THE LOTUS WRAP STORY

An Idea from the Collective Consciousness

​As yoga instructor Kara Schwandt fidgeted during a Vipassana meditation retreat, her mind was on everything but the ‘nothing’ she was looking for. Sitting cross-legged, she squirmed to relieve her tight hips and aching back, and fought to prevent her legs from falling asleep.

"I struggled to quiet my mind, but was distracted with my physical discomfort.  I just couldn’t focus,” she recalls. This was only Day Two of 10, and Kara was far from the state of being an observer; curious to watch, and notice without judgement.

And then she had a revelation; an idea, she says, "from the collective consciousness."

“I took the piece of cloth wrapped around my cushion and tied it snugly around my back and over my knees. The relief was instant.  I felt completely comfortable and supported and my physical pain was immediately alleviated. 

Curiously, I also felt cared for and nurtured,  I stopped struggling – physically and emotionally.”

Kara shared her idea with others, who playfully chided her for not sharing her secret…and the seed of an idea was planted. Kara knew that a common barrier to releasing one’s mind - to deepen a meditative or yoga practice - is the distraction of physical discomfort. From experience, she knew her idea could help others experience physical relief in their yoga and meditative practice, and allow them to go deeper, to move beyond their limitations.

With the creation of the Lotus Wrap, the company - Earth to Ethers - was born. 

Our Vision? To develop and offer products that provide comfort, support and connection.

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river of joy within you.” - Rumi

Journey On

Throughout my life I’ve been drawn to the “how and why?”

As a little girl I was curious about almost everything: how caterpillars change to butterflies, how seeds know just what plants to become and why seasons exist.  As I grew older, my curiosities transformed into: why we’re born to particular circumstances, how to change a current reality and why we choose to live the lives we do. I often wondered what life would look like if we had the ability to manifest our deepest desires.

Like many others, I practice living mindfully and now understand that mindfulness is our key to transformation. When we transform our thoughts from self-criticism to self-acceptance, from ignorance to awareness and from self-loathing to self-love, we change our situation "from the inside out."

I believe this daily spiritual ritual of choosing to love ourselves, allows us to feel better, and to find a more peaceful space to rest within. In yoga, we call it practicing "ahimsa", loving kindness towards self and others.

This is my wish for all. Sat Nam,

About our Earth to Ethers Name

In Kundalini yoga, we practice a meditation called "earth to heavens"; where we bring our hands in a wide-open arc from the ground, to touch above our heads.

We become present to being here, in this physical body, as well as in the ethereal realm.

A connection to our breath, to something greater than ourselves… to source.