How I Got Here

"How I got here" is a good question, because, where is "here"? How I got to this website? Or how I became a social worker and a yoga teacher?

Let's start with where you are right now, at this post, on this website. This website is the result of a few hours of playing around on Wix and a dream of sharing yoga and mental health resources with people who might not typically have access.

I feel compelled to start by saying that I am only in my 20s. I have a lot yet to learn, and my journey has only just begun. I remain open to learning what the people around me, and the Universe in general, has to offer.

My journey, so far, to yoga - and thus to this website - can't start without my journey to social work. It's a bit cliche, but I have always been drawn to working with people. Not in a customer service way (I tried that and lasted about 3 months...). My second "first" job (after the 3-month stint working at a big box electronics store...which was clearly not for me) was as a nurses' aide at an assisted living home in my hometown. This job was messy and emotionally demanding, but it was fulfilling. I started applying for colleges thinking I wanted to be a nurse.

However, I would be remiss if I neglected to clue you in to my love for music, as well, specifically my love of playing the trumpet. As a typical 3 (more to come on the Enneagram in a later post, I'm sure), I am driven and achievement-oriented. This aspect of my personality was most clear in my trumpet-playing. I ended up going to college to further my studies in music. But deep down I still wanted to work with people rather than spend hours alone in a practice room. I decided I would be a music teacher.

Well, all it took was one semester of student teaching and I knew that music education wasn't where I wanted to spend my time. But I remained fascinated by people, how they work, what drives them. I decided to continue to pursue music, as well as a degree in psychology.

Fast forward to my senior year of college. I had an internship with a School Adjustment Counselor, and I absolutely loved this experience. I decided I would pursue whatever degree I needed to work in a counseling field. Turns out in the state of Massachusetts that would be a Master's degree in Social Work. I worked in a variety of jobs, including as a behavioral aide at an elementary/middle school, as a church youth leader, and in elder services, while pursuing my Master's degree.

Where does yoga come in? Well, yoga is one of the constants through all of this. I discovered yoga in college when it was recommended to me by an upperclass-woman. I was hooked from that point on. As I navigated my college experience (which was really challenging and really highlighted my mental health concerns...more to come on this in another post, I'll bet!), yoga provided me a place to come home to.

As it often does, it started as a physical practice, a way to "work out" and stay fit. However, it has transformed over the years to encompass a truly spiritual practice and a way of living on and off the mat.

Fast forward to March 2020, when the world sunk into a global pandemic. I started working from home full-time and decided that I wasn't going to be bored during quarantine. On a whim, I decided to look into completing a virtual yoga teacher training. Two days later, I started with Yoga Farm Ithaca and decided to take my yoga to a deeper level.

So here we are. I have a little something to offer and a whole lot to learn. I have many "whys" behind my career and my yoga practice, but the "why" that is rising to the forefront right now is this:

I help people who might not otherwise have access to yoga and mental health resources who have experienced mental illness or challenges with maintaining their mental health (that's all of us, right?!) learn to reconnect with their mind, body, and soul so that they can live from a place of peace, wholeness, and freedom.

I hope you will join me on this journey. It has only just begun.

Peace & Namaste,

Kari