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Featured images have coinciding YouTube videos:

Yin Yang Yoga for Back Relief- 55 Minutes

All Levels Gentle Flow- Strong Core for Post Partum

Chair Yoga in the Desert with my Pupper

Greetings, OMies! What a time to be alive. Quarantined for over 2 weeks, and another 4 weeks tacked on a la president, and I am so incredibly grateful for the gift of social media! Because I am a full time yoga teacher, I have been drastically affected by this shift. While at first, this shift seems negative, I am realizing the beauty that is unfolding before me!

This has been such an excellent catalyst for me to step up my game with a Youtube Channel. I have fantasized about having a channel for sooooo long, I can’t even begin to tell you. Like, Jenna Marbles and Kandee Johnson days. I remember when I first started watching YouTube videos, around the summer of 2009 when I was working at a clothing boutique in San Diego. I wanted to learn how to cut my Tshirts just like Kat Von D does in her television shows. I was elated to find a video of Kat teaching the audience on how she does it! I loved the intimate interaction that happens with what we now call vlogging. Needless to say, I have been recording a lot of yoga content for my current student base. I teach over 12 yoga classes a week, in studios, privates, corporate clients and with family. That’s a lot of YOGA! A lot of faces, a lot of Namastes, and a sacred ritual that seemingly was taken from me…

Until I shifted my drishti.

In our Yoga practice, philosophy, and lifestyle, we turn to the Yamas and Niyamas for inspiration on how to act, handle, and access the self. One of the Niyamas is called Svadhyaya and, long story short, we are learning to self-study, as a collective, in REALTIME. We are in a collective shift of awareness during this pandemic. We are studying ourselves, taking notes and research, and modifying as needed to keep our vessels at a steady ease. Self study can be deep, it can be lighthearted, and it can demand all your attention. Some chapters in life, we get to pick what we self study, and let’s just say we will never take this privilege for granted again! As you might be feeling forced into deep self-study in close quarters, I wanted to provide some of my favorite definitions of SVADHYAYA.

I believe that most Westerners that practice Yoga are familiar with a very privileged form of self-study. We get to choose when we want to self study- applying for grad school, taking on knowledge in forms of hobbies, leisure reading, and on our own time. However, this pandemic has forced self-study. Whether you like it or not, everything about your life has completely changed and we need to adapt and grow accordingly. The first step in adapting? Observation! How have you treated yourself and others during this trying time? Some excel, some drown, and some lose themselves before finding themselves. We accept all forms of expression as we are in this together, as one. How will you look back on your time of self-study?

Here are some of my favorite definitions of self study:

What self-study are you working on? For me, I am working on my confidence and camera presence, as well as how I react to my loved ones, and self, that are riddled with Fear. I am also weaving dream catchers a little differently, 8 weeks strong VEGAN today, and trying how the hell to cook tofu.

As you can see by the hysterical still-frame from my youtube, I have a long way to go. Right now, I have needed to upload content quickly and efficiently, so there are no bells and whistles to my videos.

I really look forward to continue my self study has I take this huge leap of faith and put my MUG all over the internet! All feedback, love, support, and special requests go a long way for me. Cough cough, my love language involves words of affirmation.

Namaste OMies,

K