December 30, 2024
Nearly 7 years ago, in the midst of a no-good very painful breakup, I took a leap and *finally* did a 200-hr yoga teacher training. I got on a plane to Bali, met lifelong friends, experienced more than I thought was possible, and most importantly: I learned how to breathe.
I had wanted to do a YTT for years but hadn’t been able to ‘justify’ it. I wanted a change from my daily life as a tour guide but, on paper, it looked so good. Being a tour guide in Rome and working full-time for a company I adored had lit me up, but with everything else shaking up in my life it was a career where I found less and less satisfaction.
I decided I wanted to lead retreats in Italy. I wanted to teach people all the joys and blessings I’d amassed over years of living ‘la dolce vita’.
In 2020 I began leading retreats, earnestly.
I used my skills from guiding and tourism with the new skills I was accumulating— learning how to self-reflect. Learning to live in my body. Embodiment. Learning to retrain the voices in my head to be kinder, gentler, more forgiving, less aggressive. Learning self-love (a real hashtag buzzword, I know).
I fell in love with the women (and men!) who came on retreat. I strived to create spaces where everyone felt welcome and accepted exactly how they are.
I pinch myself that I have successfully led/co-led 18 (soon to be 19!) retreats since 2020.
I now lead retreats in NC, too. This is me in March, teaching yoga to my best friend on an intimate retreat I led at @firecreekretreat in Burnsville, NC.
North Carolina feels even more like home these days and I am over-the-moon excited to lead a retreat with the women of Asheville (and beyond!) next week.
My dream is to share with all of you that we can live lives that light us up. That there is no single one-size-fits-all trick to living a successful and fulfilling life. That most of it is just about what we decide we want and how committed we are to that desire. I’m sharing all of this because I want to remind y’all that it’s possible.
You deserve a life with love and pleasure and rest and peace. A life where you get to do and experience what you desire. I promise, you do 🫶
