Yael, who is celebrating 34 rounds around the sun this month, has been working at Ripple for the better part of 2 years.
Her jurisdiction is the Flock - that big, hot machine that irons our Ripple name onto the clothes, her hand can also be found in the organization and fulfillment of orders, quality control, packing, and more.
Yael, for whom movement and physical activity are a must on a daily basis, is a certified Pilates instructor. She talks about her practice with pride
“I found a sense of stillness and calm in Pilates, it helped me strengthen my core and achieve a more precise balance in my life”.
Yael shares with us that her life has changed dramatically since her arrival at the studio,
“I quit smoking about a month after I started working at Ripple, I received a lot of support from the girls here at the studio, and from there the change caught flight and grew exponentially. Today I have a much more aware daily routine and lead a healthier lifestyle. I feel like, with these changes and the supportive community I am building, a long lost piece of me has been found”.
We asked Yael what she likes about working at Ripple, “First of all, the people!” she answered without hesitation.
“The support and the understanding that we provide one another here in the studio is like no other, there is a fun and comfortable atmosphere, yoga and snacks. I went through many places of work before I reached Ripple, and here, I don’t feel like I’m going to work, it’s more like a day of fun with friends”.
Yael is a huge fan of Ripple items, she is the first to jump at every new style and design and frequently turns our studio into a fashion show catwalk! She says that she loves to wear Ripple’s clothing because of the comfort, look, and style.
“Jeans used to be my go-to item, but now, I feel feminine and sexy in Ripple’s clothing, I can practice comfortably in them while feeling secure that everything is held in place. I wear the pieces on a daily basis, they compliment my shape and allow me to move freely while the fabric breaths with me throughout the day”.
For the photoshoot, Yael chose to wear our Soft Yoga Joggers with the stone-colored Racer-Back Bra on top.
“I love the hip-hugging effect of the Soft Yoga Joggers, as well as their leg length. They are extremely flattering and I wear them in and out of practice. I also like the support the Racer-Back Bra provides me considering the fact that I have been gifted a large chest and it is not always easy to find comfortable support.
“My life has changed dramatically over the past two years with my move to Pardes Hana and much of it is intertwined with my presence at Ripple. I moved from a junk-food diet to one rich in fresh vegetables and legumes, started using natural cosmetics, and became interested in Naturopathy and natural ways of healing the body. Much of these changes have to do with the interactions we have at the studio. We talk about our choices and their consequences, why we live the way we do, and what we want our lives to look like, all of this has trickled into my personal life and is part of the changes I am making”.
Yael is known for her comic impressions here, but giving her a fair fight for the title of studio jokester is Ma’ayan!
Ma’ayan, who has been a part of the Ripple Team for almost two and a half years, practiced gymnastics as a child, from there she went onto the world of dance, only to come across yoga for the first time on a trip to India in 2009. It was a brief meeting that left its mark yet didn’t stick, it took Ma’ayan about 5 years to return to yoga and even go on and get her Yoga Instructor certificate in 2017. “Movement is something my body asks for constantly, it is an internal need for me, if I don’t move I feel stagnant, like something is stuck not only in my physicality but also in my being”.
Like most of us here at Ripple, Ma’ayan’s path to the studio was through one of the Ripple Girls who was also a friend and partner at her Yoga Teacher Training course. “At the beginning, I was very nervous and didn’t want to mess up”, she recalls her first days at the studio,
“Initially it was difficult for me to work in a closed space for so many hours, but the girls’ positive attitude and friendly demeanor brought lightness and grace into the work. Fairly quickly I was given more and more responsibility, which made me feel trusted and more secure in what I was doing. Much of the atmosphere is based on the interactions between us, very quickly coming into the studio felt more like a fun meeting with friends than a day at the office”.
Ripple’s clothes met Ma’ayan at a point in her life where she was in the midst of changing her life habits as well as her wardrobe.
“My body has been telling me that it doesn’t like synthetic fabric for a long time. I was itchy and had some swelling, my skin developed rashes and I was in a kind of constant allergic reaction, it wasn’t only my skin, however, the synthetic fabrics did cause me much irritation and did not help the situation. With my move out of Tel Aviv city and into Pardes Hana, I was on a mission to enhance the things in my life that support me and made me feel good, and shed the layers that didn’t.
A Chinese acupuncturist advised her to stop wearing synthetic fabrics. The move to clothes made of natural and organic materials has done wonders for her skin.
Ripple’s clothing has become a staple in my closet! There is the sense that the clothes collect and hold in just the right places, without being tight on the body. When I practice I like to wear Ripple’s one-piece Jumpsuits (like here in the photoshoot).
We asked Ma’ayan what an average day at work looks like for her:
“The days are as diverse as the girls in the studio” she answers with a smile, “There are days where I’m constantly moving, organizing and re-organizing, packing, building things etc. while other days are more static and require longer stretches of sitting and concentrating”.
While Ma’ayan’s daily routine is very dynamic (which is how she likes it), the one constant is the importance of the interpersonal relationships and connections we at the studio are building.
“I have grown a lot since my arrival at Ripple! Working with nine other women, you have to be conscious of your boundaries as well as be sensitive to the boundaries of others. You have to be very clear with yourself and with your surroundings because the sensitivity (and sometimes hormone) levels can be high and hearts are open. It encouraged me to grow into a new level of awareness. These relationships have tickled in me a desire to have more women present in my life and have taught me to observe my automatic reactions to situations as well as to detect others’ auto-responses”.
Ma’ayan adds,
“Much of our conversations revolve around nature and how our choices fit into its perseverance. As a result of this, I am now much more aware of the choices I make and strive to live as natural a lifestyle as I can. Also, I have learned on my own body how important the quality is of the fabric we wear on ourselves.
Ma'ayan chose to be photographed with the Organic Cotton Yoga Jumpsuit.
"I strive to focus on and dive into my practice and not be distracted by the need to fuss over or re-organize my outfit, the Jumpsuit allows me just that, I kind of ‘wear it and forget it’ which I love”.
Being part of the Ripple team has trickled into the personal lives of both Yael and Ma’ayan.
Ripple has grown to become fertile ground that nourishes the formation of friendships and supports our personal development… au, yah, it is also where we work (:
We are excited to continue sharing our stories with you!
Stay tuned for more to come
The Ripple Family
