06/23/2025
Kelli Dossett was my very first yoga teacher and has been an inspiration and mentor for me ever since. I sometimes wonder where my path would have taken me if I hadn’t decided to one day step into her class at the YMCA and let her introduce me to this thing called yoga - would Elysium even exist? She is one of the most beautiful souls I know. She loves her friends and family absolutely unfalteringly and has always inspired me to live life in a full and unapologetic way. There is so much I could say about Kelli and the impact she has had on my life, but I’ll let you see that for yourself in her own words below. She is however, also our TEAM Member Spotlight! Kelli usually teaches at the studio at least one yoga class a week and two MELT classes every month. Thank you so much for all that you do for the studio Kelli and for the incredible impact you have had on me personally. Namaste - Grace
From Kelli: "My yoga journey started over 30 years ago going to Kate Mannebach’s classes at the McPherson YMCA. After our introduction to yoga at the Y Joan and I made the leap to attend a Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park, Colorado. We thought about signing up for the beginner track then we thought, what the heck let’s just sign up with the big dogs. That conference was a turning point for me and the first of many Yoga Journal conferences. I was definitely hooked on yoga, or ‘yogurt’ as my dad used to say. BTW at this first conference Rodney Yee placed his hand on Joan’s thigh and Tias Little on my lower back. Swoon. I was teaching school at the time and newly married with two pre-teen boys and decided to start yoga teacher training at a studio in Wichita. I wasn’t sure what I would do with it but knew I wanted to dig deeper.
Following completion of a 200hr program I began teaching classes in the Lincoln School music room on Sunday evenings and in the basement of the student union at Mac College one night a week with found, borrowed and hand me down equipment. From the very beginning I felt so much support from people that would come give yoga a try. Classes were free or $5. I eventually started teaching classes at the McPherson Y and the Cedars. After several years at the Y I had the opportunity to teach classes at Whole Body Health and Wellness. A friend of mine had a massage therapy practice there and invited me to teach classes. (Where Yogi’s V**e shop used to be) It was exciting to teach in a space that felt more like a real yoga studio. In this space I felt my practice and teaching expanding to more yoga philosophy along with the asana practice. Along the way I also had the opportunity to do two different trainings at Shoshoni Ashram near Nederland Colorado. When this space was no longer available, I went back to teaching at the Y until COVID closed things down and I was taking care of my Mom. During my last stint at the Y this adorable young woman in full law enforcement gear would come change from Sergeant Henderson to Yogini Grace at the 9:15 Yoga Stretch class. The common denominator along this yoga path has always been the beautiful, trusting and loyal souls that kept coming back to practice together. I’ve always felt we were growing and learning together along the way. So much love, support, laughter, tears and sharing of each other’s lives. I feel that same community closeness here at Elysium. I LOVE practicing at Elysium! My life has expanded with constant learning of yoga philosophies, yoga sister sciences of Ayurveda and chakras, the eight limbs, Sanskrit, Kali, evolving sequences and poses and all the other cool stuff we get to learn and experience. As a lifelong learner and kind of a nerd this fills my bucket. Last year my yoga goal was to improve stepping through to high lunge. This year I’m working on getting closer to chaturanga.
I’ve been involved with Elysium from the beginning. It was so incredibly exciting to see Grace’s dream come true. Elysium feels like a home away from home for me and the folks here feel like family. I am so lucky to be a part of yoga here.
A little about me… I was born raised and now growing ‘more mature’ right here in McPherson, Kansas other than a short time in Wichita. I’m the middle child with an amazing older sister, Michele, and little brother Mikey. As a kid I loved to run, move, read, play ball, ride bikes, motorcycles and horses, shoot arrows, sail and canoe with my Dad, camp and do all things outdoors. As a retiree I still love being in nature hiking, reading, traveling, kayaking and sailing. I truly enjoy learning about all things yoga, health and body works. There is always so much more to learn. I have two sons, Abe and Jake. Abe deals with a serious and pervasive mental illness. Yoga has helped me stay more grounded and given me times of peace throughout his journey with mental illness. Jake, his wife Theresa and my granddaughter, Judy, live in Portland, Oregon. I cherish my time with them. Judy lives a long way away, but we’ve developed a close relationship through many visits and FaceTime. Married for 29 years to my quirky, creative, loving husband, Mike. He’s a homebody and quite content to be out in the yard or garage making some cool thing out of junk. Thankfully, he’s fine with me going off on adventures with Joan (knocking off five more national parks this summer! Getting closer to our goal of all the National Parks) family trips with my sister and trips with the girls. I have a stepdaughter, Emily, and stepson, Trevor. Emily and her family live in Manhattan, Ks. Emily has gifted us with two amazing grandkids, Blake and Ella. Blake has just graduated from technical college and job bound. Ella graduated from Manhattan High School and off to K-State this fall. They are both smart, sweet and loving kids.
If you are new to yoga or thinking about trying yoga, I encourage you to come join a class at Elysium. After 30 years of practicing can I pop into a handstand? No. Get my buns off the mat in firefly? No. More importantly for me, I have been able to keep going through the loss of people close to me and stay with myself through the pain of my son’s mental illness one breath at a time. The breath, movement and practice of yoga is like the sun coming up each day, seasons flowing one into another. Life continues with suffering, joy and everything in between. This practice has brought me back to the ‘realness’ of life one breath, one posture, one sequence, one savasana at a time.
Oh, yeah, guilty pleasure? Salted caramel ice cream from Indigo Moo’d in Lindsborg.
Namaste" - Kelli
