locals share their sacred places BY Margot Ramsay
Everyone knows that this Valley has some incredible homes. Temple in Board Ranch Diane Crist is well versed in the art of “being From the outside, these amazing abodes created by the awardShe has been meditating since 1972 and wining architects and builders that reside locally can be deceiving. quiet.” has been practicing yoga all her life. “For me, Hidden away in some of these homes, deep in the heart of these meditation simply makes life easier,” Diane said. domiciles, you may find something surprising. Far from the hustle Her family’s move to Ketchum in 1979, after deciding to “take a break” from their suburban exisand bustle, there lives a piercingly quiet and blank space. It’s a tence in San Francisco, also made life easy. As she place where you may just discover, and then relax in, your own “After a year, we decided that Ketchum “Zen.” These personal temples, spaces for yoga or spots simply to explained, really was home, and we’ve lived here ever since.” find balance, are becoming a popular addition to homes. The central role that meditation and yoga We checked in with a few Valley homeowners to learn more have played in Diane’s life prompted her to recruit about the om spaces in their homes. husband and builder John Majors to design and
Posada Yoga Tower
Jim and Karen Posada are more than familiar with the wilds of Idaho—they not only live in it, they have a front-row seat from the yoga tower in their home situated on a sprawling 160-acres in the Pahsimeroi Valley. The Posadas lived in the Bay Area and bought a vacation home in Challis in 2002, and Karen explained, “The more time we spent in Challis, the more time we wanted to be 48 sunvalleymag.com | Home annual 2013-2014
there permanently.” The Posadas enlisted the help of local architect Jeff Williams to design the house. “It’s a contemporary ranch house with open views of the Valley, and nowhere is that view more powerful than from the studio tower where the phenomenal aspect of the home is a 360-degree experience,” Williams said. The tower was the “pièce de résistance” for Karen and it’s the only structure on
build her “om space” in 2010, which has become a sanctuary of sorts. Diane’s meditation space is situated near the river on her property out Board Ranch and, as she says, is a “luxury tree house.” The building design was done by her husband, but Diane explained, “I made the decisions on the interior, which is decorated with artifacts from Bhutan.” As for the benefits of her luxury Zen sanctuary, Diane explained. “We meditate there each morning. It is a gift to our spiritual life.”
photograph : roger wade
Valley Om Spaces
the second level of the home—a sort of refuge of quiet from the rest of the commotion in the house. Karen said that her yoga tower is simply a “space outside of the normal living activity,” and that she and Jim often have coffee there in the morning and love to greet the day in this serene spot.
©2013 styling by debra grahl
body & soul // om spaces