Look, I get it. Social media has led us to believe that yoga is something that only thin, feathery bodies get to enjoy.

I know I felt that way for a very long time, despite having heaps of curiosity about the practice and the peace it promised to bring to my life. It took me half a decade of waffling between "I should just try it" and "This is definitely not for someone like me" before I ended up in an ACTUAL yoga studio - knowing nothing about what I was supposed to be doing....

And, I'm gonna be honest, my instructors didn't really know what I was supposed to be doing either - they didn't have the tools to work with bodies like mine. Even though they had a willingness to explore what yoga could look like for my big body, they weren't able to lead me through it. In fact, a lot of conversations started out like "if you lost weight," or "when you lose weight..." Which was really unhelpful and alienating at first, but overtime I found my voice to stop and redirect those well-meaning conversations. The more I learned about my body, the more I could teach others about it - and teach them about their own bodies. 

At the end of my 200-hour teacher training, my mentor and friend announced I would be teaching a plus-size yoga class, I said no. 

I never wanted to be the "plus-size" yoga teacher. In fact, I signed up for training with a sincere wish that doing so much yoga would help me lose weight. I didn't really lose weight. But more importantly, it brought me to a headspace where for the first time in my life I didn't CARE if I lost weight. I actually liked?? my body and found deep gratitude for what it could do, what it has been doing, and what it was capable of doing if I gave it some TLC and stopped waging war against it. 

I had finally stepped into, embraced, and accepted my wonderful body as it was, no change required. And it's THAT feeling that brought me around to showing up as the "plus-size yoga teacher." My whole life I watched women around me struggle to accept and even connect to their own bodies - this wasn't something I could keep to myself.

And so, this course was born under some hesitation, some uncertainty, and a whole lot of love and hope. It has changed the lives of every single student that has stepped on a mat with me, and I know it has the power to transform your relationship with your body, with yourself, and the world around you. 

I am SO excited to be bringing this program to the Treasure Valley and cannot wait to join you on your journey to self-love and body acceptance. .