This is the 15th in our ongoing series highlighting our happy yogis. This week we’re profiling the amazing Alicia Arellano. Alicia has been an incredible friend and ardent supporter of Big Raven Yoga. She is a fierce cheerleader and perpetual inspiration for determination and drive. Alicia is a director with Zyia Active yoga clothing, and she ordered a fully custom yoga mat to help promote Zyia. Not only is she a director at Zyia, but she’s also a fitness instructor, including an instructor for Pound, which is… well, it’s rock-n-roll cardio drumming, basically. I’ve done a lot of Pound workouts, and believe me, it’s incredibly fun AND incredibly sweaty!
(Pound workouts use yoga mats laid out on the ground as drum heads, but typical yoga mats don’t last. Ours do — they stand up to the severe beating they take during these workouts, so in addition to the custom yoga mat she commissioned for her Zyia business, we’re also working with her to create custom yoga mats for Pound as well! Exciting!)
The design that Alicia commissioned features the four pillars of Zyia’s foundation: Light, Activity, Community, and Uplift. You can read more about Zyia’s origins here, and you can read more about Alicia herself below!
QTell us a little bit about yourself…
AI’m a wife, mom to 3, a rep for Zyia Active and a fitness instructor.
QWhat kind of asanas do you practice?
AI usually do Body Flow — which is a format I teach that combines yoga tai chi and Pilates
QHow long have you been a yogi?
AOh gosh — I think that might be exaggerated to say I’m a yogi. Let’s pretend 2 years.
QWhat role does yoga play in your life?
AI love yoga/body flow for stretching and relaxation.
QDo you have a favorite pose?
ACrow on the paddleboard because it’s the only “balance” pose I can actually nail haha!
QHave you ever had a “yoga moment”, something that happened during practice that you didn’t expect? That made you laugh, brought you joy, made you cry?
ANo… 😳
QIs there a pose that used to be a “pillar pose” — one that you were working toward — that is now accessible to you?
AIn general I’m not amazing at balance but it’s improving!
QWhen you placed your order with Big Raven Yoga, what made you choose this particular design?
A From the minute I met Joleen, I knew I wanted to commission her to do a design for my business. But what she created far surpassed any of my expectations! It’s exceptional! Give her a small idea and she’ll make it into an absolute masterpiece!
QDo you have your eyes fixed on any other Big Raven designs? If so, which one(s) and why?
AI “need” one for Pound next…
QDo people ask you about your mat?
AYES!
Thank you, Alicia — we LOVE having you as a client! Custom designs have always been our favorite kinds of projects, for sure. (If you, dear reader, would like a custom design of your very own, PLEASE reach out to us! We always have more great design ideas than we can possibly put on our site without overwhelming everyone with FAR too many choices, so PLEASE give us an outlet for our creativity!)
(You can find out more about Alicia and Zyia on Instagram and Facebook. Please reach out to her if you too want to become a Zyia rep!)