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| photo courtesy of Prairie Yogi |
1. What is your role at Prairie Yogi?
R: I am in charge of the business side of Prairie Yogi, setting our long terms goals and vision, and establishing and maintaining relationships in the community. I also act as co-editor, contributor, and photographer.
M: I handle a lot of the creative at Prairie Yogi. I'm a photographer, designer and writer and my favourite part of my job is being able to tell someone's story in a creative way.
Rachelle: What are 3 words to best capture the spirit of Monique?
R: I am in charge of the business side of Prairie Yogi, setting our long terms goals and vision, and establishing and maintaining relationships in the community. I also act as co-editor, contributor, and photographer.
M: I handle a lot of the creative at Prairie Yogi. I'm a photographer, designer and writer and my favourite part of my job is being able to tell someone's story in a creative way.
2. What inspires your creative process?
R: Inspiration is everywhere for me. It's in nature, it's in people, it's in my practice. Sometimes the best ideas come to me when I'm doing mundane tasks like the dishes or driving to a meeting. I always carry a notepad with me.
M: I think it's a lot of things. Travel definitely. If I'm feeling stuck I like to bounce ideas off of people and develop them that way. Rachelle and I work together really well like that. Often, I get those "ah-ha" moments when I'm walking my dogs or flowing through some yoga.
3. What do you want to bring to the Prairies? In other words, what's your core message?
R: We want to build the kula of the prairies, and bring national (even international) recognition to this beautiful community that embodies strength: big sky + big hearts, we are prairie yogis. We live in the extremes: we are strong and we are soft, we are beautiful and we are hard, we are expansive and we are closely knit. Prairie Yogi is here to share this community with the world. We also would like to bring events and experiences to prairie yogis that they would otherwise have to travel cross-country to experience.
M: I don't think I want to bring anything to the prairies, what I do want to do is tell the stories that are already here. The people are really strong and have amazing stories that sometimes get overlooked by big publications.
4. What's your favourite wanderlust and why?
R: Also, only been to one Wanderlust, but dream of Oahu as well. While I can appreciate the majestic beauty of the mountains, I'm a beach girl at heart, love the ocean and the sunshine.
M: Well, I've only been to Wanderlust Colorado (which was amazing!!!) but, I really love the idea of Wanderlust Oahu. I'm such an outdoorsy girl; I can just picture myself being at Wanderlust Oahu with my hands in the sand licking salty ocean water off of my lips.
5. What's on your favourite playlist right now?
R: I'm really all over the map when it comes to music, and my playlist-du-jour currently reflects my smorgasbord of musical flavour: Skrillex, Macklemore, Ellie Goulding, Calvin Harris, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stones, Bon Iver, Mariana and the Diamonds, DJ Diplo.
M: Since coming back from Wanderlust, my home practice has been really strong and I've been listening to DJ Drez mixes. I got to meet him at WLCO and the guy is really cool and plays great music to flow to. Other than that, some of my playlist favourites are James Vincent McMorrow, Beirut, Ray LaMontagne and classic summer bands like Jack Johnson and The Tragically Hip. Oh, and rap music... I'm a total sucker for rap music.
6. What's on your bedside table?
R: Books (the artists way, Meditations on the Mat) my journal, my glasses, a vanilla scented candle, and a glass of water (it's been there for a few days for sure)
M: Books: my journal, Meditations on the Mat by Rolf Gates, Wayne Dyer's interpretation of the Tao, Core of the Yoga Sutras, The Tree of Yoga, and a book about permaculture. Lotion, a candle and a glass of water that's been sitting there for 2 days.
7. Chocolate or vanilla?
R: Vanilla. As a flavour, as a scent. Mmmmm
M: Chocolate. Dark, milk, semi-sweet... yummmm.
8. What makes you inquire & go a little deeper within?
R: Music. Medlody and lyrics. Even pop songs work. When I hear the new Christina Auguilera song "I just wanna feel this moment" it sends my mind into a flurry of thought: So many people wonder what they could do to be happier, to feel more satisfied with life. And here is it, the answer, the meaning of life - something yogis have known forever - feel this moment, live in it, experience it. And here it is in a bubble gum pop song heard by all, and still people don't get it, don't want to think it could be something so simple.
M: Usually it's experience. Whether it's really good or really bad, experience is the thing that makes me inquire and go deeper. Savasana is a great place to let the subconscious mind do it's thing. I get a lot of my answers just laying in savasana.
9. Monique: What are 3 words to best capture the spirit of Rachelle?
Strong- the girl has been through the equivalent of an emotional category 5 hurricane and still smiles everyday and considers what some view as misfortunes to be blessings. If that isn't strength, I don't know what is.
Adventurous- Yes, she's travelled the world with a backpack. But I love Rachelle's sense of adventure. She's spontaneous and appreciates when others take the time to cherish a moment or do something really fun.
Bright- Rachelle is a problem solver. She's the most resourceful woman I've ever met. She doesn't see roadblocks, she sees the monkey trails off the paved roads and is the first to explore them.
Creative- Monique writes poem to give as gifts. She secretly paints with watercolours, and is actually quite good. She has an eye for seeing and capturing beauty in the simple and mundane moments.
Soft- Monique is just a really sweet person. When she asks you a question, she genuinely cares about the answer. She is sweet and caring and generous. I have known her for over a decade and I have never seen her get heated or upset.
Beautiful- Yes, she may just be the most beautiful woman I've seen in real life (my first words to her when we met - I was 14, she was 12- were "tu es tellement belle") she is really just a beautiful person inside and out. She genuinely cares about everyone and everything in her life. She just radiates with an authenticity that pours out of her porcelain skin.
10. Where are you going from here?
R: From here, there is a lot of hard work ahead to continue to expand the Prairie Yogi brand. Yoga teacher training and beginning to create our own style of yoga to be able to created branded retreats under the prairie yogi umbrella. To further my yogic education.
M: In the immediate future? Yoga teacher training for both Rachelle and I. But with Prairie Yogi, I just want to continue on this journey of telling stories through the yoga community on a very local level and also a global level. I hope that travel continues to be a big part of my life. I'd like to continue to cross paths with inspiring people and be blessed to tell their story- that's what I love.
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