Marianne Wells, a beloved 3ME Ambassador and world-renown yoga teacher trainer, fell in love with the Eggs in Estes Park, CO at a Yoga Journal Conference in 2010. Since then she has been incorporating them into her teacher trainings in Costa Rica and finally decided she needed to have Eggs of her own.
I’ll admit I had very few expectations when I gifted Marianne a set of Eggs at our first meeting. One of my booth assistants was a huge fan, and a bit star-struck to be showing her the amount of increased comfort she could experience with these Eggs. Lots of people make promises to do this or promote that, but seldom does anything come of it. Marianne, however, is a woman who stands by her promises and commitments, so I was thrilled when she called me and asked if we could co-create a Good Karma Egg.
As a yoga teacher and teacher trainer, Marianne prides herself on making sure people graduate with a deep understanding of how to teach yoga, a clear sense of proper alignment, and a broad knowledge of the correct use of props. She also believes strongly in making her courses financially accessible to people. She teaches a number of community classes in her hometown, and has never raised the price of her 200 HR intensive trainings at the Goddess Garden in Costa Rica.
3ME feels very honored to have the opportunity to partner with so many great teachers and when we do an Egg like this, we ask our partner to choose an organization with whom we can share the proceeds. Marianne has chosen Jimmy’s Way, a non-profit she is setting up in honor of, and to help people like, her son, Jimmy, who took his own life in 2011, shortly before Thanksgiving.
In talking with Marianne through this process, we’ve become friends, and she has confided in me certain personal elements ofher son’s passing. Most of all she has talked about two things: Her firm belief that her son was not long for this world; and that living her yoga is what’s carrying her through this difficult time. In allowing me to share her story with you, she has made only one real request, and that is for my portrayal not to arouse pity or additional sorrow. I’m not sure I know how to do that. I have a four-year-old daughter, and the thought of losing her is beyond any level of sadness I can fathom. I don’t even try. I am deeply appreciative that Marianne has chosen 3ME to partner with in this endeavor and I hope that through our combined efforts, Jimmy’s Way can be there for people like Jimmy, who might find it in themselves to stay longer, and make the lives around them brighter. When he was alive, this is what Jimmy did.
