Kiss of Yoga

I am someone who boycotted shopping at Hobby Lobby because of the owners’ donations to anti-LGBTQ hate groups.

I am someone who boycotted letting my kids eat Chik-fil-a for the same anti-LGBTQ hate.

I am someone who avoids Home Depot, Starbucks, and Coca Cola because they support extremism, genocide, and hate-focused candidates.

So it should come as no surprise that when and decided to remove third party fact-checking and protections for marginalized groups, I realized this platform no longer feels aligned with who I am and the energy I bring into the world.

Over the coming days, I will be disengaging with Facebook, Messenger, and Threads. A majority of my followers are here on IG and I will maintain this page for the time being to continue sharing info, news and content until I can get other things firmly in place!

I have joined the social platform Bluesky and my handle is the same as here - if you care to connect! I’m still figuring out the ins and outs of that!

Other immediate goals for connection include getting my newsletter up and running and uploading meditations to . I’d love to start a podcast down the road, so who knows!

You can always email, call or text or come hang out at a class! [email protected]/ 571-252-9825

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Today’s episode of Svadhyaya is brought to you by the number ONE and the number SIX! (Sesame Street fans will understand!)

My oldest child has shared life with me for 16 years today. For 16 years I have identified as a parent. The good, the bad, the new, the awe-inspiring, the overwhelming. I have felt all of it fully.

I think societally, parenting is looked at as a gift. And truly, it is, but that does not mean that it does not come with a lot of guilt, shame, anger, breakdowns, questions, and darkness. It is magical, but also hard as hell. It’s the hard as hell part that often goes unnoticed or is quieted.

Im here to say, say it loudly and proudly. It’s a balance, like everything else. You can’t fully appreciate the joy without going through the pain. You have to know what both feel like. And it’s ok to admit that sometimes it’s really fu***ng hard.

Parenting changes you, or at least it did me. I was 25 in this picture and that version of me so is vastly different from who I am today.

I was recently told, in a not so kind way, that “getting pregnant doesn’t make you an expert on parenting” from someone who is not a parent. And even though that statement stings because of my own triggers and trauma around my pregnancy and my postpartum depression, I have to laugh because I don’t know a single parent who would ever claim to be an expert!

Is there an expert level? Where do I feel like I fall these days? What knowledge do I bring to the collective parenting table? How has parenting impacted me? How do I bring my yogic practices into parenting? How do my children bring their knowledge into my life and expand my understanding? All questions that have come up for me today. All that require a little self-study in the days to come.

I feel peaceful today. Grateful. Full of love and admiration for this amazing spirit who has spent 16 years hanging out with me.

I would move mountains for them. And truthfully, I have. And I will continue to clear a better path forward ❤️

I grew up with track and field in my veins, so when I started looking for colleges, I knew I would be competing at that level as well.

As I was applying to schools, I went in to talk with Coach Jim Taylor at . I had known this man for many years, since my parents were involved in the local track scene as a coach and official, but sitting across from him in his office while he told me SU was the place for me, changed me. I trusted him in that moment and it turns out, he was right. SU had been the place for me.

JT was not a coach who held your hand. He was a coach who saw your potential and showed you how to reach it. He trusted you, which made you trust yourself. When the women’s head coach moved on from SU, we didn’t have a high jump coach. JT empowered me to take the jumpers under my wing and coach them myself. Looking back, knowing he had faith in me gave me the confidence to step into that role as a 20 year old. I didn’t argue with him. If Coach thought I could do it, I could do it.

I remember my freshman year at our championship meet, he sat up on a hill away from the stadium and barely said anything all day to his athletes. He later told us - “There’s nothing left for me to do. Now it’s up to you.”

JT’s light was bright. Bold. Unwavering, to my eyes. And his time sharing that Earthside has come to an end. Loss is never easy, but I hold gratitude for the lessons he provided to a younger me and the ones I have carried on my journey forward.

SU, you know, “It’s a great day to get better.”

My gift for trekking to the studio at 7am 🥰 ☀️

I am someone who feels the effects of the midwinter gray. My mood sometimes reflects the gloomy skies and I have to be really conscious about showing up for myself.

Some of the things that truly help me are:

❄️ Having things on the calendar to look forward to
❄️ Taking a walk outside (even in the cold)
❄️ Offering myself cozy, comforting spaces
❄️ My sun lamp
❄️ And you guess it, YOGA

Moving my body and utilizing these tools truly has helped me through the winter months and I want to offer what I’ve learned to you!

In this 2 hour workshop, you can expect to learn asana poses to support your nervous system and improve circulation, a pranayama (yogic art of breathing) practice to balance your mind and body, and be guided through a meditation to ground your being and invite in calm contentment.

Come spend a wintry Friday evening with me on Feb 7 from 5:30-7:30 at and embrace midwinter this year.

