Kiss of Yoga, Leesburg, VA (2025)

02/21/2025

Did you know I’m hosting another retreat this year?

Last year I took a leap of faith and hosted my first getaway at and it was such a magical few days. I was so enamored, so fulfilled, so grateful that I jumped in and secured dates for 2025 as well!

This is an all-inclusive, glamping, get back to the nurturing nature, sit by the communal campfire and connect, be fed with care and kindness, sleep as long as your body asks you to, do some yoga asana, meditation and journaling if you feel like it kind of retreat.

Take what you need. Leave what you don’t.

Last year’s retreat Grounding Within planted the seed for this Grounded Journey and I couldn’t be more excited to invite you to join.

Just so you know, space is limited. This is purposeful to ensure participants feel supported and connected.

DM for more details or check out the link in my bio! 💋💋

02/08/2025

Goosebumps.

All I can really say is I kept getting goosebumps from the energy in this room tonight.

What a beautifully connected way to spend a Friday night - embracing midwinter with an asana, pranayama and meditation workshop! 🥰

Breathe in - I am
Breathe out - Grateful

Beyond grateful. It was magic at ✨💋

01/15/2025

I am someone who boycotted shopping at Hobby Lobby because of the owners’ donations to anti-LGBTQ hate groups.

I am someone who boycotted letting my kids eat Chik-fil-a for the same anti-LGBTQ hate.

I am someone who avoids Home Depot, Starbucks, and Coca Cola because they support extremism, genocide, and hate-focused candidates.

So it should come as no surprise that when and decided to remove third party fact-checking and protections for marginalized groups, I realized this platform no longer feels aligned with who I am and the energy I bring into the world.

Over the coming days, I will be disengaging with Facebook, Messenger, and Threads. A majority of my followers are here on IG and I will maintain this page for the time being to continue sharing info, news and content until I can get other things firmly in place!

I have joined the social platform Bluesky and my handle is the same as here - if you care to connect! I’m still figuring out the ins and outs of that!

Other immediate goals for connection include getting my newsletter up and running and uploading meditations to . I’d love to start a podcast down the road, so who knows!

You can always email, call or text or come hang out at a class! kissofyoga@gmail.com/ 571-252-9825

💋

01/13/2025

Today’s episode of Svadhyaya is brought to you by the number ONE and the number SIX! (Sesame Street fans will understand!)

My oldest child has shared life with me for 16 years today. For 16 years I have identified as a parent. The good, the bad, the new, the awe-inspiring, the overwhelming. I have felt all of it fully.

I think societally, parenting is looked at as a gift. And truly, it is, but that does not mean that it does not come with a lot of guilt, shame, anger, breakdowns, questions, and darkness. It is magical, but also hard as hell. It’s the hard as hell part that often goes unnoticed or is quieted.

Im here to say, say it loudly and proudly. It’s a balance, like everything else. You can’t fully appreciate the joy without going through the pain. You have to know what both feel like. And it’s ok to admit that sometimes it’s really fu***ng hard.

Parenting changes you, or at least it did me. I was 25 in this picture and that version of me so is vastly different from who I am today.

I was recently told, in a not so kind way, that “getting pregnant doesn’t make you an expert on parenting” from someone who is not a parent. And even though that statement stings because of my own triggers and trauma around my pregnancy and my postpartum depression, I have to laugh because I don’t know a single parent who would ever claim to be an expert!

Is there an expert level? Where do I feel like I fall these days? What knowledge do I bring to the collective parenting table? How has parenting impacted me? How do I bring my yogic practices into parenting? How do my children bring their knowledge into my life and expand my understanding? All questions that have come up for me today. All that require a little self-study in the days to come.

I feel peaceful today. Grateful. Full of love and admiration for this amazing spirit who has spent 16 years hanging out with me.

I would move mountains for them. And truthfully, I have. And I will continue to clear a better path forward ❤️

01/11/2025

I grew up with track and field in my veins, so when I started looking for colleges, I knew I would be competing at that level as well.

As I was applying to schools, I went in to talk with Coach Jim Taylor at . I had known this man for many years, since my parents were involved in the local track scene as a coach and official, but sitting across from him in his office while he told me SU was the place for me, changed me. I trusted him in that moment and it turns out, he was right. SU had been the place for me.

JT was not a coach who held your hand. He was a coach who saw your potential and showed you how to reach it. He trusted you, which made you trust yourself. When the women’s head coach moved on from SU, we didn’t have a high jump coach. JT empowered me to take the jumpers under my wing and coach them myself. Looking back, knowing he had faith in me gave me the confidence to step into that role as a 20 year old. I didn’t argue with him. If Coach thought I could do it, I could do it.

I remember my freshman year at our championship meet, he sat up on a hill away from the stadium and barely said anything all day to his athletes. He later told us - “There’s nothing left for me to do. Now it’s up to you.”

JT’s light was bright. Bold. Unwavering, to my eyes. And his time sharing that Earthside has come to an end. Loss is never easy, but I hold gratitude for the lessons he provided to a younger me and the ones I have carried on my journey forward.

SU, you know, “It’s a great day to get better.”

01/08/2025

My gift for trekking to the studio at 7am 🥰 ☀️

01/07/2025

I am someone who feels the effects of the midwinter gray. My mood sometimes reflects the gloomy skies and I have to be really conscious about showing up for myself.

