Finding Healing Through Giving Back

I just recently moved back to Michigan after living in Texas for 5 years, and if you are reading this and you are one of my Texas friends, I want you to know that I miss you so much. Yoga came alive for me in the DFW community and I was welcomed with open arms and support and what I can only see as unconditional love form the Dallas area yoga community. They gave me life and allowed me to walk hand in hand with them to serve in all the ways that I possibly could. I was so afraid to come home to Michigan, but to my surprise, I was placed exactly where I should be. The world opened a path straight into another yoga community that I feel equally connected to in a very short period of time. I am blown away by the possibilities that lie ahead. So here we are a few months later and I want to bring to you some of the gifts that I am experiencing through giving back. 

It's December already and I have decided to bring some new life to my intention setting for 2018 before the first of the year. You know how it goes, we are so caught up in the holidays that our heads get buried in the never ending to do lists and by January 1st we are burred out and ready to climb in bed with our head under the covers because the rest of life has been put on hold with the craziness that started building mid November. Well, I am hitting pause NOW. I am taking a step back and reflecting on my blessings and sending you a heart-felt thank you. Maybe we have met in person or maybe we have connected online, but either way, we are aligned to do great things and I want to give you a little direction in igniting your life and your journey to whatever it is that lights you up and brings tranquility and balance to your days. 

I have started a yoga by donation class in my community (Wyandotte, MI) that is aligned with my amazing 359° Yoga family and the Yoga and Body Image Coalition. I am teaching yoga to those who may not be able to afford it or who may not feel welcome in a traditional yoga room and the donations are going to my local soup kitchen. Two classes in, 23 students and $125 has already been raised. I am teaching another class on December 17th and the collective donations from my first three class before the holiday will send me blissfully shopping for care packages to be handed out during the soup kitchen meal times. WE will be gifting necessities and some bonus goodies that will bring comfort and warmth to those in need. How amazing is that?  

Something that I do not usually share in my day to day interactions is that I was poor and neglected as a child and was on the other end of acts like these. I know that being there for the children and families like mine is my calling. It is one of the most beautiful ways I have found to heal the wounds of trauma from my past. I come from a working class family and still live this way today. We don't have much but what we do have is the grit to jump in and make a difference in the little ways we are able to.

I also have some donated gifts for my Yoga Business Connection friends. Since we cannot all be in communion in person, I have aligned with some pretty amazing yoga entrepreneurs who have unique tools and resources for you to help you along your path to sharing yoga with as many as possible to heal and to serve through our connections online. Because I have two daughters and I am a web designer and marketing entrepreneur, I don't get out much (maybe some of that has to do with my age too?). Honestly, I am content to just relax at home with my family and do everyday things like assist with my daughters homework and cooking deliciously healthy meals...more like enjoying the meals because my husband has started cooking most of the time because of my demanding work schedule :).

So here is my way of hanging out with you and introducing you to some amazing friends that can assist you in your yoga business adventures: I am excited to share with you some FREE Yoga business resources put together by my friend and colleague Amy McDonald so we can get better at what we do by learning from one another's unique experiences. This is the foundation of the Yoga Business Connection. 

Along with Amy and I, six other world-leading Yoga business coaches and mentors are collaborating to bring you the BUILD YOUR YOGI BIZ LIBRARY: FREE BUSINESS RESOURCES FOR YOGIS!.

Your successful yoga business is important to everyone. And that's why we'd love to support you to grow, serve and shine as a yoga professional.
 
Thanks for reading my musing. I hope you get to enjoy some community yoga classes with me, or come into my yoga home and practice with me at 359° Yoga or take in these wonderful yoga business gifts. Either way, I appreciate you and I cannot wait to light 2018 on fire together with love and light through all things yoga.

Warmly,
 
Natalie

CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE