About Us

Mission Statement

Encourage yoga experiences through a community of travelers.

Vision

OmStays envisions a world connected through yogic principles such as nonharming (ahimsâ), truthfulness (satya), compassion (karunâ) and kindness (maitrî), to create a peaceful and healthy global community. Our goal is to encourage yoga experiences through a community of travelers.

OmStays’ mission is to encourage yoga experiences through a reciprocal community of Guests and Hosts. We hope to connect yoga practitioners from around the globe through the offering of affordable homestays, hosting opportunities, event promotion, community calendar, nonprofit volunteer requests and travel information.

The practice of yoga is about more than the physical postures (asanas) that improve the body. Yoga encourages the enhancement of our beings and our lives through the practice of yogic virtues. By cultivating a reciprocal Host and Guest community, OmStays promotes an atmosphere in which its users can practice karmic yoga through the virtues of nonharming, truthfulness, compassion and kindness. 

A Note from OmStays' Founder

It seems like decades ago, and it was. Three decades or more since yoga and I had our formal introduction. Two little ones, a husband, and a business, I was told that yoga would be just the right stress reducer I was looking for. Like a child without reservations or expectations, I found myself with shoes left at the door, crossed legged, across from a wonderful yoga teacher and guide. My life changed in the brightest of ways from our first encounter. The practice of yoga brought breath into my body and even greater breath into my soul. After the arrival of a healthy new baby, like so many other things, I put Yoga aside. Yoga was placed in one of our many cardboard boxes, as we packed up for the move to California.

A successful business, fully grown kids, a divorce, another business, and years of reflection later, I felt a missing piece inside. It was then that I found in the misplaced box, amidst all that clutter, yoga. I discovered that my children were traveling and practicing yoga, the youngest now even a teacher herself! So I dusted off the cardboard box, and welcomed an old friend back into my life. That friend greeted me as though it was only yesterday when we were laughing and sharing together.

60 is a time to get serious, or at least pretend you are serious. What's on this woman's list? Yoga, Art, Travel. It’s time to combine and embrace passion with community, time to grow up and reach out... finding that there’s always time to laugh and play. My greatest wish is that we can all enjoy traveling and practicing yoga together, in a manner that is sustainable, expansive, supportive, and fun. Welcome to the creation of OmStays: sharing life, love, and experience, one visit at a time.

Namaste,
Kathie Maxwell