This fall, True Nature is heading to Peru with Kyle Weiger and Kaitlin Honeycutt of Ra Yoga. We’re offering an exclusive interview so you can get to know these incredible yogis and learn more about their upcoming retreat.
Interview with Kyle Weiger of Ra Yoga
1. How does the idea of community and connection play into the retreat? What themes do you see coming up throughout the journey?
The Ra family is one of the best communities, if not the best community, that I’ve ever been part of. This retreat is about deepening our connection to each other and accomplishing something amazing together by climbing to the top of Machu Picchu. It’s going to be a team effort, with everyone supporting one another along the way.
2. Who has been your greatest influence and why?
My best friend, Clayton Olson. He turned me onto yoga, mindfulness, and self-development many years ago. He’s had the single greatest influence on my life by showing me practices that have shaped who I am as an adult. My positive mindset, determination, and constant state of gratitude all stem from my friendship with him.
3. If there was a yoga pose or mediation practice that described you – what would it be and why?
Wild Thing. It’s fun and playful yet requires balance, strength, and a little bit of faith in the unseen. It’s just one of those feel-good postures where you can’t help but smile!
4. Other than yoga and meditation – what are some of your passions? Will these be explored in your retreat?
I love learning about the brain and why it does what it does. I’m curious about how it’s evolved over millions of years and gotten us to our current place. We probably won’t get too nerdy about the brain on this retreat but I will definitely look forward to exploring movement and how it’s tied to the brain 🙂
5. What is on your “Peru bucket list” and what are you most excited about?
Aside from the obvious trip to Machu Picchu, I’m most excited for morning yoga in the shalas followed by breakfast with the entire retreat group. I love sitting around conversing after yoga and hearing about everyone’s experience and just generally bonding as a team.
6. Is there a saying or quote that really resonates with you and your upcoming retreat?
Don’t try hard. Try easy.
Interview with Kaitlin Honeycutt of Ra Yoga
1. How does the idea of community and connection play into the retreat? What themes do you see coming up throughout the journey?
Community and connection in my vision of our retreat is the entire essence of what we are trying to cultivate – bringing our community together to unify each other through the common bond we share of yoga. Our hope is to enable each other to find vulnerability within themselves and with the group to create an atmosphere that allows for radical self-exploration, relationship building and an evolutionary experience and that will last a lifetime.
2. Who has been your greatest influence and why?
I feel as though there are too many teachers who have come across my path that have influenced every part of me that is unreasonable to list just one person. So much of my life has been given to me by the influence, inspiration and motivation from others – Jenny Vande Hei, Sarah Tagge, Michelle Christensen and many other yogis enabled me to pursue my passion of teaching yoga and allowed me to be their shadow to gain as much knowledge as I could. Melayne and Cameron Shayne lit a fire in me when I was presented with the opportunity to take a Budokon class as well as their teacher training which transformed my yoga practice entirely. Molly Felix and Chelsea Morter and many other women at lululemon ahtletica in South Coast Plaza provided me with the opportunity to try different fitness outlets which sparked my love for indoor cycling and love for CrossFit. Dani Wellbrock-Gallinger inspires me every single day and reminds me that I can be whoever I want to be and not apologize for it. My father whom has since now passed continues to remind me every day that I can do whatever is that I want to do because he always believed in me. So much of everyone else has made me who I am today.
3. If there was a yoga pose or mediation practice that described you – what would it be and why?
If Vinyasa yoga and Budokon had a baby, that would be the practice that describes me. Fluid and graceful meets strict precision and focus. Every movement and transition having an intention creating a 
footprint for the next moment to come. I get emotional just thinking about how beautiful it would be. I feel as though this describes how I like my life to be – simple yet challenging, inspired and with everything done having a reason.
4. Other than yoga and meditation – what are some of your passions? Will these be explored in your retreat?
Will these be explored in your retreat? As I mentioned earlier, I also teach indoor cycling and I coach CrossFit at a non-profit for people who are in recovery from substance and alcohol abuse. My passions involve any opportunity to allow someone else to achieve a better version of themselves through fitness and self care. During the retreat there will be opportunities for self care that are less vigorous as indoor cycling and CrossFit which are high on my priority list as well, like meditation, restorative yoga, self reflection with journaling and sitting in silence, as well as much needed nap time.
5. What is on your “Peru bucket list” and what are you most excited about?
I am most excited about our hike to the top of Machu Picchu. I am very eager to see the beauty of South America and to have a new experience to take home with me unlike anything I have witnessed before. I am excited to see the culture of Peru and how the people there live their lives, and how different it is from the way we live ours.
6. Is there a saying or quote that really resonates with you and your upcoming retreat?
I read this quote the other day and I found it rather fitting: “attract what you want by being what you want”. My hope for this retreat is to create light within others and a passion for yoga that has been lit in me, but I must first allow this to be what shines through me to others first if I have the hope to give that away. If I want goodness and gratitude for this retreat, I must be that. If I want kindness and love, I must be that. Everything I want this retreat to embody I must first
This fall Kyle, Kaitlin, and True Nature will be heading to Peru for a mystical week of yoga and an optional tour of Machu Picchu. You can sign up to join this once-in-a-lifetime adventure at http://truenaturetravels.com/retreats/yoga-peru-kyle-kaitlin/
