Optimal Wellness Yoga

Optimal Wellness Yoga Kristi Schwickerath guides a safe exploration of holistic wellness practices to find more comfort in your discomfort, whether physical or emotional.

Enjoy yoga, crystal reiki, and more. My path to yoga was a bit unusual. I had been living with chronic pain, the result of a car accident, for over a decade when I took a two-week trip to my parents’ farm in rural Minnesota for some rest and rejuvenation. On my first evening, we went out to a local pizza place in the nearest town, not something out of the norm. However, my usually very quiet father who is not into self-care or health care began to proselytize to another farmer about how wonderful this Yin yoga class was that he had been taking with my mother. After witnessing that I figured there must be something to this Yin yoga “thing.” I noticed enough of a shift in my relationship with the pain from just those four classes I took with my parents over those two weeks that I have never looked back since and it inspired me to become a Yoga teacher and therapist. Daily I incorporate the practices and principals of yoga to my life on and off the mat. I feel honored to be able to share my insights, experiences, and gifts with others to help them also find a little more comfort in their discomfort whether it is in the physical body, the mind, or the spirit.

🌑 New Moon Capricorn-Aquarius Threshold Council 🌑This New Moon in Capricorn invites us into something deeper than just a...
01/19/2026

🌑 New Moon Capricorn-Aquarius Threshold Council 🌑

This New Moon in Capricorn invites us into something deeper than just a “new beginning.” It’s a threshold—a sacred pause between what has been and what is emerging.

While the Moon plants seeds in Capricorn’s steady earth, the Sun prepares to cross into Aquarius tomorrow, bringing a breath of fresh vision into the space we’re creating. This liminal overlap—Capricorn’s structure + Aquarius’ innovation—defines not just this lunation, but much of the year ahead.

We’re living in a time when many New Moons will be followed almost immediately by a solar shift. That means 2026 is full of these in-between spaces—transitions where the wisdom of one sign meets the invitation of the next. This correlates with 2026 being a 10/1 year as well. Keep looking for the thresholds this year!

And this particular New Moon is blessed with rare and generous cosmic support:

- Saturn sextile Neptune – You can dream, and you can build.
- Trine to Uranus – Change doesn’t have to mean chaos. It can be clarifying.
- Mercury conjunct Mars – Your voice has power. Speak your truth.
- Capricorn stellium – Commitment is sacred.
- Sun & Moon sextile Saturn-Neptune – Spirit and structure are working together.

To honor this powerful moment, I created the Capricorn-Aquarius Threshold Council tarot spread as a way to connect with the grounded wisdom of Capricorn, the future-focused clarity of Aquarius, and the planetary allies who are showing up to walk beside you.

This is a time to listen in, recommit, and take one soul-rooted step forward.

You don’t have to know the whole plan. Just start where you are.

As we cross into a new calendar year, I want to offer a gentle reframe.Not every transition is a clean break.Not every b...
01/01/2026

As we cross into a new calendar year, I want to offer a gentle reframe.

Not every transition is a clean break.
Not every beginning arrives with clarity.

In numerology, 10 marks a threshold.
Something has completed.
Something new is beginning.

The Wheel turns.
The Magician reminds us that we are not unprepared.

If you feel like you’re standing in fog right now, only able to see the next few steps, you’re not behind. That’s often how thresholds work.

May you move into the coming year with self-compassion, discernment, and trust in the skills you already carry.

✨ Save this if you want a reminder that clarity doesn’t have to rush.





As 2025 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on how much pressure we place on ourselves to feel “done,” “clear,” or re...
12/31/2025

As 2025 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on how much pressure we place on ourselves to feel “done,” “clear,” or ready for what’s next the moment the calendar turns.

But cycles don’t end cleanly.
They soften. They overlap. They ask for integration.

If this year felt heavy, disorienting, or exhausting, you’re not imagining it.
And if you’re not rushing into clarity, resolutions, or big declarations right now — that makes sense.

This was a year of endings, reckoning, and deep listening inward.
Integration is still work.
It just doesn’t look productive.

May you move into the next threshold with self-compassion.
And may you trust that rest is not avoidance — it’s wisdom.

If this feels like something you might need to return to, you’re welcome to save it for the days ahead.





