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| ABOUT TRIPS REGISTER LEADER INCENTIVES BEFORE YOU GO ECO-TRAVEL PHOTOS CONTACT |
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Ashley RubackDirector | Trip Leader Ashley got the travel bug early after spending 3 months backpacking in Africa with NOLS (The National Outdoor Leadership School). Life has since been a quest to find the next adventure and learn about new cultures outside the US including Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Bhutan and all over Europe. She first traveled to India for several months in 2004, alone and seeking its spiritual essence. After a life-changing experience, she led two groups of teenagers in India for World School, an immersion school for high school kids. It was from these trips that Redback Travels spawned. Ashley began practicing yoga as a freshman in college in 1992. She is an Anusara-inspired teacher trained by Sarahjoy Marsh. Not only is yoga a daily part of her life, it is the crucial link to performing better when mountain biking, skiing and hiking. She graduated from Duke University and Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design with degrees in Art History and Graphic Design and currently resides in Portland, Oregon.  Ryan Redman Trip Leader | Yoga & Ayurveda Teacher Through a keen interest in Yoga stemming back to his early adolescence, Ryan began exploring contemplative practices of India at a very young age. Throughout his travels in India, Ryan encountered many renowned teachers such as the Dalai Lama, Sri Satya Sai Baba and Swami Muktananda, who have all inspired him to a dedicate his life to the pursuit of discovering genuine happiness for himself and others. At the age of 21, Ryan began teaching the practice of Yoga while also attending the University of California at Santa Barbara. During this same time Ryan encountered the erudite scholar and devout Buddhist teacher B. Alan Wallace, whose work continues to inspire many of Ryan’s teachings today. With over three years of intensive study in India, Ryan has grounded the essence of his teachings in Yoga Philosophy and Buddhism. Currently, Ryan continues teach classes, and lead retreats locally and internationally. Alongside his passion for teaching, Ryan continues to cultivate mindful living with his wife Paige and their two boys Satya and Taj. Also, Ryan is a practicing professional herbalist and wellness consultant in Hailey incorporating Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic principles for healing.  Nathan ParrTravel Agent | Logistics Manager | Trip Leader Nathan has a Bachelors degree in Religious Studies and a minor in South Asian Studies from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon where he still resides today. He first traveled to India in 1994 on an immersion program and has had an unquenchable interest ever since. While on this program he studied a wide variety of subjects such as art, history, architecture, religion, culture, rural development, and Hindi while focusing his attention the Sadhu (Holy Man) tradition. He has traveled extensively throughout India, from southern tip of Kanyakumari to the northern glacier of Gangotri, from the tea fields of Darjeeling in the east to desert fortress of Jaisalmer in the west. He has visited countless temples including his favorites, Chidambaram, the temple of Nataraja, and the Jain temple of Ranakpur. He was lucky enough to participate in the largest gathering of people on earth, the Kumbh Mela. Holy Men and Women from Naked Naga Baba's to well dressed Sanyasins have all blessed him. It is through these experiences that he developed an intimate understanding of the Indian worldview and a deep spiritual connection with the Hindu path. Nathan also works as a Travel Agent specializing in international airfares and travel itineraries.  HolBrook NewmanTrip Leader | Yoga Teacher After 12 years of working in finance in New York City, Holbrook decided to leave the corporate world to pursue her passion for yoga on a full-time basis. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) through Yoga Alliance and has practiced various styles of yoga (including Ashtanga, Hatha, Iyengar, Kundalini, Vinyasa) for over 15 years. She teaches yoga to adults and children and has completed two teacher trainings in New York - one an intensive 200-hour teacher training for adults with renowned teacher, Alison West, and the other for children at Karma Kids Yoga. In addition to yoga, she is passionate about traveling around the world, especially in Asia and Africa. In 2007, Holbrook embarked upon a three month, self-guided tour of India where she explored the country and spent time at various ashrams practicing yoga and meditation. In 2008, she returned to India to attend the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh and further explore India. In addition to yoga and travel, Holbrook is an avid watercolor painter, tennis player and golfer. She is a graduate of The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT and holds a B.A. in History with a minor in Art History from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. She is a native of Winston-Salem, NC.  Leighann FransonTrip Leader | Yoga Teacher As a truth-seeker, Leighann has four passions in life: yoga, the outdoors, travel and writing. With a BS in Journalism from the University of Oregon, Leighann has spent the past 15 years as a reporter, creative director and freelance writer. As an explorer, she has kayaked, hiked and cycled her way the Southeast Asia, South Pacific, South America and Europe. And as a seeker, she has spent the past ten years studying yoga with teachers such as John Friend, Sarahjoy Marsh, Ana Forrest, David Life and Sharon Gannon. Most recently, she returned from a two-month journey through India where she studied yoga therapy with T.K.V. Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. She combines her love for the outdoors with the mystical traditions of the world by leading trips for Redback Travels as well as Kayaking and Yoga Retreats off the coast of British Columbia. As an anusara-inspired yoga teacher, she blends her studies in Buddhist mediation, yoga therapy and ayurveda for total well-being. She teaches daily classes, leads workshops and helps teach a 200 and 500 hour teacher training at amrita: a sanctuary for yoga in Portland, Oregon. She also volunteers as a teacher for Living Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga into Oregon prisons.  Alex ColeTrip Leader Alex traveled to India for the first time in 1991 not knowing what to expect. Over the next 10 years he spent most of his time in India and lived in Varanasi, Tamil Nadu and all over the Himalayas. He studied yoga, meditation and Reiki, but really his favorite way to explore its beauty was sitting on the ghats in Varanasi and drinking chai. Alex has traveled extensively including a hitch hiking trip from Tibet to Katmandu, led horse drawn tours in Alaska for six months, traveled from Central to South America, and also in the bush of Australia. In 1999, Alex was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he turned his focus to alternative therapy, acupuncture, emotional therapy and a strict regimen of juicing, herbs and a macrobiotic diet. This is when his Yoga practice really began. Now a resident of Los Angeles, he practices Anusara yoga and did his teacher training with Noah Maze and Naime Jezzeny in 2004. |