What I want you to know.

I was asked recently what I want my community to know about me, what do I believe (about yoga, about business, about life) and what do I stand for.

I feel like I have made that pretty clear in the past, but perhaps not, or perhaps you are new here (in that case, welcome).

So, what do I want you to know about me? Well, from the outside looking in, I am a mom of three. My kids are 23, 20 and 14, two of them have special needs and the other keeps me on my toes just the same. I am a dog mom to my beautiful Bella, a Bernese Mountain Dog and a wife to Paul, we have been married for 25 years this year. I am also the other things that women usually are, a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, etc. I LOVE to read and lately have been reading books about yoga, yoga philosophy and human rights of marginalized groups. I am a student, in school for yoga studies and Ayurveda. I am a Yoga Therapist, Yoga Teacher, Reiki Practitioner, Chakra Healer, Meditation instructor and Ayurvedic educator. I am a life long learner with ADHD (meaning I have lots of unfinished craft projects). I live in a fat body, have many tattoos and don't really look like your average yoga instructor. I love the Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins and fall is my favorite time of the year.

What is really important is what I stand for.

I believe that all people have the right to live a peaceful life, full of the same resources, support and rights as the rest of us.

I believe that people should have access to services regardless of social standing or any other parameter.

In so many ways these beliefs have shaped the yoga studio and my business. After all, I have to live in accordance to my values, or what am I even doing?

What do I want you to know about the studio?

I want you to know that our studio is small, we only have room for 8 students. This is for two reasons: 1) each person needs to have enough space to feel comfortable moving and not having someone else invading their space. 2) Because we only have room for 8 people we can truly be present for all of our students, we can see everyone and help when needed. Students receive more personalized attention.

I want you to know that you do not have to have any particular ability, look a certain way or hide yourself in the back corner of the room. Do you know what I mean? When I go to a mainstream yoga studio, I always put my mat in the very back corner to be as small and insignificant as possible; so that the teacher cant see me, or anyone else for that matter. I want you to know that this studio is a safe place to take up space, to try new things and fail. You do not need to prove your yoga to anyone, this is non-performative, self compassionate yoga.

I want you to know that you are allowed to enjoy whatever type of yoga you want, regardless of your size, age, ability or otherwise. Nothing makes me more frustrated than walking into a yoga studio and the teacher assuming that because of my size I should be in a gentle beginner class! Ugh! I'm a big girl and sometimes I want fast yoga that challenges me and makes me sweat. I'm sure that the same thing can be said for those people in smaller bodies who want to go to a yoga class and rest, I'm sure some of them have had people tell them that it is not real yoga! And don't even get me started on chair yoga! Chair yoga is not for the "fat and old" chair yoga is for every body!

I want you to know that you are not just a number, if you are at our studio, you are welcome in our community. That we appreciate you. Being a yoga teacher it is very difficult to make money, and most of us do it for the love teaching. Most of us in fact have full time jobs that we do to support ourselves, while teaching yoga because we are called to. Every time you come to a yoga class you are supporting not just a small business but families as well. Large fitness chains, city facilities and government supported gyms are great, but when you take a class with us you are supporting locally owned, small business.

I want you to know that at our yoga studio you will be introduced to all aspects of yoga, not just the physical movement. We believe that yoga is an ancient tradition that needs to be valued and recognized, not appropriated. In our classes you may hear us talk about yoga philosophy, we will practice Pranayama (breath work) and we will practice meditation. If you only want the physical practice of yoga, this is not the studio for you, respectfully.

I want you to know that our studio supports humans living the life of their choosing, whatever that looks like for them. This includes but is not limited to gender, sexual preference, religion, or political affiliation. All are welcome here, and we ask that you leave your thoughts about others outside of the studio and not discuss topics that can be sensitive and dividing within our space. We do not all need to agree, but we need to be kind.

I want you to know that when I say "much love" at the end of a class or the end of an email, it is done with honesty and intention, and I really do mean it.

So, with all of that said, I hope that you have gotten a bit clearer of an understanding about who I am and what the studio is.

Much Love,

Misty