Link to register: https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/event/yoga_shala-v65jng?k_class=755264&k_class_tab=41533 💋

From what I have seen, it is universally accepted that the simplified, modern interpretation of the Sanksrit word svādhyāya (स्वाध्याय) translates to "self-study"

I take this to mean going inward, looking at connections, reactions and responses, and watching where I project onto others. I take this to mean honoring the parts of me that are light and bright - I think we are all our own worst critics and can get in our own heads more than others can about the power we hold and the worth we carry. I also take it to mean recognizing and honoring the dark and twisties (Grey's Anatomy fans?) that we inevitably have, fully standing in our imperfections and allowing space for that to be, without judgement.

Here, I am offering 3 different translations/interpretations of Patañjali's Yoga Sutra 2.44 from , , and . Invitation to read each and notice what resonates for you. Perhaps invite this intention into your practice and experiences this week and explore what impacts that has (positive and negative. both/and) 💋

I find I am most connected to my personal practice and the classes I teach when I move with intention. (Sound familiar?!?)

Over the last year, I have really allowed my intuition to lead the way in my classes. Sometimes I have a plan, but mostly I Iet the energy in the room tell me what class should look like. I have a loose idea, but I let go of my attachment to it and let myself be a conduit for the energy. I know that sounds woo woo, and maybe it is (no, it definitely is 😉), but there is a comfort in knowing exactly the kind of teacher you are and want to be and letting that shine ✨

*For those that are new teachers on my page, this is a learned offering. I did not always teach like this. I really had to get the safety basics and comfort of cuing under my belt. Don’t rush yourselves!*

While journaling this morning, I felt a pulled to create offerings with inquiry for each month.

For January, the intention I am bringing into my own practices and my classes is one of the Niyamas: Svadhyaya.

There is no better time than the dead of winter to go inward and do some self inquiry! To explore the depths of your own being and how you show up in the world and in what ways you can adjust your practices (or life experiences) that feel more aligned with who you are. That means both/and. Your brilliance AND your shadows. Your lightness AND your darkness. Your kindness AND your anger. We are all both/and.

Look for posts this month that offer invitations and explanations. Let’s continue to take yoga OFF the mat for 2025 💋

I used the .app planner this year and wrote this little note to myself exactly one year ago today so that I would see it a year in the future. It surprised me because I had forgotten all about it!

When I reflect on the past 365 days, it’s kind of amazing to behold. My little Kiss of Yoga has grown and expanded and touched many lives and energies this past year. When I think about it, it feels magical. But when I put it down on paper, it feels massive!

In 2024 I have:

💋Taught over 365 hours of yoga
💋Been through over 400 hours of trainings
💋Hosted my own retreat and made magic with others
💋Driven 5,000+ miles to classes, events, etc
💋Become a Teen Mental Wellness Facilitator with the and support teen resilience programming
💋Joined a new studio that feels like home and created community there
💋Read about 20 books/manuals that have deepened my personal and teachable classes
💋Taught brand new students, seasoned students, returning students and said goodbye to some students
💋Made connections that fill my cup and allow me to explore perspectives outside of my own
💋Been told you can hear my smile when I teach and that my classes feel intentional and reflective. That taking my class feels like a spiritual journey (😭)

I don’t take this lightly that I GET to offer this gift and be a small part of passing yoga to others and offer space for exploration. I am deeply honored and humbled by the doors yoga has opened to me.

For me, it is time to rest now and follow the cycle of the Earth, allowing all that I have learned to integrate. Spring will come soon enough and ask us to restart and begin again. This transition to a new Gregorian Calendar year is just that to me - a transition. A time to reflect, as we can (and maybe should?) reflect every day and every evening on what we have offered and been offered. A daily gratitude practice rather than a yearly one. This time of year reminds me of that.

I hope your past 365 days have brought you love, light, peace, joy and healing. I believe mine has ❤️💋

If you are feeling the winter blues, the need to snuggle in and cozy up or the stress of this time of the year, I’ll be offering space at the beginning of the week and also subbing at the end of the week to support your need/desire to connect right now. Join me at ❤️

Xoxo 💋

Post-travel asana practices are sooooo yummy for me with props added in.

My bolster and blocks are go-tos to support my body’s sore, tight muscles after plane rides or car trips. Sitting for long periods of time tightens my piriformis muscles, which lead to pain in my hips and low back. A bolster under my chest in Kapotasana (pigeon) and supporting my upper body in Uttan Pristhasana (lizard) feels so soothing.

Taking my time to acknowledge those sensations and move accordingly and with kindness and compassion is a must.

No rushing today. Slow, steady and static 🥰

The last 6 months have transformed me in so many ways.

