Mariellen Ward at the Taj Mahal, 2006

Expert advice on travel and culture in India

Breathedreamgo is one of the world’s leading blog sites dedicated to travel in India and to meaningful travel (yoga, solo, long-term, health & wellness, spirituality, voluntourism and eco-tourism).

Breathedreamgo offers valuable insight and advice about travel destinations in India and South Asia, plus much more. Breathedreamgo is both an authoritative expert on this region and also a unique, passionate and knowledgeable voice. Breathedreamgo is a celebration of all aspects of travel in India and Indian culture. Download the Breathedreamgo Media Kit PDF here.

“Mariellen Ward is India’s best ambassador.” IndiaTourism.

If you need travel advice, start here, with Planning to go to India?, a round-up of posts on Breathedreamgo about travel tips, advice, etiquette and a packing list.

The majority of visitors to Breathedreamgo are interested in travel to India and South Asia – and many of them have left comments or sent emails indicating that the site encouraged them to travel in India and South Asia by inspiring them with storytelling and personal experience, and by providing advice and information.

Breathedreamgo readers are college educated, global travelers, with an interest in travel in India and South Asia; an interest in yoga; and/or an interest in the culture of Indian and South Asia. Readership is divided between India and the English-speaking western countries such as USA, Canada, UK and Australia. Breathedreamgo is a good way to reach the affluent Indian market, as well as foreigners who travel in India.

Mariellen Ward is the professional writer and certified yoga teacher behind Breathedreamgo. You can learn more about me by scrolling below, or by clicking on the About Mariellen page, which includes my travel writing portfolio. I have been blogging about travel in India and South Asia since 2005. Breathedreamgo was launched on August 23, 2009. I have visited India five times for a total of 14 months, and have traveled from Dharamsala in the north to Kanyakumari in the south; and from Mumbai in the west to Sikkim in the east. I have also been to Bhutan.

I have spent about five years building a network of contacts and supporters, a loyal readership and a strong following via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SmugMug, Google+ and more. Altogether, I reach upwards of 100,000 each month via my blog readership, e-newsletter and social media networks.

“Hello Mariellen, I’m really enjoying your site.  I have a real desire to go to India but fear of being in over my head is stopping me.  Hopefully reading more of your experiences will provide me with some encouragement. Thank you, Natalie”

For advertising sizes please see the Advertising page and for rates contact me at mariellen [@] breathedreamgo . com. For sponsorship opportunities, please download the Breathedreamgo Media Kit PDF.

Breathedreamgo by the numbers

Breathedreamgo was launched on August 23, 2009 – Ganesh Chaturthi, and traffic continues to grow exponentially.

The latest stats on Breathedreamgo as of January 31, 2012:

Google page rank: 4

• Unique visitors per month: 10,000
• Page views per month: 16,000
• Visitors come from (in this order): USA, Canada, India, United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany.

Twitter followers: 5,400

According to Twitalyzer, I am in the 95th percentile of Twitter users.

Facebook friends on all pages: 1,500; monthly active users on Breathedreamgo’s FB page: 7,000

Klout score: 67 Pundit with influence in Travel & Tourism, Culture and Writing.

Tweetreach as of August 15, 2011: 50 Tweets reach 33,000 people for an exposure of 129,000 impressions

Alexa

According to Alexa, Breathedreamgo encourages people to travel to India and South Asia. It is targeted at travelers interested in cultural, historical, spiritual and adventure travel, and appeals to college-educated women between 35 and 54 years of age. July 2011: Breathedreamgo’s three-month Alexa traffic rank is #210,607 in the USA, where 28% of its visitors are located; it is also popular in Canada, where it is ranked #71,000 and India where it is #130,000

Breathedreamgo syndication: We Blog the World

Sponsored press trips:

• Kolkata, Darjeeling and Sikkim, India Tourism (March 2010)
• Uma Paro, Bhutan (April 2011)

Working with PR

I’ve had the good fortune to work with some great PR firms and people on press trips and other events. In April 2011, I was a guest of the Uma Paro boutique hotel in Paro, Bhutan. My trip was arranged by LMA PR in Toronto:

A conscientious, dedicated and creative blogger, Mariellen is nothing but a pleasure to work with. Well organized and detail oriented, working with her is a breeze. I had the opportunity to get to know Mariellen this past year, when we worked together to arrange a press trip to Uma Paro in Bhutan (a part of COMO Hotels and Resorts), which took place in April 2011. Mariellen produced a great deal of content from this experience alone, including several in-depth blogs and an upcoming magazine feature. She also promoted the property on various social media platforms and amongst travel based networking groups.

