About Me
Kierstie Payge
How Yoga Found Me
I have been a yoga practitioner throughout most of my life. As a teen, I started yoga to heal my body after many years as a national-level competitive gymnast. Although at first, it was all physical, later in my adult life everything about the practice changed for me. I went through a rough patch in my early twenties, looking for acceptance outside of myself. I spiraled into a sea of searching for answers that could never be found which manifested in harmful and self-sabotaging habits and relationships.
One day I finally broke all the way down. Like a caterpillar in the chrysalis, I dissolved into someone I didn’t even recognize, a fearful and deeply confused young girl. Like all rock bottoms, it was essential. I soon recognized that the answer to my suffering was a simple choice. The choice to break and bloom over and over again until I emerged into the person I was all along without the bindings that tied me to my attachments and one-dimensional way of selfish living. It was through physical asana and a deep daily meditation practice that I became kinder to myself and recognized that all of my pain served me so profoundly and was now becoming grounds for my greatest gifts to offer others.
“You know your yoga is working when your relationships change.”
-The Yoga Sutras
Nothing is yours until you give it away
The Why
With my practices intact and my relationships changing, my world slowly started to mold into alignment but there was still just one missing piece. I had gotten a degree and was working a great corporate job, but every day I would walk into my office, I felt a deep pull to be doing something else, something my heart longed for. I knew I had to teach yoga.
In 2017 I did my first training and shortly after, I quit my job and started teaching ever since. I haven’t turned back for even one second. Although becoming a full-time yoga instructor has its many challenges, I have found ways to share these gifts far beyond the classroom. I infuse these awareness principles into my everyday interactions, and reactions, and hold each moment that I have breath in my lungs as a sacred gift. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most epic teachers and passing the knowledge of the yogic lineage is something I take very seriously. As fun as this work is to me, I know the profound power it holds when shared in a meaningful way and I am here to do just that.
Off the Mat
My roots are in Austin, Texas but I now live in San Diego, California with my hilarious and loving husband. I am a nature and travel lover and my dogs are my best friends. I love a good adventure and also a quiet night in solitude. Sunset beach walks and good food with family and friends are some of my absolute favorite ways to decompress. I live life to the fullest and will never shy away from an adrenaline rush. Most would say I am overly optimistic and always smiling, I see the good in everyone and everything. I am a rebel in spirit and like to make my own rules, you will never see me following the crowd, I pave my own way. Overall, I am just a joyful gal that’s grateful for this crazy life.
The Mission
To encourage people to turn within and remember the miracle that is to be alive. I hope to facilitate healing modalities that create levity and shift the way we look at suffering as the gateway to our greatest gifts. My prayer for the world is that we learn how to love without condition and empower one another to stop seeking and start being.
Thank you for reading and receiving these words.
In gratitude,
Kierstie Payge
