As a young girl, I truly had no idea how to process or handle the emotions I was experiencing as my dad progressed through his illness. No one had taught me how to do this.

Enter: yoga. In the heart of the journey, I was taken to my first yoga sculpt class. I quickly discovered that I was actually able to invoke, move, and process my emotions through my physical body as I moved and breathed through the postures and exercises in classes.

When the opportunity to sign up for yoga sculpt teacher training came, it seemed like a no brainer, though I had zero intention of actually teaching when I signed up. Much to my surprise, yoga sculpt teacher training woke me up to a voice, confidence level, very natural skill set, and passion I never knew I had. I continued my yoga studies with a 200-hour yoga teacher training the following year.

While my fitness life was thriving and developing, I was also feeling trapped and very unhappy in my career. I had studied math and theology in college, and found myself working as an analyst at various companies throughout my early 20s. Luckily, the universe had my back. I manifested an intuitive life coach to begin my spiritual and meditation studies, and a new job at an acupuncture school to begin my holistic health studies as an acupuncturist-in-training. I spent the next couple years working full-time, studying part-time, and reawakening my priestess ways.

In March 2017, my dad reached the end of his physical journey, and he died. I felt called to speak at his funeral, and so I wrote a heartfelt piece to honor his legacy. I read it in front of my family, friends, and the church community in which I had grown up. This was a very significant moment—in fact it felt like my spiritual coming out party. There was no option but to share my heart’s truest beliefs and feelings, in honor of my dad, regardless of what anyone else thought or agreed with. This marked the beginning of my role as a spiritual teacher and leader. There was no turning back.

I had no choice but to continue listening to my heart and body. I spent the next few years of my life diving into weight training, leadership, more spirituality, and more energy work. It was a period of great expansion.

I’ve spent this past year re-learning and re-membering many of my spiritual gifts, weaving them together to better serve all those who cross my path, and trusting the assignments that show up as I go.

Had my dad not gotten sick and died, I’m not so sure I would have had the courage to walk this path, learn what I did, or share it with others. I’m so thankful to him for all he taught me in his lifetime, and all he continues to teach me through his memory, and presence beyond this dimension.