who am i?

Who are you?  What are you all about?  What do you do?  These are all questions that people use to put us into boxes.  When asked “What do you do?” usually people mean for a profession.  If you were to ask me “what do you do?” I would probably tell you I “do” finance and analytics, because that is my J.O.B.-  the one that pays my mortgage.  The one that allows me to DO all the things I love.  So a better question is “what are you passionate about, what DRIVES you??”

Simple.  I eat.breathe.love.

I grew up for half my life with my parents being married.  My mom didn’t really cook.  She made maybe 5 things.  I can to this day name them because they are the same things she always makes: chili, spaghetti, stuffed shells, taco salads and chicken and broccoli casserole.  My dad was definitely the chef of the family.  His mom (my grandma) is an amazing cook/baker.  She used to make wedding cakes with no recipe, all from scratch.  Which shocks me.  I do not bake.  I hate following recipes and using exact measurements (this blog is going to severely test me when I have to tell you how much I put into something!) so to me she is an anomaly of what “baking” is.  So I guess my cooking genes come from my dad’s side.  It’s funny though, to this day I don’t really make any recipes I learned from my dad.  I think I learned to throw whatever I have lying around into something that is pretty tasty from him though.  I am seriously one of the most picky eaters my friends know.  I am the “weird girl” who substitutes everything when I order at restaurants (I apologize to any servers in advance, I used to be one though, it’s not really THAT hard for the kitchen to change menu items, or in my case make something up off-menu).  I eat organic, non-GMO and responsibly raised/farmed whenever I have the control to do so.  I’m sure there will be MUCH more about that later….

I moved to the Detroit area over 10 years ago.  That’s when I took my first yoga class.  I took it at a gym.  It was a killer workout and instantly I was hooked.  I remember in class they would talk about mind-body connection.  I always thought “mind-body BS, I’m here for this kick a** workout”.  I practiced 1-3 times a week for the first few years.  It was when I was going through a break up when that “connection” happened.  Yoga became my therapy, my workout, and my church.  It was really starting to become a lifestyle for me.  I always knew I would love to go through teacher training but never had the means to do so.  (time OR money).  In 2012 I finally did.  I went through Jonny Kest Yoga Teacher Training in the spring and it was the best experience for me.  I went through training because I wanted to teach yoga but what I learned was so much more than that.  I learned so much about myself.  YTT (yoga teacher training) was the outlet for me to really be the person I was always meant to be.  Now I teach yoga in my “spare time” and practice every day.  “Practice” does not just mean the physical moves, it means practicing mindfulness, being present and being true to yourself.

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Love.  Love is a word with so many different connotations.  It’s a word you can take in some many directions, self-love, unconditional love, being IN love, the list can go on and on.   I believe you start with self-love.  I think that before you love someone else, fully, unconditionally, give them every ounce of your being you have to love yourself.  For me YTT helped me do that.  I have always been level headed and “normal”, I have the same insecurities that anyone else has.  It was through YTT though I realized how much I hadn’t been true to myself.  The one thing we learned is you have to stay true to yourself even if it means disappointing others.  Disappointing is different than maliciously setting out to hurt someone.  Have I disappointed people?  I am sure I have, but after YTT I started taking care of myself, doing the things that made me happy.  I started living the life I wanted to live and be the person that I always wanted to be.  It’s never too late to start over in that regard.  Ever.  You can choose to be the person you want to be.  One of the first nights my now-husband was at my house he asked “So, what’s a girl like you, 30, single, owns this great loft in this city, has a good job, doing single?” I am sure some sarcastic comment came out of my mouth like “OBVIOUSLY I must be crazy if I am THIRTY (gasp!) and still single”.  But the reality was I was happy with myself.  I loved my life, my friends, my family, everything had finally fallen into place.  I hadn’t settled.  I was really happy being single.  I had just told my friends I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend.  I was super happy just doing all the things I was doing on my own.  Now here we are, 2 years later and I am married.  Funny how that all works out right?  However, I know had I not been in the place I was at, fully satisfied with what I had right then and there and completely happy I would have never been able to fall in love or let someone love me as much as my husband does.

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Photo cred Luca Cuomo www.lucacuomo.it

So that’s me.  That’s what I am aiming for this site to be.  A place where people can find a healthy lifestyle, some positive inspiration, a good meal or two….. I am excited to see how this journey goes and happy to have you be a part of it.

Namaste!

Karissa

3 Comments

  1. I am so excited for you & all your new beginnings! Love you

  2. Luv it ! You truly r an amazing person, so proud to be your mom, luv u

  3. Congrats Karrisa!

    I love this!!! It’s beautiful. I’m inspired! Love all the yoga and food.

    Namaste!

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