Wanderlust Yoga Channel

My name is Kris. I am a 200-hour certified yoga instructor with a love of travel and the outdoors.

 

So, one day while calming my inner demons on my mat in the middle of a forest preserve, I thought "why not share this sh!t with everyone else!"

 

So here we are.

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For years I struggled because I don't exactly conform to society's idealized image of someone that teaches yoga. I also don't exactly fit into the "every body yoga" image. I'm less than hyper flexible, I struggle with my weight, I try to eat a healthy balanced diet, but love tacos, beer, and cookies. 

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I tried and tried to maintain a "real job" just to burn out within 2 years, no matter the field I was in. Everything felt so fake, so forced. I didn't like who I was pretending to be. 

I grew up with easy access to mountains, forests, oceans, lakes, and streams. While there was plenty of outdoor time, careers were hard to come by and I felt like I was missing something.

 

So, I moved to a concrete jungle just outside of the Windy City. Making money, the thing that I had always been taught was the ultimate goal in life, was easy. But still something was missing. This time it was that connection to nature.

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I didn't know at the time, but I needed to feel more grounded. While in the concrete jungle, I became a certified personal trainer and health coach. I was searching for something, I thought that was going to be the answer. It wasn't.  

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I had moved once every 18 months from the time I turned 18 and for the 20 years that followed. I couldn't stand the idea of staying stuck in one location.

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My hubby, born and raised in the Windy City was also searching for something at that time. He needed change, I needed change. We moved to the mouse's playground, the land of sunshine, to an outskirt of The City Beautiful. Although things there felt a little better for both of us, at about that time, I became ill...very, very ill. 

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I realized I had literally almost worked myself to death. I honestly thought I was going to die that year, so did my husband. I discovered yoga and mindfulness. I studied it, read about, practiced it. As a scientist, and an athlete, I spent so much energy trying, not being. I did Vinyasa yoga, Kundalini yoga, hot yoga, Power yoga.

 

One day, feeling a little less than fantastic, I tried restorative yoga. It felt soooo, something. I had been programmed my whole life to be active, if I wasn't doing I was "lazy". If I wasn't working out hard I wasn't working out. Restorative yoga felt strange to me, good, but strange. From there I tried Yin yoga. I found the missing thing I didn't know I needed. The long holds actually working deep into the tissues allowed me to move inward and really meditate. My body started to respond, the stress in my muscles and tissues started to go away. I found myself crying while holding certain poses. This is a common happening in yin as you work on both your mental and physical demons. 

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As I started healing, I realized that I needed to find a career that gave me fulfilment, that satisfied my desire to be outdoors while calming my many, many inner demons. I wanted to share what I had discovered with the world. I had to find a way. I started recording podcasts. They helped, but I felt driven to do more. 

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Knowing how self-conscious I am, my hubby suggested that I start a YouTube channel teaching Yin yoga while exploring the world around me. I immediately put up walls and made excuses as to why it couldn't be done, shouldn't be done. I explained how I would be an abject failure at it. No one will care. No one will watch. Why would anyone want to see "me" do yoga? 

 

The idea once implanted though, sat there rolling around in my mind. Ruminating. I made the decision to make it happen. I am here to help the world see beauty and find their inner peace so that maybe it can spread further every day. Reels and small videos on social media with voice overs just seems like a logical compromise. 

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The City Beautiful quickly became my home. We bought a home here. We are within driving distance of two gorgeous beach areas. We can "hike" the marshlands. There are historic areas, tourist areas, shopping areas. All screaming at me to slow down, roll out my mat and become one with them.

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Having developed a home base, I can travel, with my trusty mat, and enjoy my life while sharing it with you.