Hey y’all, I’m Kat. I’ve been an avid yoga practitioner for 5 years and to me, yoga is everything. It’s everything that happens on and off the mat, and my goal as a teacher is to provide the opportunity for anyone to have their own experience of yoga – on the mat, in a chair, in their body – that they can carry with them throughout the rest of their day and the days to come.

I know us yoga teachers sound like we’re part of a cult when we go on and on about what yoga means to us, but to be honest, yoga has carried me through some pretty dark places. It has taught me how to come back to myself time and time again. It has been the philosophy, the grounding force, and the guiding light that has introduced me to my truest self. My mat is my refuge.

But it hasn’t always been like that. I didn’t WANT to do yoga. My neurologist “prescribed” yoga almost 15 years ago as a long-term coping mechanism/life-management tool post-traumatic brain injury. So, I went to Target and bought my paper-thin GAIAM yoga mat and DVD and tried to follow the poses shown in the 20-minute sequences. They kicked my ass. I could feel a shimmer of benefit, but I didn’t have the money or capacity to join a studio or delve deeper with an in-person teacher. Yoga (and its supposed benefits) felt out of reach for well over a decade.

Until, five years ago, I showed up at a mala-making workshop at a random yoga studio in desperation, looking for a place of refuge from myself. But what I found was that I was actually seeking a place of refuge in myself.

Because of that, I try to approach yoga simply. Yea, I make a bomb playlist. But at the core, I try to keep my teaching style fairly simple so the student has the space to have their own experience and connect to the rising of their truest self.

I connect most with slow flows that offer a mix of relaxation, refuge, heat and strength building, and the chance to be slow and intentional with movement. What do we learn about our inner most selves when we slow down, move with care and control, and guide our bodies through the stages of a carefully guided practice?

Beyond slow flows, I guide yin and vinyasa practices. No heated practices. One of my core values as a yoga teacher is working to make yoga spaces more accessible. I am continuing my yoga education through a trauma-informed yoga training with Three and a Half Acres Yoga and the Love Your Brain training to create yoga and meditation spaces for people with traumatic brain injuries, both in the Fall of 2024.

Beyond yoga (if there is such a thing), I string words together for a living at St. Jude, practice aerial arts, and adore my soulmate/cat, Gus.

I can be reached at kmccull5@gmail.com or on Insta at KatJ_McC.