Something new is blossoming at PIES.Rooted Resonance is our newest collaboration, weaving Marsha’s intuitive sound heali...
11/21/2025

Something new is blossoming at PIES.

Rooted Resonance is our newest collaboration, weaving Marsha’s intuitive sound healing with Kristi’s Rooted Rest Yoga Nidra to support your physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Join us this Saturday at 10:30 am ET, in person or online, for an immersive experience of sound, rest, and reconnection.

Then continue your journey with Rooted Rest Yoga Nidra on Tuesdays at 6 pm ET online through PIES.

Come exactly as you are. We’ll meet you there.

https://bit.ly/43B7yQC

I wrote something long and rooted.About remembering what we care for.About belonging to one another.About the quiet shif...
11/06/2025

I wrote something long and rooted.
About remembering what we care for.
About belonging to one another.
About the quiet shift many of us have been feeling.

If you’ve been sensing it too, I’d love to know how it’s moving in you. Drop your thoughts in the comments here or in Substack!

10/24/2025

The world isn’t slowing down — but you can learn to move through it with steadiness, clarity, and grace.

Calm in the Chaos is a 4-week online journey designed to help you understand how your body and mind respond to stress and what they need to return to balance.

Each week, we’ll explore simple, evidence-informed tools for nervous-system regulation through breath, gentle movement, and guided rest.

Early-bird pricing is available through October 27 (use code EARLY25), and we begin November 4.

If you’ve been craving a calmer way to meet the world, this is your invitation.

🔗 ⬆️ In Profile

Rest isn’t passive; it’s an active return to wholeness. Every layer of you — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual ...
10/20/2025

Rest isn’t passive; it’s an active return to wholeness.

Every layer of you — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual — responds to stillness. This is the quiet science of healing and the soul of Rooted Rest Yoga Nidra.

If you’re curious to experience this, join our next Rooted Rest Yoga Nidra session — online every Tuesday at 6 pm ET with . Accessible, inclusive, and designed for nervous-system repair.

10/16/2025

Your body isn’t built for constant output. Every system — nervous, immune, digestive, emotional — needs moments of stillness to repair what daily life wears thin.

When you choose rest, you’re not quitting. You’re listening.

Join me and the PIES Fitness Yoga Studio community for Rooted Rest: a multi-sensory, trauma-sensitive Yoga Nidra practice offered online every Tuesday evening.

It’s an inclusive space to reconnect with your body’s natural rhythm and remember what safety feels like.

Save this for the next time you need permission to rest.


When everything feels fast or uncertain, it’s easy to forget that your body already holds the map back to calm. Each of ...
10/14/2025

When everything feels fast or uncertain, it’s easy to forget that your body already holds the map back to calm. Each of these simple practices invites your physiology to shift from fight-or-flight into rest-and-restore.

✨ Which anchor will you try first?

If you’d like more ways to steady your body and mind, my Calm in the Chaos mini-course begins November 4, and registration will be opening soon so make sure you've hit Follow!

I guide several styles of rest-based practices weekly — from Tuesday night's Rooted Rest with the community, to my Sunday evening sliding-scale Rest & Restore through Optimal Wellness Yoga. Every space offers a different doorway to the same destination: coming home to yourself.

Take a moment to take a slow, deep breath!
10/14/2025

Take a moment to take a slow, deep breath!

10/13/2025

When everything feels too loud or too fast, your nervous system is asking for care — not control. This single breath practice is one I return to again and again when I need to come home to myself.

Save this for the next time you need a reminder to slow down.

If you’re craving more ways to steady your body and mind, my Calm in the Chaos mini-course begins November 4 and registration opens soon.

Or join me Tuesdays for Rooted Rest Yoga Therapy — a weekly online practice to reconnect with your natural rhythm through a nature-based, multi-sensory yoga nidra for renewal and deep rest.

[Alt Text: Video of various clips of rituals, including lighting candles or incense, stretching, and meditation, all in soft neutral colors, is overlayed with the following text - When the world spins faster, your body’s wisdom whispers: slow down. One breath can begin the shift. Inhale through your nose — feel your ribs expand. Exhale gently through your mouth — feel your shoulders soften. Repeat until your nervous system remembers: I am safe to rest. You don’t have to “earn” calm. You just have to come home to it.]

Address

Alexandria, VA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 7am - 9am
1pm - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5:15pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15713484394

Website

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