Some of the things that truly help me are:

❄️ Having things on the calendar to look forward to
❄️ Taking a walk outside (even in the cold)
❄️ Offering myself cozy, comforting spaces
❄️ My sun lamp
❄️ And you guess it, YOGA

Moving my body and utilizing these tools truly has helped me through the winter months and I want to offer what I’ve learned to you!

In this 2 hour workshop, you can expect to learn asana poses to support your nervous system and improve circulation, a pranayama (yogic art of breathing) practice to balance your mind and body, and be guided through a meditation to ground your being and invite in calm contentment.

Come spend a wintry Friday evening with me on Feb 7 from 5:30-7:30 at and embrace midwinter this year.

Link to register: https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/event/yoga_shala-v65jng?k_class=755264&k_class_tab=41533 💋

01/05/2025

From what I have seen, it is universally accepted that the simplified, modern interpretation of the Sanksrit word svādhyāya (स्वाध्याय) translates to "self-study"

I take this to mean going inward, looking at connections, reactions and responses, and watching where I project onto others. I take this to mean honoring the parts of me that are light and bright - I think we are all our own worst critics and can get in our own heads more than others can about the power we hold and the worth we carry. I also take it to mean recognizing and honoring the dark and twisties (Grey's Anatomy fans?) that we inevitably have, fully standing in our imperfections and allowing space for that to be, without judgement.

Here, I am offering 3 different translations/interpretations of Patañjali's Yoga Sutra 2.44 from , , and . Invitation to read each and notice what resonates for you. Perhaps invite this intention into your practice and experiences this week and explore what impacts that has (positive and negative. both/and) 💋

01/03/2025

I find I am most connected to my personal practice and the classes I teach when I move with intention. (Sound familiar?!?)

Over the last year, I have really allowed my intuition to lead the way in my classes. Sometimes I have a plan, but mostly I Iet the energy in the room tell me what class should look like. I have a loose idea, but I let go of my attachment to it and let myself be a conduit for the energy. I know that sounds woo woo, and maybe it is (no, it definitely is 😉), but there is a comfort in knowing exactly the kind of teacher you are and want to be and letting that shine ✨

*For those that are new teachers on my page, this is a learned offering. I did not always teach like this. I really had to get the safety basics and comfort of cuing under my belt. Don’t rush yourselves!*

While journaling this morning, I felt a pulled to create offerings with inquiry for each month.

For January, the intention I am bringing into my own practices and my classes is one of the Niyamas: Svadhyaya.

There is no better time than the dead of winter to go inward and do some self inquiry! To explore the depths of your own being and how you show up in the world and in what ways you can adjust your practices (or life experiences) that feel more aligned with who you are. That means both/and. Your brilliance AND your shadows. Your lightness AND your darkness. Your kindness AND your anger. We are all both/and.

Look for posts this month that offer invitations and explanations. Let’s continue to take yoga OFF the mat for 2025 💋

12/31/2024

I used the .app planner this year and wrote this little note to myself exactly one year ago today so that I would see it a year in the future. It surprised me because I had forgotten all about it!

When I reflect on the past 365 days, it’s kind of amazing to behold. My little Kiss of Yoga has grown and expanded and touched many lives and energies this past year. When I think about it, it feels magical. But when I put it down on paper, it feels massive!

In 2024 I have:

💋Taught over 365 hours of yoga
💋Been through over 400 hours of trainings
💋Hosted my own retreat and made magic with others
💋Driven 5,000+ miles to classes, events, etc
💋Become a Teen Mental Wellness Facilitator with the and support teen resilience programming
💋Joined a new studio that feels like home and created community there
💋Read about 20 books/manuals that have deepened my personal and teachable classes
💋Taught brand new students, seasoned students, returning students and said goodbye to some students
💋Made connections that fill my cup and allow me to explore perspectives outside of my own
💋Been told you can hear my smile when I teach and that my classes feel intentional and reflective. That taking my class feels like a spiritual journey (😭)

I don’t take this lightly that I GET to offer this gift and be a small part of passing yoga to others and offer space for exploration. I am deeply honored and humbled by the doors yoga has opened to me.

For me, it is time to rest now and follow the cycle of the Earth, allowing all that I have learned to integrate. Spring will come soon enough and ask us to restart and begin again. This transition to a new Gregorian Calendar year is just that to me - a transition. A time to reflect, as we can (and maybe should?) reflect every day and every evening on what we have offered and been offered. A daily gratitude practice rather than a yearly one. This time of year reminds me of that.

I hope your past 365 days have brought you love, light, peace, joy and healing. I believe mine has ❤️💋

12/22/2024

If you are feeling the winter blues, the need to snuggle in and cozy up or the stress of this time of the year, I’ll be offering space at the beginning of the week and also subbing at the end of the week to support your need/desire to connect right now. Join me at ❤️

Xoxo 💋

12/17/2024

Post-travel asana practices are sooooo yummy for me with props added in.

My bolster and blocks are go-tos to support my body’s sore, tight muscles after plane rides or car trips. Sitting for long periods of time tightens my piriformis muscles, which lead to pain in my hips and low back. A bolster under my chest in Kapotasana (pigeon) and supporting my upper body in Uttan Pristhasana (lizard) feels so soothing.

Taking my time to acknowledge those sensations and move accordingly and with kindness and compassion is a must.

No rushing today. Slow, steady and static 🥰

Kiss of Yoga

02/21/2025

02/08/2025

01/15/2025

01/13/2025

01/11/2025

01/08/2025

01/07/2025

01/05/2025

01/03/2025

12/31/2024

12/22/2024

12/17/2024

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