva to be when she grew up. He said with a smile on his face “ a warrior” of the light, a yoga master 
After welcoming the sun and connecting with the earth we met for our last session together. This was an energized prana flow vinyasa and upbeat musical journey. Through the full range of yoga asana into free form movement we synched our breath, heart, and brain waves into a coherent field. We ventured out into nature for our final savasana meeting at the river to send gratitude and dreams into the flow of rushing water.
Thank you Shiva for leading the way on this journey to an experience in life that is full of creativity and vitality!
~Heather Keely, Bodacious Living Yoga and Lightworks Creative
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Climbing and parenting: a balance between hanging on and letting go. Climbing seems simple enough: grip too hard and you’ll pump out early. If you don’t put enough effort into it, you’ll never make it to the end. I have spent over a decade fine-tuning that balance between holding on and letting go. Now with the birth of our first child Annie, I find the same lessons in parenthood: Suddenly I am two people, dependent on each other, but both with a lifetime of dreams and aspirations ahead of us. I have to hold on, but not too tight. Seems simple enough.
~Kate Reese McGinnis, prAna Ambassador
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Tony Yaniro was a serious game changer for the world of rock climbing. While others were satisfied with climbing five twelve he felt the need to go further. Establishing Grand Illusion as the first five thirteen, he planted a stepping stone for the masses.
Tony is well known for hi establishing all over California, but he also left his mark many other places, such as my home state Idaho. Tony moved to Ketchum Idaho in the late eighties. He linked up with Dave Bingham, and together they attacked the development of Idaho sport climbing.
Most of there time was spent at the mega spots such as City of Rocks, Massacre rocks, and many others! Establishing many five twelve’s and five thirteen’s. Turning these areas into great destinations for hard sport climbing! He also developed the surrounding area of my home town Sun Valley. There isn’t a ton around here, but what there is happens to be stellar. Much of this do to the psyche of Tony Yaniro.
Many people know about Tony chipping and “comfortising” holds. This used to really bug me, though it was known and ok for the times. I have come to terms that what was done back in the day was part of a learning process. That and the fact that what has been chipped isn’t going any where any time soon.
There is a local crag to Sun Valley called “Trail Creek”. The crags are short, but a lot of fun for being only about eight miles out of Sun Valley. Here Tony put up a few lines, two of which were shipped. I tackled the beautiful un chipped route called “Sacillian” 12C first, a stellar line on an exposed arête. Right next door is a 13a dubbed “Vigilante.” Great route though it yields a couple man made holds. To be honest you can barely even tell, apparently Tony was an artist when it came to chipping/comfortising.
Tony may have literally left his mark on some rock, but in the process he opened up a whole new world for sport climbing. He trained for routes, rehearsed them, whatever it took. He left his mark on the rock and in the history books.
~Beau Stuart, prAna Ambassador
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Congratulations to prAna ambassador Alizée Dufraisse who got hold of us yesterday to confirm her FFA of La Reina Mora! The route was her most difficult grade to date and places her in the company of only a handful of women. She already has her sights on another unbelievable route so stay tuned…
La REINA MORA : Combat fantastique !!!
La première fois que je suis montée dans cette voie (ouverte en 1996 par Alex Huber) la ligne évidente du secteur de la RAMBLA, je ne pensais pas être capable d’enchaîner une voie de cette difficulté et de cette exigence dans ma vie. Je n’arrivais pas à réaliser intrinsèquement une bonne partie des mouvements.
J’ai choisi la REINA MORA malgré la difficulté qu’elle représentait pour moi car elle m’inspirait.
Hier, j’ai dû livrer un combat exceptionnel pour en arriver à bout. C’est de loin la voie la dure et la plus belle que j’ai réalisé.
La voie est très résistante et très physique sans réel repos, le tout entrecoupé de 3 passages marqués très bloc (de 7B à 7C). Ce qui rend l’enchaînement très difficile.
La REINA MORA ne comptait jusqu’à présent que 3 réalisations (Ramon, Nicolas Favresse et Dani Andrada).
Ce dernier qui a enchaîné la voie le mois dernier donnait une cotation aux alentours de 9A, je suis d’accord avec lui, je pense qu’on est un ton au-dessus de l’autre 9A très exigeant du secteur ESTADO CRITICO. Avis aux prochains répétiteurs…
La Reina Mora: great fight!!!!
First time I’ve work this route (opened by Alex Huber in 1996), THE line of La Rambla sector in Siurana crag (Spain, Catalunia), I couldn’t imagine I ll send a such route in my life. It was so so so hard, men style but really beautiful!! I wasn t able to do a lot of moves on it. But I choose La Reina, she inspires me…
Yesterday I had an incredible fight and I send it. It is the most beautiful and hard route I’ve ever done.
It is both resistance, boulder and continuity with no rest, 3 boulder problems on it around 7C boulder. This mix was terrible but super cool.
La Reina Mora had just 3 sending (Ramon Julian Puiblanque, Dani Andrada and Nicolas Favresse).
Dani did the route one month ago and think the grade is 9a. I agree with that. I’m waiting the opinion of the next “senders”
~Alizée Dufraisse, prAna Ambassador
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With winter comes short days and long, dark evenings. My first few winters as a climber in Colorado were filled with anxiety. When would I get to climb again? Would it ever stop snowing? How can it be SO cold?
