ABOUT US
We envision inner peace and self-love for all.
We are on a mission to serve others through conscious travel, yoga, and mindfulness. We lead compassionately and offer tools and transformative experiences to deepen the enjoyment of life.
How It All Began...
Hi I’m Jyoti, founder of RasVida. About a decade ago, I became a mother and found myself busy trying to juggle a plethora of responsibilities while running on very little sleep. Even though I knew better, I believed that someday, when life got easier or I had more time or more money, THEN I could enjoy my life to its fullest and realize my dreams. Problem is, there’s always something and the years passed by. Sound familiar?
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In 2018, despite feeling my healthiest, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and my life changed overnight in all the cliche ways. Coming out of treatment, I felt a renewed urgency to take control of my life, shed excuses and live life now.
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But, then Covid reared its ugly head and the pandemic forced the world to isolate. Within a few months, we began to see its effect on mental health. All around me, people were stressed out and deeply in need of nurture, fun and connection. With or without a cancer scare, I saw people reevaluate their lives and look for ways to live more authentically.
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The creation of RasVida is my response to taking the reins of my own life, following my dreams of hosting yoga retreats and seeing the world, as well as helping others to do the same and live their best lives. I believe that traveling opens our minds and fosters compassion, adventuring into a new experience brings significant personal growth, and doing it all with an amazing group of like-minded people nourishes the soul. As a lifetime yogi, I also know that lasting happiness doesn’t come from external people, places or things. For that reason, every RasVida excursion incorporates yoga and mindfulness. We practice and teach time-tested, valuable yogic tools that participants can use back home, in their everyday lives and create lasting transformation.
I hope to adventure with you soon!
Xo,
Jyoti
"The challenge is not to be perfect, it is to be whole."
[RAS] The root Sanskrit word, RASA literally means, “the juice of a fruit” but can also be interpreted as “the nectar of enjoyment.”​
[VIDA] is the Spanish word for life and living. We interpret the combination, RasVida, to mean the juicy enjoyment of life, which is exactly what we intend to achieve with each yoga excursion.
The inspiration for RasVida’s logo comes from the ancient Indian unalome. This beautiful visual metaphor represents a person’s journey through life toward the ultimate freedom of mental clarity and enlightenment. The path to enlightenment is never straight and not even always in the right direction. Thus, the unalome’s zig zags symbolize the various twists and turns, challenges and adversity that we encounter on our life’s journey. As we seek a higher understanding, the winding path begins to steady, mirroring our own sense of internal balance and focus. Finally, the unalome’s upper dot represents the moment we achieve awakening and are released from suffering.
At RasVida, we view travel as a curve on the unalome. Every retreat and excursion is a beautiful opportunity to grow and evolve. When we step out of our familiar daily lives andinto, often, a new culture, we gain experience and perspective that fosters our own inner evolvement. Each retreat and excursion is a mini arena for personal growth. With practice, learn to more gracefully navigate all that life throws at us with love, compassion and joy!