Mariellen was one of the first bloggers I’ve dealt closely with and she has opened my eyes to the value of professional travel blogging. As a travel-based PR professional, I firmly believe that Mariellen is a leader in Canada’s travel blogging community and I look forward to our continued professional and personal relationship.

Lindsay Tessis
PR Account Manager
LMA Communications Inc.

Breathedreamgo is a mantra. Breathe is the wisdom of yoga and the importance of prana, breath. Dream is knowing who you are and where you want to go. Go is doing it, taking the steps: creating, studying, volunteering, traveling, giving.

In June 2011, I was the Fairmont Royal York Hotel’s embedded blogger during the Indian International Film Awards (IIFA) in Toronto:

I was first introduced to Mariellen by way of our mutual association with the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW).  An opportunity for me to work closer with Mariellen arose when The Fairmont Royal York took on a host role with the Indian International Film Academy (IFFA) awards in June of 2011. Our hotel had a strategic interest in expanding our ties with the South Asian Community. To this end, I sought collaboration with Mariellen as a respected Toronto based blogger and travel expert on India.

Mariellen was instrumental in our ability to raise our twitter profile with targeted followers. Her on line coverage of our initiatives also enhanced our profile among like minded journalists and consumers.  I find her editorial commentary to be fresh, informative and always engaging.
I look forward to working with Mariellen Ward on future projects.

Melanie Coates
Regional Director Public Relations
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Breathedreamgo media coverage

Song of India (publication of book about travel in India)

Authors Promoting Authors
The author experience: Mariellen Ward

Sandra Phinney
Author! Author! Mariellen Ward

Women Doing Literary Things
Song of Myself

Wandering Carol’s blog
Important travel books

Masti Magazine
Masti Magazine – Song of India review

Breathedreamgo (blogging and travel writing about India and Indian culture)

Indo-Asian News Service
Masala!Mehndi!Masti! festival

Weekly Voice
Interview: How one woman found solace in India

Canadian Living
Canadian Living – Change is a process, not a destination

Akshara Yoga blog
Of breathing, dreaming and blogging

Weekly Voice
How one woman found solace in India

Indo-Asia News Service
Raj Kapoor Martini story picked up by all major news outlets in India

CBC radio interview
Covering the IIFA Awards in Toronto: Bollywood stars land in Toronto

Speaking Engagements

- PWAC panel on Travel Writing, October 2009

- “Eyes on India” Panel, Masal!Mehndi!Masti! (Indian cultural festival), August 2011
For YouTube video of my speech click here.

- India information session at Kama Indian Cuisine, September 2011

- Meet, Plan, Go, October 2011

The motivation for Breathedreamgo

Mariellen Ward in yoga pose, Jodhpur

Several years ago, after a series of devastating losses, I fell into a deep depression and yoga got me out of it. I literally “breathed” my way back to health. Then I started “dreaming” about what I wanted to do. I had recently lost both my parents (one to heart disease, the other to cancer), and I felt time was of the essence. If I didn’t start living my dreams now, I never would. My first dream was to do a yoga teacher training course; my second dream was to go to India for six months; and my third dream was to become a full-time writer.

“Breathing” and “dreaming”gave me the motivation to “go.”I went. Traveling in India for six months re-ignited my enthusiasm for life, inspired me to become the writer I always wanted to be, gave me a passion and a purpose — to share the beauty of India’s culture and wisdom — and even gave me a new family and a new home. It was the best thing I have ever done.

I came up for the name in a flash. It was one of those rare moments when an idea hits like a thunderbolt. In fact, it was an epiphany.

In June 2009, I was about halfway through attending a four-day conference for writers, editors, authors and magazine publishers and I was feeling very demoralized and discouraged. The traditional media was shrinking, writers were struggling, editors seemed to have all the power, publishers seemed to be devaluing the written word … I came home after the second day feeling very low. I was wondering if I would ever be able to achieve my dream of being a full-time writer / travel writer in this economic climate.

The next morning, I didn’t even want to go back to the conference. I was in the shower, when I suddenly got the idea of starting my own blog, online magazine and/or community. And the name came to me instantly. I turned it over in my mind and realized that it perfectly summed up my experience.

So, breathe, dream, go is a summary of my experience — but it’s also a formula. If you are feeling stuck, if you want more from your life, if you feel you haven’t achieved your potential or met your destiny … try it. It doesn’t have to be yoga and a trip to India. Maybe for you it will be running and art classes. Or hiking and overseas volunteering. Or therapy and learning Spanish. Whatever it is that gets you breathing, gets your heart pumping and motivates you to “follow your bliss.”