Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Lamarre.
Kristen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I took my first yoga class during high school gym class mostly because it meant I could nap in the middle of the day! I didn’t realize at the time how I was already experiencing the benefits of this practice but looking back now I was already seeing the power of yoga. A few years later right after college I found yoga for the second time while working as a high school science teacher. This time around I was ready and from the first sun salutations I taught myself in the middle of my living room, I was hooked. I had never experienced anything like the way I felt during yoga. For the first time in my life I had this sense of calm and was not being controlled by endless thoughts. This quickly snowballed into a daily practice and even signing up for a yoga teacher training.
At the time I had no idea how or even if I could make yoga my ‘job’ but that year I also decided to leave my teaching job and figured it was the perfect time to try! That was in 2015 and I have been teaching ever since! This July will enter my third year of teaching and second year of teaching ‘full time’. Last summer I also decided to start teaching stand up paddle board (SUP) yoga and my second season out on the water will begin at the end of June!
It has been a journey to get where I am today and there is still much to be done and growth to occur. However, I plan to keep riding this wave and spreading the love and joy I find in my yoga practice with more and more people!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road, I think most people going out and doing something a bit out of the norm will tell you that! It has been an amazing road though. I have learned so much about myself and the type of people I want to surround myself with along the way. At this point I feel grateful to have an amazing and supportive community around me. That makes the struggles a little easier when they inevitably come up!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kristen Lamarre Yoga and Solar Flow SUP Yoga – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Kristen Lamarre Yoga is my yoga business; I teach yoga classes in studios, gyms, for corporations as well as events and workshops. For me one of the greatest parts of yoga is the connection to self and I try to incorporate this into all of my classes. I am also a very passionate lover of the earth so I love teaching outdoor classes and getting people back into nature. This is one of the main reasons I started my second business Solar Flow SUP. There is something so special about seeing people get out on the water standing on a paddleboard. There is shift that happens when they first step on the board to when the fear begins to melt away and they feel more comfortable in their own body and therefore more in tune with their movements and the movements of the water. Plus there is nothing better than a floating savasana with the sounds of nature around you!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan to keep growing both my business and my offerings. Two of my big goals for the next year are getting some of my teaching online and also leading my first international yoga retreat!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kristenlamarre.com and www.solarflowsup.com
- Email: info@kristenlamarre.com
- Instagram: kristenlamarre AND solarflowsup
- Facebook: kristenlamarreyoga AND solarflowsup
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