In my understanding of my own privilege and my access to trainings, classes, and opportunities because of my race, my socioeconomic status and because I am considered able-bodied. In how I can interrupt and dismantle systems of oppression because of that privilege. All things I knew to some degree, but had never paused to really consider and unpack until now.

In how I authentically show up in the world and in what ways I share my energy. In how setting boundaries around that energetic sharing is necessary and supported.

In how I am enough and I am doing enough. ( ❤️)

In understanding the roots and source culture of some vibrational healing modalities, meditation, yogic philosophy, Kirtan, Sanskrit, and offering acknowledgement into those spaces and those teachers that have come before. In ensuring as a teacher I am consistently working to appreciate and not appropriate yoga - this ancient practice that does not come from my personal culture that I gain so much from.

In my continued reconnection to nature and my own intuition.

In recognizing that sometimes saying nothing in communal spaces actually says everything.

In trusting the vulnerability that comes from sharing deep thoughts with strangers in a brave space and allowing those strangers in to become friends. In holding space for others in the same way without judgement or attachment. In trusting my own body to tell me when I need to take breaks in those spaces as well.

The last 6 months have transformed me in so many more ways than I can express here. I am so humbled and so honored to have been called to say yes and take on this training under with mentors , and . The integration deepens now and the intention to mindfully bring yoga into the hands of others continues.

With peace, love, light, and expansion, I’ll see you on the mat 💋

I spent this last weekend in NYC and while I enjoy the hustle and bustle once in a while, the overwhelming energy I felt was stress from those around me (minus my amazing travel companions)

While I believe the intention of this time of year is to hold peace and joy in your heart, I would not say that this time of year necessarily brings out the best in people. The anxiety, the addition load we add to ourselves, the consumption and lack of rest and recovery feels like too much and tweaks out our nervous systems. No wonder so many people feel exhausted by New Year’s Day! It’s a straight sprint from Halloween to the end of the year fueled by a capitalistic drive to remind you that the best gift for your loved one’s are ones found inside a conglomerate.

Whew. Let’s all take a deep breath. Just even writing that made my heart start to pump faster.

What if the greatest gift you could give yourself or someone you love is the gift of rest? The gift of time spent decompressing and reconnecting? What if we offered ourselves more grace, more patience and more opportunities to feel grounded in ourselves and in nature?

That’s the intention of A Grounded Journey. An invitation to pause, to breathe, to be. Even if you don’t practice yoga, the peace of will offer you a reset. This getaway will have options for you to explore - meditation, slow flow asana, hikes, journaling but also plenty of time for you to choose what is best for you. Every piece of this experience offers you agency and choice. YOU are the guide of your retreat.

I am so honored to be going back to River Mountain and to share that space with you next fall 🌲🌳❤️

*if you’d like to gift this experience, I would be happy to work with you on creating a gift card 🥰

Registration link to more details here: https://rivermountain.org/events/grounded-journey

During our final YTT call together, my amazing mentor offered so many words of gratitude and encouragement, but this one settled in my being, so I’m offering it to you.

“Your authenticity is your greatest gift.”

No need to hold back. Let your whole self flow ❤️

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✨Class Update ✨

Starting this week, my Monday schedule is changing and we’ve added another opportunity to practice with me at !

4:30p Slow Flow
6:00p Vinyasa

I hope to see you there 💋

✌🏼 ❤️ 💡

There is a place and there is space for you this week and every week 🥰

In times of stress, grief, frustration, anxiety, etc, I tend to self sabatoge. It’s not conscious per se and almost always revolves around limiting my food intake. My mind will be convinced that it requires too much effort to eat or make something, neglecting my body’s pleas to be nourished.

“I’ll just power through”

But why? And who is that helping?

Self sabotage comes in a lot of different forms for a lot of different reasons. Here’s an invitation or a reminder to make yourself a healthy snack, put your feet up for an hour, rest or go for the walk instead. Whatever it looks like to you to nourish today, carve out space to do so.

You are more than worthy of it 💋

During my training, this question came up and we were asked to explore it. Actually, the question was stated like this:

Why are you doing what you’re doing?

So I present this question to you. Whatever it is that you do for a living or do with your time. Why are you doing it? What is your why?

It’s not as simple as it seems to articulate an answer to this question. For me, I know in my heart why I teach yoga, but can I explain it in a few words? Does it even make sense when I do? Do I have an elevator speech about why I was called to teach yoga?

I find it so valuable to come back and ask yourself your why every so often. Maybe the why evolves or stays the same. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you keep remembering it and keep moving from that space.

What is your why?

I’d love for you to share with me, if that feels true ❤️

“As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
- Robin Wall Kimmerer

✨A Grounded Journey ✨

A 3 night retreat at Oct 23-26, 2025.

12 spots

Registration is live in bio

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