Grant Yourself Permission to Thrive: Holly Baier
“What I’m getting present to right now is community. I’m at a radically different place that I was in even a year ago- and that’s because of my community.
I started yoga so long ago! I took my first teacher training about 12 years ago. My mom had just passed away and my world was flipped upside down; she was my everything. So, I got rid of all my belongings, packed up a car and found a place in the mountains here in Colorado. Once I was here, I found my first teacher training. After the teacher training, I wanted to teach so badly and yet I felt like an imposter, so I put the dream on the shelf.
I got a day job teaching elementary music. It was the practical thing to do and I knew I was very good at it. Fast forward to 10 years later, Hurricane Matthew happened and we lost our family home in Florida where I grew up. I bring that up because it completely shifted my whole life again. So, I did another teacher training! This one was at The River Power Vinyasa studio in Denver.
What brought me to do these trainings was that during these times, I needed something for my soul, to understand why everything was taking a major shift. At the time, I was finishing up my internship at The River and then I got connected with BIG Power Yoga in Denver, and enrolled in their teacher training. It was a full two years of investing in self inquiry and soul work. I am constantly present to the fact that if major traumatic events had never happened in my life I would have never pivoted, and never been shaken out of my comfort zone to a new direction that would bless me in ways that I can’t even see yet.
Connection, heart, structure, bravery and loyalty are my core values after these trainings. Learning who I am outside of my day time profession of being an elementary music teacher keeps me curious and seeking. Connecting with other women is something at my root, at my core, and part of my values. I participate in Goals Hikes led by the fabulous Jacki Carr here in Denver. Hiking with other women out in nature while vulnerably sharing goals fills my entire being.
I’m really big on connection. I get so excited meeting people like you (Jen), and finding out what you’re doing with your passion project. I’m so excited to see your journey. I want to be this big source of light for women to “Go do your thing! Go!” I know so many women right now who are at these jump-off points. Seeing them step out of their comfort zone lights me up, and I’m in this agreement of, “How can I spread the word of what all these amazing women in Denver are doing?” Yoga and Bullet Journal Coaching have allowed me to dive into this passion.
After completing three 200-hour Teacher Training programs I’ve had moments of, “What am I going to do with all of this?”. I felt a bit of pressure to teach at a studio, and yet everything I tried felt like I was trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. Things didn’t start falling into alignment until after I signed my own permission slip stating that I could craft the next chapter of my life in any way that I wanted and it didn’t have to look like what I thought it was supposed to.
The completion of these programs has unfolded a beautiful journey of taking my values and developing my passion project of connecting with women in my community. I am achieving this in two ways:
1.) through teaching author-inspired yoga evenings in the studio at my house. My dream for 2019 is to create a space for women to gather on the first Friday of each month, flow together through a vinyasa class, and then create bullet journal pages all inspired by the women authors that are on our bookshelves. Connection, conversation, growth, and intimate and vulnerable sharings.
2.) The second area of my passion project post yoga teacher trainings is my drive for helping others bring their vision and goals into art and action through Bullet Journal coaching. I am leading workshops throughout Colorado as well as coaching one-on-one with people both in person and virtually. I have never felt so aligned with my purpose before this chapter of my life started. Bullet Journaling is a system that allows goal setting through art in a grid notebook. There are endless possibilities for creation and connecting with others. I am lit up by guiding women through their journey, simply by connecting, sharing, and putting art down on paper! I am infusing endless tools that I learned during my training classes and had no idea I would utilize them in this way outside of a yoga studio!
Some traumatic events have pushed me towards Yoga. I know yoga has connected me with the most beautiful people who have blessed me, challenged me, pushed me, inspired me, cheered me on, and showed me new possibilities. All of this has crafted a chapter I never could have imagined for myself. I can’t wait to see what’s next.” — Holly Baier
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Check out her Website, here!
This interview was conducted by Jen Morabito of The Self Stories; providing yoga practitioners with the opportunity to share their stories as they realize and live in the infinite benefits of the physical asana practice of yoga, meditation, self inquiry & realization. Read more of The Self Stories here.