It took some time, and some patience, but I’ve finally found my peace with winter. I’ve finally realized that I don’t have to climb every weekend. In fact, it turns out that there are a whole slew of other things that I also love to do. Like skiing, swimming in the hot springs pool, watching football, and hanging out with my non-climbing friends. Most of all I enjoy finding creative ways to use all of the pretty things I save throughout the year.
This past weekend I pulled out some of the prAna shipping bags I’ve been saving for a snowy day and got to work folding origami boxes. I love these boxes. They make perfect treasure chests for all of the little knick-knacks I have lying around my bedroom.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to up-cycle your own prAna shipping bags into fun little boxes.
~Jen Vennon, prAna Ambassador
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The Man Who Can Fly
National Geographic: Legendary rock climber and base jumper Dean Potter mounts an expedition to free climb the massive peaks of Canada’s Mt. Butte. Catch it Sunday February 12th at 8:00pm!
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With a total of 8 days over a 2 year period, Paul Robinson was finally able to send one of his hardest lines to date, Meadowlark Lemon in Gateway Canyon, Nevada (a subsector of Red Rocks).
This is Paul’s hardest FA to date, besides Lucid Dreaming. The send was caught on film by Chuck Fryberger’s film crew and will be featured in their upcoming moving “The Network.”
Of today’s (11/1/2012) ascent, Paul comments, “I considered it one of the best lines I have ever climbed on in the entire world. The boulder is super physical, yet really technical. The crux revolves around some really crazy heel hooks on the left arete.”
2 years ago, Paul put up Meadowlark Lemon stand and graded it 8B/V13. He considers the moves between the sit and the stand start to be an additional 8B, making the entire line two 8B’s linked together without a rest.
When asked about the name of the boulder problem, Paul said, “Meadowlark Lemon was an American basketball player that played for the Harlem Globetrotters. He was considered to be one of the best players ever and has a sweet name. The last move of my climb is similar to a slam dunk in basketball.”
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Prana ambassador Kevin Wilkinson and I had the pleasure of spending two weeks over this holiday season vacation climbing and sharing a family holiday on the tiny Caribbean island called Cayman Brac, one of the three Cayman Islands. The main island, Grand Cayman, lies just under 500 miles south of Miami, offering a dreamy Caribbean setting complete with resort-style amenities, shopping aplenty, white sandy beaches, haute cuisine and night clubs. Eighty-nine miles northeast, Cayman Brac is the larger of the country’s two sister islands, measuring 12 miles long and a mile and a half wide. Just five miles away, Little Cayman covers slightly less surface area with only 10 square miles to the Brac’s 14.
Unique to the Brac is the feature that gave the island its name – a long band of limestone that rises slowly up out of the ground on the island’s west end, growing in stature to create a wide, mid-island rib, or bluff, that spans the length of the island and terminates in 100+-foot tall sea cliffs on the island’s east end. The word brac means bluff in Gaelic. The top of the bluff provides habitat for the Cayman Brac parrot as well as birds called brown boobies, which nest atop the towering cliffs above the bluff’s east end. Tucked into the walls of the bluff lie numerous caves, which have traditionally served as hurricane shelters for the island’s people, or Brackers, as they’re called, while also drawing interested tourists in for exploration. Both the Brac and Little Cayman are world-renowned scuba diving destinations as well.
About 15 years ago, my family “discovered” Cayman Brac and decided to make it a destination for regular vacationing. It was just my luck that the island happens to have established sport climbing on it, thanks to the efforts of a number of rock climbers through the years. Today, those efforts are spearheaded by Colorado-based climber John Byrnes, who owns a home on Cayman Brac that he rents out to climbers (and other travelers). He also runs the Climb Cayman Brac Web site, which includes a free, up-to-date climbing guide to the island’s sport climbing offerings. Though the harsh seaside environment corroded the original stainless-steel bolts on the island’s routes, creating a major safety concern, Byrnes has invested a vast amount of time, effort and money in replacing these and making sure that all new routes are equipped with specially designed titanium bolts called Tortugas, which have proven to resist corrosion.
We had the pleasure of sampling routes both old and new on our recent adventure to the island, appreciating all the work that has gone into making these outings safe and enjoyable. I hadn’t climbed on the Brac in at least seven years, which made even older routes that I’d climbed before seem new to me. We didn’t get the opportunity to rappel down the steep sea walls to climb routes on the point; rough seas during the first week and the family holiday time during the second kept us from that. But we did savor the incredible tufa outings available at Dixon’s Wall, as well as the short powerful climbs of the Love Shack and the more moderate, juggy and fun offerings of the Orange Cave.
The second week’s calmer seas drew us into the ocean every day with my family to explore the underwater wonderland that snorkeling offered, forgoing climbing entirely. One day after snorkeling, Kevin struck up a conversation with a local family that was spending the day out fishing, which resulted in the addition to freshly caught island fish to our dinner that night. Another day after snorkeling, Kevin retrieved some fresh coconuts, leading to another tasty meal addition. I also spent at least an hour walking nearly every single morning, exploring the island and seeing Cayman Brac parrots along with the gorgeously unfamiliar flora that flourishes even in midwinter there.
As always, it was a pleasure to spend time on the island, where the friendliness of the local community makes all visitors feel welcome and the friendliness of the climate makes me feel like I’m the most limber person in the world every time I stretch. Throw in a family visit and some fun limestone climbing, and it’s a recipe for an excellent holiday season, every time.
Alli Rainey, prAna Ambassador
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